The 'Pan Viva' has successfully weathered a severe storm off the Alaskan coast and resumed its voyage, averting a potential environmental disaster and alleviating concerns of a possible grounding off Unalaska, Alaska, on Oct 15. The U.S. Coast Guard cleared the ship to return to sea. Since Oct 12, the ship had been battling fierce winds of up to 58 knots and seas over 20 feet. Despite this, the ship managed to anchor, reporting no mechanical failures and remained stable throughout the ordeal. As a precautionary measure, a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew evacuated four crew members to Dutch Harbor. The Coast Guard Cutter Stratton and a commercial tug remained on standby in the Udegak Pass, ready to provide additional assistance if needed. The Pan Viva was moved to a temporary anchorage on the night of Oct 14 before getting underway again the following morning, en route from Dandong, China to Kalama, Washington, with an ETA as of Oct 21. Report with photo: https://gcaptain.com/cargo-ship-pan-viva-weighs-anchor-after-weathering-fierce-alaskan-storm/
News
Vado Ligure
Terminal operator APM Terminals (APMT) has released a video of the final three ship-to-shore (STS) cranes arriving at the Vado Gateway terminal, which it hopes will be the next major logistics hub for the Mediterranean and Europe. The Vado Gateway terminal is scheduled to open on December 12, 2019, and will be built with a 700-meter deep-sea berth specifically to handle the latest Ultra Large Container Ships (ULCS), as well as an automated gate and stacking area. APMT announced the inauguration date in July 2019 – a story PTI reported on at the time. Located in the Vado Ligure Port Complex in the northwest of the country, it will be the first semi-automated port in Italy and be integrated with an already existing reefer terminal.
Hamburg
The Port of Hamburg, Germany’s largest universal port, saw its inland and hinterland cargo traffic grow by 12.1% – 2.57 million tons – in the first quarter of 2019, according to its latest financial results. The data also shows that, for the first quarter of 2019, the Port has handled 34,640 TEU – 20ft standard containers – an increase of 20% in comparison with the same period last year.
ARTANIA
The Plymouth Coastguard Rescue Team, a lifeboat from Plymouth RNLI and the Coastguard helicopter from Newquay were scrambled on Oct 15 at 10 a.m. to deal with a medical emergency on the 'Artania' in Plymouth Sound. A person on board had to be taken off the vessel while it was at anchor during its one-day stop. The Coastguard helicopter hoisted the patient and then landed on Plymouth Hoe. A lifeboat from the nearby RNLI station at West Hoe attended during the incident. Report with photo': https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/local-news/major-medical-incident-massive-cruise-9634415
Mumbai
The Government of Maharashtra, India, India has named the Virgin Hyperloop One – DP World Consortium as Original Project Proponent (OPP) for the Pune-Mumbai Hyperloop Project, making it the first hyperloop project in the world. In a statement, Virgin Hyperloop One described it as a “landmark announcement” for the building of the Mumbai-Pune hyperloop transportation system.
Balboa
Starting August 1 and until November 30, 2019, the Panama Canal will promote the implementation of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) annual recommendations on speed and maritime transit aimed at protecting cetaceans, which include whales, dolphins and other large aquatic mammals, during their nearby seasonal migration. With these measures, ships should proceed at a speed of not more than 10 knots in specified areas. Panama has monitored this requirement since December 1, 2014 when maritime traffic separation devices (TSS) were installed by both the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean entry points to the Canal.
B-LPG SOPHIA
After a massive fire broke out on two LPG carriers 'Captain Nikolas' and 'B-LPG Sophia', while they were transferring cargo off the coast of Bangladesh on Oct 13 at around 12:45 a.m., while the tankers were anchored near Kutubdia, Chattogram, the Chittagong Port Authority has formed a committee to investigate the accident. The committee’s report must be completed within one week. The Bangladesh Coast Guard and Navy had responded immediately, sending seven vessels to help extinguish the fire. The fire on board the 'Captain Nikolas' was brought under control at around 03.30 a.m. The fire on the 'B-LPG Sophia'Ä burned until 1230 p.m. Teams from Bangladesh’s Navy and Coastguard continued to monitor the vessel for the risk of a re-ignition. 31 people jumped into the water from both ships to escape the fire, but were safely rescued with no serious injuries reporded. Eight locally hired watchman who were on the 'Captain Nikolas' were among the rescued. Allegedly the cargo on the 'Captain Nikolas' was misdeclared and actually came from Iran, which is under sanctions, as per the LPG Operators Association of Bangladesh (LOAB). Mohd Omar Faruk, Secretary of the Chittagong Port Authority, stated that the inspection of the 'Captain Nikolas' found no sign of illegal cargo and that the LPG was loaded in Dubai or Oman. The tanker was detained in Hunan in January due to fire protection issues on the cargo deck and was cited again in March for the same violations. Over the past nine months, it has been registered with Panama and Cook Islands before changing flag to Tanzania. Between Sep 9 and Sep18, ahead of the voyage to Bangladesh, the AIS transmissions were consistent with patterns of manipulation. The 'B-LPG Sophia' was found with 16 deficiencies, including to its emergency fire pumps and its pipes, during an inspection in Chittagong on Sep 6. Report with photo: https://maritime-executive.com/article/two-lpg-carriers-catch-fire-at-chittagong-during-sts-transfer
Mombasa
The new Lamu Port in Kenya took a big step towards completion yesterday with the announcement that its first of 22 berths is finished. According to the South Sudan and Ethiopia Transport Corridor Development Authority, the second and third berths will be completed by December 2020.
Montevideo
Shandong BaoMa Fisheries Group has shelved plans to build a port in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo that could accommodate 500 Chinese vessels, amid legal complications and strong opposition from local residents and environmental organisations. The US$200 million project, which included a free trade zone, shipyard and fish processing and freezing plants, on a private 28-hectare site in Punta Yeguas, a mostly rural area with a public park, required a change in the legal designation of the land.
