At a dual ceremony held at the Hatteras Village ferry docks on May 20, 2024, the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) Ferry Division and the U.S. Coast Guard honoured the crew of the 'Hatteras' for their rescue of two men and their dog on Jan 12, 2024. Captain Bill Davis, Chief Engineer Robbie Meekins, Oiler Amanda Przygodzinski, and the crew members Gerald Huneycutt, David Butler, and Calob Fulford were onboard the 'Hatteras', tying up the ferry at the Ocracoke-South Dock Terminal, when they noticed two men hanging onto an overturned boat, and swiftly floating out of Hatteras Inlet and toward the Atlantic Ocean. The weather conditions were worsening, the current was strong, and the two men were getting sucked out to sea, Captain Bill Davis sounded the general alarm, and the crew snapped into action. The crew immediately launched a rescue boat and went to the scene, where they found the two men clinging to the side of the vessel, and a dog trapped underneath. The two men had waders on, and were having trouble staying afloat. The strong current combined with the frigid 52-degree water temperature made the situation critical. Due to the crew’s rapid response and training, it didn’t take long for the team to pull both victims and the dog out of the water, and shuttle them back to land, with no injuries reported. In addition to the NCDOT’s Extra Mile Award, Corrie Sergent, Deputy Commander for U.S. Coast Guard Sector North Carolina, also presented the crew with the Certificate of Merit and Recognition of Notable Services that have Assisted Greatly in Furthering the Aims and Functions of the Coast Guard. Multiple agencies and community members were in attendance at the ceremony, including the majority of Coast Guardsmen from Station Hatteras Inlet. Report with photos: https://islandfreepress.org/outer-banks-news/six-member-ferry-crew-honored-by-ncdot-u-s-coast-guard-for-heroic-january-rescue/
News
VENTURA
Nearly 250 passengers were affected by gatro illness aboard the 'Ventura' off the Canary Islands. Although health measures have been taken to stem the gastroenteritis pandemic, some vacationers have had to isolate themselves in their cabins. Nearly 3,000 passengers and 1,200 crew members were on board the cruise ship. To contain the disease, vacationers had to follow strict health protocols The 'Ventura' had left the port of Southampton, UK, on May 11 for a 14-day cruise around the Spanish islands. During the last four days, things have gotten complicated. Enhanced disinfection has taken place at the port of Tenerife. The measures put in place involved the closure of on-board laundries and a ban on serving passengers at buffets. There would have been 150 of them isolating themselves in their cabin. Staff brought them food and bottles of water during her isolation. The testimonies collected from passengers seem to point towards a virus present on board before their boarding.
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
ICGS ABHINAV
Despite challenging conditions, the ICGS 'Abhinav' successfully pumpe outd the engine compartment of the Indian fishing vessel 'Gurovayoorappan' with 13 crew members on board, responding to a distress call 30 nautical miles off Chavakkad, Kerala. Following the rectification of defects, the ship safely entered Munambam fishing harbour on May 21, 2024. Report with photo: https://news.abplive.com/kerala/kerala-indian-coast-guard-rescues-13-crew-members-from-sinking-fishing-boat-gurovayoorappan-1689383
SEA-EYE 4
The 'Sea Eye 4' rescued 52 boat people in the central Mediterranean on the evening of May 20. Two people required emergency medical care. The operation took place in the Maltese SAR zone. On the afternoon, the ship received an emergency call from the rescue ship 'Mare*Go', which had found the unseaworthy and overcrowded fiberglass boat and was able to equip the occupants with life jackets and stabilize the boat. Since the weather was threatening to worsen, the 'Sea Eye 4' was notified, which arrived at the scene after about a two-hour voyage. Upon arrival, the boat was no longer able to reach a safe port under its own power. Two of the migrants were initially unable to get on board independently due to severe pain and had to be hoisted out of the boat using a rescue seat. Fortunately, the initial suspicion of a head or spinal injury was not confirmed during the examination in the on-board hospital, and the condition improved over time with pain medication. At around 10:30 p.m., the 'Sea Eye 4' had successfully completed the evauation. Most of the castaways wree from Syria. The weather conditions deteriorated significantly during the night, but despite of this, Ravenna has been assigned to disembark the migrants, which meant five more days on the Mediterranean with an ETa as of May 25. Several patients complained of painful bruises that they sustained during the turbulent crossing in the overcrowded boat. Due to the bad weather and high waves, many of those rescued also were suffering from seasickness. The health checks that have been carried out so far and have revealed no further serious illnesses.
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.
DALI
On May 22 Maryland Governor Wes Moore said the 'Dali' will be in Baltimore for four to six weeks, while crews remove pieces of the bridge, damaged containers and parts of the roadway still on board. They will also make a number of temporary fixes. Once this is done, it will be sent to Norfolk. He did not specify which shipyard will receive the ship. The crew members now have the chance to spend some time off the ship for the first time since the initial collapse. After the ship was removed, there is now a 400 foot wide by 50 foot deep channel for 24/7 operations at the Port of Baltimore. The Coastguard was working to expand this further, while clearing additional rubble from the bottom of the channel.
K.BURKOVSKIY
The 'Safron Danilov' (IMO: 9069970) and the 'Kapitan Burkovskiy' sank after failing to cope with ice drift during the winter lay up near the village of Zhigansk on the Lena River in Yakutia on May 21, 2024. There were no reports of injuries. Investigators and criminologists were working on the site, who must give an official assessment of the emergency situation and the reasons why the ships went to the bottom. Report with photo: https://unn.ua/en/news/failed-to-cope-with-ice-drift-two-motor-ships-sank-in-russia
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.