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.
News
M.V. LOMONOSOV
on May 13, 2024, a fire broke out on the upper deck of the 'Lomonosov' in the Arkhangelsk region (Russian Federation). The upper deck of the ship, covering an area of 936 square meters, was on fire. The ship is currently under repair. Efforts were being made to extinguish the fire using 12 fire vehicles with 42 fire fighters working at the scene. There were no people inside the ship. The Northwestern Transport Prosecutor's Office announced to carry out an inspection. The ship had already caught fire in May 2023 in the engine compartment on the lower deck while the ship was in dry dock at the Arkhangelsk repair and maintenance base.
Papenburg
The Meyer shipyard located in Papenburg, Germany, announced, they secured an order for a new cruise ship. The new customer is NYK who placed an order for a medium size cruise ship for their brand Asuka Cruises. Full article + image: https://www.cruisedeck.de/meyer-werft-sichert-sich-neubau-auftrag/
Cochin
The Cochin Port Trust handled a record 3.20 million tonnes of cargo in December 2020, a monthly record volume for it. The volume is a 10.55 per cent growth over December 2019, said Cochin Port Trust chairperson M. Beena, in a message to the employees and officials of the port trust. Container movement too touched a consistent 60,000 TEUs consecutively in the four months leading to December. The surge in the movement of cargo is being looked upon as new shoots in the port business after the plans of 2020 were washed away in the COVID-19 pandemic. The growth in cargo movement is “charting a new growth trajectory. However, we need to find new vistas for revenue generation by optimum utilisation of resources available to us,” the chairperson told the port community. The port has been recovering from the losses, which had affected it for the past decade. But the pandemic and resultant loss in business had pushed the port into the red. But the port was expected to make a recovery by the end of 2021, the chairperson said. There was optimism stemming from the fact that though there was a substantial fall in cargo movement in the first half of the current financial year, there was some recovery in the second half. The port trust was also optimistic that the inauguration of the Kochi-Mangaluru LNG pipeline earlier this month would pave the way for more gas volumes and revenue for the port. Meanwhile, figures from the Indian Ports Association showed that ports across the country suffered owing to the pandemic and its impact on the global economy. The average fall across the major ports in the country is nearly nine per cent for the period. Mumbai suffered a fall of more than 17 per cent and the Momugao traffic fell more than 23 per cent and JNPT traffic was down by over 12 per cent. Haldia Dock Complex, Paradip, Visakhapatnam, and New Mangaluru suffered lesser falls in business.
CANAIMA
The fishing vessel 'Ría de Aldán' (IMO: 9476238) was in collision with the 'Canaima' about 240 miles from Punta Pitt, on the island of San Cristóbal, on May 15, 2024. The 'Caanaima' capsized and sank, and the biologist Faustino Riveiro Cabrera, a 53-year-old Venezuelan national with a family in Vigo, was missing. The Ecuadorian Navy investigates the accident. The crew of the 'Canaima' jumped into an auxiliary boat, but Faustino, at the last moment returned to the longliner when it finally sank in a matter of minutes. The 'Ría de Aldán' rescued the castaway and searched for the missing inspector along with the 'Tunapesca', which was also in the area. The Ecuadorian Navy deployed the coast guard vessel 'San Cristóbal' and has requested support from other vessels that were nearby. The 'Ría de Aldá' had suffered a small crack in the bow bulb. Report with video: https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/somosmar/2024/05/17/desapareceun-biologo-hijo-vigueses-naufragio-atunero-proximo-galapagos/00031715956306038255900.htm
WIND
On May 18, 2024, shortly after midnight, the 'Wind', en route with a cargo of oil from Novorossyisk to China, was attacked 98 miles south of Al Hudaydah. The Captain of the vessel confirmed that the vessel had been struck by an unknown object and suffered slight damage. However, the crew and vessel were safe and continued sailing for the next port call. On May 12-13, the tanker had passed through the Suez Canal, and the last AIS signal was received when it was in the middle of the Red Sea. The attack damaged the propulsion and steering. However, the crew managed to fix the propulsion and steering and continued sailing under its power. Ambrey stated that the steering gear was ablaze, but another steering unit of the vessel was functional. The 'Wind' is a Dark Fleet tanker, her alias in Venezuela was “King”. The vessel which is now registered in Panama, in 2022 was registered in Comoros. She returned to the Panama register in 2023 after having left the Panama flag in 2021.
Cochin
The coast guard found signs of an accident on the British oil tanker Orange Victoria which was seized in COCHIN after the accident involving a fishing boat on the coast of Vizhinjam The Fort Kochi Coastal Police and the Marine Mercantile Division conducted an inspection of the ship anchored in the open sea on Saturday morning .The paint on this part has been collected by scientific experts for scientific examination . Captain Nikhil told the Coastal Police that they were not aware that the ship had collided with the boat . There are 23 sailors on board . The ship while en route from Singapore to Indian port, presumably struck fiberglass fishing boat 46 nm off COCHIN at night Mar 18. boat was damaged, all 6 crew safe. Hull paint samples are taken, to conduct lab analysis
RIA DE ALDAN
The 'Ría de Aldán' was in collision with the trawler 'Canaima' (IMO: 7123485) about 240 miles from Punta Pitt, on the island of San Cristóbal, on May 15, 2024. The 'Caanaima' capsized and sank, and the biologist Faustino Riveiro Cabrera, a 53-year-old Venezuelan national with a family in Vigo, was missing. The Ecuadorian Navy investigates the accident. The crew of the 'Canaima' jumped into an auxiliary boat, but Faustino, at the last moment returned to the longliner when it finally sank in a matter of minutes. The 'Ría de Aldán' rescued the castaway and searched for the missing inspector along with the 'Tunapesca', which was also in the area. The Ecuadorian Navy deployed the coast guard vessel 'San Cristóbal' and has requested support from other vessels that were nearby. The 'Ría de Aldá' had suffered a small crack in the bow bulb. Report with video: https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/somosmar/2024/05/17/desapareceun-biologo-hijo-vigueses-naufragio-atunero-proximo-galapagos/00031715956306038255900.htm
MOHAMMED-Z
On May 18, 2024, at around 4:00 a.m. LT the 'Mohammed Z' with 11 crew members, including nine Syrian and two Egyptian nationals, on board sank en route from Istanbul Anchorage to Sulina about 26 nautical off the city of Sfântu Gheorghe in the Black Sea after a collision with the cargo m/v 'Michel' (IMO: 8900684), which was en route from Odessa to Varna with a cargo of steel pipes. The Romanian authorities launched an SAR operation and notified two merchant vessels sailing in the area to assist. The 'Michel' rescued eight castaways and took them to Constanta for medical treatment. One of them was suffering from two injuries and has been admitted to the hospital. The Romanian authorities have also deployed a helicopter from the Romania Air Force and two rescue vessels, the 'Artemis' and 'Apollo' from ARSVOM to search the three missing crewmembers. Two police boats have also joined the search. According to a port inspection conducted in Egypt, the vessel had deficiencies, including inoperative safety lamps and improperly maintained life buoys. An investigation into the accident was ongoing with the cooperation of the rescued crew members. The 'Michel' arrived in Varna with structural bow damages on May 19 at 7.20 a.m. UTC.
Chittagong
Crew change have resumed at the port of Chittagong, albeit to a limited extent. In case of joining, covid negative certificate is required. In case of sign off, the crew will have to undergo a covid test at a local government approved hospital. Which takes a total of 3 days to stay in a hotel. Then he has to show immigration and airlines authorities when he gets on the plane. We've learned from talking to a crew service provider that this process is safe for all parties. NC Shipping's operations manager said Chittagong port service is now much more efficient and less time consuming. All rules are governed by international standards. "Even in the covid pandemic lockdown, we get international quality service from Chittagong port which has played a positive role in the operation of our ships and maintaining the dynamism of the maritime trade," he added. He thinks crew change approval is part of a continuous process. This is a valiant decision of the government and port authorities