The helicopter Helimer 218 of the base in Palma de Mallorca medevaced a 70 year old German passenger of the "Mein Schiff 6" on Apr 19, 2018. The ship was 57 miles SW of Ibiza at that time. The patient was hoisted and taken to the hospital Can Misses. Video: https://www.facebook.com/...

In the night of Apr 19, one of the rollers for the bow doors on the "Martha’s Vineyard", now back a month from its $17.5 million refurbishment, broke. The vessel continued to operate but it required the loading and unloading be via the stern as the bow door remained closed. In the morning of Apr 20 a maintenance department was on site to replace the roller. However, when the vessel was arriving, it was noticed that one of the pilings in Slip 2 had shifted and there was a short delay as an assessment was made if the pile was in the way of the vessel docking. Once it was determined that the pile was not in the way, the ferry docked and the repair was carried out. The repairs, coupled with backing vehicles onto the ferry , caused a delay this morning in Woods Hole. The Martha’s Vineyard left on its scheduled 7 a.m. run at about 7:40 a.m. The maintenance personnel were able to replace the roller during that docking but it was planned to inspect the other rollers to make sure any issue is addressed- A marine contractor also removed the wayward pile to make sure there was no issue going forward, he wrote. The ferry will be taken out of service April 23. At that time it will go to the Fairhaven shipyard to go over a checklist of items that need attention.

China’s massive new fully-automated port terminal in Shanghai has opened and will soon ship up to 136 million tonnes around the world every year. Stage four of the Yangshan Deep Water Port began trial operations on Sunday after years of construction and development, and £1.37 billion, aimed at increasing China’s trade dominance. Once fully operational the new terminal will be able to move 6.3 million standard 20-foot shipping containers a year, with the whole £8.5 billion port handling more than 40 million a year – most in the world. The giant new addition covers 2.23 million square metres and has a 2,350-metre shoreline south of Donghai Bridge, which was built to service the port. Automation of nearly all the terminal’s functions slashes labor cost by 70 percent and boosts handling efficiency by 50 percent.

UK ports operator Peel Ports Group and autonomous vessel firm ASV Global recently tested an autonomous shallow-draft survey boat at the Port of Liverpool. According to Peel Ports, it represents the first step in a partnership to explore the use of the technology at its other sites in the UK. For the first test, the ASV-built autonomous boat C-Cat 3 carried out a multibeam echosounder survey near Brocklebank Dock, a terminal on the River Mersey north of Liverpool. The demonstration was successful, and Peel Ports is exploring the possibility of further uses for the survey technology. It has signed a formal MOU with ASV that will give the autonomous systems developer access to other Peel Ports facilities for further testing.