In the morning of May 4, 2024, the CROSS Gris-Nez was informed that a migrant boat was in difficulty off the coast of Calais and depoloyed the 'Ridens' to assist. It launched a boat to reach the position and recovered the 22 castaways on board. A Dauphin helicopter was also engaged to ensure that no other person was in difficulty. The castaways were dropped off at the port of Calais where they were taken care of by the shore based rescue services and the border police. Report with photo: https://www.premar-manche.gouv.fr/communiques-presse/operation-d-assistance-et-de-sauvetage-de-22-personnes-au-large-de-calais-62
News
POWER JET
On the afternoon of May 2, 2024,, the 'Power Jet' on its scheduled route from Piraeus to the ports of Syros, Mykonos, Paros, Naxos and Santorini with 1106 passengers and 31 crew members on board, experienced an increase of temperature in one of the four main engines five nauztical miles east of Aegina. The ship sailed under its own power to the port of Syros, and after presenting a certificate of seaworthiness from the monitoring classification society, it was permitted to continue its approved route to the next ports with 820 passengers on board.
ADAMANTIOS KORAIS
In the morning hours of May 2, 2024, the Port Authority of Alexandroupoli was informed that during the mooring process of the 'Adamantios Koreis', en route from the port of Samothraki, the passenger ramp pulled the mooring cable which caused the ramp to deform and the lower plate to detach o a length of about 30 centimeters. The passengers disembarked safely, with no injuries reported. The Central Port Authority of Alexandroupoli banned the ferry from sailing until the damage was repaired. Upon presentation of a certificate of class maintenance by the monitoring classification society, it was allowed to sail to the port of Samothraki.
KRITI II
On May 2, 2024, at noon the Central Port Authority of Piraeus was informed about the malfunction of a generator of the 'Kriti II' en route from the port of Heraklion to the port of Piraeus at 7.20 p.m. The ship was towed to port and safely disembarked the 131 passengers along with their vehicles. The Port Department of Tzelepi, which conducted the preliminary investigation, bannded the ferry from sailing until the presentation of a certificate of class maintenance by the monitoring classification society. The ship remained stationary as of May 5.
Kiel
The PORT OF KIEL has redesigned the port apron in Ostuferhafen, which is the freight and logistics centre on the fjord. Where once stood a grain silo, there is now an expanded pre-stacking and stand-by area of three hectares for trucks, trailers and pas-senger cars.The State Premier of Schleswig- Holstein, Daniel Günther, visited the Ostufer-hafen on 12th August to hand over the grant notice coming from the State Programme Economy for 5.44 million Euros: The project to redesign the port apron included dismantling three hall areas of the former grain silo, excavation and road works as well as drainage, lighting and security measures and the connection of the area to the infrastructure. Through the new and generous port apron it has been possible to merge formerly separated pre-stacking areas, shorten distances and gain more space for trucks, busses, trailers and passenger cars. Furthermore, IT solutions have been developed to accelerate the handling processes at the gate, which also allow truck drivers to reduce personal contact.Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director at the PORT OF KIEL: “Even under the current circumstances the Ostuferhafen operates in a reliable and safe way. The port of Kiel has proven its systemic importance regarding the transshipment of cross-border freight transport.”In the first seven months of the year 2.1 million tons of cargo have been tran-shipped via the Ostuferhafen (+ 1 %). Additional volumes have been transported by the ferries of the DFDS shipping company to the Baltic States or they have been delivered by the SCA-RoRo-freighters from Scandinavia. Not only general cargo and forest products are unloaded resp. transhipped in Ostuferhafen but also project and heavy cargo, scrap metal and agricul-tural products. The integrated passenger terminal to handle cruise vessels emphasizes the universal character of this port part.
BLUE STAR PATMOS
In the afternoon hours of May 2, 2024, the Port Authority of Syros was informed about the emergency approach of the 'Blue Star Patmos' in the port. The ferry had deviated from its scheduled route, in order to disembark a sick passenger.
BLUE STAR 1
In the early morning of May 4, 2024, the Central Port Authority of Piraeus was informed about a cable jamming the propeller of the 'Blue Star 1' in the port of Piraeus. An inspection was carried out by a diving crew, and the obstruction was removed from the ship's propeller shaft. Upon presentation of a certificate of class maintenance by the monitoring classification society, the ship departed from the port of Piraeus with 1229 passengers on board for its scheduled route to the ports of Syros, Patmos, Leros, Kalymnos, Kos and Rhodes.
Beirut
The Port of Beirut (PoB) resumed partial operations on Aug 10 with the first two container ships berthing in the container terminal after the explosion which killed at least 160 persons, injured thousands and made hundred thousands homeless. Out of 16 cranes at the container terminal, 12 were currently operational. The port was gradually resuming operations to ensure the supply of all kinds of goods to citizens. Bassem Al Kaissi, the new Director of the PoB, said that the container terminal will be fully operational by Aug 14. Al Kaissi said that 420 containers were unloaded on Aug 10. The container terminal storage area has been cleaned up and restored to its state before the blast. The container terminal represents 80 percent of the overall cargo movement at the PoB. It is located one kilometer away from the blast epicenter. Container vessels can dock at quay number 16. Shipping movement at the PoB had already plunged by 75 percent due to the economic crisis and has reached 15 percent following the blast. Customs have opened offices in the PoB’s warehouse number 14 which was partially damaged. The customs have become able to carry out the inspection of merchandise- Customs duties are being temporarily paid at the Rafic Hariri International Airport. Tthe PoB is now handling only full containers as groupage consignment requires warehouses which don’t exist now. Amer Al Kaissi said groupage, which represents 15 percent of shipments at the PoB, will be diverted to the Port of Tripoli until the rebuilding of warehouses at the PoB is completed. The first two containerships to berth at the PoB after the blast were the 'Electra' (Gezairi Transport) and the 'Nicolas Delmas' (CMA CGM). The 'Electra', which was carrying 400 containers, was diverted to Tripoli where there was a license to operate but the company insisted to unload it in Beirut when it was told that the PoB has resumed operation. The CMA CGM Group and CEVA Logistics said they are fully operational and ensuring business continuity to serve their customers. The Group has redeployed its employees in its two back-up sites in Beirut Digital District and reinforced its presence in Tripoli. Part of CMA CGM’s vessels has been temporarily directed to Tripoli. Few shipping companies are authorized to operate in other ports such as Tripoli or Saida. BCTC, the Customs and the PoB’s authorities did their best to handle the clearing formalities despite the difficult working conditions. The general cargo area was fully operational on Aug 12 both for imports and exports. This includes wheat and other grains as well as construction steel bars. The cost of rebuilding the port is estimated at around $1 billion.