On May 22, 2024, at noon, the Port Authority of Salamina was informed that the ferry 'Empedoklis' ((IMO: 9812793) allided with the docked 'Protoporos XIV' during the berthing manoever at the port of Palukia, causing minor property damage, on a scheduled route from the port of Perama with 136 passengers and 77 vehicles on board. The 'Pioneer XIV' had no passengers and vehicles on board. No injuries were reported from the incident, and no marine pollution was observed. The Port Department of Salamina of the Central Port Authority of Piraeus, which was conducting the preliminary investigation, banned both ships from sailing , until the certificates of seaworthiness have been presented by the attending classification societies.
News
PS DREAM
The U.S. Department of Justice stated on May 21, 2024, that the two operator companies of the 'PS Dream', the Prive Overseas Marine LLC and Prive Shipping Denizcilik Ticaret, have pleaded guilty to intentionally violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and misleading the authority of justice by providing a false report of oil records. The guilty plea was logged in the federal court of Orleans, presided over by the Chief Justice of the U.S. District Court. If convicted, the two companies will be charged $2 million and probation for four consecutive years. Moreover, the captain of PS DREAM has also been separately charged. On Jan 11, 2023, a crew member reported to the Coast Guard of Orleans, by sharing a video that showcased the oil being pumped overboard and trailing behind the vessel. After two weeks, the vessel made a port call at New Orleans, where the crew member submitted the video as evidence to the Coast Guard of Orleans.
Houston
Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI) announced a series of projects, totaling over $170 million of capital investment, that will increase efficiency, add product liquidity, and enhance blending capabilities at its Pasadena and Galena Park terminals, part of its best-in-class refined products storage hub on the Houston Ship Channel. In response to growing customer demand, KMI’s liquids terminal platform now boasts 10 ship docks, 38 barge spots, 20 inbound pipelines providing connectivity to 10 regional refineries and chemical plants, 15 outbound pipelines, 14 cross-channel lines, and approximately 43 million barrels of storage on the Houston Ship Channel, North America’s leading port for energy exports.
Takoradi
Expansion works on the Takoradi Port have started with the construction of a multipurpose on-dock Atlantic Container Terminal. The project will see the port basin being dredged to create a 16-metre depth and land reclamation for the building of five new berths to hold bigger capacity vessels. A visit to the Takoradi Port in the Western Region revealed that the contractors were casting the foundation stones for the quay wall to herald the expansion project at the port. The project, being developed by Ibistek Ghana Limited at a cost of $475 million, marks the first time a wholly owned Ghanaian firm has been engaged in port development in the country. The Atlantic terminal, which will be the major development in the history of the Takoradi port when completed, will have a cargo holding space of one million twenty-footer equivalent units (TEUs), an upscale from the average container traffic of about 55,000 TEUs a year.
EMPEDOKLIS
On May 22, 2024, at noon, the Port Authority of Salamina was informed that the 'Empedoklis' allided with the docked ferry 'Protoporos XIV' ((IMO: 9848974) during the berthing manoever at the port of Palukia, causing minor property damage, on a scheduled route from the port of Perama with 136 passengers and 77 vehicles on board. The 'Pioneer XIV' had no passengers and vehicles on board. No injuries were reported from the incident, and no marine pollution was observed. The Port Department of Salamina of the Central Port Authority of Piraeus, which was conducting the preliminary investigation, banned both ships from sailing , until the certificates of seaworthiness have been presented by the attending classification societies.
Hamburg
Germany’s largest universal port remains on a growth course, achieving a distinct 4.1 percent advance to 69.4 million tons in seaborne cargo handling in the first half of 2019. Especially good growth trend in the general cargo segment, up 6.1 percent at 48.4 million tons, was the main contributor to the excellent figures for total and container handling. The total for bulk cargo handling was just 0.3 percent lower than for last year’s first half at 21.0 million tons. Germany’s largest universal port remains on a growth course, achieving a distinct 4.1 percent advance to 69.4 million tons in seaborne cargo handling in the first half of 2019. Especially good growth trend in the general cargo segment, up 6.1 percent at 48.4 million tons, was the main contributor to the excellent figures for total and container handling. The total for bulk cargo handling was just 0.3 percent lower than for last year’s first half at 21.0 million tons.
Sabetta
Icebreaker assistance and ice restrictions for ships entering the basin of Section No.1 at the Port of Sabetta, Yamal and access channel are canceled as of 00:00 Moscow time, August 6. The corresponding order was signed by the Port Harbourmaster Nikolay Nesterov. The order says that there is a possibility of separately floating ice floes, therefore masters of ships sailing in this water area of the Port of Sabetta and on approaches to the port are advised to exercise caution. Arctic Port of Sabetta is built on the western shore of the Gulf of Ob (Kara Sea) for transshipment of hydrocarbons from the South-Tambey gas condensate field on the Yamal peninsula to the Western Europe, South America and APR countries under Yamal LNG project. The project envisages the construction of an LNG plant capable of producing 16.5 million metric tonnes of LNG and 1.35 million tonnes of gas condensate annually
MAUNALEI
A substandard propellor blade caused a loss of propulsion and large spill of hydraulic oil from the 'Maunalei' in August 2022. The ship lost power as a result of a flawed propeller blade on a voyage between Anchorage and Portland according to a US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation. The NTSB revealed its findings on May 21, 2023, concluding that the vessel’s controllable pitch propeller had failed to meet design requirements. En route to a drydocking in Portland, theship’s controllable pitch propeller failed, resulting in a loss of propulsion about 245 nautical miles from the entrance to the Columbia River, close to Portland. The vessel’s propeller system was thought to have lost more than 1,632 gallons of hydraulic oil and resulting damage has been estimated at $3m. The NTSB concluded that the manufacture of the propeller was substandard. Cracks and fractures at the base of the fourth blade in the five-blade propeller failed to meet specification requirements and did not meet requirements for impact toughness, tensile, or yield strength. The NTSB investigators concluded that the blade damage was probably an isolated incident. The analysis of other five-bladed propellers on similar vessels indicated no problems. However the blade manufacturer has adjusted the specification to improve propeller fatigue fracture resistance. Full report: https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MIR2411.pdf
Monfalcone
ENCHANTED PRINCESS, the fifth in a line of six Royal Class ships built for Princess Cruises, was floated out on 6 August at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Monfalcone.
Immingham
On August 1, ABP announced new customers for the Port of Immingham this week: The port welcomed the first vessel in a new contract with customers Top Blue and The Fuel Trading Company. The new deal is expected to bring an extra 30,000 tonnes per year through the Port of Immingham – the largest Port by tonnage in the UK. The cargo being delivered is Prilled Urea which is a key part of the mixture for the AdBlue market.