the cargo m/v 'Everwin 11' (IMO: 8630992) allided with the 'Oak Express' on April 11, 2024, at Batangas. The 'Oak Express' was docked in Mabini town’s Landoor pier when the 'Everwin 11' hit its port quarter due to strong sea currents and winds, causing the vessel to drag while maneuvering. The tanker suffered dents, scratches, and punctured port quarter platings. As of April 25, the 'Everwin 11' was still under the custody of the Coast Guard District Southern Tagalog. The 'Oak Express' left the port of Batangas on April 23 at 11.35 a.m. UTC, headed to Shekou.
News
OASIS OF THE SEAS
A 74-year-old female passenger from Belgium caused the 'Oasis of the Seas' to return to Bermuda on April 24, 2024, at 5 a.m. The ship, which en route from Miami, Florida to Cadiz, arrived in local waters at 1 a.m. to drop off a 69-year-old passenger from the USA, who needed medical attention. The passenger was taken to Ordnance Island and escorted safely to KEMH.
Swinoujscie
The first cargo of liquified natural gas under the long-term contract between PGNiG and US LNG provider Cheniere Energy arrived at the President Lech Kaczyński LNG Terminal in Świnoujście. The long-term contract, which was signed in November of 2018, will total approximately 39 bcm of natural gas over the 24 year period of the agreement. The official reception ceremony of the first delivery at the LNG terminal in Świnoujście included representatives of the government of the Republic of Poland, local authorities, as well as executives from PGNiG and Cheniere Energy.
Tanger-Med
The Tanger Med port has emerged as the biggest port in Africa in terms of container capacity, surpassing Africa’s bigger ports like Durban (South Africa) and Mombasa (Kenya). The Tanger Med port now connects Morocco to 77 countries and 186 ports around the world. The Tanger Med II has two new container terminals – TC3 and TC4 – with an additional 6 million container capacity. The TC3, which is operated by Morocco’s main port operator Marsa Maroc, has a capacity of 1 million TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units). The TC4, which is operated by the Netherlands-based APM Terminals, has a capacity of 5 million TEUs. According to the Tanger Med Port Authority, with its new terminals, Tanger Med port will have a capacity of processing 9 million containers, 7 million passengers, 1 million vehicles and 700,000 trucks. Thanks to its extensions, Tanger Med port has now become the largest port in the Mediterranean region, surpassing some of the region’s top ports like Algeciras (Spain), Valencia (Spain) and Gioia (Italy). The port is located 40 kilometers east of the Moroccan town of Tangier, which is a gateway to both Europe and Africa. “Our aim is to develop an effective port platform integrated with transshipment activities, imports and exports,” Tanger Med Port Authority said on its website. The Tanger Med port has become vital for Morocco’s economy as it handled 317 billion Moroccan dirhams (US$33.14 billion) worth of exports and imports in 2018. It processed an overall tonnage of 52.24 tonnes last year.
EVERWIN 11
the 'Everwin 11' allided with the tank m/v 'Oak Express' (IMO:9405916), on April 11, 2024, at Batangas. The 'Oak Express' was docked in Mabini town’s Landoor pier when the 'Everwin 11' hit its port quarter due to strong sea currents and winds, causing the vessel to drag while maneuvering. The tanker suffered dents, scratches, and punctured port quarter platings. As of April 25, the 'Everwin 11' was still under the custody of the Coast Guard District Southern Tagalog. The 'Oak Express' left the port of Batangas on April 23 at 11.35 a.m. UTC, headed to Shekou.
ODYSSEY OF THE SEAS
The 'Odyssey of the Seas' diverted to Bermuda on April 23, 2024, to drop off a 31-year-old male crew member who required medical attention. The ship, which was on its way from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Ponta Delgada in the Azores, arrived in local waters at 7 p.m., and the Indonesian crew member was taken to Ordnance Island by the pilot and rescue boat 'St George' and transported by ambulance to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.
Fos-sur-Mer
The French port of Marseille Fos plans to spend over US$22 million to reduce air emissions by extending its shoreside electrical connections to every ferry, cruise ship and repair quay in the eastern harbour. The port has also introduced speed restrictions to reduce industrial air pollution. Already available on the Corsica ferry quays, the shore power network will be expanded in two phases to cover North Africa ferry quays and the ship repair hub by 2022 and the cruise terminal between 2022 and 2025. The zero-emissions investment, which is supported by national and regional government, recognises the need to maintain the port’s economic value while improving the city’s waterside air quality.
Singapore
Phase one of the new Jurong Port Tank Terminals (JPTT) was officially opened on Monday (July 29), with Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat saying it will allow Singapore to strengthen its position as one of the world’s top bunkering ports for low-sulphur fuels. The $200 million, 16ha petrochemical terminal is a joint venture between port operator Jurong Port and German firm Oiltanking with 252,000 cubic m of clean petroleum storage capacity. From January next year, the International Maritime Organisation will prohibit ships from using fuels containing more than 0.5 per cent sulphur.
CALEDONIAN ISLES
Caledonian MacBrayne announced further delays to the return of the 'Caledonian Isles', which will be out of action until the end of August. The vessel was deemed unfit to return to service during its annual inspection at the Cammell Laird Yard in Birkenhead in January, leaving the main means of crossing between Ardrossan and Brodick relying on a single, smaller ship, the 'Isle of Arran'. In February, the ferry operator insisted the 'Caledonian Isles' would return in June, but this has now been revised until at least the end of August. The scope of repairs will take significantly longer than anticipated. The steel repair work required is understood to involve removing all the engines at a cost of £5 million. As part of the works, the auxiliary engines and their bedplates were removed from the vessel to allow access to the double bottom water ballast tank tops. The structure below the main engines is being supported using hydraulic jacks, whilst the steel around these engines is renewed. The main engines will need to be lifted off their bedplates to allow access under the engines for renewal of the tank top steel directly below the sump.
DALI
One month after the allision of the 'Dali' with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, four bodies have been recovered, over 1,300 tons of steel have been salvaged, and three temporary channels have opened. Access to the Port of Baltimore remained limited since the collapse, and a complex salvage effort is underway in the Patapsco River. Support programs are underway to assist the thousands of workers impacted by the were . Since the collapse, the FBI and NTSB have launched separate investigations into the incident and Baltimore City announced a lawsuit against the owners and managers of the ship. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is leading the salvage effort. Its priority was to clear the main channel through the river to reopen access to the Port of Baltimore. Massive floating cranes were being used as wreckage and debris removal continues. Engineers have to break the mangled bridge into smaller pieces to lift them away, and Navy sonar images revealed wreckage in the deepest part of the channel. The rubble and debris are going to nearby Sparrows Point for processing and recycling. The progress has enabled the opening of three temporary channels for some ships to get in and out of the Port of Baltimore. On April 20, the third temporary channel opened on the northeast side to allow commercial vessels some access to the port, allowing about 15 % of the pre-collapse vessel traffic through as part of a phased approach to opening the river's main channel, which spans 700 feet, by the end of May, restoring port access to normal capacity. The 'Dali' remained pinned under tons of steel at the crash site, and removing more shipping containers from the vessel remained essential to move the ship. Engineers aimed to remove 140 containers to refloat the Dali; 120 containers were removed as of April 19. The 'Dali''s crew of 22 have remained on the ship since the accident. They do not have the appropriate visas to leave the ship, so they rely on organizations to bring them essentials. Officials have been in communication with the crew, as well as the crews aboard other cargo ships stuck in the port. All were in good health. The men killed in the Key Bridge collapse were working for Brawner Builders, filling potholes on the center span of the bridge. Most were immigrants, but all were Marylanders. As a memorial grows on Fort Armistead Road for the six men killed in the accident, recovery efforts to locate the two workers still missing under the wreckage were ongoing. They have been identified as Miguel Luna, of El Salvador, and Jose Maynor Lopez, of Guatemala. Three of the victims recovered were identified as: Dorlian Cabrera, 26, who was originally from Guatemala and lived in Dundalk; Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 35, who lived in Baltimore and was from Mexico; and Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval, 38, of Guatemala. A fourth body who was recovered last week has not been identified at the request of his family, but he was known to be from Mexico. Both the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched probes into the crash. The NTSB investigation focused on the ship's electrical system, as it had lost power and the ability to steer before the collapse. The agency expected the preliminary report on the collapse to be released by the first week of May. When the FBI launched its investigation, it confirmed it had agents on the ship who were conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity. Baltimore City is suing the owners and managers of the 'Dali', claiming the owners of the ship were negligent in letting the vessel leave the Port of Baltimore without failing to fix known power problems. Perhaps anticipating a wave of lawsuits, the companies that own and manage the ship took steps about a week after the collapse to limit their legal liability. Local, federal and community resources continued to pour in to support the port workers, victims' families and others impacted by the collapse. The disaster affected 15,300 jobs directly related to port activity, but overall about 140,000 people have been impacted. Federal grants were freed up for dislocated workers to help replace jobs affected by the collapse. The government also allocated $8 million in grant funds for infrastructure improvements at Sparrows Point, the only port unaffected by the collapse. Two weeks after the collapse, Gov. Moore signed the PORT Act, which allows the governor to use up to $275 million from the state's rainy day fund to offset wage losses for those impacted by the closure and reduced operations at the Port of Baltimore. The Port of Baltimore Worker Support Program provides temporary relief to Port workers who have lost work and income. The Small Business Administration has also opened recovery centers to assist small businesses. Applications are open for the Port Business Wage Subsidy program, which is administered by the Baltimore City Mayor's Office of Employment Development. It will grant $1 million in wage subsidies to help businesses at the port pay their employees. The WJZ has partnered with The United Way of Central Maryland on the Bridging the Gap Fund to support eviction prevention, food access, and other needs. Maryland also launched a website centralizing assistance for those impacted by the collapse. A fourth temporary channel was scheduled to open at the Port of Baltimore on April 25. It will only be open for four days, but at 35 feet deep and 300 feet wide it will allow several ships that are stuck in the Port of Baltimore to get out. There were seven ships ready to get out of the port. Five will be able to get out, including a loaded car-carrier.
Dubrovnik
Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and the City of Dubrovnik have partnered to introduce sustainable tourism management practices that will preserve the Croatian city’s cultural heritage. CLIA president and CEO Kelly Craighead and Dubrovnik’s Mayor Mato Franković signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), which outlines plans to make Dubrovnik a model of sustainable tourism for the Adriatic region. All plans focus on investment, collaboration and best practices that will benefit both Dubrovnik’s residents and visitors. “Today’s agreement validates the work we have already done with Mayor Franković and formalises the cruise industry’s continued commitment to the City of Dubrovnik and its people,” said Craighead.
Sihanoukville
Congestion at Cambodia’s top port is creating supply chain disruptions. In a note to clients German containerline Hapag-Lloyd noted that terminal productivity at Sihanoukville port has deteriorated due to port and yard congestion. Feeder services and turnaround times are affected and feeder space is tight. In an effort for medium term improvement of this situation, the port is building an extended yard for additional storage space. “Before the new container yard is completed, port congestion may persist,” Hapag-Lloyd warned.