The "Fluvius Tamar" which sank on Jan 13 in the Northsea enroute from Eemshaven to Spain with 3800 ton magnesium oxyde was raised in the evening of July 26. The wreck was towed to Rotterdam to be broken up. Dutch report with photo: https://www.facebook.com/...

Ferry routes out of Anacortes had to change after the "Yakima" experienced problems with its generator earlier this week. It was moved to the Washington State Ferries’ Eagle Harbor maintenance facility on Bainbridge Island. The repair could take up to three weeks. Five ferries typically sail between Anacortes and the San Juan Islands during the busy summer months. Now, it was down to four, so an emergency schedule is in place to maintain service until another vessel was available. Maintenance crews wree working to make sure that happens quickly, according to the release. No new vehicle reservations would be accepted until another vessel is available. Those without reservations can travel standby, though vehicle space was limited. Because of the changes, there was an adjusted schedule. Domestic travel in the islands and the morning sailing to Sidney, British Columbia, is canceled. Morning international travelers will be moved to the afternoon sailing. Customers with existing reservations will get priority on a first-come, first-served basis. Those who choose not to travel did not need to cancel their reservation and will not be charged a no-show fee. Washington State Ferries was working with BC Ferries to allow passengers with existing WSF reservations to travel on BC Ferries boats. Customers should arrive at least 90 minutes to two hours early, even if they have a reservation. Paid parking was available at the Anacortes terminal for those considering walking on, instead of taking a vehicle. There was almost always room for walk-on passengers.

The "Kjelsvik"’s attempt to come to the rescue of another fishing vessel, the "Starlight Rays", went wrong on July 25, 2017, leaving both needing the help of a lifeboat crew. At around 8.10 .p.m, the "Kjelsvik" had attempted to tow the stricken "Starlight Rays" back to Fraserburgh but the crew accidentally tangled the rope around its own propeller instead. It resulted in both vessels requiring the help of the RNLI. The harbour’s own pilot boat was also called out to help tow. The crew of the RNLI boat left the harbour and was on the scene within two minutes, returning to port just five minutes later. They successfully set up a tow to a vessel in distress and towed her into Fraserburgh Harbour. Both the "Starlight Rays" and "Kjelsvik" were immobilised when the crew attended. Report with photo: https://www.pressandjourn...

The "Kjelsvik"’s attempt to come to the rescue of another fishing vessel, the "Starlight Rays", went wrong on July 25, 2017, leaving both needing the help of a lifeboat crew. At around 8.10 .p.m, the "Kjelsvik" had attempted to tow the stricken "Starlight Rays" back to Fraserburgh but the crew accidentally tangled the rope around its own propeller instead. It resulted in both vessels requiring the help of the RNLI. The harbour’s own pilot boat was also called out to help tow. The crew of the RNLI boat left the harbour and was on the scene within two minutes, returning to port just five minutes later. They successfully set up a tow to a vessel in distress and towed her into Fraserburgh Harbour. Both the "Starlight Rays" and "Kjelsvik" were immobilised when the crew attended. Report with photo: https://www.pressandjourn...

The crew of the "Seccadi" abandoned in Ellesmere Port, has been paid and was safely home following action by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) through its Liverpool inspector Tommy Molloy, the Border Force and the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The ITF described the abandonment of the ship, owned by Istanbul based Voda Shipping, along with two others owned by the company in other UK ports, as ‘a culture close to modern day slavery. The "Seccadi" had been moved to Ellesmere Port from Runcorn by Peel Ports after languishing there for some time. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency then detained the vessel at a lay-by berth at Manisty Wharf due to appalling conditions on board for the crew. Some of the crew had been paid just 66p per hour until the federation intervened. Maritime interests working for seafarers were described as being ‘up in arms’ over the pay and conditions allegedly being endured by the Turkish and Indian crew aboard the vessel. Some of the Indian crew were thought to have been aboard for an entire year. Despite a claim amounting to more than £50,000 in back pay being largely settled problems still remained for those trapped on board. Mr Molloy lodged protests with the Turkish owners and the Panama ship registry over the ‘shocking conditions’ he is said to have found with no fresh fruit, vegetables or meat on board the ship. There was a cockroach infestation in the galley. The North West Port Welfare Committee and the good people of Merseyside are rallying round and have taken it upon themselves to look after the crew’s welfare. Fresh fruit and vegetables have been provided by the Seafarers Centre who were also ensuring they have adequate shore leave as a diversion from their plight. Others have offered cash donations to cover their basic needs. The crew, who had been paid as little as $0.85 an hour, have finally been repatriated. The ship owner had been informed by the Border Force that if all the issues were not resolved by the end of the defined period the vessel was allowed to remain in the UK, the force would have little option but to deport the crew. However the force granted an extension to their leave of stay. For the first 10 days of the detention nothing much was done, according to Mr Molloy, although the company started to pay wages on the ship. After much pressure the owners claimed that they would repatriate three Indian crew members. They provided the flight details but not the tickets. Afterwards one of these crew members told me he had paid for a ticket for an onward connecting flight to his home region from Mumbai. He lost this ticket when the ticket from the company did not turn up. It was discovered that the crew were all required to pay for their own flights from their home countries to Istanbul and then the company would fly them from there to join a ship. The same applied on the way home. It was also revealed that the Indian crew members had to pay thousands of dollars to the crewing agent the company uses in India for ‘training’ and ‘certificates’ another breach of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC). They either have to find this money in advance or are effectively tied to the company until this amount is paid back. This is a further breach of the convention. Eventually the owners finally provided tickets but stated that three crew members could remain and would be joined by a replacement crew. The remaining crew of three, including the captain, ‘were in a very precarious position’ but the company agreed to buy the crew’s tickets and pay owed wages. They also decided to fly the captain home at the last minute. Report with photos: www.chesterchroni...

A crew member of the "Kaskelot" was airlifted near Liverpool in the night of July 19, 2017, after an emergency call to the Coastguard. A Holylake lifeboat crew and the Coastguard helicopter attended the scene in Liverpool Anchorage shortly after midnight. The all-weather lifeboat "Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood" was launched at 11:40 p.m. and was on the scene in Liverpool Anchorage within just 30 minutes. Two crew members boarded the tall ship and were able to stabilise the casualty before transferring him carefully to the lifeboat. The Coastguard helicopter 936 arrived on the scene shortly afterwards and lowered a paramedic onto the lifeboat. The patient was then airlifted into the helicopter and taken to Aintree Hospital. His condition was not known. Report with photos: www.liverpoolecho...

The FBI has arrested a suspect after the death of a woman on the "Emerald Princess". The 39-year-old from Utah died in the night of July 25, 2016, after what was described as a domestic dispute on the ship in waters off Alaska. The US attorney's office planned to announce charges on July 27. The ship was carrying 3,400 passengers and 1,100 crew at the time on a week-long trip that left Seattle on July 23. The "Emerald Princess" was forced to divert to Juneau, on the southern side of the state, on July 26 because of the investigation. Passengers were ordered to remain of board for eight hours before being allowed to disembark at the port.. Some complained about changes to their schedule and lost excursions. having only been notified over the public address system in the morning of July 26 that there had been a death.

Pumping of the 750 tonnes of fuel from the "Kea Trader" on the Durand Reef off Maré began in the morning of July 27. The fuel was transported by helicopters onto a barge which is nearby and which could not be moored alongside the ship due to the high swell. 20 m3 were to be transferred that day. The operation could take at least twenty days. French report with photo: la1ere.francetvin...

In the morning of July 27, 2017, the police in Kiel boarded the "Stena Scandinavica" after its arrival from Gothenburg at 9.15 a.m. at the Schweden Quay because a person was reported as missing. The passengers were not allowed to disembark for 45 minutes, and the cargo could not be unloaded as the investigations were going on. German report with photo: https://www.shz.de/region...

In the morning of July 26, 2017, the "Voe Jarl" responded to the mayday call from a yacht which had lost power and was drifting off Ardnamurchan Point, the most westerly point of the British mainland. The yacht, a 12 metre converted fishing vessel with three people on board, had suffered a complete power failure making VHF communications with the Coastguard and other vessels difficult. The RNLI in Tobermory deployed the "Elizabeth Fairlie Ramsey" at 08.45 a.m. and made best speed in poor visibility to the last known location of the yacht. The crew of the fish farm support vessel managed to pass a tow to the yacht. On arriving at the scene, the lifeboat went alongside the yacht and the RNLI volunteers passed a handheld VHF radio to its crew to enable better radio communications. The "Voe Jarl" then dropped its towline to enable the lifeboat to pass a tow rope to the yacht. The lifeboat then towed the yacht to Tobermory Bay. Report with photo: https://rnli.org/news-and-media/2017/july/26/tobermory-rnli-lifeboat-responds-to-mayday-call-from-yacht

The "El Griego" sank in the morning of July 26, 2017, while en route from Barranquilla to Santa Marta. The pilot boat started to take in water in the engine room due to a leak in the rudder area at 5.30 a.m. 25 kilometers north of Bocas de Ceniza. The Coast Guard of Santa Marta received a distress call of the four crew members and immediately deployed a boat which rescued the four crew members from Cartagena. They were transferred to Santa Marta in good healthThe "El Griego" foundered on a water depth of 290 meters. Spanish report with photos: https://www.elheraldo.co/...

The "Gizemdeniz Sultan" was disabled and adrift short after leaving the port of Ceuta on July 26, 2017, at 1 p.m. Salvamento Miritímo was called to assist and deployed the offshore tug "Luz de Mar" (IMO: 9320104) from Algeciras, which took the casualty in tow and pulled it back to the North anchorage of Ceuta.

The "Pascal Lota" which had struck a dike in the evening of July 1 while leaving the port of Bastia, left Drydock Genova after repairs on July 24 at 2.20 p.m. and berthed in Vado Ligure at 7 p.m. On May 27 at 7 a.m. she left bound to Tolone, ETA 3 p.m.

The "Shuya" which was berthed at the Mützelfeldt Yard in Cuxhaven after the grounding at Scharhörn Reef, has left the port again on July 25 at 1 p.m., next being bound to Fredericia. The vessel berthed at the Ocean Quay on July 26 at 2.45 p.m.

The "Freyja", having been drydocked at the Orskov Yard in Frederikshavn for repairs of the grounding damage since July 10, left the yard again on July 24 at 4.15 p.m., next being bound to Amsterdam, ETA July 27, 10 p.m.

The biggest U.S. oil-import hub wants to grab a piece of surging North American crude exports. Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the only terminal along the U.S. Gulf Coast able to handle a fully laden supertanker, is gauging interest from shippers in sending crude overseas on the world’s biggest ships by early next year. The port would continue to take in foreign oil, the port’s owner LOOP LLC said in an emailed statement Monday. Ports are competing to fill the needs of domestic oil producers looking for outlets for their growing supply. At the same time, the boom from U.S. shale fields and Canadian oil-sands mines has reduced refiners’ need for imported oil. LOOP’s ability to handle tankers capable of carrying 2 million barrels in their holds would reduce shipping costs for companies looking to send crude to refiners in Asia. “LOOP is the most obvious place for U.S. crude exports since as a deepwater port it makes it more manageable to load up a large ship such as a VLCC,” Sandy Fielden, director of commodities and energy research at Morningstar Inc., said by phone from Austin, Texas. “It makes huge sense from a logistical perspective as it will allow for more efficient cargo shipments.”

Three new Super Post-Panamax cranes bound for Port Houston’s Barbours Cut Container Terminal departed Shanghai, China Sunday, aboard the ZHEN HUA 13. Along the journey these 405 feet tall cranes will travel with booms fully raised. Once they reach their destination after a two and a half month journey, the cranes are slated to replace three older ones at Barbours Cut. These cranes are just a part of a $700 million modernization program under way at Barbours Cut to increase cargo-handling efficiency and capacity. In addition to new cranes, other improvements (including wharf and container yard reconfiguration measures) are expected to increase terminal capacity from 1.2 million to 2 million TEUS, adding to the 14 ship-to-shore wharf cranes and 44 rubber-tired gantry cranes (RTGs) currently operating there.

he CMA CGM Group is pleased to announce that on July 25, 2017, the official signing ceremony for the concession agreement of the new container terminal was held in Kribi, Cameroon, chaired by the Minister for Transport, Mr Edgar Alain Mébé Ngo’o. Following an international call to tenders, the consortium of the French groups CMA CGM and Bolloré Transport & Logistics as well as the Chinese group CHEC, were granted the funding and the operation of the Kribi Container Terminal, which they will manage for 25 years under a Public-Private partnership with the State of Cameroon.

In July Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) ordered six more Ship-to-Shore (STS) cranes from Konecranes for the Port of Savannah, Georgia. Delivery will be in the first half of 2020. The Konecranes STS cranes currently on order have a lifting capacity of 66 tons, an outreach of 61 meters, and a lifting height of 46 meters above the dock. “We are making this investment in order to stay ahead of demand as our customers devote larger vessels delivering more cargo to Savannah,” said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. “By 2020, we will have 18 Neopanamax cranes and the ability to work three 14,000-TEU vessels at a single terminal simultaneously.”

State-owned China Merchant Port Holdings is investing up to a US$1.12 billion to develop, manage and operate Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port, close to the world’s busiest shipping lanes, in a revised agreement with the Colombo government. China Merchant said it will take a 80 per cent stake in Hambantota International Port Group with the rest held by Sri Lanka Ports Authority. Sri Lanka’s cabinet cleared the revised agreement on Tuesday. A deal was struck between the two sides late last year to further develop the port, located on the southern coast of the island.