On April 25, 2024, a fire broke out in the engine room of the 'AK Discovery' in front of Akbaş during the transit of the Dardanelles wen route from Abu Qir to Varna. The General Directorate of Coastal Safety of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure coordinated the response, and the fire was extinguished. Cooling work on the ship was continued. After the cooling works have been completed, the ship was taken in tow by the 'Kurtarma 13' (IMO:9913573). Coordinated by the Çanakkale Ship Traffic Services Center, the ship was taken to Karanlık Liman, accompanied by the tug 'Türkeli' and assisted by a pilot, and moored in pos. 40° 01.08' N 026° 16.40' E. Reports with photos: https://twitter.com/kiyiemniyet/status/1783544764446462197 https://twitter.com/kiyiemniyet/status/1783560469648679096
News
BALSA 94
On April 25, 2024, at 3 p.m. UTC the 'Balsa 94' was the first large vessel to leave the port of Baltimore, en route to Saint John with an ETA as of April 29, after an involuntary 33-day stay due to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Two hours after a new temporary channel was opened by the US Coast Guard, the ship sailed past the remains of the bridge. It had arrived in Baltimore on March 23, three days before the bridge collapsed, and had thus been in Baltimore for 33 days The ship was assisted out through the narrow temporary channel, which has a depth of 11.5 meters by two tugbs and at a speed of less than five knots. The ship was followed by i.a. the car transport ship 'Carmen' from Wallenius Wilhelmsen, which had been ready for departure before the collapse of the bridge. The shipping company has previously estimated that the involuntary stay would cost them 5-10 million. Dollar in lost operating earnings. The temporary channel is open for four days, during which the port will prioritize the approximately 12 larger ships that have been waiting to leave for a month. Three ships were lined up April 25 to be allowed to enter the port of Baltimore through the new temporary channel, while container barges continued to use another cleared passage with a depth of six meters. Reports with photos and video: https://www.maritimedanmark.dk/forste-storre-skibe-slap-ud-efter-33-dage-i-havnen https://apnews.com/article/key-bridge-collapse-channel-opened-ship-dali-e8694bd668589ad82e37b88b9ed84246 https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/first-cargo-ship-passes-through-newly-opened-channel-in-baltimore-since-bridge-collapse/ar-AA1nEr3c
Jiangyin
Norwegian shipping and tank terminal company Odfjell SE has finalized the sale of its stake in Odfjell Terminals Jiangyin (OTJ), China. The indirect 55% equity interest in OTJ has been sold by Odfjell Terminals Asia Holding to Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) for a price of about USD 46 million.
London
All new ships for UK waters ordered from 2025 should be designed with zero-emission capable technologies, according to ambitious plans set out today by maritime minister Nusrat Ghani to cut pollution from the country’s maritime sector. The commitment is set out in the Clean Maritime Plan published today. The government is also looking at ways to incentivise the transition to zero-emission shipping and will consult on this next year. The plan also includes a £1m competition to find innovative ways to reduce maritime emissions and is published alongside a call for evidence to reduce emissions on UK waterways and domestic vessels.
T-MARE
As the Ukraine attempts to restore operations in the Black Sea, the container ship 'Pros Hope' (IMO: 9319557) was welcomed in Chornomorsk on April 21, 2ß24, after a two-year gap since the Russian war started on Feb 24, 2022. The ship sailed again on April 25 en route to Constanta. This call followed the arrival of a feeder vessel at the beginning of April, which marked a significant success in the restoration efforts in the Black Sea. At the beginning of the month, a Turkish freight forwarder initiated a container service connecting the port through a feeder operation using the 'T Mare', which called at Chornomorsk on April 4 en route to Constanta. Another ship, the 'T Moon', was added to the feeder operations between Romania and Turkey, another success in the restoration efforts being made towards Black Sea maritime operations.
PACIFIC ACHIEVDL
The 'Pacific Achievement' ran aground at km 341.8 of the Paranà River on April 21, 2024. The Coastguard has re-instated navigation at the area on April 22 with a draft restriction of 10.39M FW. The ship was refloated and resumed its voyage from San Lorenzo to the Delta Zone with an ETA as of April 25.
Nhava Sheva
Middle East-India-Africa Express (MIAX) to start operations in October 2019 Hapag-Lloyd is expanding its African liner services and will offer its MIAX (Middle East-India-Africa Express) service starting in October 2019. It will include direct connections between the Arabian Gulf, India, Colombo (Sri Lanka), La Réunion, South Africa and West Africa.
Ngqura
South African state-run logistics company Transnet has suspended a number of employees for taking part in a lengthy go-slow campaign at the Ngqura Container Terminal in the Eastern Cape. The port said in a statement yesterday it had “suspended a number of employees at its Ngqura Container Terminal for engaging in an illegal industrial action.
PROS HOPE
As the Ukraine attempts to restore operations in the Black Sea, the 'PRos Hope' was welcomed in Chornomorsk on April 21, 2ß24, after a two-year gap since the Russian war started on Feb 24, 2022. The ship sailed again on April 25 en route to Constanta. This call followed the arrival of a feeder vessel at the beginning of April, which marked a significant success in the restoration efforts in the Black Sea. At the beginning of the month, a Turkish freight forwarder initiated a container service connecting the port through a feeder operation using the feeder vessel 'T Mare' (IMO: 9007001), which touched Ukraine while en route to Romania. Another ship, the 'T Moon', was added to the feeder operations between Romania and Turkey, another success in the restoration efforts being made towards Black Sea maritime operations.
Kiel
Maiden call by Marella Cruises in Kiel. In the early Tuesday morning (16th July) the cruise ship Marella Explorer (see also CruiseMapper) berthed in the port of Kiel with 2,000 mostly anglo-phone passengers on-board. The vessel follows an itinerary of 14 days leading it all across the Baltic Sea. It started in Newcastle on 13th July and will conclude its cruise in the same port on 27th July.
Tyne
The Port of Tyne has created a new baggage handling for Marella Cruises at its International Passenger Terminal, which is located in North Shields near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. The port has reconfigured 300 square metres of its terminal, creating space to process 1,000 bags as well as a marquee that functions as an undercover baggage handling facility. There are now also 382 additional parking spaces specifically for Marella Cruises’ guests. Marella Cruises’ customer will be able to drop off their luggage before heading straight to a dedicated car park. The baggage will be checked by security and loaded onto the ship, expediting the embarkation process.