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.
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SALVAMAR ADHARA
On May 19, the 'Salvamar Adhara' assisted the occupants of two 2 cayucos, which had been located six and nine nautical miles south of La Restinga with 33 and 61 people on board, six of whom were minors. Both boats were escorted to La Restinga. The response was coordinated by the CCS Tenerife of Salvamento Marítimo. Report with photo: https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/1792436158602830183
Mumbai
Mumbai Port’s decision to raise the draft level to 10.3 metres and 11 metres to dock vessels at BPX and BPS respectively, subject to low tides being over 60 cm has been welcomed by maritime fraternity. This has avoided the waiting period for the vessels arriving with deep drafts till the tide is favorable for berthing. At times, such vessels had to arrange for discharging the import cargo for reducing the draft in stream and only subsequently berth at BPX/BPS.
Halifax
PSA International Pte Ltd (PSA) has completed the acquisition of Halterm Container Terminal (“Halterm”) in the Port of Halifax, Canada, from Macquarie Infrastructure Partners,a fund managed by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, following formal approval by the relevant regulatory authorities. Halterm is the only container terminal in Eastern Canada that can serve mega container vessels.
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.
HISTRIA ATLAS
On the early morning of May 20, 2024, the 'Histria Atlas' suffered an engine malfunction in the Dardanelles while enroute from Burgas to Alexandria, Egypt. Under the coordination of the Çanakkale VTS Center, the vessel was safely moored at the Bozcaada Anchorage, assisted by a pilot and under the tow of the tug 'Kurtarma 14'. The ship remained stationary in pos. 39° 54.22' N 026° 01.77' E. Report with photos: https://x.com/kiyiemniyet/status/1792408222449471757
Salalah
The Port of Salalah, Oman’s major regional gateway port and transshipment hub on the Arabian Sea, set another record in productivity with a delivering 412.97 Port Moves per Hour (PMPH) on vessel Cap San Tainaro handling 3,820 moves in a port stay of 9.25 hours. This is the highest productivity delivered by any port in the region till date.
Rijeka
The Croatian government said it would help a troubled shipyard owned by Uljanik, the country’s largest shipbuilder, resume production. The government, which owns a 25% stake in Uljanik, said in March that it would not back a proposed restructuring plan for the group due to the financial burden it would place on the state. However, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that the government was willing to support 3.Maj, which is located in the northern Adriatic port of Rijeka and is one of the group’s two shipyards, because it did not have as big a debt burden. “Unlike Uljanik, the 3.Maj is not an overly indebted company and there is an interest in the construction of new ships,” Plenkovic told a televised press conference after a government meeting. He said the government expected 3.Maj to draft a plan for its future operations.
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.
DALI
On May 21 efforts were started to remove the 'Dali' at around 05:00 a.m. when the tide was at its peak.Between eight and 12 million tons of steel has been removed from the ship before. Divers will be making last-minute inspections below the waterline and then tugs will attempt to ease the vessel from its position, before taking the 'Dali' to the Seagirt Marine Terminal, which is approximately 2.5 miles upriver.
Taranto
This is the 22nd marine port in Yilport Holding’s portfolio, and its first terminal in Italy. The company, ranked 12th among international container terminal operators by Drewry, targets to be ranked among the top 10 by 2025. Chairman Robert Yuksel Yildirim made the following remarks at the signing ceremony: “We have a strong presence in the Mediterranean. We are in Malta and operate seven ports between Spain and Portugal. Being able to enter Italy and work here in Taranto is like filling in the missing piece of a puzzle that we are building globally. The infrastructure was there but there was no one to take care of it. Our intention is to create another success story in Taranto. From today until the end of this year, we will be fixing cranes to ramp up business, visiting potential customers, and promote the container terminal. The project also aims to cooperate with local operators to improve cargo and ro-ro traffic.”
Venice
Palma de Mallorca, Marseille, Barcelona are a few of the European ports that the President of the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority, Pino Musolino, has sent a letter to in recent days, inviting his colleagues to meet in Venice to discuss the economic and environmental impact of the cruise industry and to draw up guidelines for a new sustainable approach to maritime tourism. The ports mentioned above have already accepted and other replies are expected in the coming days. A date will soon be set for a seminar on the issues, to be held in the Venice area.