In the night of May 18, 2024, the CROSS Gris Nez was informed by the Calais port captaincy that a migrant boat was at sea in the Calais sector and deployed the 'Rhône' to check the situation on site. Once in the area, various people on the boat requested assistance and the 'Rhône' successively recovered 15 people. Other people still on board the boat refused the assistance offered by French means. The castaways were dropped off at the port of Calais, where they were taken care of by the land emergency services and the border police.
News
M.V. LOMONOSOV
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.
Oslo
Port of Oslo in Norway has signed a cooperation agreement with an environmental non-profit organisation to help it become emission-free. The Port of Oslo, which first talked about its zero-emission ambition in June, will partner with the Oslo-headquartered Bellona Foundation to achieve its zero-emission goal. Emissions in the port are anticipated to be reduced by 85% by 2030 and gradually reduce until they are eliminated. “The Port of Oslo is in full swing with the green transition, and has begun the phasing in of emissions-free solutions,” said Port of Oslo chairman, Roger Schjerva. “It is enthusiastic about working alongside the Bellona Foundation and exchanging ideas and solutions with Bellona’s network of environmental experts and organizations. Maritime transport and urban ports are crucial in reducing the world’s greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector.”
Walvis Bay
In the morning of Aug 17, 2019, around 7 a.m. a fire broke out aboard the Namibian trawler "Ocean Tide", 296 gt (IMO: 7220839), which was moored at the jetty of the Seaworks Fish Processors. One of the 20 crew members on board, was found dead following the fire. The deceased was identified as 40-year-old Hausiku Mathews Sivambo. It was believed he became trapped inside the vessel and burned to death. His body was removed the next morning. The family of the deceased was present at the scene. A police investigation into the cause of the fire was ongoing. Report with photo: https://www.nbc.na/news/one-dead-after-vessel-caught-fire-walvis-bay.21902
CANAIMA
The fishing vessel 'Ría de Aldán' (IMO: 9476238) was in collision with the 'Canaima' about 240 miles from Punta Pitt, on the island of San Cristóbal, on May 15, 2024. The 'Caanaima' capsized and sank, and the biologist Faustino Riveiro Cabrera, a 53-year-old Venezuelan national with a family in Vigo, was missing. The Ecuadorian Navy investigates the accident. The crew of the 'Canaima' jumped into an auxiliary boat, but Faustino, at the last moment returned to the longliner when it finally sank in a matter of minutes. The 'Ría de Aldán' rescued the castaway and searched for the missing inspector along with the 'Tunapesca', which was also in the area. The Ecuadorian Navy deployed the coast guard vessel 'San Cristóbal' and has requested support from other vessels that were nearby. The 'Ría de Aldá' had suffered a small crack in the bow bulb. Report with video: https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/somosmar/2024/05/17/desapareceun-biologo-hijo-vigueses-naufragio-atunero-proximo-galapagos/00031715956306038255900.htm
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.
Batumi
The Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO) will launch a test voyage of a feeder vessel along the Black Sea container route Batumi-Constanta by September 20. The vessel will sail every 10 days (3 times a month). If cargo volumes increase, the growth in the number of vessels and the regularity of sailings on the line is also expected.
Newcastle
Australia’s New South Wales government said on Wednesday it will fast track its review of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal at the port of Newcastle, proposed by a South Korean firm, as the state urgently looks to beef up gas supply. The $430 million Newcastle GasDock LNG project, planned by South Korean firm EPIK, was declared “critical state significant infrastructure”, which means the project will not have to go to the state’s independent planning commission for approval, saving several months in the review process.
RIA DE ALDAN
The 'Ría de Aldán' was in collision with the trawler 'Canaima' (IMO: 7123485) about 240 miles from Punta Pitt, on the island of San Cristóbal, on May 15, 2024. The 'Caanaima' capsized and sank, and the biologist Faustino Riveiro Cabrera, a 53-year-old Venezuelan national with a family in Vigo, was missing. The Ecuadorian Navy investigates the accident. The crew of the 'Canaima' jumped into an auxiliary boat, but Faustino, at the last moment returned to the longliner when it finally sank in a matter of minutes. The 'Ría de Aldán' rescued the castaway and searched for the missing inspector along with the 'Tunapesca', which was also in the area. The Ecuadorian Navy deployed the coast guard vessel 'San Cristóbal' and has requested support from other vessels that were nearby. The 'Ría de Aldá' had suffered a small crack in the bow bulb. Report with video: https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/somosmar/2024/05/17/desapareceun-biologo-hijo-vigueses-naufragio-atunero-proximo-galapagos/00031715956306038255900.htm
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.
Krishnapatnam
Gautam Adani is looking to expand his ports empire by closing in on buying a 65-70 per cent stake in Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd, the entity promoted by Hyderabad-based CVR Group to run a private deep-water port at Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), India’s biggest private port operator, is expected to pay more than ₹5,500 crore to buy the stake which will give it access to the country’s largest waterfront area (for a port) of 12.5 km and a transit storage area of 6,800 acres. It started operations in 2008. Currently, the port has a draft of 18.5 metres, a depth that can accommodate full-loaded Capesize vessel of 200,000-tonne capacity.
Shenzhen
Chinese city-gas distributor Shenzhen Gas will launch next week in southern China its first fully-owned terminal to import liquefied natural gas (LNG), a company executive told Reuters on Friday. This will make Shenzhen Gas the second city gas distributor backed by a local government that owns an LNG import facility.