A combined effort between Cyprus, the UN, the United States and the United Kingdom is underway to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Departing from Larnaka port on May 15, 2024, the USAV 'James Loux'of the US Army, was en route to Gaza with a fresh shipment of aid for the population. Included on the aid ship is the first British humanitarian aid package for Gaza, which includes nearly 100 tonnes of materials, including 8,400 shelter coverage kits, as part of a £2 million aid package. The aid will be distributed within Gaza as soon as feasible. The pier built by the US Navy and Army will serve as a crucial entry point for aid, facilitating the delivery of international aid into Gaza. Report with photos: https://knews.kathimerini.com.cy/en/news/humanitarian-aid-ship-en-route-to-gaza-expected-arrival-in-18-hours
News
DALI
Seven weeks after the allision with the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltomore, the crew of the 'Dali' is still trapped on the ship. Since the accident, the crew, comprising of 20 Indians and one Sri Lankan national, has been unable to disembark due to visa restrictions, lack of land passes and investigations by the FBI and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The living conditions are harsh on board. While meals and packages are brought to them, but morale declines. During the first weeks of the investigation, the FBI confiscated their cell phones, leaving them virtually without communication with the outside world. They were then given SIM cards and temporary mobile phones without data. In a statement on May 11, two seafarers' unions called for their phones to be promptly returned, stressing that the loss of communication with family members causes considerable hardship for crew members. According to the Synergy Marine, the 'Dali's management company based in Singapore, the crew was resisting well. “All their needs were met to the best of their ability. For example, shipments of Indian meals were delivered on board to relieve the pressure on the cooks. Hindu priests also visited them. Once the ship has been docked, it was estimated that the sailors will only be able to set foot on land in small groups, with heavy restrictions on their movements. The 'Dali' experienced two blackouts while moored in the Port of Baltimore a day before its allision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge, and efforts to resolve those blackouts may have impacted the ship’s operations, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said in a congressional hearing on May 15. After the two in-port blackouts on March 25, the ship’s crew switched to a different transformer and set of breakers from those that had been in use for several months, according to NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy. That may have impacted the ship’s operations when it left the port a day later. Switching breakers is not unusual but may have affected operations the very next day. The comments, which add further context to the focus of the NTSB investigation, came during a hearing for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure reviewing and analyzing the federal response to the accident. On May 14, the NTSB had released a 24-page preliminary report detailing investigators’ early factual findings. The report found the 'Dali' was just three ships’ lengths from the bridge when it suffered a pair of electrical failures, which caused several pumps required for the ship’s propeller and rudder to stop working. The emergency generator activated but was not configured to power the ship. The NTSB report found that the Dali had experienced two blackouts a day earlier while still moored in the port. The NTSB is still investigating the electrical configuration following the first in-port blackout and potential impacts on the events during the accident voyage. The NTSB has been working closely with Hyundai, which manufactures the ship equipment, to try to replicate some of the electrical problems of that day and understand better what happened.
Tallinn
Active construction is currently underway in the D-terminal of the Port of Tallinn being built by Nordecon, in order to open the first phase of construction of the renovated D-terminal to passengers within two months, the port says in a press release. A digital twin of the new D-Terminal building and the remodeled part which aims to make the building's life cycle more efficient was created in the BIM implementation model. The completion of the extension and reconstruction work of the port is scheduled for summer 2020.
Rostock
Marine battery supplier Corvus Energy is to install its lithium-ion battery storage systems onboard AIDA Cruises’ ships to reduce fossil fuel use and emissions. In a project that will also involve ABB and Siemens, Corvus will install and commission the battery storage systems on the first AIDA ship in 2020. The companies then plan to then use their findings from the pilot project to successfully fit battery systems onboard other vessels in the AIDA fleet. “Our goal is the emissions-neutral ship operation,” said Michael Thamm, group CEO of Costa Group and Carnival Asia.
PILGRIM
Beached as Dead Vessel at Aliaga as Dunay 09.05.24 towed by Tug Horoz https://www.instagram.com/p/C7BBemRtdbX/?img_index=1
ROYAL ROMANCE
The 'Royal Romance' belonging to the oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, has been granted a certificate of the right to fly the state flag of Ukraine on May 15, 2024, and the corresponding changes have already been registered with the International Maritime Organization (IMO). This statement was made by the Ukrainian Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA). Through joint efforts of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency and the Shipping Administration, the seizedluxury yacht Royal has been granted the status of a Ukrainian vessel, which means that the vessel is under Ukrainian jurisdiction. According to Shipping Administration Head Yevhen Ihnatenko, the corresponding changes were registered with the IMO. This will facilitate the further sale of the seized yacht and the transfer of the proceeds to the state budget of Ukraine. The Dutch auction house, Troostwijk Auctions, won the ARMA’s tender to auction the seized yacht, but refused to sign a further agreement to organize the auction. The yacht, worth an estimated 200 million Euros, was seized by Croatian authorities in March 2022 in relation to EU sanctions imposed on Medvedchuk.
Rotterdam
The Port of Rotterdam Authority has reached an agreement with Sif Holding n.v. regarding the lease of 20 ha of port site and a 200-m stretch of deep-sea quay at Maasvlakte. Sif’s new lot lies adjacent to its existing port site, where the company already works on the assembly of foundations for offshore wind turbines, the company said in its release. Sif will be using the newly allocated site on behalf of clients active in the offshore wind power sector. The first project to be undertaken at the new site will be the logistics handling of all 94 monopiles (wind turbine foundations) destined for the offshore wind farm Borssele 1 + 2, commissioned by Deme Offshore.
Tangier
Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has concluded an agreement with long-term customer EUROGATE Tanger (EGT) in Morocco to upgrade four ZPMC ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, as part of the terminal’s expansion plans. With a quay length of 821 meters, a terminal area of 400,000 m2 and a water depth of up to 18 meters, the facility is well-equipped to handle the new generation of containerships. The terminal’s equipment fleet already includes several Kalmar machines, including rubber-tired gantry cranes (RTGs). Furthermore, Kalar will be responsible for the planning, engineering and execution of the entire project, which involves heightening the four STS cranes by 11 meters and extending the booms by six meters. The project with Kalmar will help the terminal serve mega-sized container vessels.
PESCADORE
Wanting for a fishing license for eight years, Samuel Deshayes, captain of the “Pescadore”, chose to block the gates of the port of Granville on May 15, 2024. With the fear of “losing everything” in the days to come, he decided to take a striking action. Since 6 a.m. the skipper was proclaiming his dismay under the watchful eye of the maritime gendarmerie, while apologizing to his colleagues for the inconvenience caused.
US GOV VESSEL 87
The USS 'Mason' intercepted an inbound Houthi anti-ship missile over the Red Sea on May 13, 2024, after Yemen's Houthis said on May 15 that they had targeted the warship. The US forces also destroyed two drones. The Houthis said they had also targeted a vessel called 'Destiny' in the Red Sea. There was, however, no evidence of an attack on the 'Destiny' in recent days. The vessel and crew were safe, with no issues. The Houthis said they targeted the 'Destiny' because it had been en route for the Israeli port of Eilat on April 20.
Wismar
Genting Hong Kong (GHK) has officially secured funding for the construction and post-delivery financing of Dream Cruises’ two new Global Class ships. KfW IPEX-Bank will supply US$2.9 billion, with backing from the Federal Republic of Germany, Finnish export credit agency Finnvera, and the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. At an overall cost of €3.1 billion (US$3.4 billion), the two new vessels are currently being built at GHK-owned shipyard MV Werften in Germany for the fast-growing Asian cruise market. “We are very appreciative of KfW IPEX-Bank, the bank consortium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Finnvera for supporting GHK in the financing of the Global Class ships,” said Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, chief executive of Genting Hong Kong.
Mogadishu
Qatar has established an investment partnership with Somalia to build a new port in the latter's country. The Ministry of Transport and Communications in Qatar said that the partnership between Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani) and Somalia will see the construction of the Hobyo Port in the Mudug region of central Somalia. Hobyo Port is expected to bring multiple economic benefits for Somalia. The port could create new business opportunities for the country by bolstering the commercial relationship with new markets in Africa and providing access to global markets, in addition to providing maritime services to vast areas in Somalia. The Hobyo Port is in proximity to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the world’s most important sea crossing points. Hobyo is also important due to its location in the Mudug region, which links the south and north of the country.