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On April 24, 2019, at 12.30 p.m. the "Baltic Princess" suffered an extensive electrical failure in the Åland Sea, and the ventilation has partially stopped working after a power outage of 50 %. Two of the ship's four engines stopped, and the food could not be kept warm, the entertainment programme was stopped. The safety of the passengers was not affected. The ferry skipped the call at Mariehamn and continued on itsh way to Turku with an ETA as of 9 p.m. to date. The wind blew with 7 meters per second.

In the night of April 23, 2019, the "Buefjord" ran aground in Svolvær. It got stuck at the Hjellskjæret off the harbour. The ship was listing to starboard side. It was hoped to get it floated off on April 24. The crew of the local lifeboat "Sundt Flyer" was informed about the accident. Photo: https://g.acdn.no/obscura/API/dynamic/r1/ece5/tr_480_320_l_f/0000/lopo/2019/4/23/22/IMG_3012.jpg?chk=BFDFF2

(Reuters) – Congo Republic shipped its first iron ore exports on Friday from a rehabilitated deep-water port that will be used by Congolese billionaire Paul Obambi’s Sapro SA and Swiss commodities giant Glencore. Sapro mined the oil-dependent Central African country’s first iron ore in 2017 from its Mayoko project in the southwest and plans to reach output of 12 million tonnes per year by 2022. Glencore’s joint venture with British Virgin Islands-incorporated Zanaga Iron Ore Co plans to ship 2 million tonnes of iron ore per year through Sapro’s port and rail link over the next two years, and 30 million tonnes by 2024. Sapro, the Congolese government and British shipping company Ashley Global are spending a combined $550 million on rehabilitation to Pointe Noire’s deep-water port, the Mayoko mine and an old railway track connecting the two. At a ceremony on Friday in Pointe Noire attended by the mines minister, a ship loaded with 23,000 tonnes of ore set sail for China, where it will be processed for a European buyer.

The Arkona offshore wind farm has been officially opened by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. ‘Arkona is an iconic project for future generations - built today!’ The opening ceremony was held in Sassnitz, Germany, on board one of Van Oord’s installation vessels, the company said in its release. E.ON awarded Van Oord the contract for the transport and installation of the 60 monopiles and transition pieces in 2016. Heavy-lift installation vessel Svanen completed these works safely, on time and to the full satisfaction of the client in 2018. The 385 megawatts wind farm is located in the Baltic Sea, about 35 kilometres north of Rügen Island, Germany. The offshore wind farm provides 400,000 homes with sustainable energy and displace approximately 1.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually. This reduction fits to the goals set by the German government to reduce CO2 emissions in 2020 with 40% compared to 1990.

Two RNLI lifeboats were called out to help bring the "Lady of Avenel" safely back to port on April 22, 2019. The Hartlepool all weather lifeboat 'Betty Huntbatch' was scrambled at 10.45 a.m. to assist the Whitby RNLI all weather lifeboat ‘George and Mary Webb’ berth the sail training vessel that had suffered mechanical failure earlier in the day off Whitby. The all weather lifeboat launched at 11.05 a.m. and was alongside the casualty at 11.15 a.m. Due to the weather conditions at the entrance to the harbour it was decided that the safest course of action was to tow the vessel to Hartlepool. The passage took around three hours. The vessel with 15 people on board was towed to the town's deep water berth in Hartlepool docks. First aid was administered by the Hartlepool lifeboat crew to two members of the sail training vessel for minor injuries where they were then transferred by the all weather lifeboat to the Ferry Road lifeboat station where awaiting paramedics further assessed their injuries before they were sent to hospital by ambulance. The Whitby RNLI lifeboat returned to its home port and Hartlepool RNLI lifeboat was refuelled and made ready for service by 1.20 p.m. Reports with photos: https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/17591981.training-sail-ship-towed-back-to-port-in-hartlepool-after-mechanical-problem/ https://rnli.org/news-and-media/2019/april/23/whitby-rnli-tow-sailing-vessel-to-safety

The "Key Marmara" was suspected to have been in collision with a Norwegian 19-ft-angling boat of the Mefjord Brygge AS in Mefjordværwith three Polish fishing tourists aboard on April 18, 2019, at 5.30 p.m. at Senja. The Norwegian patrol boat "Sortland" rescued the three after their boat had capsized 10 miles NW of Mefjordvær in Tromsö. The Coast Guard managed to save them from the keel of the boat which was drifting bottom up. The charter boat was later taken to the Mefjord pier. The police was now investigating the cause of the accident. The three tourists were questioned before leaving home on Easter Eve. The police found that both ships were close to each other, but how close remained to be clarified. Part of the railing on the boat has been bent in, but that there was not much material damage. The tanker was still on its way from Florö, where it had sailed on April 15, to Kaliningrad, ETA April 24, 3 p.m. Norwegian report with photo: https://www.kystogfjord.no/nyheter/forsiden/Etterforsker-mulig-kollisjon-med-lastebaat

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCCL) has ordered a fifth Edge Class cruise vessel for its Celebrity Cruises brand from Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire, France, with delivery in the fall of 2024.

Matson, Inc. , a leading U.S. carrier in the Pacific, has received three new 65 long-ton capacity gantry cranes at its Honolulu hub terminal at Sand Island. The biggest ship-to-shore container cranes to be deployed at any commercial harbor in Hawaii, the cranes arrived aboard a special heavy-lift vessel on Saturday and were positioned for discharge starting this morning. Matson's acquisition of the new cranes, along with the upgrading of three existing cranes and other improvements, is part of a multi-year $60 million terminal expansion and modernization project at its hub that is tied to the deployment of four new ships between 2018 and 2020. Built for Matson by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding, the new cranes weigh approximately 1,290 tons each and will have greater lifting capacity, height and reach than existing cranes, which will enable full service of Matson's new, larger ships.

On April 22, 2019, at 11.20 pm, an SAR operation of the Italian Coast Guard was taken for the meadevac of a 78 year old pasenger on board the "Seven Seas Explorer" off the Island of Elba, which was en route from the port of Livorno to Civitavecchia. The Portoferraio Port Master's Office, under the coordination of the Livorno Maritime Directorate, intervened with the patrol boat "CP 805" on which he also embarked health service personnel. Due to adverse weather and sea conditions, the cruise ship was diverted towards the port of Portoferraio, where it was then anchored safely, with the help of the pilots of the port, around 01.50 a.m. on April 23. Taking off the patient was made difficult due to the sharp deterioration of the weather and sea conditions. The cruise ship launched a tender boat in order to facilitate the operations transfer of the elderly passenger. The convoy then arrived in port at about 03:00 a.m. and with the support of the local fire department the passenger of Canadian nationality was disembarked at the dock in front of the Port Master's Office to be transferred with an ambulance to the hospital in Portoferraio. Italian report with photo: http://www.tenews.it/giornale/2019/04/24/soccorso-un-passeggero-colto-da-malore-a-bordo-di-nave-da-crociera-78814/

arrived Chittagong Anchorage 23.04.19

The Port of Oakland will add new direct service to Vietnam by late April. Pacific International Lines (PIL) will launch direct Vietnam links using vessels that can carry up to 11,900 twenty-foot containers. PIL’s new service is called AC5 and is in partnership with Cosco and Wan Hai. New Vietnam-US West Coast service: Haiphong, Vietnam loop – Haiphong, Nansha, Hong Kong, Yantian, Long Beach, Oakland, Yantian, Haiphong (AC5) “PIL’s new direct service from the Port of Oakland is a good sign of increasing demand on Vietnam routes,” said Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll. “Vietnam is showing strong growth in its import and export markets.”

Less than one month after Carnival Cruise Line announced it was pulling its ships out of Antigua’s cruise port, officials have reached an agreement that will bring Carnival ships back to the island on new terms. "The Government of Antigua and Barbuda representatives, having had further dialogue with executives from Carnival Corporation, fully understand and acknowledge the misunderstandings of the past," reads a statement issued by the Consulate General of Antigua and Barbuda on Monday. "Both parties expressed their desire to maintain the relationship that has been in place for the last 30 years." Under the agreement with Global Ports Holding, a ports development company, the cruise facilities at St. John’s, Antigua, would be updated and expanded in coming years to accommodate four mega cruise vessels, homeporting operations and improved shopping experiences within the terminal.