China has provided a berth for the 'Angara', which is under US sanctions and transports weapons, in Zhoushan. The British Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) claimed that the Angara has been anchored in the port of Zhoushan in China's Zhejiang province since Feb 2024. According to the British think tank, since August last year, the vessel has transported thousands of containers to Russian ports, which allegedly contained weapons from North Korea. The presence of a Russian vessel under sanctions in a Chinese port was further evidence that China is helping Russia wage war, despite repeated warnings from the USA that such assistance is unacceptable. It is expected that China's support for Russian aggression will be the main topic of discussion during Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's visit to Beijing. The United States has warned allies of China's expanding support for Russia, including the provision of geospatial intelligence. Allegedly, China has provided Russia with satellite imagery, microelectronics, machine tools for manufacturing tank components, optics and rocket fuel, and expanded cooperation in the space sector. Report with photo: https://mind.ua/en/news/20272812-china-allows-russian-arms-ship-to-use-its-berth
News
COLOR HYBRID
On April 25, 2024, at 11:45 a.m. the 'Color Hybrid' had to turn around on the first sailing of the day between Sandefjord and Strømstad. Two passengers needed medical assistance. 20 minutes after the ferry set off on the day's first trip to Strømstad, the ship was back in Sandefjord. Two ambulances attended at the port, once the ship had docked. The incident led to some delays, but the company Color Line hoped that the afternoon departures could go as scheduled. Report with photo: https://www.sb.no/hybriden-matte-avbryte-seilas-returnerte-til-sandefjord/s/5-73-1828718
Walvis Bay
NAMPORT’s new container terminal will be officially inaugurated on 2 August, and normal operations are expected to start on it on 24 August. The new terminal, constructed at a cost of N$4 billion, is expected to increase container handling capacity from the current 355 000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to up to 1 005 000 TEUs. Firstly, there will be a shutdown on 17 August of container operations in the port to start relocations to the new terminal. The equipment to be relocated include rubber-tired gantries and mobile harbour cranes, while reach stackers, haulers and forklifts will move the containers.
Hanjin Subic Shipyard
The 300-hectare shipyard of Hanjin Philippines may be taken over by several shipping companies that would transform it into a major global port, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said in a chance interview recently. He said the shipyard could be a sprawling multipurpose mixed-use port facility that would be jointly operated by several players. This, he said, is one of the proposals received by Hanjin creditors for the development of the shipyard after Hanjin Philippines declared bankruptcy early this year. “It’s a good masterplan that has been proposed and it is targeted to be implemented this year,” Lopez said. He declined to name the companies but hinted that these include foreign players. Another source said creditors are in negotiations with an American and a Japanese company. Officially, Hanjin has fully shut down just this month, ending the last of its remaining maintenance operations, sources said. As of this writing, the creditors have not made any official announcement yet regarding the final plans for the shipyard.
MSC ARIES
In the case regarding Indian crew members aboard the 'MSC Aries', seized by Iran, the Ministry of External Affairs said on April 25 that one of the 17 Indian crew members has safely returned to India and the others were safe. They will be released once their contractual obligations have been accomplished. The Ministry asked for consular access for the 16 seafarers, and the officers met them. Their health was good, and there was no problem of any kind on the ship. Concerning their return, there were some technicalities and contractual obligations. Once they are done, their return will be decided. This came as the Iranian envoy to India, Iraj Elahi, has said that the Indian crew members of the 'MSC Aries' wre not detained and that they were free to go.
KM BUKIT RAYA
The KM 'Bukit Raya' caught fire at the mouth of the Kapuas River, Jungkat District, Mempawah Regency, West Kalimantan on April 25, 2024. Smoke could be seen billowing from one of the rooms on the top deck of the ferry. The plan was for the ship to enter the Kapuas River and dock at Pontianak's Dwikora Harbor. The fire has been successfully extinguished. There was no information on the cause of the fire. A joint team of firefighters and Basarnas Pontianak have headed to the ship. Reports with photos and video: https://regional.kompas.com/read/2024/04/25/ 154550978/km-bukit-raya-burn-when-entering-muara-jungkat-kalbar-pelni-already-started#. https://www.viva.co.id/berita/nasional/1708638-km-bukit-raya-terbakar-di-muara-sungai-kapuas-penumpang-panik-berjibaku-padamkan-api https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r5evRUIwIU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikOKvmgrz20
Visakhapatnam
With further development to its existing solid European products, Ocean Network Express (ONE) has announced the launch of a new direct service, the Indian Ocean Service 3 (IO3), which covers South East India, Mediterranean, and North Europe. The new product will offer new port coverage and boost reliability to a wider range of direct port call options to ONE’s valued customers. It will also further expand ONE’s already comprehensive service offerings and allow its clients to enjoy greater choice while bringing efficiency and additional values to the supply chain. The first sailing of the loop is now expected to start from 26th October 2019. IO3: Indian Ocean Service 3 Rotation: Visakhapatnam – Krishnapatnam – Chennai – Tuticorin – Colombo – Cochin – Damietta – Piraeus – Rotterdam – London Gateway – Hamburg – Antwerp – Le Havre – Damietta – Jeddah – Colombo – Visakhapatnam (Fixed day weekly service, 63-day rotation)
Callao
APM Terminals has become the first Peruvian port to introduce a customer platform that logs, streamlines and coordinate General Cargo operations in the port of Callao. During the pilot phase, the platform, which was developed together with maritime and customs agents, enabled users to complete transactions 67% faster and operations were completed 12% faster. APM Terminals Callao invested nearly USD 1 million in the implementation of MOST, a new state-of-the-art platform that can be used by maritime agents, customs agencies and carriers, among others. MOST can be used to register cargo and view real-time information, make online payments and generate authorizations for the loading and unloading of all types of General Cargo, from anywhere, anytime. The platform is a clear milestone in the efficient management of port logistics using world-class technology.
MSC DARWIN VI
Yemen's Houthi group on April 26, 2024, claimed responsibility for an attack on the 'MSC Darwin VI', en route from Aden, in the Gulf of Aden and the launch of missiles toward the Israeli city of Eilat with a number of naval missiles and drones. The group consistently describes MSC-operated ships as "Israeli" for uncertain reasons. The master of the attacked ship reported a loud bang heard and a splash and smoke seen coming from the sea. He reported the vessel and all crew are safe. Military authorities" were sent to the scene to provide support. The ship berthed at the Dorealeh Container Terminal in Djibouti at 4.20ß a.m.
RED JET 6
Red Funnel has been forced to cancel eight of its hi-speed Red Jet sailings on April 25, 2024, due to technical issues. In the early afternoon the coolant pump of the 'Red Jet 6' failed, which resulted in the cancellation of the 12:40 p.m. sailing from Southampton and the departure at 1:15 p.m. from West Cowes. Also the 3:35 p.m., 4:45 p.m. and 5:55 p.m. departures from Southampton and the 4:10 p.m., 5:20 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. sailings from West Cowes have all been pulled. The ship left Southampton again on April 26 at 8.20 a.m. and arrived in Coews at 8.40 a.m.
Rio de Janeiro
ICTSI subsidiary ICTSI Americas BV has acquired 100% of the shares of Libra Terminal Rio S.A. (Libra Rio) to run the Terminal de Contêineres 1 (T1Rio) container terminal in the Port of Rio, Brazil. Libra Rio holds the concession rights to operate, manage and develop T1Rio and was acquired by ICTSI from Boreal Empreendimentos e Participações SA. The deal to take over the port container terminal concession was disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange, reported Manila Standard. ICTSI said: “The parties will work to sign a share purchase agreement in due course.” Concession until 2048
Limassol
Two and a half years after taking over the operations of the Multi-Purpose and the New Cruise Terminals at the Limassol port, DP World Limassol on Wednesday presented the upgrades and investments in infrastructure and equipment. The company said that it had acquired brand-new equipment in January 2019 as part of an ongoing upgrade of the Limassol port infrastructure. The new machinery was put into operation in March 2019, following intensive training of staff and has contributed to speeding up operations at the Multi-purpose port terminal. More specifically, the new equipment includes: A new, high-tech LHM 420 mobile harbour crane, with maximum lifting capacity of 144 tons and radius of 54 metres enhancing the efficient handling and transportation of bulk cargo, general cargo, containers, oil and gas.