The US Federal Police, (FBI) has launched an investigation focused on the 'Dali' and boarded the ship on April 15, conducting a court-authorized law enforcement activity. The investigation will at least partially investigate whether the crew on board the ship knew that the ship had apparent problems with the electrical systems when it left the port. The authorities are investigating the events leading up to the vessel losing power as it left the port. The investigation is being followed by the Maryland attorney general's office. Divers have found a fourth body of workers missing since the collapse of a road bridge in the US city of Baltimore. The body was recovered from a construction vehicle in the underwater wreckage in the evening of April 15. Two people were still missing. Authorities believed they too have died. Report with photos: https://www.foxnews.com/us/fbi-opens-criminal-probe-baltimore-bridge-collapse-ap-source
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POLA MARIA
From March 30, 2024, until April 4, the 'Pola Pelagia' unloaded cargo in the port Bari, which was originating from the Russian port of Kavkaz. Another vessel from the same company, the 'Pola Maria', has called at Brake from April 5-6 with a cargo of 7.80 kt of grain and oilseeds from Kaliningrad Although agricultural products are not part of the EU sanctions package, based on EU council press releases, bith ships are currently sanctioned as well as their owners, the Pola Rise LLC, by OFAC. They have been classified by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, which is no longer affiliated with the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS). Additionally, there was no information available about the P&I (Protection and Indemnity) Club for both vessels, raising further concerns about the insurance coverage. Without legitimate, continuous insurance coverage, ship owners may be unable to pay the costs of accidents in which they are involved, including oil spills.
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
CHOKYUMARU NO.68
The 'Chokyo Maru No. 68' ran aground on rocks in the Hauraki Gulf in the early morning of April 15, 2024, with 27 crew members on board en route to Auckland for supplies. No injuries have been reported. The vessel was heading into Auckland when it got into trouble at The Noises about 3.42 a.m. There was damage to the bow of the vessel. The Police were notified at around 5.35 a.m. Two tugs of the Thomson Towboats were called to refloat the ship at around 1.30 p.m. with the high tide. But the re-floating occurred earlier than expected at 1 p.m. The ship berthed at the Bledisloe Container Terminal in Auckland on April 16 at 6 a.m. UTC for further assessments. Report with photos: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/fishing-boat-run-aground-in-the-noises-hauraki-gulf/AZUXFTNDUVG7LPU4CD7H73YAYI/
POLA PELAGIA
From March 30, 2024, until April 4, the 'Pola Pelagia' unloaded cargo in the port Bari, which was originating from the Russian port of Kavkaz. Another vessel of the same company, the 'Pola Maria', has called at Brake from April 5-6 with a cargo of 7.80 kt of grain and oilseeds from Kaliningrad. Although agricultural products are not part of the EU sanctions package, based on EU council press releases, bith ships are currently sanctioned as well as their owners, the Pola Rise LLC, by OFAC. They have been classified by the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, which is no longer affiliated with the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS). Additionally, there was no information available about the P&I (Protection and Indemnity) Club for both vessels, raising further concerns about the insurance coverage. Without legitimate, continuous insurance coverage, ship owners may be unable to pay the costs of accidents in which they are involved, including oil spills.
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.
FLYING CAT 6
On the morning of April 16, 2024, the Port Authority of Argosaronicos was informed by the Master of the 'Flying Cat 6' that during its scheduled route from Porto Heli via Spetses, Ermioni, Hydra and Poros to the port of Piraeus, the ship experienced a malfunction in the starboard side main engine. The ferry sailed safely to Piraeus, where it disembarked the 176 passengers and its 12 crew members. The Port Authority banned the ship from sailing until the repair of the damage and the presentation of a certificate of class maintenance by the monitoring classification society. The next scheduled route was carried out by the catamaran ferry 'Aereo 1' to the ports of Poros, Hydra, Spetses and Porto Helio.
ELSA
Four Russian tankers carrying oil and refined products, the 'Anthea' (IMO: 9281683),'Elsa', 'Hebe' (IMO: 9259185) and 'Baxter' (IMO: 9282522) have become immobilized at sea following the imposition of new Iran-related sanctions by the United States, imposed on April 4, 2024, and targeting the shipping company, Oceanlink Maritime DMCC, and its vessels, citing their alleged involvement in transporting commodities on behalf of the Iranian military. The U.S. Treasury Department aimed to isolate Iran and disrupt its ability to fund proxy groups allegedly supporting Russia in the Ukraine war. The 'Anthea' received 200,000 metric tons of Russian Ural crude oil via STS from two vessels near the Laconian Gulfin late March and is underway to Singapore with an ETA as of April 30. The 'Elsa' received 100,000 metric tons of fuel oil through STS near the Port of Kalamata. The fuel oil was originally supplied to Kalamata from ports in St. Petersburg and Ust-Luga, Russia. The 'Elsa' was underway to Qingdao with an ETA as of May 12. The 'Hebe' was loaded with 100,000 metric tons of fuel oil at St. Petersburg and Ust-Luga. It was heading towards the Suez Canal, with its final destination unclear. The 'Baxter' was carrying naphtha from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk and destined for India. The vessel has been drifting in the Arabian Sea since April 5.
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.