On March 26 at 11:35 p.m. Canary Islands time the 'Guardamar Calíope' rescued 53 people from a cayuco about 110 miles south of Gran Canaria. A merchant ship had located the cayuco, and the Sasemar 101 plane and the Helimer 201 helicopter were dispatched to locate the boat. The response was corrdinated by the JRCC of Salvamento Marítimo in Las Palmas. Photos: https://twitter.com/salvamentogob/status/1772911324940447799
News
DALI
Divers recovered the bodies of two of the six missing workers who fell into the icy Patapsco Riverin the night of March 27. The two bodies were found in a truck lying in about eight meters of water near the center section of the collapsed bridge. Further searches for the missing have been suspended as debris from the bridge made it too dangerous to dive in the area.
ABDULLAH
Pirates have demanded $5 million for the release of 23 Bangladeshi crew members held captive aboard the´'Abdullah'. The Indian Navy had swiftly responded to the piracy attack on the vessel, deploying both a warship and an LRMP- long-range maritime patrol. The Indian warship intercepted the hijacked vessel on March 14, ensuring the initial safety of the Bangladeshi crew held hostage by armed pirates and maintaining proximity until it arrived in Somalia's territorial waters. The Indian Navy has offered to the Bangladesh government and the ship's owner to conduct operations aboard the ship.
PANORAMA
In the afternoon of March 26, 2024, the Karystos Port Authority was informed by the Master of the 'Panorama', which was sailing on its scheduled route from the port of Marmaris to the port of Rafina, that it had suffered a loss of the electrical power due to the breakage of the cooling belt of the second generator. The ship had on board 221 passengers with their vehicles and 18 crew members. The ship returned under its own power to the port of Marmaris, where it safely disembarked the passengers, who were forwarded to their destination by the ship-owning company. The Karystos Port Authority banned the ferry from sailing until the repair of the damage and the presentation of a certificate of class maintenance by the monitoring classification society.
SALVAMAR DENEB
On March 26, 202, the Spanish f/v 'Faro de Guía' reported on VHF channel 16, that it had suffered an engine failure and was adrift northwest of the Santander Lighthouse with two crew members on board and requested assistance. The CCS Santander of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the 'Salvamar Deneb', which took the ship in tow and safely pulled it to the fishing port of Santander.
SALVAMAR SIRIUS
On March 27, the motore boat 'Puca', with three crew members on board, suffered an engine breakdown in the southern Agaró Bay (Sant Feliu de Guíxols). The CCS Barcelona of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the 'Salvamar Sirius', which took the boat in tow and safely pulled it to Palamós.
DALI
The allision of the 'Dali' with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore was expected to have a limited but significant impact on the local port and shipping operations. The effect on the overall US economy was expected to be remaining relatively limited. About a dozen large ships have been trapped in Baltimore port along with a similar number of tugs and workboats. Another 30 vessels were signalling their destination as Baltimore, one of the smaller US container ports, ranking around no. 11, which handled about 265,000 TEUs in the fourth quarter of 2023. These can be redirected to other ports along the US east coast, although such a necessary move may lead to short-term congestion and delays in those ports. The port is important for the handling of specialised cargo and bulk handling, including motor vehicles and oil. In 2023 Baltimore handled approximately 850,000 motor vehicles, all types. Baltimore is particularly important for the handling of farm and construction machinery, automobiles, imported forest products, imported sugar, imported gypsum, and exported coal. No estimates have been given so far for the clearing of debris obstructing the channel and preventing access to the port. President Biden intimated on March 26 that federal funding would be available for the rebuilding of the bridge, but first it was necessary to clear the channel of all obstacles. Much of the debris can possibly be dragged away from the channel in relatively short time, allowing trapped ships to depart the port and others to enter. Meanwhile, enquiries into the cause of the ship’s failure to navigate safely have commenced. The accident site was being treated as a crime scene.
ST NIKOLAS
Iran has released the Filipino crew members of the 'St. Nikolas', which was seized in January with 145,000 tons of oil on board. The 18 seafarers people were only allowed leave after replacement staff had been arranged. A Greek crew member was released shortly afterwards. The Filipino crew were allowed to go home in groups from the end of January. The latter returned to Manila last week.
TITARIO SEGON
The 'Titario Segon', 68 gt, suffered an engine failure on March 25 , 2024, in the L`Ametlla area, with three crew members on board. The ship requested a tow to port, and the CCS Barcelona of Salvamenot Marítimo mobilized the SAR vessel 'Salvamar Fomalhaut', which took the ship in tow and safely pulled it to L'Ametlla.
FORTUNA NO.12
Scrapped at Busan 03/2024 https://www.shipspotting.com/photos/3692523?navList=gallery&
HT8
On March 27 the 'HT 8' was back to its normal work in the Schwentine estuary following the successful defusing of an air mine weighing on the Kiel Fjord the previous day by the explosive ordnance disposal service defused a bomb on the Kiel Fjord. It was the largest unexploded bomb from the Second World War ever found in Schleswig-Holstein. Around 170 people from Kiel-Holtenau and around 1,500 people from Heikendorf had to leave their homes at 10 a.m. for several hours for the time of the defusing. At 2:05 p.m. the detonators were removed and detonated in the water. At 2:20 p.m. the team announced the successful defusing. The police boat 'Falshöft' brought the crew of the work boat back on board. At 2:38 p.m. shipping was allowed again on the Kiel Fjord. At 3:31 p.m. the blockbuster bomb arrived safely in Kiel-Holtenau. The unexploded bomb was loaded onto a transporter and prepared for the transport to Groß-Nordsee. Video: https://www.ndr.de/fernsehen/sendungen/schleswig-holstein_1800/Entschaerfung-einer-Luftmine-in-der-Kieler-Foerde,shmag114954.html
SALVAMAR DRACO
On March 27, a container fell into the sea at the height of the synchrolift in the port of Cartagena. The Port Authority requested assistance, and the CCS Cartagena mobilized the 'Salvamar Draco', which towed it to the Navantia dock for recovery. Photo: https://twitter.com/salvamentogob/status/1773009823245676701
SAKHALIN ISLAND
The 'Sakhalin Island', the seventh and final tanker carrying Sokol oil and sanctioned by the U.S., arrived at the port of Tianjin and berthed at the Shihua Crude Oil Terminal on March 27 at 5.30 a.m. UTC, discharge its Russian oil cargo. The six other sanctioned tankers offloaded their Sokol oil cargo in China earlier in March, pushing China's March imports of seaborne Russian oil to a record high. The 'Sakhalin Island' started making its way to theTianjin late on MArch 25 after floating off the coast of nearby Shandong province for more than three weeks. Russia has been struggling with a Sokol glut amid ramped up U.S. sanctions. More than 10 million barrels of the oil supplied by Sakhalin-1, a unit of Rosneft (ROSN.MM), have been floating in storage over the past three months amid payment difficulties and sanctions on shipping firms and vessels carrying the crude. India, the top buyer of Russian crude in 2023, has retreated from purchases amid tighter sanctions, giving top global oil importer China the opportunity to scoop up the light sweet grade from Russia to replace costly Iranian supply. Chinese companies that received Sokol crude in March include Sinopec, PetroChina , Sinochem, CNOOC and independent refiners in Shandong. China's seaborne Russian crude imports were set to hit a record high in March at 1.816 million barrels per day, boosted by record imports of Far East Russian grades including 440,000 bpd of Sokol and 967,000 bpd of ESPO. Apart from the 'Sakhalin Island', the six other vessels that offloaded Sokol crude in China in MArch were the 'Krymsk', 'Liteyny Prospect', 'Nellis', 'NS Antarctic', 'NS Century' and 'NS Lion'. The tankers, except the 'NS Century', offloaded their cargo within temporary waiver periods from U.S. sanctions. All tankers are operated by companies tied to Sovcomflot. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Russia's leading tanker group for violating a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian crude oil exports. Aftr unloading their cargo, the 'Krymsk' and 'Liteneyny Prospect' were anchored off Nakhodka, while the 'Nellis', 'NS Antarctic' and 'NS Lion' were outside Yeosu. The 'NS Century' anchored off Qingdao.
ABEILLE NORMANDIE
In the night of March 26 the CROSS Gris-Nez was informed that a migrant boat was in difficulty off the coast of Oye-Plage and deployed the 'Abeille Normandie' to assist. The crew of the emergency tug noticed that the boat had an engine failure and launcehd two semi-rigid boats which recovered 53 people. They were dropped off at the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, where they were taken care of by shore based rescue teams and the border police.
CG-SEA-DOG
The USCG 'Sea Dog (WPB 87373)' suffered damage during the crew’s inbound transit from sea to the St. Marys River, on March 25, 204. The cutter safely moored in Fernandina Beach, Florida, with assistance from additional Coast Guard assets and a commercial towing vessel. There were no injuries to personnel, no damage to other vessels in the area, no impediments to the navigable waterway, and no reported environmental impacts as a result of the incident. The incident was under investigation.
CALEDONIAN ISLES
Due to the 'Caledonian Isles' having to undertake significant steelwork repairs at the Cammmell Laird Yard in Birkenhead since Feb 11m 2924, Calmac have reviewed the deployment plans for the summer period. The 'Isle of Arran' will continue to operate to and from Ardrossan. The 'Alfred' will operate to and from Troon from March 29 up to and including Aug 21. During this time, the 'Alfred' will carry all vehicle types except for Motorhomes/Caravans and Coaches. Customers with these vehicle types were asked to travel on the 'Isle of Arran' sailings.