Bookings have been suspended to Whalsay’s ferry service after the 'Hendra' suffered a damage to its main engine on May 9, 2024. The service was thus running to the 'Linga’s timetable on a first come, first serve basis. The damage has been identified on a piston on the starboard main engine. Those who needed to get to a medical appointment were urged to let the crew know so that they could be prioritised.
News
DALI
The Key Bridge Response Unified Command was scheduled to use precision cuts made with small charges to remove a large section of the Francis Scott Key Bridge wreckage from on top of the 'Dali'. The exact time of the precision cuts depended on multiple environmental and operational factors. The small charges, a standard controlled demolition tool, will split the large section of truss at specific locations to create multiple, smaller sections, which allows salvors to use cranes and barges already on scene to remove these sections of the bridge and ultimately remove the 'Dali' from the channel. On May 9, the Captain of the Port (COTP) has established a transit plan to afford recreational vessels the opportunity for transit through the Key Bridge Response Safety Zone. Traffic will be one-way at a time during one period: on May 12, oubound transits will be permitted in the afternoon from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm, and INBOUND transits will be permitted from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The Unified Command or Captain of the Port may cancel these time periods at any time for safety reasons. Mariners must monitor VHF Channel 16 and 81A while transiting the area.
Lisbon
The Alcantara container terminal in Lisbon announced this week plans to invest 122 million euros (137.4 million U.S. dollars) by 2038 to modernize and streamline the operational activity of its port infrastructure.
Basrah Offshore Oil Terminal
July 16: A fire at Iraq’s southern Basra offshore oil export terminal briefly halted crude loading operations on Tuesday but was put out and loading resumed, Iraqi oil officials said. The fire occurred in a residential section of the terminal accommodating workers and did not directly damage oil infrastructure, a port official and sources in the Basra Oil Company said. “Fire erupted at around 5 am (0200 GMT) and it was put out in two hours. We had to halt crude loading operations for three hours for safety issues,” said a port official who was speaking from the Basra port. Basra port has restored full operations with no stoppage at the oil exports jetties, said a statement from the state-run Basra Oil Company. Four workers suffered minor injuries, it added.
RIDENS
On the evening of May 6, the CROSS Gris-Nez was informed that a migrant boat was in difficulty off the coast of Gravelines and deployed the 'Ridens' to assist, which launches its rescue boat to reach the site. The crew recovered 22 people. Several people still present on board the migrant boat refused the assistance offered by French means and continued their journey under appropriate surveillance. The castaways recovered by the Ridens were then dropped off at the port of Dunkirk. Once at the dock, were are taken care of by the land emergency services and the border police.
Sydney
Australia’s biggest port operator DP World is telling dock workers that 200 jobs will be made redundant in Sydney and Melbourne as the company grapples with stalled union negotiations and growing commercial pressures. DP World Australia’s chief operating officer Andrew Adam told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald that the company had no choice but to shed 200 staff – 100 in Melbourne (on top of 50 stevedores who will leave the business this week) and 100 in Sydney. About 1800 stevedores work at the company. “It’s a decision not taken lightly, but we’ve lost volume and market share since last year,” Mr Adam said.
Manzanillo
The Mexican government is upgrading the Port of Manzanillo, one of the country’s main Pacific Ocean ports, with four new terminals. The terminals will include a specialized container facility with capacity to handle 1.75 million TEUs per year, another for agricultural bulk, one more for mineral bulk and one specialized for hydrocarbons.
HNLMS KAREL DOORMAN
The Zr.Ms. 'Karel Doorman' was stranded in the Mediterranean Sea with technical problems, on the way to the Red Sea. According to the ministry, there were problems with 'one of the weapon systems. A source reported that was is a defect in two of the automatic rapid-fire cannons, the so-called Goalkeepers. These are needed to destroy incoming missiles. A technical team has been flown in to solve the problem. The ship had left Den Helder for the operations area on April 21, 2024, fully operational. After the Zr.Ms. 'Karel Doorman' has completed the necessary tests, the ship will sail to the operating area as quickly as possible.
THUNDER
On May 9 2024, at noon, the Port Authority of Paros was informed that the 'Thunder', during the docking process at the port of Parikia, Paros, suffered a malfunction of the ramp, resulting in the inability to disembark and embark passengers and vehicles. The ship came from the port of Ios on a scheduled route to the ports of Mykonos, Syros and Piraeus. With the care of the ship-owning company, the ramp was disengaged with the assistance of a heavy-duty vehicle, and then the safe disembarkation of the passengers and vehicles was completed. On board were 259 passengers and 35 crew members. The disembarked passengers and vehicles destined for the ports of Mykonos and Syros were transferred to the 'Super Express' in order to be forwarded to their final destinations. The Port Authority of Paros banned the 'Thunder' from sailing. After the presentation of a certificate of class maintenance by the monitoring classification society, the departure was granted for a single voyage the port of Piraeus with 237 passengers on board.
Tanger-Med
Nippon Express France, S.A.S. (hereinafter, “NEF”), a subsidiary of Nippon Express Co., Ltd., has opened a Tanger Med Logistics Center in the Moroccan port of Tanger Med, and this Center began operations on Wednesday, June 26, as NEF’s second location in Morocco.
Sohar
US-based McDermott International has received a contract to provide front-end engineering design (FEED) services for the Sohar LNG Bunkering Project in Oman. The project has an aim of establishing Oman as a regional LNG bunkering hub capable of supplying LNG as a fuel to marine vessels. Under the deal, awarded by Total Oman E&P Development B.V. in partnership with Oman Oil Company S.O.A.C., the scope of work during the FEED phase includes fully defining the onshore mid-scale LNG facilities and preparing a competitive tender for the engineering, procurement, supply, construction and commissioning phase.