On the evening of April 22, 2024, the 'Xin Rong Hai 1' allided with a guard pier under the Jiujiang Bridge on the G240 National Highway in South China's Guangdong Province. The ship, carrying over 4,900 tonnes of rolled steel, was sailing from Fuzhou, Fujian Province, to the city of Heshan, Guangdong, when it hit the base of a pillar of the Jiujiang Bridge at 9:20 p.m. The cargo hold started taking on water. The ship later ran aground and finally sank at around 11:40 p.m. There were a total of 11 crew members on board, seven of whom were rescued and four missing. As of 9:00 a.m. on April 23, the local government had coordinated maritime, fishery and social rescue forces in dispatching 32 vessels and more than 400 personnel to participate in SAR efforts. Experts quickly conducted a preliminary assessment of the bridge and found no obvious damage to the main structure. However, there were abrasions on the pillar -- requiring further safety assessments. After preliminary investigations, the accident was determined to have been caused by operating error resulting from flood. Traffic police have implemented traffic control for both directions of the Jiujiang Bridge on the G240 National Highway from 6 a.m. on April 23 to 6 a.m. on April 24. The maritime department has implemented navigation control, with all vessels prohibited from entering the three-kilometer water area upstream and downstream of the bridge, except for emergency rescue boats. Passing vessels were advised to detour. Reports with photos: https://english.news.cn/20240423/dee1d7dccf6948ff9245836174c7ca46/c.html https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202404/23/WS6627586ba31082fc043c3822.html
News
SEAWAY VENTUS
The 'Seaway Ventus' has been blocked at the Australia Quay in Esbjerg by port workers on April 19, 2024, which puts large Ørsted projects on hold, due to a lack of a collective agreement for the sailors on board. 3F Transport supports the port workers, who have been in dialogue with Ørsted for over a month to get the seafarers at the shipping company Seaway 7 a collective agreement. The 'Seaway Ventus' will be employed on the upcoming German offshore wind farms Gode Wind 3 and Borkum Riffgrund 1.
Dhamra
French oil and gas giant Total SA has taken a 50 per cent stake in Dhamra LNG Terminal Pvt Ltd (DLTPL), a unit of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), which is constructing a 12 million tonne per annum (mtpa) LNG regasification terminal at its port located at Dhamra in Odisha’s Bhadrak district.
San Juan
Two more cruise ships bypassed scheduled stops in san Juan as demonstrators have been calling for the resignation of Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló. The loss of tourism is impacting the island's economy. Tourism officials said the two ships would have generated a $1.3 million economic impact. Officials estimated the island missed out on a combined $760,000 from the Seaside and Equinox on Monday
NIEUW STATENDAM
The 'Nieuww Statendam', en route from Rotterdam to Funchal, requested the medical evacuation of a passenger with a possible stroke on April 23, 2024, about 91 nautical miles from A Coruña. The CCS Finisterre of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the SAR helicopter Helimer 402. The patient was hoisted and taken Alvedro, where an ambulance was waiting for further transport to hospital.
STRANDE
The 'Strande' has been sold to the Sunlines and will be operated on the route Naissaar-Tallinn starting in May 2024. The ship remained stationary in Kiel as of April 23, 2024. https://www.sunlines.ee/en/liinid/tallinn-naissaar-strande/
Richards Bay
Moves are afoot for a new multi-billion-rand liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and regasification terminal to be established at the port of Richards Bay by 2024, but state-owned Transnet wants the private sector to be the main investor and operator of the facility. The plan was revealed on Tuesday as Transnet announced the signing of a cost-sharing agreement with the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to jointly fund a feasibility study into the terminal project. The IFC has committed $2 million (around R28 million) as part of the cost-sharing agreement. The move comes as Transnet looks to bolster South Africa’s LNG infrastructure, both at the country’s ports and within its pipelines business.
Napier
Ships could continue to be turned away from Napier Port for the next few days as an "unprecendented" swell hammers Hawke's Bay. Clifton Beach was closed by Hastings District Council on Wednesday and Napier City Council closed the Marine Parade viewing platform after tourists were drenched by a heaving sea on Wednesday morning. MetService meteorologist Tui McInnes said a slow building pressure system out to the east of Hawke's Bay had ramped up the seas, causing swells of close to 4m. McInnes said the 4m swells had the potential to "cause a bit of havoc on the coast" as it could possibly continue until Saturday morning. "The main thing that is causing the big waves is the easterly winds that are occur. "With a large space and a slow build-up it leaves time for some quite nice swells to develop," McInnes said. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12252333
COSTA DIADEMA
A passenger was medevaced from the 'Costa Diadema', en route from Malaga to Barcelona, on April 23, 2024, about 14.3 nautical miles from Peñon de Ifach. The ship had requested assistance after a passenger was suffering from respiratory problems. The CCS Valencia of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the SAR helicopter Helimer 215, which hoisted the patient and took him to the Denia Firefighters heliport for further transfer to the hospital.
Keelung
Hong Kong-based Dream Cruises’ World Dream cruise ship made its first port call to Keelung on July 8 and tourism operators have said that the port could receive a visit by Royal Caribbean International’s new Spectrum of the Seas in 2021. With gross tonnage (GT) of 151,300, the World Dream is the largest ship ever to visit Keelung Port, the Keelung Harbor Bureau said on Sunday, July 21. Tourism operators have said that the 169,379GT Spectrum of the Seas could set a new record if it makes an anticipated port call in 2021.
Chittagong Shipbreakers
Bangladesh has become the top dumping ground for discarded ships in the world with the country dismantling the highest number of vessels in the first half (January-June) of the current year, according to a report of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, a leading NGO coalition campaigning for clean and safe ship recycling.