The crew of the USCGC 'Anacapa' held a decommissioning ceremony for the cutter in Port Angeles, Washington, on April 26, 2024. Rear Adm. Charles Fosse, commander, Coast Guard 13th District, presided over the ceremony honoring the 34 years of service of the 'Anacapa' and its crews provided to the nation. Commissioned in 1990, the 'Anacapa' was one of 49 Island-class cutters built in Bollinger Shipyards in Lockport, Louisiana and was originally homeported in Petersburg, Alaska for more than three decades. While homeported in Port Angeles, the Anacapa successfully conducted numerous missions. Notably, in August 2022, the 'Anacapa' rescued three people from a disabled sailboat and conducted an overnight tow of the vessel. In April 2023, the Anacapa responded and assisted in the safe evacuation of 600 passengers, after the ferry 'Walla Walla' grounded in the Rich Passage. Following the decommissioning ceremony, the 'Anacapa' will transit to the Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore, Maryland, and will be placed in the Cutter Transition Division. Report with photo: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3759112/us-coast-guard-cutter-anacapa-decommissioned-after-34-years-of-service/
News
SALVAMAR ADHARA
The bulk carrier 'Beskidy' reported a semi-submerged cayuco 60 nautical miles south of El Hierro on April 28. The CCS Tenerife of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the 'Salvamar Adhara', a patrol boat of the Guardia Civil and the SAR helicopter Helimer 206, to the scene. The vessel, measuring between 15 to 20 metres in length, was spotted by the 'Beskidy', while it was en route from Itaqui to Cartagena. The helicopter flew nine survivors to El Hierro to receive initial medical assistance. Meanwhile, the 'Salvamar Adhara' was instructed to continue sailing towards the location of the boat to verify that there were no remaining victims onboard, as indicated by reports from the Helimer rescuers. The survivors told the helicopter crew and medical personnel that they had set sail nine days ago with 60 people on board, bound for the Canary Islands, capsized two days ago, and they are the only ones who managed to turn the boat back over and climb aboard again, despite it being partially submerged. The survivors, for whom no further details have been disclosed yet, except that they were from sub-Saharan Africa, were being attended to by healthcare professionals and Red Cross personnel at the El Hierro airport. Ambulances have transported three of them to the island’s hospital. Report with photo: https://twitter.com/salvamentogob/status/1784911195557826861
Jiangyin
Norwegian shipping and tank terminal company Odfjell SE has finalized the sale of its stake in Odfjell Terminals Jiangyin (OTJ), China. The indirect 55% equity interest in OTJ has been sold by Odfjell Terminals Asia Holding to Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) for a price of about USD 46 million.
London
All new ships for UK waters ordered from 2025 should be designed with zero-emission capable technologies, according to ambitious plans set out today by maritime minister Nusrat Ghani to cut pollution from the country’s maritime sector. The commitment is set out in the Clean Maritime Plan published today. The government is also looking at ways to incentivise the transition to zero-emission shipping and will consult on this next year. The plan also includes a £1m competition to find innovative ways to reduce maritime emissions and is published alongside a call for evidence to reduce emissions on UK waterways and domestic vessels.
DALI
The Baltimore Port Authority on April 29 closed the deepest, temporary channel to the port to date after just a few days. This was done to get ready to remove the bridge section that lies across the bow of the 'Dali', and subsequently also remove the container ship itself. The goal is that the 'Dali' has been removed by May 10 at the latest, and the entire entrance to the harbour is cleared before the end of May. Before the salvors can remove the bridge section that lies across the bow of the vessel, it is necessary to remove 180 containers from the ship. Of these, 140 have now been removed, but the last ones were expected to be the most difficult. Once the bridge section is removed, the 'Dali' can be towed away. Around May 15, the plan is to reopen the temporary channel with a water depth of 35 feet again and which was briefly opened to allow some of the ships that have been locked up in the port since the accident. A single container ship, the feeder 'MSC Passion III', also managed to slip into the port with 1,000 containers on board, unload and leave the port again before the temporary channel was closed again.
SALVAMAR SIRIUS
On April 29, 2024, the trawler 'Concha', with 2 crew members on board, suffered an engine damage and went adrift in front of Sant Feliu de Guixols. The CCS Barcelona of Salvamento MArítimo mobilized the ' 'Salvamar Sirius' to assist, which took the ship in tow and safely pulled it to Palamós.
Nhava Sheva
Middle East-India-Africa Express (MIAX) to start operations in October 2019 Hapag-Lloyd is expanding its African liner services and will offer its MIAX (Middle East-India-Africa Express) service starting in October 2019. It will include direct connections between the Arabian Gulf, India, Colombo (Sri Lanka), La Réunion, South Africa and West Africa.
Ngqura
South African state-run logistics company Transnet has suspended a number of employees for taking part in a lengthy go-slow campaign at the Ngqura Container Terminal in the Eastern Cape. The port said in a statement yesterday it had “suspended a number of employees at its Ngqura Container Terminal for engaging in an illegal industrial action.
EUNAVFOR WARSHIP
On the morning of April 29, the 'Virginio Fasan' reported downing a drone from Yemen. The frigate had recently arrived in the region to take over as the flagship of EU NAVFOR Aspides. While German, Denmark, and Belgium have withdrawn their vessels, Italy has sent a new frigate, which took over as the new flagship of the operation. Italy's Duilio had been leading the operation. The drone was about three miles away when it was downed, as they believed it was heading for an unnamed merchant ship that they were escorting. A missile exploded in the water in the vicinity of the escorted vessel, causing only minor superficial damage.
Kiel
Maiden call by Marella Cruises in Kiel. In the early Tuesday morning (16th July) the cruise ship Marella Explorer (see also CruiseMapper) berthed in the port of Kiel with 2,000 mostly anglo-phone passengers on-board. The vessel follows an itinerary of 14 days leading it all across the Baltic Sea. It started in Newcastle on 13th July and will conclude its cruise in the same port on 27th July.
Tyne
The Port of Tyne has created a new baggage handling for Marella Cruises at its International Passenger Terminal, which is located in North Shields near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. The port has reconfigured 300 square metres of its terminal, creating space to process 1,000 bags as well as a marquee that functions as an undercover baggage handling facility. There are now also 382 additional parking spaces specifically for Marella Cruises’ guests. Marella Cruises’ customer will be able to drop off their luggage before heading straight to a dedicated car park. The baggage will be checked by security and loaded onto the ship, expediting the embarkation process.