The City of Baltimore on April 22 opposed capping the 'Dali's shipowner’s liability in the Key Bridge collapse. The companies’ actions leading up to the disastrous crash were “grossly and potentially criminally negligent,” the city’s lawyers wrote in a new filing. The 'Dali' was “clearly unseaworthy,” a claim that will have major implications for the companies’ efforts to limit their liability. “For more than four decades, cargo ships made thousands of trips every year under the Key Bridge without incident. There was nothing about March 26, 2024, that should have changed that. But Petitioners, Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, saw fit to put a clearly unseaworthy vessel into the water. Petitioners’ actions were grossly and potentially criminally negligent. In no way should their liability be limited.” The filing claims that the companies provided the vessel with an “incompetent crew that was inattentive to its duties” and “failed to comply with local navigation customs and/or usage,” failed to properly maintain the vessel and failed to comply with industry standards, among a long list of allegations. Baltimore hired a heavy-hitting lawyer with experience handling maritime disasters and structural collapses to handle its claims related to the Key Bridge collapse. The Maryland Attorney General’s Office also issued a request for proposals for assistant counsel to participate in Key Bridge litigation. The ship is owned by the Grace Ocean Private Limited and managed by Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., which both filed a “limitation of liability” action just days after the crash. The action was aimed at capping the amount of damages the companies could be forced to pay at about $43 million — the value of the 'Dali' and its cargo. The city’s filing ass the first among what were expected to be many objections to the limitation of liability action. The FBI was also conducting a criminal investigation into the accident. The ship reportedly experienced electrical issues before it left port but took off despite of that. Parties with claims against the 'Dali' will have until Sep 24 to file notice in federal court, though there was expected to be a lengthy court fight over whether the owner can successfully cap liability. If the owner had “privity or knowledge” of the issue that caused the crash, or if the ship wasn’t seaworthy before it left port, the limitation of liability action could fail, allowing claimants to pursue bigger monetary awards.
News
SALVAMAR ALPHERATZ
A boat arrived with 59 sub-Saharan migrants, among them 57 men, one woman and one minor, was in need of assistance in the night of April 21, three nautical miles south of Las Galletas. The 'Salvamar Alpheratz' was mobilized by the CCS of Salvamento Marítimo in Tenerife. The boat was escorted to the Port of Los Cristianos. Video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1782328647761723581
Walvis Bay
NAMPORT’s new container terminal will be officially inaugurated on 2 August, and normal operations are expected to start on it on 24 August. The new terminal, constructed at a cost of N$4 billion, is expected to increase container handling capacity from the current 355 000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to up to 1 005 000 TEUs. Firstly, there will be a shutdown on 17 August of container operations in the port to start relocations to the new terminal. The equipment to be relocated include rubber-tired gantries and mobile harbour cranes, while reach stackers, haulers and forklifts will move the containers.
Hanjin Subic Shipyard
The 300-hectare shipyard of Hanjin Philippines may be taken over by several shipping companies that would transform it into a major global port, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said in a chance interview recently. He said the shipyard could be a sprawling multipurpose mixed-use port facility that would be jointly operated by several players. This, he said, is one of the proposals received by Hanjin creditors for the development of the shipyard after Hanjin Philippines declared bankruptcy early this year. “It’s a good masterplan that has been proposed and it is targeted to be implemented this year,” Lopez said. He declined to name the companies but hinted that these include foreign players. Another source said creditors are in negotiations with an American and a Japanese company. Officially, Hanjin has fully shut down just this month, ending the last of its remaining maintenance operations, sources said. As of this writing, the creditors have not made any official announcement yet regarding the final plans for the shipyard.
EF OLIVIA
The 'Hayriye Ana' (IMO: 9557953), en route from Istanbul to A Coruna, was in collision with the 'EF Olivia', en route from Hamburg to Augusta, 14 nautical miles from Capo Passero on the southeastern tip of Sicily south of the ports of Syracuse and Catania, on the morning of April 22, 2024. Both vessels suffered some minor damage. The hull of the container ship was holed midships at the waterline. Both ships diverted to the Sicilian coast, displaying messages of “restricted maneuverability.” The 'Hayriye Ana' has been cited for several deficiencies on recent inspections. In November 2023, the Chinese authorities listed a dozen deficiencies including issues with the vessel’s VDR, an issue also cited by Greek inspectors in January 2024. The Italian Coastguard mobilized an AW139 helicopter and an Atr42 aircraft as well as a patrol vessel to the scene to monitor the vessel’s progress. So far, no pollution has been reported. The 'EF Olivia' reached Augusta Anchorage at 8.50 p.m. UTC and moored in pos. 37° 12.32' N 015° 12.63' E. The 'Hayriye Ana' was underway to A Coruna with a speed of 5,8 knots at that time and an ETA as of April 29. Reports with photos and video: https://maritime-executive.com/article/video-italian-coast-guard-monitoring-after-vessels-collide-off-sicily https://www.fanpage.it/attualita/schianto-tra-nave-cargo-e-portacontainer-al-largo-della-sicilia-guardia-costiera-con-navi-e-aerei/
SALVAMAR ALGENIB
The pleasure boat 'Rosendo' was disabled and adrift 20 nautical miles northeast of Garrucha on April 22 and requested assistance. The 'Salvamar Algenib' was mobilized by the CCS Almería of Salvamento Marítimo. It took the boat in tow and safely pulled it to the port of Garrucha.
Visakhapatnam
With further development to its existing solid European products, Ocean Network Express (ONE) has announced the launch of a new direct service, the Indian Ocean Service 3 (IO3), which covers South East India, Mediterranean, and North Europe. The new product will offer new port coverage and boost reliability to a wider range of direct port call options to ONE’s valued customers. It will also further expand ONE’s already comprehensive service offerings and allow its clients to enjoy greater choice while bringing efficiency and additional values to the supply chain. The first sailing of the loop is now expected to start from 26th October 2019. IO3: Indian Ocean Service 3 Rotation: Visakhapatnam – Krishnapatnam – Chennai – Tuticorin – Colombo – Cochin – Damietta – Piraeus – Rotterdam – London Gateway – Hamburg – Antwerp – Le Havre – Damietta – Jeddah – Colombo – Visakhapatnam (Fixed day weekly service, 63-day rotation)
Callao
APM Terminals has become the first Peruvian port to introduce a customer platform that logs, streamlines and coordinate General Cargo operations in the port of Callao. During the pilot phase, the platform, which was developed together with maritime and customs agents, enabled users to complete transactions 67% faster and operations were completed 12% faster. APM Terminals Callao invested nearly USD 1 million in the implementation of MOST, a new state-of-the-art platform that can be used by maritime agents, customs agencies and carriers, among others. MOST can be used to register cargo and view real-time information, make online payments and generate authorizations for the loading and unloading of all types of General Cargo, from anywhere, anytime. The platform is a clear milestone in the efficient management of port logistics using world-class technology.
HAYRIYE ANA
The 'Hayriye Ana', en route from Istanbul to A Coruna, was in collision with the 'EF Olivia' ( IMO: 9252735), en route from Hamburg to Augusta, 14 nautical miles from Capo Passero on the southeastern tip of Sicily south of the ports of Syracuse and Catania, on the morning of April 22, 2024. Both vessels suffered some minor damage. The hull of the container ship was holed midships at the waterline. Both ships diverted to the Sicilian coast, displaying messages of “restricted maneuverability.” The 'Hayriye Ana' has been cited for several deficiencies on recent inspections. In November 2023, the Chinese authorities listed a dozen deficiencies including issues with the vessel’s VDR, an issue also cited by Greek inspectors in January 2024. The Italian Coastguard mobilized an AW139 helicopter and an Atr42 aircraft as well as a patrol vessel to the scene to monitor the vessel’s progress. So far, no pollution has been reported. The 'EF Olivia' reached Augusta Anchorage at 8.50 p.m. UTC and moored in pos. 37° 12.32' N 015° 12.63' E. The 'Hayriye Ana' was underway to A Coruna with a speed of 5,8 knots at that time and an ETA as of April 29. Reports with photos and video: https://maritime-executive.com/article/video-italian-coast-guard-monitoring-after-vessels-collide-off-sicily https://www.fanpage.it/attualita/schianto-tra-nave-cargo-e-portacontainer-al-largo-della-sicilia-guardia-costiera-con-navi-e-aerei/
SALVAMAR BETELGEUSE
The Spanish flagged fishing vessel 'Piringuela', with two crew members on board, suffered a mechanical breakdown near Pta. San Mamede (Ares and Betanzos estuary) on April 22, 204. The ship was adrift close to shore, and the fishermen dropped anchor. The CCS A Coruña of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the 'Salvamar Betelgeuse', which took the vessel in tow and safely pulled it to Sada.
Rio de Janeiro
ICTSI subsidiary ICTSI Americas BV has acquired 100% of the shares of Libra Terminal Rio S.A. (Libra Rio) to run the Terminal de Contêineres 1 (T1Rio) container terminal in the Port of Rio, Brazil. Libra Rio holds the concession rights to operate, manage and develop T1Rio and was acquired by ICTSI from Boreal Empreendimentos e Participações SA. The deal to take over the port container terminal concession was disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange, reported Manila Standard. ICTSI said: “The parties will work to sign a share purchase agreement in due course.” Concession until 2048
Limassol
Two and a half years after taking over the operations of the Multi-Purpose and the New Cruise Terminals at the Limassol port, DP World Limassol on Wednesday presented the upgrades and investments in infrastructure and equipment. The company said that it had acquired brand-new equipment in January 2019 as part of an ongoing upgrade of the Limassol port infrastructure. The new machinery was put into operation in March 2019, following intensive training of staff and has contributed to speeding up operations at the Multi-purpose port terminal. More specifically, the new equipment includes: A new, high-tech LHM 420 mobile harbour crane, with maximum lifting capacity of 144 tons and radius of 54 metres enhancing the efficient handling and transportation of bulk cargo, general cargo, containers, oil and gas.