Crews working to restore the federal channel of debris from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge need more time before shipping traffic can be fully restored. The end of May had been the goal of state and federal officials, but on May 24 it was announced that work will conclude by June 10. The Army Corps of Engineers was pushing forward as quickly and safely as possible to reach 700 feet and ensuring we remove all wreckage to prevent any impact to future navigation, and continued to clear wreckage from the riverbed to restore the federal channel to its original 700-foot width and 50-foot depth. The remaining work involves digging out the bottom cord of the remaining truss of the collapsed structure and cutting it into three sections to lift and remove the wreckage. Only about one-third of this truss is visible above the water as it stretches down to the riverbed and sits buried in Patapsco River mud. Based on the latest dive surveys and engineer analyses conducted after the refloating the 'Dali', work to restore the federal channel is projected to conclude between June 8-10. The adjusted timing accounts for the complexity of the cutting and rigging required to lift portions of the large span, which is more complex than initially estimated. The salvage crews must dig out the bottom cord of this truss to access the areas needing to be cut. The revised timeline also accounts for safety measures and possible inclement weather. Thunderstorms were in the forecast through May 27. After the 'Dali' was towed away, a 400-foot-wide, 50-foot-deep channel into the Baltimore harbour opened on May 21 as the largest, and deepest, marine route into the Port of Baltimore to open since the Key Bridge collapsed. 24-hour commercial vessel traffic through the Fort McHenry Limited Access Channel had commenced on May 21. Deep-draft vessels, which must be accompanied by a Maryland pilot and two escort tugs, have priority in the 50- foot-deep channel, though shallower commercial ships can use the three existing alternate channels. As of May 27, about 500 commercial vessels have passed through temporary channels opened by Key Bridge Response Unified Command in the eight weeks since the collapse.
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SALVAMAR ENIF
On May 27 at 1.59 a.m. the 'Salvamar Enif' rescued four North African migrants from a toy boat, which had been located 16 nautical miles southwest of Trafalgar. The castaways were disembarked in Algeciras/El Saladillo. The response was coordinated by the MRCC of Salvamento Maritimo in Tarifa.
Iskenderun
Thick black smoke was rising from burning containers at Iskenderun Port on Feb 6, 2023. The fire was caused by containers that toppled over during the powerful earthquake that struck southeast Turkey. ATurkish Coast Guard vessel was assisting efforts to extinguish the blaze.
Kerch
Russia's Ministry of Transport has set up a ferry service across the Kerch Strait to take over vehicle traffic, offsetting some of the impact of the damage to the Kerch Strait Bridge after a truck was blown up on the westbound road deck of the Kerch Strait Bridge on Oct 7 at about 6 a.m. Two spans of the westbound deck collapsed into the water, but the adjacent eastbound deck remained in place. The blast's timing coincided with the passage of a fuel train on the adjacent rail deck, and it ignited seven fuel tank cars, which burned for hours after the explosion. A Russian salvage diving team has arrived on the site and is completing an underwater survey of the damage, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said Sunday. An above-water inspection process is already under way. Traffic had partially resumed on the bridge by late Saturday, though restricted by the extent of the damage. Russia's Ministry of Transport said that it also resumed suburban commuter rail service over the rail track, though not heavy freight trains. Two ferries are already in operation to provide a bypass route, and eight separate parking lots have been set up for temporary storage for cars and trucks waiting to make the crossing. Two more ferries will join the effort on Monday, the Yeysh and Mriya.
COSTA TOSCANA
On May 27, 2024, the 'Costa Toscana' requested the medevac of a passenger 10 nautical miles East of Palamós. The CCS Barcelona of Salvamento Marítimo deplopyed the SAR boat 'Salvamar Sirius', which which placed itself next to the ship and embarked the patient, a family member and a nurse.
Kiel
The Port of Kiel expects another good season in 2023, resulting in 218 cruise calls, said its MD Dirk Claus in the morning of Jan 17, 2023, as part of a presentation reflecting on last year's results. It follows 2022's record-breaking 244 calls, which saw the port handle over 2.24m passengers, 836,000 of those from cruise vessels. The number of calls in 2019 was 37% less by comparison, numbering 178, and passenger volumes 4.1% lower. 2020 had been forecast to become a record season for Kiel, with 200 calls and 880,000 passengers, but aspirations were dashed owing to the pandemic. This year, a number of larger vessels are scheduled to arrive at Kiel on multiple occasions making the gross tonnage of arriving ships similar to 2022. For 2023, the choice of routes and destinations approached from Kiel will be slightly broader. Moving into the future, Claus expects Kiel to settle on between 200 and 250 cruise calls annually. According to the port, last year’s promising results were the result of ‘intense planning’ with international cruise operators. While 11 calls were cancelled owing to the conflict in Ukraine and the resulting loss of St Petersburg from itineraries, nine were newly added as a result of rerouting by operators. Looking ahead, there will be a strong focus on greener shipping with Claus hoping that between 60 and 100 calls can be supplied with green shore power this year. He stated that Kiel will continue to look at strengthening shore power in line with its corporate sustainability strategy to lower carbon emissions. Work on the new Ostuferhafen shore power plant is expected to conclude towards the end of this year, resulting in Kiel being able to offer shoreside connectivity at all its ferry and cruise terminals from 2024. Along with this €17m investment, a further €2m will be invested to install solar arrays. The systems, which will be fitted on roofs at Kiel Port, are intended to cover up to 30% of the port's electricity requirements in the long term. Kiel’s first call is expected to arrive April 7 with the river vessel 'Frederic Chopin'. The first cruise ship of the season, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ 'Balmoral', will arrive a week later. The largest ships to call will be 'MSC Euribia' and 'AIDAnova'. At the other end of the scale, the 'Ocean Majesty' will visit Kiel on six occasions while chartered to Hansa Touristik. The vessel, which celebrates its 57th anniversary this year, is popular with the German source market. One of its calls is scheduled to occur on June 18 during the Kieler Woche sailing festival which will run from June 17-25. Traditionally, this marks the peak of the cruise season with this year no exception: 22 calls are expected by Kiel at the same time as the event takes place. While the highest number of calls is expected between mid-April and the end of September as usual, some ships will continue to call later in the year. 'AIDAnova'’s last departure is scheduled for November 4 whilst December 20 will see Phoenix Reisen's 'Amera' arrive at Kiel as part of a pre-Christmas itinerary. The season will draw to a close a few days later with the 'Spirit of Discovery' on December 29. Costa-, AIDA-, MSC- and TUI Cruises will again be the port's largest cruise customers. The majority of calls account for turnarounds serving the German-speaking source markets, but a number of transit calls will also take place, P&O Cruises’ Britannia, Swiss Ruby, Holland America Line’s 'Nieuw Statendam' and Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ 'Seven Seas Splendor' among them. As in previous years, the Ostuferhafen outside the city centre will be heavily utilised by MSC Cruises and most other cruise ships will arrive at the Ostseekai.
Kerch
The Crimean Bridge across Kerch Strait suffered an explosion and fire in the morning of Oct 8, 2022. Two spans of the motorway bridge collapsed and fell into the water, the railway bridge above the motorway witha cargo train including railway car tanks with fuel, was on fire. All bridge traffic was suspended. The Crimean Bridge was more than a Bridge, both for Russia and Ukraine. For Russia it was a symbol of the Russian “victory” and historical justice. For the Ukraine, it was a symbol of the Russian aggression and Crimea occupation. The navigation span of the Bridge is yet undamaged, and therefore, the Kerch Strait Channel remained navigable. The Kerch Strait Transit is from now on, however, a risky undertaking, so all ship owners are advised to calculate risks and probably, change their ships voyages, avoiding Azov sea calls.
CHAIKA
The 'Solaris' was in collision with the 'Chaika' in St. Petersburg on the Neva under the Lyvarny Bridge on the evening of May 26, 2024. The "Solaris" hit the bow of the excursion ship and caused minor damage. No injuries were reported. The circumstances of the accident were being investigated by the St. Petersburg Transport Prosecutor's Office along with the water police.
ICON OF THE SEAS
A man was rescued after jumping into the sea from the 'Icon of the Seas' on the morning of May 26, 2024, as the ship sailed towards Roatan, Honduras, one day after departing from Miami, Florida, for a seven-night Western Caribbean cruise, approximately 40 miles north of Santa Lucia, Cuba. The vessel deviated its course to launch a rescue craft to locate the man overboard. An announcement was made stating that the man was recovered shortly after the rescue craft had been launched. He was in the ship’s intensive care unit with his family. The ship was due to arrive in the first port of call, Roatan, early on May 27. Report with photos: https://cruiseradio.net/man-in-critical-condition-after-jumping-from-worlds-largest-cruise-ship/
Singapore
On Dec 1, 2022, at about 3 p.m. the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was informed that 15 empty containers at Keppel Terminal had fallen from the wharf into the water as a result of strong winds during a squall. There were no reported injuries and no immediate impact to port operations. The MPA deployed two patrol crafts to monitor and cordon off the affected area to facilitate recovery work by PSA Corporation Ltd. MPA’s Port Operations Control Centre has restricted all vessel movements in the vicinity of Keppel Terminal until the containers were recovered.
Odessa
For the fourth day in a row, Iranian-made drones attacked Odesa on Sep 26 in the morning, this time against military targets and without civilian casualties. On Sep 23, two civilians were killed during Russian drone attacks on the port city. On Sep 25, Odesa was attacked by three drones, one of which was reportedly shot down by Ukrainian forces. Ukraine has not officially identified the drones, but from the video footage below it appears, according to experts, that they are Iranian-produced Shakhed 136 drones.