Five years after the fire aboard the 'Conception', the National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy again called on the Coast Guard to require safety management systems for all U.S.-flagged passenger vessels. “For five years, I’ve worked with the families of the victims of this terrible tragedy to spur federal action on our recommendations,” Homendy said on Sep 2 at the Conception Memorial in Santa Barbara, Calif., at a ceremony marking the fifth anniversary of the 2019 tragedy. “The NTSB first recommended SMS in the marine mode 20 years ago, and specifically called for it on small passenger vessels since 2012. Additionally, Congress authorized the Coast Guard to mandate SMS in 2010. It’s 2024, and here we are, with no action. We know our recommendations save lives. I call on the Coast Guard to finish its work implementing solutions to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again.” On the same day as she spoke to Conception families, Homendy issued the call again in a letter to the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security: .“This terrible fire ins 2019 was my first marine investigation as an NTSB board member, and my experience investigating the tragedy and my bond with the families affected and deepened my commitment to improving marine safety, as I have previously written. I am committed to ensuring the pain these families have faced receives the weighty and urgent consideration it deserves, and that NTSB’s safety recommendations resulting from this incident are implemented with all possible haste so that no one else suffers a similarly tragedy.”
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SPIRIT OF MATESHIP
The 'Spirit of Mateship' suffered a mechanical issue, including a damaged rudder and sail, with two people on board, a 60-year-old man and 48-year-old woman, causing it to take on water 150 kilometers east of the New South Wales east of Nowra on Sep 2, 2024. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (ASMA) received an emergency alert from the ship at 12.40 p.m. The Marine Area Command and Defence Force were notified that the yacht activated a distress beacon in the Shoalhaven region. A Toll Ambulance Rescue chopper from Bankstown was mobilized to the vessel, but as at 6.30 p.m. AEST was about halfway back to the mainland, as it was not able to hoist the crew. The HMAS 'Arunta', HMAS 'Canberra' and a Royal Australian Air Force C-130J Hercules aircraft were then mobilized to the position. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority was leading the SAR operation which was to take place at daylight. Weather conditions in the region have been treacherous with wind speeds of 60 to 70km/h breezes with 100 km/h gusts and a swell of five meters on Sep 2, hhen the sailors were taken safely aboard the NSW police vessel 'Nemesis' and reached shore on the evening. In the early morning, the HMAS 'Canberra' had reached the 'Spirit of Mateship', shortly before the 'Nemesis' arrived. The castaways were fatigue, but uninjured. The man, who owns the yacht, had left from the Gold Coast earlier this year and had been sailing with his female friend when the trouble struck. Reports with photos and video: https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/got-one-sailors-rescued-after-almost-24-hours-stranded-at-sea/ar-AA1pSlVs https://www.goulburnpost.com.au/story/8750697/extremely-lucky-yacht-duo-glad-to-be-back-on-dry-land/
Cancun
Two identical 37-metre, 459-passenger catamarans have been completed by Wight Shipyard Co (WSC). The Incat Crowther-designed vessels will be transported to Cancun, Mexico, for Ultramar early next month.
Rotterdam
The first paperless, instantly financed and fully door-to-door tracked container made its way from Korea to the warehouse of Samsung SDS in Tilburg via Port of Rotterdam on blockchain-based platform DELIVER. ABN AMRO, Port of Rotterdam and Samsung SDS demonstrated that blockchain technology enables interoperability, and that integrated container tracking and tracing, required cargo documentation processing and financing can all be done in a trusted, secure and paperless way.
MT TERRA NOVA
The tropical storm Enteng prompted the second-day postponement in recovering 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil (IFO) from the 'Terra Nova' in Manila Bay, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Sep 2. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has ordered the temporary suspension of the siphoning operation in Limay, Bataan, to avoid possible oil leaks that may be caused by strong current and heavy weather conditions on Sep 3. Harbor Star, the contracted salvor, vowed to transfer over 402,000 liters of recovered oily waste to a designated treatment facility in Marilao, Bulacan on Sep 3 .Recovery efforts for the IFO were in full swing until Sep 1, when 222,332 liters of oily mixture were recovered, bringing the total recovered oily mixture to 1,254,889.58 liters from Aug 19 to Sep 1.
MSC ANTONIA
The 'MSC Antonia', en route from Colombo to Cape Town, lost 46 containers overboard and incurred damage to 305 more when it ran into stormy weather off the coast of St. Johns on Aug 28, 2024. The vessel ran into bad weather about 29 nautical miles northeast of the port when the loss occurred, but was able to continue its voyage safely, with no reported injuries to the crew. The ship would be undergoing a thorough assessment after it arrived at the container terminal in Cape Town on Sep 2 at 5 p.m. UTC,, where the damaged cargo could be discharged if necessary and the remaining cargo was to be secured. The SAMSA has issued a navigation warning to all vessels operating in the area, advising them to navigate with caution. As a precautionary measure, all relevant stakeholders were notified to ensure a coordinated response. The SAMSA has urged vessels and the public to report any sightings of lost containers to the Maritime Rescue Coordinating Centre on 021 938 3300 with the position, number, and colour of the containers spotted.
Marseille
On 27 June the Corsican Parliament officially approved the upcoming 15-month public ferry service between Marseille and the island, starting on 1 October 2019.
Dar es-Salaam
In one of the biggest pushbacks against Chinese president Xi Jinping’s Belt Road Initiative Tanzania has suspended the construction of the $10bn Bagamoyo port project, citing the onerous financial conditions put in place by Beijing. The project, which broke ground four years ago and was set to be run by China Merchants Holding International, would have been the largest port in East Africa. Tanzania’s president John Magufuli has accused the Chinese project backers of presenting “exploitative and awkward” terms in exchange for financing. Chinese financiers set “tough conditions that can only be accepted by mad people,” Magufuli told local media. “They told us once they build the port, there should be no other port to be built all the way from Tanga to Mtwara south,” Magufuli told a delegation of business people at State House in Dar es Salaam earlier this month. “They want us to give them a guarantee of 33 years and a lease of 99 years, and we should not question whoever comes to invest there once the port is operational. They want to take the land as their own but we have to compensate them for drilling construction of that port,” he said. Magufuli also said the new Bagamoyo port risked undermining the ongoing $522m expansion of Dar es Salaam port that would enable it to triple its current capacity when complete by the end of this year. Source : Splash247
ITT PUMA
Two containers, believed to be from the 'ITT Puma', packed with household goods were washed ashore off Satabhaya beach within Gahirmatha marine sanctuary under Rajnagar block of Odiaha’s Kendrapara district on Sep 2. A label on the side of both containers stated that they were owned by the logistics company ITT Lines Private Ltd., Kolkata. Stormy weather caused containers to drift from the sunken ship to Satabhaya Beach. Police and forest officials cordoned off the area and warned people to keep a safe distance from the containers. The authorities were investigating what the item could be in the containers. Most of the items in the containers were washed away as doors were left wide open due to the impact of waves. Report with photo: https://www.thestatesman.com/india/containers-of-sunken-ship-washed-ashore-off-odisha-beach-1503338826.html#google_vignette
LUCKY LONG
The 'Blue Long', en route from Jebel Ali to Rizhao, was boarded by five perpetrators, armed with knives, while transiting the Singapore Strait on Aug 27, 2024, at 11.20 p.m. approximately 4.2 nautical miles northwest of Pulau Nongsa in pos. 1° 15.25' N 104° 1.85' E. The intruders stole generator spares and escaped. No injuries to the crew were reported.
Agaete
In a ruling last week, the Court of Justice of the EU rejected an appeal presented by Fred. Olsen S.A. over a sentence dictated by the General Courts of the EU in March 2018, whereby the continued exclusive use of the Port of Agaete on the Island of Gran Canary, by Fred. Olsen, constituted a subsidy by the Government of the Canary Islands to said shipping line.
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.