On the night of June 9, the departure of a migrant boat with around 60 people on board was reported to the CROSS Gris-Nez, at Petit Fort Philippe beach, off the coast of Dunkirk. The CROSS deployed the “Ridens” to check the situation on site. Once near the boat, which was heading towards Great Britain, the "Ridens" indicated that maritime traffic was affected in this navigation sector. In conjunction with the CROSS navigation service, commercial vessels in the area were informed of the presence of the boat and asked to change their route to avoid a collision. In the middle of the morning, the boat lost its propulsion and began to drift while it was in the middle of the traffic separation system, close to the maritime sector under British responsibility. Initially, the occupants refused to be assisted by French rescue means and continued their drift towards the French coast. After some time, a first group of around ten people asked to be rescued by the 'Ridens'. Then different groups of around ten individuals each time also ask to be rescued. An hour later, around 12:00 p.m., all occupants of the migrant boat agreed to be picked up by the 'Ridens'. At the start of the afternoon, the 'Ridens' dropped off the 60 castaways in Calais where they were taken care of at the dock by the emergency services.
News
MICHIPICOTEN
The 'Michipicoten', with 22 people on board, issued an emergency call on June 8 at 7 a.m., that it had started taking on water and developing an increasing list. The crew said they believed they had hit an unknown object in the water while located about 35 miles southwest of Michigan's Isle Royale, while underway on the Lake Superior, near Grand Portage, Minnesota. The ship suffered water ingress, but was able to stabilize the flooding and was escorted to Thunder Bay. The ship had departed Two Harbors, Minnesota, on June 7. The bulker wa loaded with a cargo of taconite. The Coast Guard did not observe spills or pollution from the ongoing incident. The 'Michipicoten' berthed in Thunder Bay at 11.45 p.m. UTC. Report with photo: https://eu.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/06/09/freighter-that-took-on-water-in-lake-superior-safely-anchored-probe-underway/74035539007/
Beirut
The Port of Beirut (PoB) resumed partial operations on Aug 10 with the first two container ships berthing in the container terminal after the explosion which killed at least 160 persons, injured thousands and made hundred thousands homeless. Out of 16 cranes at the container terminal, 12 were currently operational. The port was gradually resuming operations to ensure the supply of all kinds of goods to citizens. Bassem Al Kaissi, the new Director of the PoB, said that the container terminal will be fully operational by Aug 14. Al Kaissi said that 420 containers were unloaded on Aug 10. The container terminal storage area has been cleaned up and restored to its state before the blast. The container terminal represents 80 percent of the overall cargo movement at the PoB. It is located one kilometer away from the blast epicenter. Container vessels can dock at quay number 16. Shipping movement at the PoB had already plunged by 75 percent due to the economic crisis and has reached 15 percent following the blast. Customs have opened offices in the PoB’s warehouse number 14 which was partially damaged. The customs have become able to carry out the inspection of merchandise- Customs duties are being temporarily paid at the Rafic Hariri International Airport. Tthe PoB is now handling only full containers as groupage consignment requires warehouses which don’t exist now. Amer Al Kaissi said groupage, which represents 15 percent of shipments at the PoB, will be diverted to the Port of Tripoli until the rebuilding of warehouses at the PoB is completed. The first two containerships to berth at the PoB after the blast were the 'Electra' (Gezairi Transport) and the 'Nicolas Delmas' (CMA CGM). The 'Electra', which was carrying 400 containers, was diverted to Tripoli where there was a license to operate but the company insisted to unload it in Beirut when it was told that the PoB has resumed operation. The CMA CGM Group and CEVA Logistics said they are fully operational and ensuring business continuity to serve their customers. The Group has redeployed its employees in its two back-up sites in Beirut Digital District and reinforced its presence in Tripoli. Part of CMA CGM’s vessels has been temporarily directed to Tripoli. Few shipping companies are authorized to operate in other ports such as Tripoli or Saida. BCTC, the Customs and the PoB’s authorities did their best to handle the clearing formalities despite the difficult working conditions. The general cargo area was fully operational on Aug 12 both for imports and exports. This includes wheat and other grains as well as construction steel bars. The cost of rebuilding the port is estimated at around $1 billion.
NIKITIS
On the morning of June 8, the Port Authority of Prinos Thassos was informed about a mechanical damage to the port and starboard side main engine of the 'Nikitis' during the scheduled route from the port of Kavala to the port of Prinos, with 53 passengers on board. The ship sailed under its own power to the port of Prinos, where the passengers disembarked safely. The Port Authority of Prinos prohibited the sailing of the ferry until the damage was repaired and a certificate of class maintenance presented by the monitoring classification society.
CG HERIBERTO HERNAND
The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter 'Charles David Jr.' offloaded and transferred custody of 245 kilograms of cocaine and nine suspected smugglers to Drug Enforcement Administration authorities at Coast Guard Base San Juan, Puerto Rico, on June 8, 2024. The seized contraband was estimated to have a wholesale value of $7.4 million dollars, while the interdiction and seizure is the result of multi-agency efforts involving Coast Guard’s Western Hemisphere Strategy, the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force Initiative and Operation Unified Resolve. The Drug Enforcement Administration was leading the investigation in this case. In the early morning hours of June 3, 2023, the 'Heriberto Hernández' had located a suspect vessel, approximately 75 nautical miles south of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. As the cutterapproached, the crew observed the occupants of the suspect vessel jettison multiple packages overboard. The crew of the cutter successfully stopped the suspect vessel that had nine men onboard, who claimed to be Venezuelan nationals. The cutter crew also recovered multiple packages of the jettisoned cargo and seized a total of 10 bales and two additional bags, with individual packages, which tested positive for cocaine. The 'Heriberto Hernández' embarked the nine detainees and seized contraband that were later transferred to the 'Charles David Jr.' for final transport to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Report with photo: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3800489/coast-guard-offloads-74-million-in-seized-cocaine-transfers-custody-of-9-smuggl/
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER
The 'Saint Fraincis Xavier' with 630 passengers on board suffered technical issues on June 8, 2024, en route to Puerto Princesa. This, coupled with low tide conditions, necessitated a temporary halt in Coron. The vessel ran aground in shallow waters near the pier during low tide while anchored and its power was being restored. Power was brought back at 10 p.m., but the stern of Mthe ferry remained aground. The Marine Environmental Protection Unit and CGS Northeastern Palawan found no oil spill around the vessel. The ship set to return to the port of Coron for assessment before its next sailing. Maritime authorities, including the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), swiftly assessed and cleared the vessel for continued travel once the generator issues were resolved. Passengers who disembarked in Coron were provided with meals and had several options to continue their journey. They could either revalidate their tickets, seek refunds, or arrange alternative travel to Puerto Princesa. The ferry finally reached Puerto Princesa on June 10 at 5.40 a.m. Report with photo: https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/national/vessel-with-106-onboard-runs-aground-off-palawan/ar-BB1nTGuI?apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1
CG CHARLES DAVID JR
The crew of the 'Charles David Jr.' offloaded and transferred custody of 245 kilograms of cocaine and nine suspected smugglers to Drug Enforcement Administration authorities at Coast Guard Base San Juan, Puerto Rico, on June 8, 2024. The seized contraband was estimated to have a wholesale value of $7.4 million dollars, while the interdiction and seizure is the result of multi-agency efforts involving Coast Guard’s Western Hemisphere Strategy, the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force Initiative and Operation Unified Resolve. The Drug Enforcement Administration was leading the investigation in this case. In the early morning hours of June 3, 2023, the Coast Guard Cutter 'Heriberto Hernández' had located a suspect vessel, approximately 75 nautical miles south of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. As the cutterapproached, the crew observed the occupants of the suspect vessel jettison multiple packages overboard. The crew of the cutter successfully stopped the suspect vessel that had nine men onboard, who claimed to be Venezuelan nationals. The cutter crew also recovered multiple packages of the jettisoned cargo and seized a total of 10 bales and two additional bags, with individual packages, which tested positive for cocaine. The 'Heriberto Hernández' embarked the nine detainees and seized contraband that were later transferred to the 'Charles David Jr.' for final transport to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Report with photo: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3800489/coast-guard-offloads-74-million-in-seized-cocaine-transfers-custody-of-9-smuggl/
Kiel
The PORT OF KIEL has redesigned the port apron in Ostuferhafen, which is the freight and logistics centre on the fjord. Where once stood a grain silo, there is now an expanded pre-stacking and stand-by area of three hectares for trucks, trailers and pas-senger cars.The State Premier of Schleswig- Holstein, Daniel Günther, visited the Ostufer-hafen on 12th August to hand over the grant notice coming from the State Programme Economy for 5.44 million Euros: The project to redesign the port apron included dismantling three hall areas of the former grain silo, excavation and road works as well as drainage, lighting and security measures and the connection of the area to the infrastructure. Through the new and generous port apron it has been possible to merge formerly separated pre-stacking areas, shorten distances and gain more space for trucks, busses, trailers and passenger cars. Furthermore, IT solutions have been developed to accelerate the handling processes at the gate, which also allow truck drivers to reduce personal contact.Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director at the PORT OF KIEL: “Even under the current circumstances the Ostuferhafen operates in a reliable and safe way. The port of Kiel has proven its systemic importance regarding the transshipment of cross-border freight transport.”In the first seven months of the year 2.1 million tons of cargo have been tran-shipped via the Ostuferhafen (+ 1 %). Additional volumes have been transported by the ferries of the DFDS shipping company to the Baltic States or they have been delivered by the SCA-RoRo-freighters from Scandinavia. Not only general cargo and forest products are unloaded resp. transhipped in Ostuferhafen but also project and heavy cargo, scrap metal and agricul-tural products. The integrated passenger terminal to handle cruise vessels emphasizes the universal character of this port part.