The 'Sparta IV' is one of the ships at the top of the list of possible targets by Ukraine as the freighters owned by state-owned Russian shipping companies transport weapons. The ship is actually in the North Sea on the way to Baltiysk with an ETA as of March 23, 2024. It is expected in the North Sea on March 19. A Russian naval unit is currently operating there. It is still unclear whether Russia's naval presence in the North Sea is currently connected to the diverted freighter which is of great importance for Russia. On Feb28, the “Sparta IV” was off Istanbul and was supposed to travel through the Bosphorus into the Black Sea to Novorossiysk, the previous hub for Russian military supplies via the Kerch Bridge. As Ukraine expanded naval drone attacks, sinking a landing ship on Feb 14 and a corvette on March 5 and the “Sparta IV” narrowly escaped an attack by Ukrainian Magura-type drones on its way from Novorossiysk to the Bosphorus last year, it is shown that the Russian Navy has not yet succeeded in developing effective defense concepts. The “Sparta IV” turned around off the Bosphorus on Feb 26 and sailed back through the Dardanelles to the Aegean Sea. Together with two other supply ships from the Russian army, the ship set course for the Baltic Sea at the beginning of March. Another aspect for the change of course could be that Russia would have to bring military equipment that is landed in Novorossiysk to the front via the Kerch Bridge. So it may be that Russia is now trying not to necessarily carry important supplies over this bridge if there are alternatives such as the Baltic Sea. The freighter “Sparta IV” belongs to the Russian state shipping company SC South LLC in Novorossiysk. The same shipping company also owns the freighter “URSA Major”, which was on its way to the Black Sea behind the “Sparta IV” and has now also set course for the Baltic Sea. Both ships were in the English Channel on March 18. The freighters are followed by a Russian tanker. According to the visible inputs in the AIS devices on board, the destination ports are now the Russian military base Baltiysk in Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg. The ships are no longer allowed to pass through the Kiel Canal because they are high on the US and EU sanctions lists. The freighter “Sparta IV” was last seen in the Kiel Canal in Dec 2021, when it was carrying cargo from Russia on its way to the Black Sea. Even then, the ship was suspected of transporting high-value military goods. The return of the “Sparta IV” to the Baltic Sea could also be the reason for the Baltic Fleet’s naval maneuvers that have been underway for several days. Corvettes, frigates and aircraft practice attacks on sea targets and submarines. The frigate “Neustrashimy” sailed past Rügen through the Kadet Trench and Fehmarn Belt on MArch 18 en route to the North Sea. The frigate was shadowed by the patrol ships “Bamberg” and “Neustadt” and the German mine diving boat “Rottweil” from Kiel as well as the patrol boat “Nymfen” of the Danish Navy. The “Neustrashimy” followed the Russian naval tanker “Kola”, which has been in the North Sea since the weekend.
News
RUEN
The operation of the INS 'Kolkata' to re-capture the 'Ruen' lasted 40 hours. Through concerted actions the crew successfully cornered and coerced all 35 Pirates to surrender and ensured the safe evacuation of the 17 crew members in the evening of March 16 without any injury almost 1400 nautrical miles from the Indian Coast, and forced the pirate ship to stop through calibrated actions which were augmented by the INS'Subhadra', RPA 'Hale', the maritime patrol aircraft 'P 81' and Marcos Prahars air-dropped by a C-17 aircraft. The 'Ruen' has also been sanitised for the presence of illegal arms, ammunition and contraband. Reports with photos: https://www.timesnownews.com/india/thats-what-friends-are-for-india-bulgarias-sweet-exchange-after-rescue-of-hijacked-ship-article-108567452
Montevideo
We have in the port of Montevideo stock of Pilot ladders & Embarkation ladders brand PTR HOLLAND NV, PRODUCTION 2024 READY FOR DELIVERY. INFO@MARESSUPPLY.COM SALES@MARESSUPPLY.COM
Kiel
The Port of Kiel concluded this year’s cruise season with the call of AIDA Cruises’ AIDAnova on Nov 4. The port welcomed a total of 215 ship calls from 26 companies and a total of 1,174,000 cruise passengers, marking the port’s busiest season ever. “We are closing the 2023 season with a good result. The development in the tourism industry shows a clear trend towards the cruise sector, which was also evident in Kiel this season. “For us, the main issue is to make maritime tourism more environmentally friendly on the port side. Shore power was the dominant topic for us and will continue to be so in the coming season,” said Dirk Claus, managing director of SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. Among the ships that visited the port during 2023 was the 'Disney Dream', the first ship from Disney Cruise Line to be welcomed in Kiel, as well as MSC Cruises’ 'MSC Euribia'. Earlier this year, the port of Kiel achieved a milestone by becoming the first German port to supply a ship with liquidified natural gas. Since then, the' AIDAnova' and 'MSC Euribia' have regularly bunkered LNG in the port of Kiel.
UTOPIA
An SAR operation was underway for a crew member who went missing in Singapore waters from the 'Utopia'. The MRCC was notified of the incident on March 15, 2024, at about 3.30 a.m. The MPA, Police Coast Guard and Singapore Civil Defence Force craft have been deployed to search for the missing person within Singapore Port Limits. The MPA also issued navigational safety broadcasts and requests that vessels in the vicinity and in port to keep a lookout and report sightings to MRCC Singapore. The bulk carrier was anchored in Singapore’s Eastern Anchorage, located in the waters south of the East Coast Park.
MEHLE
The USA have blacklisted the 'Ady Sofia' after a ship-to-ship transfer with ‘fake’ vessel linked to the Houthi financial fixer Sa’id al-Jamal. The tanker was expected to deliver its cargo of alleged Iranian oil to China. It had received the cargo on Jan 31, 2024, off Singapore from a tanker that was falsely broadcasting its location and disguised as a fictitious tanker, the 'Amor', according to US Treasury officials. The “fake” tanker, the 'Mehle' (built 1999), had been blacklisted earlier that month because it was said to be linked to the network of the alleged Houthi financial fixer Sa’id al-Jamal.
Itaqui
Brazil: Agriculture Officers Strike Federal agriculture officers decided to start the strike next Monday (22), which will directly affect trading involving perishable products and may cause delays in berthing and unberthing ships. Federal Revenue tax auditors also announced that they will intensify the general strike that has been ongoing since November last year, as reported in our previous newsletters. Next week, from the 22nd to the 26th of January, there will be no cargo clearance at the ports and airports of São Paulo and Bahia. This means that goods release services will be affected at Viracopos airport, the Port of Santos, Salvador customs (from the 23rd) and Guarulhos Airport. During the period, only perishable, live and dangerous cargo will be released at the sites, in addition to medicines and food, as they are considered essential. It is important to highlight that the import and export of goods of animal and plant origin require the consent and inspection of agricultural officers. The category's national union (Anffa Sindical) informed that the release of certificates and goods at ports, in this case, will respect the last day of the deadline set out in the rules of the Ministry of Agriculture. It is worth remembering that in the last meeting held on December 27th with Sindifisco Nacional, minister Fernando Haddad and the special secretary of Revenue, Robinson Barreirinhas, stated that they did not plan to make changes to the proposal presented for the payment of the efficiency bonus in 2024 , which motivated the continuation of the strike. The Superior Courts have already pacified the understanding that the strike movement cannot interrupt essential public services. Therefore, the functioning of the productive activity of shipowners/importers/exporters cannot be delayed by the Customs Inspectors' strike. Customs clearance must continue, regardless of the tax auditors' strike. The Judiciary has been intervening effectively on a case-by-case basis, in order to avoid the harmful effects of the Federal Revenue auditors' strike and maintain the regular activity of taxpayers at Brazilian customs. The strike could affect the port and customs sector. Our team is closely monitoring the situation in the North/Northeast ports and will inform you of any updates.
Kerch
Ukraine has managed a serious blow against the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea on Nov 4, 2023, severely damaging the corvette 'Askold', that was docked at the Zaliv shipyard during successful attacks on the shipping and port infrastructure of the Zaliv shipyard in the temporarily occupied city of Kerch. The “Askold”, which is able to carry up to eight Kalibr or Onyx guided missiles, has been hit by at least one Ukrainian cruise missile. The upper part of the ship was significantly damaged. The damage and destruction of warships of this type is important for the security of Ukraine. Reports with photos: https://www.merkur.de/politik/ukraine-krieg-krim-schwarzmeerflotte-russland-flotte-kiew-moskau-zr-92657747.html https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ukrainian-forces-hit-russian-ship-in-kerch-aftermath-photo/ar-AA1julmU?ocid=weather-verthp-feeds
LILA LISBON
The 'C 425' of the Indian Coast Guard medevaced a 59 year old Indian crew member of the 'Lila Lisbon' off Paradip in Odisha on MArch 17, 2024, at 7.50 p.m. The patient was handed over to the shipping agent at Paradip for further medical care. Report with photo: https://www.lokmattimes.com/international/coast-guard-conducts-medical-evacuation-of-indian-crew-onboard-liberia-flagged-merchant-vessel-lila-lisbon
LADY SOFIA
The USA have blacklisted the 'Ady Sofia' after a ship-to-ship transfer with ‘fake’ vessel linked to the Houthi financial fixer Sa’id al-Jamal. The tanker was expected to deliver its cargo of alleged Iranian oil to China. It had received the cargo on Jan 31, 2024, off Singapore from a tanker that was falsely broadcasting its location and disguised as a fictitious tanker, the 'Amor', according to US Treasury officials. The “fake” tanker, the 'Mehle' (built 1999), had been blacklisted earlier that month because it was said to be linked to the network of the alleged Houthi financial fixer Sa’id al-Jamal.
Bizerte
A fire destroyed the opening motors of the BIZERTE port bridge on July 26, 2023. The port remained closed to navigation from that date untill November 19. 2023, date of the re-opening of the Port to navigation.
Kiel
At the last weekend, the port of Kiel reached the mark of one million cruise passengers in one season for the first time. On Sep 16, 2023,, the MSC EURIBIA, AIDANOVA and EXCELLENCE CORAL called at the PORT OF KIEL, and on Sep 17 the AIDABELLA and AIDALUNA visited the Ostsee Quay. Kiel had already seen a positive trend in the cruise business in recent years, which had been put on hold by the slump during the Corona pandemic. In addition to the strong presence of the major European cruise lines AIDA, Costa, MSC and TUI, in recent years North American shipping companies, such as Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line, have increasingly chosen Kiel as a cruise destination in the Baltic Sea region for their fleets. As recently as 2022, Kiel's seaport recorded its busiest season ever with 243 calls and 835,000 passengers. For the current season 2023, 222 cruise calls have been announced.