In the afternoon of June 23, 2017, the owner of the "Good Luck", 1183 ts (EU-No.: 6000015) observed a severe smoke development in the engine room around 5 p.m. The ship came from Kortrijk and was on the way to Sas van Gent. The skipper decided to berth in the lock of Ooigem so that the fire brigade could reach his ship more easily and get the small fire under control soon.

On June 23, 2017, short before midnight the fire rescue Colonia was alerted to a fire on board the "Bitumina 3" at the Deutz-Yard in Mülheim by the crew of the tank barge which was under repair. Smoke plumes emerged from inside. The ship was loaded with bitumen. Between two tanks the fire fighters found smouldering insulation to be the cause of the fire. They were on scene with 13 vehicles and two fire boats. The fire could be put out soon, and at 1.30 a.m. the barge was handed back to its master. German report with photos: www1.wdr.de/nachr...

The Kieler Woche sailing regatta – the biggest maritime folk festival and sail sport event in northern Europe – is a big draw for cruise ships as well as many other vessels. Between June 17-25 Kiel expects visits by a total of 15 different luxury liners. Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the PORT OF KIEL (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG) said, “The Kieler Woche – with its sailing competitions and cultural program and even as a marine meeting opportunity – has always been an international event. The cruise ships fit into this context very well and also provide their guests with a unique visitor experience” On Wednesday, June 21, Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth and P&O’s Arcadia berthed side by side at the Ostseekai Cruise Terminal. The Queen Elizabeth arrived in the Kiel Fiord in the morning from St Petersburg, Russia, while the Arcadia arrived at the same time from Skagen in Denmark. Well over 3,000 English-speaking passengers used the occasion to see Kiel from its most beautiful side. Arcadia left for the Swedish capital Stockholm in the evening while the Queen Elizabeth also cast off in the evening for Southampton. The port’s berths were well occupied as early as the first Saturday of the Kieler Woche when two ocean-going cruise ships and three river cruise ships arrived – along with the big ferry ships of the Color Line, DFDS and the Stena Line. “The Kieler Woche is one of the biggest highlights of the cruise shipping season”, said Claus, “both as far as the number of ships and the passenger totals are concerned. During peak periods more than 15,000 travellers embark or disembark from ships at the port’s different terminal facilities.” To date during this year’s Kieler Woche, visitors to the Kiel Fiord have included TUI Cruises’ latest addition Mein Schiff 6, as well as three ships from AIDA Cruises – the AIDAvita, the AIDAcara and the AIDAbella. On Friday, June 23, there will be an encounter in Kiel between two sister ships. Phoenix Seereisen’s Albatros and Fred. Olsen’s Cruise Line’s Black Watch will meet at the Ostseekai Terminal. On Saturday the port is expecting the MSC Fantasia and on Sunday, the closing day of the Kieler Woche, the fourth AIDA ship of the season – the AIDAluna – will arrive. As well as the big oceangoing cruise liners, four river cruise ships were visiting Kiel this year and all of them were spending several days in the port. Overall 28 different cruise ships are this year scheduled to visit the port a total of 142 times. In close proximity to the City centre Kiel has three modern and high-capacity terminal facilities available for ferry and cruise ships. In addition cruise ships can exchange passengers at Berth 1 in the Ostuferhafen. This year, more than two million passengers are again expected to board or leave a ferry or cruise ship and about half a million of them will be cruise ship passengers. The total tonnage of cruise ships calling at Kiel will rise by a good 7 percent to more than 10 million GT for the first time. The shipping company with the most visits to Kiel this year is AIDA Cruises which is offering 50 trips from the port. It is followed by TUI Cruises with 26 calls by Mein Schiff 3 and Mein Schiff 6 and MSC with 21 visits by the MSC Fantasia. On no fewer than seven days during the season, three or sometimes even four cruise ships will berth in addition to the Baltic ferries and dominate the port scene. Report with photo: https://www.maritimeprofe...

On June 20, 2016, the Indian flagged trailing suction hopper dredger "Shanti Sagar 17" (IMO: 9802451) suffered water ingress at the Royal IHC yard in Kinderdijk. The water was about 1,5 meters high inside the vessel. The workers aboard were able to flee from the rising water in time. The accident occurred during a test of the ship that is under construction at IHC for the Indian dredging company Adani. Due to the large amount of water that came in, the ship was threatened to sink. The fire brigade led the evacuation. After a valve was sealed, the fire fighters managed to pump out the water. The damage was immense. The shipbuilder was now trying to find out the cause of the water ingress, but did not materially address it. There was no question of sabotage. The casco of the "Shanti Sagar 17" was launched at the yard in Krimpen aan den IJssel at the end of March and was fitted out in Kinderdijk. Dutch report with photo: www.alblasserdams...