After the arrival of the 'Benjamas Naree' after its arrival from Barranquilla in the Sifferdock of Ghent on April 12, 2024, a load of cocaine was found during an inspection of the federal police. About ten police cars, heavily armed police officers and drug dogs were on the quay on Aorl 13. A significant amount of cocaine was found hidden in the ship. On the night of April 14 to 15, three unknown men came to the quay near the ship. They tried to get on board with an excuse. Due to the alertness of the crew, this was not possible and they drove away in a car. The three men were intercepted by the shipping police and local police. It concerns a Dutchman and two Spaniards. The men were dressed in fluorescent clothing, had a large backpack containing two smaller backpacks and used two small walkie-talkies. The investigating judge in Ghent decided on April 16 to arrest the three men. It was the third major drug seizure in a short period of time due to actions by the federal police and customs. On March 21, 40 kilograms of cocaine were found hidden in the hold of two bags of coal in a coal carrying ship. On March 26, a backpack containing 25 kilograms of cocaine was found in another ship. This was secured to the wall with a magnet in a hold. Report with photos: https://mobile.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20240417_95188049
News
MSC EURIBIA
After the trips had no longer been bookable for a few weeks, MSC Cruises has now finally canceled the positioning trips from Kiel to Dubai with the 'MSC Euribia'. Due to the security situation on the Red Sea, where ships are being attacked by the Houthi rebels off the coast of Yemen, MSC Cruises has now reacted early to ensure security for booked guests. The 2024 summer season ends on October 19, 2024 in Kiel. The last guests of a one-week fjord cruise from/to Kiel and the guests of a six-day cruise from Copenhagen to Kiel will disembark there. MSC Cruises currently seems to be planning a trip around Africa for the 'MSC Euribia' without guests in order to safely move the ship from the summer sailing area in Northern Europe to the winter sailing area on the Persian Gulf. The first cruise in the Orient is scheduled to begin in Dubai on Nov 16, 2024. All sailings with the 'MSC Euribia' from Oct 19 to Nov 15 have therefore been cancelled. This applies to the Grand Voyage from Northern Europe to the Orient, which could also be booked in shorter sections. The period from Oct 19 to Nov 16 should be enough to take the 'MSC Euribia' from Kiel to Dubai without guests. New cruises to destinations in Africa are unlikely to be possible given the relatively short cancellation period. In addition to the 'MSC Euribia', according to the original schedule, the 'MSC Musica' is also scheduled to sail through the Red Sea in autumn 2024 to get to South Africa from the Mediterranean. Trips in the period from Oct 29, 2024 to Nov 22 cannot currently be booked. An alternative for the journey from Genoa to Durban is still unknown. Here, too, there could be travel cancellations or a new itinerary along the coast of West Africa.
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
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MEIN SCHIFF 5
Due to the current situation in the Red Sea, TUI Cruises has been forced to cancel the trip of the 'Mein Schiff 5' from Dubai through the Suez Canal. Instead, the ship will take a course around Africa, which means that the port of Heraklion will not be reached until June 21, 2024. Due to this background, the trips on May 23, 2024, June 7, 2024 and June 14, 2024 with the 'Mein Schiff 5' must also be canceled. Bookings will be canceled free of charge in the next few days and guests receive a travel credit with a 10% discount on the cruise share for a new booking. This credit does not have a redemption deadline and can be used flexibly. The following trips with Mein Schiff 5 are affected: 15 nights – Dubai to Heraklion / May 23 – June 7, 2024 7 nights – Eastern Mediterranean with Piraeus / June 7. – June 14, 2024 14 nights – Eastern Mediterranean with Cyprus / June 7 – June 21, 2024 7 nights – Eastern Mediterranean with Cyprus / June 14 – June 21, 2024 14 nights – Eastern Mediterranean with Cyprus & Crete / June 14 – June 28, 2024
EXPRESS JET
On April 17, 2024, at noon, the Port Authority of Milos was informed by the master of the'Express Jet', that due to adverse weather conditions, the ship would return to the port on a scheduled route from Milos to Folegandros, Thira, Naxos, Paros and Mykonos with 15 crew members and 73 passengers on board. When the ship docked in the port, it was found that a pane of glassof the wheelhouse was broken, and the Milos Port Authority banned the ferry from sailing, until the damage was repaired and a certificate of seaworthiness was presented by the attending classification society. The ship remained stationary as of April 18. The passengers were forwarded to the their destinations by the ship-owning company.
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.
MSC MUSICA
After the trips had no longer been bookable for a few weeks, MSC Cruises has now finally canceled the positioning trips from Kiel to Dubai with the 'MSC Euribia'. Due to the security situation on the Red Sea, where ships are being attacked by the Houthi rebels off the coast of Yemen, MSC Cruises has now reacted early to ensure security for booked guests. The 2024 summer season ends on October 19, 2024 in Kiel. The last guests of a one-week fjord cruise from/to Kiel and the guests of a six-day cruise from Copenhagen to Kiel will disembark there. MSC Cruises currently seems to be planning a trip around Africa for the 'MSC Euribia' without guests in order to safely move the ship from the summer sailing area in Northern Europe to the winter sailing area on the Persian Gulf. The first cruise in the Orient is scheduled to begin in Dubai on Nov 16, 2024. All sailings with the 'MSC Euribia' from Oct 19 to Nov 15 have therefore been cancelled. This applies to the Grand Voyage from Northern Europe to the Orient, which could also be booked in shorter sections. The period from Oct 19 to Nov 16 should be enough to take the 'MSC Euribia' from Kiel to Dubai without guests. New cruises to destinations in Africa are unlikely to be possible given the relatively short cancellation period. In addition to the 'MSC Euribia', according to the original schedule, the 'MSC Musica' is also scheduled to sail through the Red Sea in autumn 2024 to get to South Africa from the Mediterranean. Trips in the period from Oct 29, 2024 to Nov 22 cannot currently be booked. An alternative for the journey from Genoa to Durban is still unknown. Here, too, there could be travel cancellations or a new itinerary along the coast of West Africa.
KEOYOUNG PIONEER
The 'Keoyoung Pioneer' ran aground on a reef five kilometers north of Kuchinoshima Island in the Kagoshima Prefecture on April 16, at aroudn 4 p.m. with 14 people on board the ship, including 10 Indonesians, three Koreans, and one Myanmar nationals. Just after 7 p.m., they were all rescued by a small boat sailing nearby and taken to Kuchinoshima with no injuries reported. The ship was en route from Kenen to the port of Nagoya with a cargo of cyclohexan. The ship suffered damages to its hull, and fuel was leaking due to a hull breach. The maritime authorities were assessing the damage and extent of hazard posed by the grounded vessel. The potential environmental impact of the fuel leak was currently undetermined. The 10th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters dispatched patrol boats and helicopters to the area to respond. The weather on scene was calm.
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.