The Turkish NGO IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has decided to acquire three ships and launch a relief convoy to Gaza. The IHH currently operates relief voyages from Turkey to Egypt for cross-border transport into Gaza, but this new mission is advertised as an all-water route. The IHH has acquired three vessels for its "Freedom Flotilla," reflagged them and changed their names. It is planning to depart for Gaza by the end of April with the freighter 'Anadolu' (ex 'Dalya H'), berthed in Iskenderun, the passenger vessel 'Vicdan' (ex 'The Majestic', 'Kloar Kimming) and the 'Akdeniz' (ex 'Prince'), actually berthed at the Desan Yardgem United Shipyards in Tuzla. The NGO has launched a fundraising appeal to help pay for the vessels and their cargo.
News
DALI
Salvage crews of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District prepared to remove another massive piece of steel from the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse site on April 18, getting ready to remove the furthest portion of steel that's across from the vessel. The Unified Command has its sights set on a specific portion of steel that, once removed, will enable the opening of a limited-access channel to resume commercial traffic back to the port by the end of April. Over the next few days, crews will continue to rig, cut and lift steel from the wreckage site. A couple dozen crew members remained on board the 'Dali'. They have provisions and cellphones, and all systems were running. As cranes lift more than 100 containers off of the ship, the crew is awaiting the end of May, when the entire channel should reopen. The vessel will be removed by then. This massive, 5,000-ton span will be gone, and then, the wreckage on the far side as well- The debris is being taken by barge to Sparrows Point for processing and recycling. More than 1,110 tons of steel has been removed from the site and taken to nearby Tradepoint Atlantic. US Navy divers have secured new sonar images of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Their sonar captured the deepest remains of the infamous bridge collapse from the lowest point of Baltimore's Patapsco River federal shipping channel, 50 feet below the water's surface. The new look of the wreckage below the depths showed the metal framework slumped below the mudline, which will be more difficult to salvage. The Navy has provided three barges, at a combined lifting capacity of 1,350 tons, with another 400-ton capacity barge on route, for the clean-up and salvage effort. Report with photos: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/new-sonar-of-francis-scott-key-wreck-reveals-depth-of-bridge-collapse/ar-BB1lpsGW?ocid=1PRCMSRT
Port au Prince
On April 4, 2024, the containerm/v 'Magalie' ((IMO: 7413892)) was hijacked by members of the 5 Seconds gang in the Varreux terminal neighborhood at Port-au-Prince. The gang members took all crew members hostage and stole one-sixth of the cargo, which included rice, Haiti's main staple food. On April 8, Haiti's National Police stormed the ship and engaged in a five-hour gunfight. The operation resulted in the injury of two officers and an unspecified number of gang members being killed. The vessel was retrieved safely, and Haiti's Port Authority assisted in transporting the onboard personnel. The status of the crew members was unknown. The ship was pulled away from the shore by a tug. Gangs have frequently attacked Port-au-Prince's waterfront operations, causing disruptions to the supply and relief flow. Last month, vandals destroyed the Varreux Power Plant and briefly took over and looted the Caribbean Port Services (CPS), the biggest container terminal in the country. The UN's Famine Early Warning System Network states that the terminal's waterside activities may remain closed for several weeks.
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
CONSCIENCE
The Turkish NGO IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has decided to acquire three ships and launch a relief convoy to Gaza. The IHH currently operates relief voyages from Turkey to Egypt for cross-border transport into Gaza, but this new mission is advertised as an all-water route. The IHH has acquired three vessels for its "Freedom Flotilla," reflagged them and changed their names. It is planning to depart for Gaza by the end of April with the freighter 'Anadolu' (ex 'Dalya H'), the 'Vicdan' (ex 'The Majestic', 'Kloar Kimming) and the 'Akdeniz' (ex 'Prince'), actually berthed at the Desan Yardgem United Shipyards in Tuzla. The NGO has launched a fundraising appeal to help pay for the vessels and their cargo.
BEHSHAD
The suspected Iranian spy ship'Behshad' appears to be sailing home after nearly three years at sea. The return of the vessel, which U.S. analysts and officials suspect may have provided information and targeting assistance to Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, would remove one possible high-profile target for any Israeli strikes. Iran has previously warned against targeting the ship, and in a sign of the heightened tensions over possible Israeli targets, a senior Iranian commander warned on April 18, that the country could review its nuclear doctrine. The 'Behshad' crossed from the Arabian Gulf into the Persian Gulf early that morning, and was due to arrive later in the evening at the port of Bandar Abbas. The ship had been at sea since June 18, 2021, lingering in almost the same spot in the Red Sea between Yemen and Eritrea since January 2023. By Jan. 11, it had moved to the Bab al-Mandeb strait near the entrance to the Red Sea. In February, the 'Behshad' sailed south into the Gulf of Aden and docked off the coast of a Chinese military base in Djibouti until the end of March, when it disappeared from view. It did not reappear until early April, this time sailing close to the coast of Iran in the Gulf of Oman, before passing through the Strait of Hormuz on April 17. The Iranian ship had provided electronic intelligence to the Yemen-based Houthis, enabling them to spot and target vessels in the Red Sea region. The 'Behshad' was some miles away as Houthi rebels carried out a number of attacks on commercial vessels that created ship diversions and delays in the global supply chain.
Kaliningrad
Ukraine's military intelligence directorate, the GUR, has claimed responsibility for a serious fire aboard the Russian corvette 'Serpukhov' at the port of Kaliningrad, a Buyan-M class vessel. GUR provided what appeared to be a schematic of the vessel's internal spaces, and a brief video of an incendiary device going off. The agency said that the 'Serpukhov' sustained substantial damage from the fire, with its means of communication and automation were completely destroyed. The Buyan class is designed for coastal operations and are heavily armed for their size, carrying up to eight Kalibr or Oniks antiship missiles and up to eight surface-to-air missiles. This was a deep strike behind the Russian lines. The agency's drones have hit Russian oil refineries up to 750 miles away from Ukraine's borders, and have taken approximately 14 percent of Russia's refining capacity offline. The latest strike - a claimed attack on a product pipeline - allegedly disabled all product tanker loadings at the occupied port of Azov. The GUR has also mounted a successful campaign against the Russian Black Sea Fleet, damaging or destroying a claimed one-third of its force and confining the rest to the relative safety of Novorossiysk. The sister ship 'Velykyi' Ustyug was likely damaged by a Ukrainian drone early in the Russian invasion. In June 2022 the 'Ustyug' was photographed in tow to a shipyard, showing signs of fragmentation damage along her port side. Report with video: https://maritime-executive.com/article/ukrainian-spy-agency-claims-it-lit-a-fire-on-a-russian-corvette
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.
AKDENIZ
The Turkish NGO IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has decided to acquire three ships and launch a relief convoy to Gaza. The IHH currently operates relief voyages from Turkey to Egypt for cross-border transport into Gaza, but this new mission is advertised as an all-water route. The IHH has acquired three vessels for its "Freedom Flotilla," reflagged them and changed their names. It is planning to depart for Gaza by the end of April with the freighter 'Anadolu' (ex 'Dalya H'), the passenger vessel 'Vicdan' (ex 'The Majestic', 'Kloar Kimming) and the 'Akdeniz' (ex 'Prince'), actually berthed at the Desan Yardgem United Shipyards in Tuzla. The NGO has launched a fundraising appeal to help pay for the vessels and their cargo.
LAYAR ANGGUN 8
The Johor Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has confirmed that the 'Layar Anggun 8', which had caught fire on April 16, was drifting in Malaysian waters. Tthe incident occurred at a position 5.6 nautical miles southeast of Pulau Lima, Johor. The Maritime Rescue Sub Centre (MRSC) had deployed their assets after receiving a report. However, upon their arrival, the ship was nowhere to be found, as the 12 castaways had already been rescued by the Singapore Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) 9.5 nautical miles east of Tanjung Punggai, Johor. Subsequently, the MMEA, through the Johor Baru MRSC, arranged for an MMEA ship and patrol boat to the location of the incident, but the reported ship was not there. At around 4.30 p.m., the MRSC Johor Baru received confirmation that the tanker had drifted into the waters of Bintan Island. Report with photo: https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/04/1039917/johor-mmea-confirms-tanzanian-ship-fire-malaysian-waters
Alang
At the Alang ship recycling yard on the Bhavnagar coast, Gujarat, the Shree Ram Vessel Scrap Pvt Ltd. (SRVSPL), filed a police complaint alleging a loss of Rs 45 lakh worth of equipment stolen from the 'DV Erica', which had been brought in from Abu Dhabi for dismantling. According to the complaint filed with Alang Marine police station, the theft was believed to have occurred on March 23, 2024, at around 5 a.m. The ship was anchored in the designated waiting area at the outer anchorage after having been towed from Abu Dhabi. When workers boarded the ship for inspection on the morning, they discovered signs of a break-in. Two ropes were found dangling from the stern of the ship, suggesting the thieves used them to climb aboard.
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.