On the morning of May 20, 2024, the 'SD Solent Racer' sufferered a serious engine fire at the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour. The polot boat was bringing pilot back after taking the HMS 'Iron Duke' out. The fire was eventually extinguished by the crew. The vessel was brought back in alonside an MoD Police boat with Serco tugs being on standby. Video: https://x.com/i/status/1792504272271061301
News
DALI
The 'Dali' was towed away on the early morning high tide of May 20 at around 7 a.m. Prior to this the ship was pumped clear of seawater used as ballast to secure it on the seabed beneath the wreckage of the bridge. Large sections of the crashed bridge also had to be cleared laying across the bows of 'Dali' were removed, using blasting materials where necessary. Once pumped clear of her ballast water, five tugs gently pulled the ship clear of her position and, sailing at a mere one knot, towed her back to the port of Baltimore, where it was moored at the Seagirt Marine Container Terminal at 3.20 p.m. UTC. Still loaded with most of her containers, the 'Dali' showed a gaping hole above the waterline of her starboard side. The ship will receive basic repairs in Baltimore where it was likely all her containers will be unloaded, before the ship leaves for a shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia, for more extensive repairs to be completed. Meanwhile, investigators including the FBI continued to probe the circumstances surrounding the allision, terming it a criminal investigation. The ship’s crew remained on board with their visas having expired and unable to return home or even leave the ship until the investigators have completed making their enquiries. The Unified Command continued to clear the remaining wreckage from the Fort McHenry Federal Channel. It anticipated that the operational width of the federal channel may soon be 400 feet wide to a depth of 50 feet. With the removal of the 158-foot-wide M/V Dali, Unified Command salvage crews, using crane and barge assets already on site, will work to remove any remaining bridge wreckage. This effort will be continued until the federal channel is restored to its original width of 700 feet and all steel below the mudline has been removed. The Maryland Transportation Authority continued to oversee the removal of the remaining steel and concrete outside of the federal channel. Photos and video: https://www.keybridgeresponse2024.com/post/update-29-photo-release-m-v-dali-refloated-moved-away-from-key-bridge https://www.keybridgeresponse2024.com/post/update-31-multimedia-release-unified-command-releases-time-lapse-of-m-v-dali-refloat-relocating
Houston
Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI) announced a series of projects, totaling over $170 million of capital investment, that will increase efficiency, add product liquidity, and enhance blending capabilities at its Pasadena and Galena Park terminals, part of its best-in-class refined products storage hub on the Houston Ship Channel. In response to growing customer demand, KMI’s liquids terminal platform now boasts 10 ship docks, 38 barge spots, 20 inbound pipelines providing connectivity to 10 regional refineries and chemical plants, 15 outbound pipelines, 14 cross-channel lines, and approximately 43 million barrels of storage on the Houston Ship Channel, North America’s leading port for energy exports.
Takoradi
Expansion works on the Takoradi Port have started with the construction of a multipurpose on-dock Atlantic Container Terminal. The project will see the port basin being dredged to create a 16-metre depth and land reclamation for the building of five new berths to hold bigger capacity vessels. A visit to the Takoradi Port in the Western Region revealed that the contractors were casting the foundation stones for the quay wall to herald the expansion project at the port. The project, being developed by Ibistek Ghana Limited at a cost of $475 million, marks the first time a wholly owned Ghanaian firm has been engaged in port development in the country. The Atlantic terminal, which will be the major development in the history of the Takoradi port when completed, will have a cargo holding space of one million twenty-footer equivalent units (TEUs), an upscale from the average container traffic of about 55,000 TEUs a year.
EVER FELICITY
On the morning of May 20, 2024, at around 7.40 a.m., two stevedores, a 57-year-old worker from Ishinomaki City and a 53-year-old worker from Osaki City, were found collapsed on the 'Ever Felicity', which was berthed at the at Hibarino Kita Pier in the Ishinomaki Port in the Miyagi Prefecture. A crew member had alerted the fire department. The two were taken to the hospital due to carbon dioxide poisoning. The 57-year-old man, who was found unconscious, was in a serious condition. It was believed that the two people collapsed due to lack of oxygen while entering the ship's cargo hold to load cargo. Palm shells used as biomass fuel were piled up inside the hold. The Ishinomaki Coast Guard Station started conducting a detailed investigation into the cause of the accident and whether there were any safety issues. Report with photo: https://www.msn.com/ja-jp/news/national/%E9%85%B8%E6%AC%A0%E7%8A%B6%E6%85%8B-%E7%9F%B3%E5%B7%BB%E6%B8%AF%E3%81%AE%E8%B2%A8%E7%89%A9%E8%88%B9%E3%81%AE%E5%80%89%E5%BA%AB%E3%81%A72%E4%BA%BA%E3%81%8C%E5%80%92%E3%82%8C1%E4%BA%BA%E6%84%8F%E8%AD%98%E4%B8%8D%E6%98%8E-%E5%80%89%E5%BA%AB%E5%86%85%E3%81%AB%E3%81%AF%E3%83%90%E3%82%A4%E3%82%AA%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B9%E7%87%83%E6%96%99%E3%81%AE-%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0%E3%83%A4%E3%82%B7%E6%AE%BB-%E5%AE%AE%E5%9F%8E/ar-BB1mGAy9
RIDENS
In the night of May 19, 2024, the CROSS Gris-Nez was informed by the departmental directorate of public security that a boat with migrants on board had set sail in the Gravelines sector. The CROSS Gris-Nez mobilized the 'Ridens' to relocate and verify the situation. The 56 boat people were recovered by the 'Ridens' and then dropped at the port of Calais, where they were taken care of by the land emergency services and the border police.
Hamburg
Germany’s largest universal port remains on a growth course, achieving a distinct 4.1 percent advance to 69.4 million tons in seaborne cargo handling in the first half of 2019. Especially good growth trend in the general cargo segment, up 6.1 percent at 48.4 million tons, was the main contributor to the excellent figures for total and container handling. The total for bulk cargo handling was just 0.3 percent lower than for last year’s first half at 21.0 million tons. Germany’s largest universal port remains on a growth course, achieving a distinct 4.1 percent advance to 69.4 million tons in seaborne cargo handling in the first half of 2019. Especially good growth trend in the general cargo segment, up 6.1 percent at 48.4 million tons, was the main contributor to the excellent figures for total and container handling. The total for bulk cargo handling was just 0.3 percent lower than for last year’s first half at 21.0 million tons.
Sabetta
Icebreaker assistance and ice restrictions for ships entering the basin of Section No.1 at the Port of Sabetta, Yamal and access channel are canceled as of 00:00 Moscow time, August 6. The corresponding order was signed by the Port Harbourmaster Nikolay Nesterov. The order says that there is a possibility of separately floating ice floes, therefore masters of ships sailing in this water area of the Port of Sabetta and on approaches to the port are advised to exercise caution. Arctic Port of Sabetta is built on the western shore of the Gulf of Ob (Kara Sea) for transshipment of hydrocarbons from the South-Tambey gas condensate field on the Yamal peninsula to the Western Europe, South America and APR countries under Yamal LNG project. The project envisages the construction of an LNG plant capable of producing 16.5 million metric tonnes of LNG and 1.35 million tonnes of gas condensate annually
GARIBALDI
On May 20, 2024, the 'Garibaldi' issued a PAN PAN call after going adrift near Santander. The CCS Santander of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the SAR boat 'Salvamar Deneb' to assist, which took the yacht in tow and safely pulled it to the Marina del Cantábrico.
RHONE FRENCH WARSHIP
In the night of May 18, 2024, the CROSS Gris Nez was informed by the Calais port captaincy that a migrant boat was at sea in the Calais sector and deployed the 'Rhône' to check the situation on site. Once in the area, various people on the boat requested assistance and the 'Rhône' successively recovered 15 people. Other people still on board the boat refused the assistance offered by French means. The castaways were dropped off at the port of Calais, where they were taken care of by the land emergency services and the border police.
Monfalcone
ENCHANTED PRINCESS, the fifth in a line of six Royal Class ships built for Princess Cruises, was floated out on 6 August at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Monfalcone.
Immingham
On August 1, ABP announced new customers for the Port of Immingham this week: The port welcomed the first vessel in a new contract with customers Top Blue and The Fuel Trading Company. The new deal is expected to bring an extra 30,000 tonnes per year through the Port of Immingham – the largest Port by tonnage in the UK. The cargo being delivered is Prilled Urea which is a key part of the mixture for the AdBlue market.