Level Parker, the father of the 20 year-old Leion Parker, who was missing since he jumped off the 11th deck of the 'Liberty of the Seas', believes his son is still alive and may survived because he's a master diver who works on a commercial fishing boat. He also had multiple life rings thrown at him. US Coast Guard officials called off their search for Levion on April 9, five days after he jumped from the 11th deck of the ship. Francel Parker, who runs an AC business in Port Charlotte, Florida, has also slammed Royal Caribbean for serving his son booze: "I'd like to know how my son was served so much alcohol." The minimum age for drinking on Royal Caribbean cruises departing from the US and the Caribbean is 21. The 'Liberty of the Seas' was just hours from returning to Fort Lauderdale after a four-day cruise when dad Francel caught up with Levion and brother Seth, 18, emerging from a hot tub at around 3.30 a.m. He said to his dad, 'I'll fix this right now,' and jumped out the window in front of other passengers, 57 miles off Grand Inagua at 4 a.m. on April 4, while the hot tub was still packed with revelers. Report with photos: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13296965/Levion-Parkers-dad-believes-20-year-old-son-alive-jumping-Royal-Caribbean-cruise-ship-hes-master-diver.html
News
CONCORDIA BAY
The 'Concordia Bay' suffered a mechanical failure of its bow thruster on April 5, 2024, making the vessel unserviceable. The Falkland Islands Government (FIG) was notified by the Workboat Services Ltd. about the issue of the vessel, which has been contracted to undertake the Ferry and Coastal Shipping contract. The 'Concordia Bay' was brought back to Stanley on April 7 for investigations. The Workboat Services Ltd. were working with suppliers. All Ferry and Coastal Shipping services are suspended during this period. Once definitive timelines for repair are known, Workboat Services Ltd. and FIG will jointly advertise a revised schedule, taking into account urgent needs as a priority.
Tanger-Med
Tangier will today celebrate the opening of the largest container port in capacity terms in the whole of the Mediterranean, something that will bring enormous competition to the likes of Algericas just 25 nautical miles away across the Strait of Gibraltar. The $1.6bn expansion of Tanger Med port, located to the east of the Moroccan city of Tangier, due to be unveiled today will create Africa’s largest port with an annual capacity of 9.5m teu. The port is operated by APM Terminals, Eurogate and a local firm.
Ho Chi Minh
Samsung C&T Corp., a construction unit under Samsung Group, said Tuesday it has won a US$179.5 million project to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Vietnam. Under the deal with Petrovietnam Gas Corp., Samsung C&T and Vietnamese firm PTSC will build the Southeast Asian country’s first LNG terminal, in the coastal area 70 kilometers southeast of Ho Chi Minh City for 40 months. The project also calls for the construction of LNG tanks and other related facilities, according to Samsung C&T. Samsung C&T has a 61 percent stake in the project. Source: Yonhap
POSEIDON
About 100 Ukrainian refugees who have been staying on the 'Poseidon' in Urk for two years will soon have to move temporarily. The ship will undergo an inspection and maintenance. Another ship, the 'Alessia', will temporarily arrive in the port of Urk, which is slightly larger. The residents have already started preparations for the temporary move this week together with Caritas employees. The actual move to the 'Alessia' will take place on April 15, 20ß24. After the inspection and maintenance, the 'Poseidon' will return to the port of Urk in May. Then the Ukrainians will move back.
DALI
The Unified Command continued to remove containers onboard the 'Dali' and clear bridge wreckage at the Key Bridge incident site on April 11. Salvors continued to remove containers from the foreship as part of the effort to gain access to the portion of the Key Bridge that lies atop the ship. The transfer of containers from the 'Dali' will continue in the coming days, as weather permits. As of April 11, approximately 38 containers have been removed. The removal of the containers is a critical step required to safely move the 'Dali' and eventually fully re-open the Fort McHenry Channel. Removing containers allows for safe access to then remove the pieces of the Key Bridge that lie across the ship’s bow, taking weight off the ship and ultimately enabling the ship’s movement. In parallel, wreckage and debris removal continued at the site, including breaking up of submerged roadbed from span 19, and the removal of a section of span 17. The rubble and debris have been taken to Sparrows Point, Maryland for processing and recycling. While marine traffic is still limited, 69 vessels have transited through since the creation of the temporary alternate channels with the goal to open the limited access deep draft channel. The team of local, state, federal and community responders remained focused on the safe and efficient removal of debris and wreckage from the federal channel and waterway. The COTP issued a Broadcast Notice to Mariners (BNM) via VHF-FM marine channel 16. Mariners are requested to monitor channel 16 for the latest information. Report with video: https://www.keybridgeresponse2024.com/post/update-12-multimedia-release-removal-of-containers-onboard-m-v-dali-and-bridge-wreckage-clearing-co
Charleston
South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA), Southeast's deepwater port, said that five rubber-tired gantry (RTG) cranes arrived at Wando Welch Terminal to further modernize operations. The Port has received 14 of the 24 new cranes ordered for the Wando terminal; the terminal currently has 52 RTGs overall. Meanwhile, SCPA reported its strongest May on record, with 204,457 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) handled last month.
Brownsville
The Port of Brownsville is closer to deepening the Brownsville Ship Channel after receiving a key permit June 6 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to advance the Brazos Island Harbor Channel Improvement Project (BIH) to its construction phase.
LAUREN JACKSON
On March 31, 2024, the 'Lauren Jackson' suffered a problem with its steering indicators near Barangaroo wharf in Sydney’s CBD, requiring a system reset. Two days later also the ferry 'Ruth Park' was tied up at the Balmain shipyard. According to the operator Transdev, the 'Ruth Park' experienced a mechanical issue, together with the effects of wash created by another passing vessel. The issue was caused by a faulty component has been resolved, with the component replaced, and the vessel was due to return to service following successful sea trials.
HDMS IVER HUITFELDT
The Acting Chief of the Danish Defense, Michael Hyldgaard, has asked for more time to prepare and "quality-ensure" the report on the 'Iver Huintfeldt's deployment in the Red Sea and on the problems that emerged during combat. The statement has therefore been postponed. "It is absolutely crucial that we can professionally vouch for the product we have to send to the department. We need to coordinate with the Naval Command and the Ministry of Defence's Material and Procurement Agency to check and verify a number of information. That is why we have asked for the deadline to be postponed", accodring to Michael Hyldgaard. The case of the frigate Iver Huitfeldt's problems during combat in the Red Sea came to light last week, when the defense media Olfi was able to publish information about system failure and defective ammunition during a Houthi drone attack on March 9. It was also completely new information for Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen, who asked for an explanation of the case on April 9. The statement was leaked on Feb 10, which cited the statement that the Ministry of Defense had been informed of the technical faults on the ship, although Troels Lund Poulsen denied knowledge of the matter. A few hours later on the same day, the Minister of Defense received a new statement with a new explanation. The Minister stated at a press conference. Here he then announced that the Chief of Defense Flemming Lentfer was removed from his job. At the same time, he asked for a thorough explanation of the case, which has now been postponed indefinitely. “I take the matter very seriously. It is absolutely crucial that both I, as the responsible minister, and the parties in the Folketing are continuously informed of possible serious problems when we deploy Danish soldiers. The Defense Command has asked for more time to ensure the quality of the report. I have informed the parties of the Folketing about this today", said Troels Lund Poulsen on April 11.
Rotterdam
Container throughput continues to grow in Rotterdam. Following a record year in 2018 and a record quarter in 2019, April of this year was the best month ever for the Port of Rotterdam. 13.6 million tonnes of container freight was handled in April 2019. The previous record month was August 2018 (13.2 million tonnes). Measured in TEU, the standard unit for containers, April 2019 was the second-best month ever, with 1.3 million TEU, just a fraction lower than the record month of August 2018.
San Diego
Matson, Inc., a leading U.S. carrier in the Pacific, and General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard christened the largest combination container/roll-on, roll-off (“con-ro”) ship ever built in the United States in a ceremony at the NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, CA on Saturday, June 15. The new vessel is named ‘Lurline,’ an iconic name in Matson’s long history, dating to the construction of Captain William Matson’s first ship of that name in 1887. Four more ships were given the name in subsequent years; this vessel will be the sixth. The new Lurline is the first of two new ships being built for Honolulu-based Matson by NASSCO at a total cost of approximately $500 million for the pair, and the third of four new vessels that Matson will put into service during 2018, 2019 and 2020. Named in honor of the ocean deity revered in the native Hawaiian culture, Matson’s two “Kanaloa Class” vessels under construction at the NASSCO shipyard are being built on a 3,500 TEU* vessel platform.