Four persons have been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences after five migrants including a child died trying to cross the English Channel on April 23. The National Crime Agency (NCA) said an 18-year-old from Sudan was arrested on the evening of April 24 at Manston migrant processing centre, in Kent, and was now being questioned in custody. Officers also detained a 22-year-old Sudanese man and a 22-year-old man from South Sudan on April 24. They were arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and entering the UK illegally. A 19-year-old man from Sudan initially arrested on April 23 has since been released without charge and was now being dealt with by immigration authorities. The 55 surviving boat passengers have already been interviewed and were expected to be spoken to further in the coming days. More than 400 migrants arrived in the UK on the day the group died. The agency and partners from Kent Police, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force were working with French counterparts to investigate the circumstances of the deadly incident on a beach near Wimereu. A dinghy carrying more than 100 people set off from Wimereux at around 6 a.m. but got into difficulty. Three men, a woman and a girl died. 49 people were rescued, but 58 others refused to leave the boat and continued their journey towards the UK, with several other boats later embarking on the crossing. The incident reportedly took place as rival migrant groups all tried to scramble into the boat, causing it to become heavily overcrowded.
News
ANGARA
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
Dar es-Salaam
In one of the biggest pushbacks against Chinese president Xi Jinping’s Belt Road Initiative Tanzania has suspended the construction of the $10bn Bagamoyo port project, citing the onerous financial conditions put in place by Beijing. The project, which broke ground four years ago and was set to be run by China Merchants Holding International, would have been the largest port in East Africa. Tanzania’s president John Magufuli has accused the Chinese project backers of presenting “exploitative and awkward” terms in exchange for financing. Chinese financiers set “tough conditions that can only be accepted by mad people,” Magufuli told local media. “They told us once they build the port, there should be no other port to be built all the way from Tanga to Mtwara south,” Magufuli told a delegation of business people at State House in Dar es Salaam earlier this month. “They want us to give them a guarantee of 33 years and a lease of 99 years, and we should not question whoever comes to invest there once the port is operational. They want to take the land as their own but we have to compensate them for drilling construction of that port,” he said. Magufuli also said the new Bagamoyo port risked undermining the ongoing $522m expansion of Dar es Salaam port that would enable it to triple its current capacity when complete by the end of this year. Source : Splash247
Rotterdam
Container throughput continues to grow in Rotterdam. Following a record year in 2018 and a record quarter in 2019, April of this year was the best month ever for the Port of Rotterdam. 13.6 million tonnes of container freight was handled in April 2019. The previous record month was August 2018 (13.2 million tonnes). Measured in TEU, the standard unit for containers, April 2019 was the second-best month ever, with 1.3 million TEU, just a fraction lower than the record month of August 2018.
HMS DIAMOND
HMS 'Diamond' shot down a missile fired at a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden by Iranian-backed Houthis on April 24, 2024. The warship used a Sea Viper missile system to shoot down the missile, Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said: “I want to thank the brave crew of HMS Diamond for her vital role in saving innocent lives and protecting international shipping from illegal Houthi attacks.”
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.
Tanger-Med
Tangier will today celebrate the opening of the largest container port in capacity terms in the whole of the Mediterranean, something that will bring enormous competition to the likes of Algericas just 25 nautical miles away across the Strait of Gibraltar. The $1.6bn expansion of Tanger Med port, located to the east of the Moroccan city of Tangier, due to be unveiled today will create Africa’s largest port with an annual capacity of 9.5m teu. The port is operated by APM Terminals, Eurogate and a local firm.
Ho Chi Minh
Samsung C&T Corp., a construction unit under Samsung Group, said Tuesday it has won a US$179.5 million project to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Vietnam. Under the deal with Petrovietnam Gas Corp., Samsung C&T and Vietnamese firm PTSC will build the Southeast Asian country’s first LNG terminal, in the coastal area 70 kilometers southeast of Ho Chi Minh City for 40 months. The project also calls for the construction of LNG tanks and other related facilities, according to Samsung C&T. Samsung C&T has a 61 percent stake in the project. Source: Yonhap
NEWNEW POLAR BEAR
The 'Newnew Polar Bear' remains the prime suspect in causing damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline between NATO members Finland and Estonia, Finnish investigators said on April 25, 2024. It has been over six months since substantial, human-made damage that caused a major drop in pressure was first detected in the Balticconnector pipeline in Finnish economic waters on Oct. 8. Finland and Estonia's gas system operators were forced to shut it down, disconnecting a crucial link between the Nordic and Baltic gas markets for several months. The pipeline, which runs across the Gulf of Finland between the Finnish town of Inkoo and the Estonian port of Paldiski, was reopened this week after multimillion-euro repair work. The National Bureau of Investigation, a branch of the Finnish police, said that it still believed that an anchor of the 'Newnew Polar Bear', which was en route to St. Petersburg, Russia, was dislodged and caused the damage detected in Balticconnector. The investigation has progressed, and there has been cooperation with the Chinese authorities probing the case. The Finnish investigators haven't said whether they believed the damage allegedly caused by the Chinese vessel was done intentionally or whether it was caused by incompetent seafaring. The Finnish maritime authorities said at the time of the incident they failed to establish radio contact with the captain of the 'Newnew Polar Bear' despite several attempts.
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.
Charleston
South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA), Southeast's deepwater port, said that five rubber-tired gantry (RTG) cranes arrived at Wando Welch Terminal to further modernize operations. The Port has received 14 of the 24 new cranes ordered for the Wando terminal; the terminal currently has 52 RTGs overall. Meanwhile, SCPA reported its strongest May on record, with 204,457 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) handled last month.
Brownsville
The Port of Brownsville is closer to deepening the Brownsville Ship Channel after receiving a key permit June 6 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to advance the Brazos Island Harbor Channel Improvement Project (BIH) to its construction phase.