The pleasure boat 'Marian', with three crew members on board, requested assistance following a mechanical failure between Lorbé and Ares on MAy 8. The CCS A Coruña of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the 'Salvamar Betelgeuse', which took the boat in tow and safely pulled it to Miño (A Coruña).
News
Beirut
The Port of Beirut (PoB) resumed partial operations on Aug 10 with the first two container ships berthing in the container terminal after the explosion which killed at least 160 persons, injured thousands and made hundred thousands homeless. Out of 16 cranes at the container terminal, 12 were currently operational. The port was gradually resuming operations to ensure the supply of all kinds of goods to citizens. Bassem Al Kaissi, the new Director of the PoB, said that the container terminal will be fully operational by Aug 14. Al Kaissi said that 420 containers were unloaded on Aug 10. The container terminal storage area has been cleaned up and restored to its state before the blast. The container terminal represents 80 percent of the overall cargo movement at the PoB. It is located one kilometer away from the blast epicenter. Container vessels can dock at quay number 16. Shipping movement at the PoB had already plunged by 75 percent due to the economic crisis and has reached 15 percent following the blast. Customs have opened offices in the PoB’s warehouse number 14 which was partially damaged. The customs have become able to carry out the inspection of merchandise- Customs duties are being temporarily paid at the Rafic Hariri International Airport. Tthe PoB is now handling only full containers as groupage consignment requires warehouses which don’t exist now. Amer Al Kaissi said groupage, which represents 15 percent of shipments at the PoB, will be diverted to the Port of Tripoli until the rebuilding of warehouses at the PoB is completed. The first two containerships to berth at the PoB after the blast were the 'Electra' (Gezairi Transport) and the 'Nicolas Delmas' (CMA CGM). The 'Electra', which was carrying 400 containers, was diverted to Tripoli where there was a license to operate but the company insisted to unload it in Beirut when it was told that the PoB has resumed operation. The CMA CGM Group and CEVA Logistics said they are fully operational and ensuring business continuity to serve their customers. The Group has redeployed its employees in its two back-up sites in Beirut Digital District and reinforced its presence in Tripoli. Part of CMA CGM’s vessels has been temporarily directed to Tripoli. Few shipping companies are authorized to operate in other ports such as Tripoli or Saida. BCTC, the Customs and the PoB’s authorities did their best to handle the clearing formalities despite the difficult working conditions. The general cargo area was fully operational on Aug 12 both for imports and exports. This includes wheat and other grains as well as construction steel bars. The cost of rebuilding the port is estimated at around $1 billion.
SALVAMAR IZAR
A rubber boat issued a distress call on May 9, 2024, about 20 nautical miles east of Fuerteventura. The CCS Las Palmas mobilized the 'Salvamar Izar', which rescued the 57 people on boardd and sights another boat from which 55 people were taken off. All castaways were transferred to Gran Tarajal, where they were taken care of by medical and security teams. Report with photos: https://twitter.com/salvamentogob/status/1788564140354588972
S MARU 5
Beached at Chittagong 05/2024 https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=932048962045983&set=a.518272953423588
ELEEN SOFIA
The International Transport Workers Federation(ITF) along with Australian authorities was resolving the case involving crew mistreatment, wage theft, and poor living conditions aboard the 'Eleen Sofia'. The vessel was being closely monitored and frequently inspected by its Australian inspectorate. The ITF stated that the vessel changed its ownership in 2023. The vessel has a poor track record of living conditions onboard and also has a history of failing to pay the crew wages. A review record indicated that the vessel was detained for 10 days by the U.S. Coast Guard in New Orleans, in 2022 due to safety deficiencies. In April 2024, the ITF claimed to have discovered that the provisions aboard the ship had been depleted with no access to food for the crew. The crew argued that the ship owner had repeatedly failed to replenish provisions and provide better living conditions for them. The crew also alleged that while anchored at Bangladesh the ship reported no air conditioning in the crewmember's cabin area for over three months. The ITF also stated about the unresolved case regarding the disappearance and presumed death of the ship’s cook who went overboard when the ship was anchored in South China. In February 2024, the ITF became aware of the unpaid and overdue wages of the crew, when the vessel docked in Adelaide and later in Portland, Victoria. The ITF reported that its inspectorate was able to address the wage issues and lack of provision of the vessel at that time. However, the ship left Australia and visited other ports before returning to Mackay, where the same issues were identified by the Australian inspectorate. Currently, thr ITF along with the Australia Border Force and Local port Authorities in Queensland was working to ensure the remaining crew aboard the ship have access to decent, healthy living conditions with medical attention, shore leave, and possible repatriation despite the ship being under arrest. This assistance is provided to the crew while the issues of the ship were being addressed.
PACIFIC ENCOUNTER
The 'Pacific Encounter' received adistress call and rescued three stranded sailors on May 4, 2024. The cruise ship departed from Brisbane on May 3 and was off the coast of New Caledonia when the distress call waa issued from a nearby broken yacht. The three sailors, which included two men and one woman, were sailing from Queensland en route to Noumea when their yacht encountered a broken mast and loss of power. The trio was drifting at sea for three days waiting for a passing ship to receive their distress call and provide assistance. The cruise ship answered the distress call and diverted to assist and rescue the three sailors. The sailors boarded the ship and were in good health after receiving onboard medical assistance. The vessel continued the voyage to Noumea.
Kiel
The PORT OF KIEL has redesigned the port apron in Ostuferhafen, which is the freight and logistics centre on the fjord. Where once stood a grain silo, there is now an expanded pre-stacking and stand-by area of three hectares for trucks, trailers and pas-senger cars.The State Premier of Schleswig- Holstein, Daniel Günther, visited the Ostufer-hafen on 12th August to hand over the grant notice coming from the State Programme Economy for 5.44 million Euros: The project to redesign the port apron included dismantling three hall areas of the former grain silo, excavation and road works as well as drainage, lighting and security measures and the connection of the area to the infrastructure. Through the new and generous port apron it has been possible to merge formerly separated pre-stacking areas, shorten distances and gain more space for trucks, busses, trailers and passenger cars. Furthermore, IT solutions have been developed to accelerate the handling processes at the gate, which also allow truck drivers to reduce personal contact.Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director at the PORT OF KIEL: “Even under the current circumstances the Ostuferhafen operates in a reliable and safe way. The port of Kiel has proven its systemic importance regarding the transshipment of cross-border freight transport.”In the first seven months of the year 2.1 million tons of cargo have been tran-shipped via the Ostuferhafen (+ 1 %). Additional volumes have been transported by the ferries of the DFDS shipping company to the Baltic States or they have been delivered by the SCA-RoRo-freighters from Scandinavia. Not only general cargo and forest products are unloaded resp. transhipped in Ostuferhafen but also project and heavy cargo, scrap metal and agricul-tural products. The integrated passenger terminal to handle cruise vessels emphasizes the universal character of this port part.