The Turkish NGO IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has decided to acquire three ships and launch a relief convoy to Gaza. The IHH currently operates relief voyages from Turkey to Egypt for cross-border transport into Gaza, but this new mission is advertised as an all-water route. The IHH has acquired three vessels for its "Freedom Flotilla," reflagged them and changed their names. It is planning to depart for Gaza by the end of April with the freighter 'Anadolu' (ex 'Dalya H'), the passenger vessel 'Vicdan' (ex 'The Majestic', 'Kloar Kimming) and the 'Akdeniz' (ex 'Prince'), actually berthed at the Desan Yardgem United Shipyards in Tuzla. The NGO has launched a fundraising appeal to help pay for the vessels and their cargo.
News
LAYAR ANGGUN 8
The Johor Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has confirmed that the 'Layar Anggun 8', which had caught fire on April 16, was drifting in Malaysian waters. Tthe incident occurred at a position 5.6 nautical miles southeast of Pulau Lima, Johor. The Maritime Rescue Sub Centre (MRSC) had deployed their assets after receiving a report. However, upon their arrival, the ship was nowhere to be found, as the 12 castaways had already been rescued by the Singapore Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) 9.5 nautical miles east of Tanjung Punggai, Johor. Subsequently, the MMEA, through the Johor Baru MRSC, arranged for an MMEA ship and patrol boat to the location of the incident, but the reported ship was not there. At around 4.30 p.m., the MRSC Johor Baru received confirmation that the tanker had drifted into the waters of Bintan Island. Report with photo: https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/04/1039917/johor-mmea-confirms-tanzanian-ship-fire-malaysian-waters
Thyboron
On May 6, 2021, at 10 a.m. a trawler newbuilding caught fire in Thyborøn. The 'L 120-Linette' was ablaze at the shipyard quay. The fire brigade, police and the lifeboat 'Martha Lerche' of the DSRS were on site. Bundles of flames shot out of the ship, and there was heavy smoke development. The fire had started in the cargo hold when insulation material went alight. Not until May 7 at 2 a.m. the emergency services managed to extinguish the flames on the vessel. The temperatures inside the ship were extremely high. The construction of the trawler began in 2020. Alfred Fisker Hansen and Tommy Svart had ordered the trawler in Vestværft design. The hull was built in Poland and then towed to Thyborøn where it was completed at the Thyborøn Skibs & Motor. The completion in June should now be obsolete. The predecessor ship of the same name is to go to Sweden. The new building is 28.6 meters long and 8.7 meters wide with a planned crew of eight with one trainee. Report with photo and video: https://www.tvmidtvest.dk/lemvig/skib-i-flammer-paa-havnen-i-thyboroen-politiet-opfordrer-til-at-lukke-vinduer-og-doere
Beirut
The French container giant CMA CGM is working on a plan to rebuild the port of Beirut within three years. Political stalemate in Lebanon has meant that no decisions have been made after the huge explosion that killed 200 in 2020. CMA CGM first presented the plan to the Lebanese authorities in September, which includes the reconstruction of damaged quay facilities and warehouses, along with a port expansion and digitization. The total price was estimated to be between 400 and 600 million. dollar. Another offer was announced on April 9, 2021. German companies presented a multi-billion dollar plan to rebuild the port and surrounding districts, which was also devastated by the violent explosion.
DALI
Salvage crews of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District prepared to remove another massive piece of steel from the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse site on April 18, getting ready to remove the furthest portion of steel that's across from the vessel. The Unified Command has its sights set on a specific portion of steel that, once removed, will enable the opening of a limited-access channel to resume commercial traffic back to the port by the end of April. Over the next few days, crews will continue to rig, cut and lift steel from the wreckage site. A couple dozen crew members remained on board the 'Dali'. They have provisions and cellphones, and all systems were running. As cranes lift more than 100 containers off of the ship, the crew is awaiting the end of May, when the entire channel should reopen. The vessel will be removed by then. This massive, 5,000-ton span will be gone, and then, the wreckage on the far side as well- The debris is being taken by barge to Sparrows Point for processing and recycling. More than 1,110 tons of steel has been removed from the site and taken to nearby Tradepoint Atlantic. US Navy divers have secured new sonar images of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Their sonar captured the deepest remains of the infamous bridge collapse from the lowest point of Baltimore's Patapsco River federal shipping channel, 50 feet below the water's surface. The new look of the wreckage below the depths showed the metal framework slumped below the mudline, which will be more difficult to salvage. The Navy has provided three barges, at a combined lifting capacity of 1,350 tons, with another 400-ton capacity barge on route, for the clean-up and salvage effort. Report with photos: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/new-sonar-of-francis-scott-key-wreck-reveals-depth-of-bridge-collapse/ar-BB1lpsGW?ocid=1PRCMSRT
ROTTERDAM
The 'Rotterdam', while bound for the Azores made a detour to Bermuda after a passenger encountered medical difficulties. The RCC Bermuda was contacted by the ship on April 14 at around noon, while it was sailing from Fort Lauderdale to Ponta Delgada. It had diverted to the island to disembark a 75-year-old passenger to receive medical care. In the late afternoon of April 15 the ship arrived offshore, and the patient was transferred to the pilot rescue boat 'St David' along with a member of the ships medical team. The patient was transferred to an ambulance at Ordnance Island along with the ships nurse allowing the cruise ship to continue her passage to the Azores with an ETA at Ponta Delgada as of April 20.
Brake
on 01.05.21 J.Müller celebrate the 200th anniversary of the company German report: https://jmueller.jp-labs.de/jubilaeum/
Papenburg
The Meyer shipyard located in Papenburg, Germany, announced, they secured an order for a new cruise ship. The new customer is NYK who placed an order for a medium size cruise ship for their brand Asuka Cruises. Full article + image: https://www.cruisedeck.de/meyer-werft-sichert-sich-neubau-auftrag/
BEHSHAD
The suspected Iranian spy ship'Behshad' appears to be sailing home after nearly three years at sea. The return of the vessel, which U.S. analysts and officials suspect may have provided information and targeting assistance to Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, would remove one possible high-profile target for any Israeli strikes. Iran has previously warned against targeting the ship, and in a sign of the heightened tensions over possible Israeli targets, a senior Iranian commander warned on April 18, that the country could review its nuclear doctrine. The 'Behshad' crossed from the Arabian Gulf into the Persian Gulf early that morning, and was due to arrive later in the evening at the port of Bandar Abbas. The ship had been at sea since June 18, 2021, lingering in almost the same spot in the Red Sea between Yemen and Eritrea since January 2023. By Jan. 11, it had moved to the Bab al-Mandeb strait near the entrance to the Red Sea. In February, the 'Behshad' sailed south into the Gulf of Aden and docked off the coast of a Chinese military base in Djibouti until the end of March, when it disappeared from view. It did not reappear until early April, this time sailing close to the coast of Iran in the Gulf of Oman, before passing through the Strait of Hormuz on April 17. The Iranian ship had provided electronic intelligence to the Yemen-based Houthis, enabling them to spot and target vessels in the Red Sea region. The 'Behshad' was some miles away as Houthi rebels carried out a number of attacks on commercial vessels that created ship diversions and delays in the global supply chain.
MSC ARIES
The Cadet Ann Tessa Joseph, a resident of Thrissur, Kerala, who was a crew member of the 'MSC Aries', seized by Iran on April 13, has been released and landed at the Cochin Airport on April 18. The mssion of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in Tehran was in contact with 16 other Indian crew members still on board the vessel, who were in good health and in contact with their families in India. The Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar recently spoke to his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, to request the release of the Indian crew members.
Lüneburg
- there is an access control system for the port: registration at www.hafen-lueneburg.de - special services: drinking water, shore power, acceptance of domestic sewage, acceptance of washing water on request
Cochin
The coast guard found signs of an accident on the British oil tanker Orange Victoria which was seized in COCHIN after the accident involving a fishing boat on the coast of Vizhinjam The Fort Kochi Coastal Police and the Marine Mercantile Division conducted an inspection of the ship anchored in the open sea on Saturday morning .The paint on this part has been collected by scientific experts for scientific examination . Captain Nikhil told the Coastal Police that they were not aware that the ship had collided with the boat . There are 23 sailors on board . The ship while en route from Singapore to Indian port, presumably struck fiberglass fishing boat 46 nm off COCHIN at night Mar 18. boat was damaged, all 6 crew safe. Hull paint samples are taken, to conduct lab analysis