News

Broken up at Grenaa since 28.06.24

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has published an investigation report into the engine room fire aboard the 'Tarka II' and subsequent sinking on Sep 10, 2024. At 4 p.. the fishing vessel was transiting in the Pacific Ocean about four miles southwest of Tatoosh Island, Washington. AFter the captain discovered the fire in the engine room, the two crew members did not attempt to fight the fire. They abandoned the vessel into a liferaft and were rescued by the US Coast Guard. The vessel later sank with an estimated 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on board. There were no injuries. The vessel was not recovered and considered a total loss, valued at $460,000. The captain had observed smoke emanating from the sides of the exhaust stacks located just aft of the wheelhouse, likely from engine room vents on or near the main exhaust stacks. When he entered the engine room, he noticed white smoke that smelled like engine exhaust, and he believed there was an exhaust leak. After shutting down the generator and main engine, the captain then noticed a small, smoldering fire on the port side of the engine room near the hydraulic tank and hydraulic pump. Shortly after he observed the fire, the smoke turned black, and the flames intensified. The rapid growth of the fire and black smoke indicated a fuel source ignited, and opening of the engine room door introduced additional oxygen to the fire, further intensifying the fire. The hydraulic lines for the davit were not pressurized at the time of the fire. However, the steering system’s hydraulic lines (pipes and hoses) were pressurized. The captain noted that hydraulic lines ran inches from the engine exhaust pipes, which were protected by fiberglass lagging. Investigators were unable to verify the condition or arrangement of the exhaust lagging in the engine room because the vessel sank and there were no photos available of the engine room before the fire. The smoke initially looked and smelled like engine exhaust. It is possible that exhaust pipe heat, or an exhaust leak, either from the main engine or the running no. 1 auxiliary generator, ruptured one of the pressurized hydraulic lines, causing the hydraulic fluid to spray and ignite on a nearby, unprotected hot surface, and spread to nearby combustibles. However, because the Tarka II sank and was not recovered, the exact source of the fire could not be determined. The captain had no indication of the fire before he saw smoke coming from the sides of the vessel’s exhaust stacks. The engine room was equipped with a CCTV camera that displayed on a monitor in the wheelhouse, but it was not in use at the time of the fire. Additionally, there were no smoke or fire detectors installed in the engine room, nor were any required. The two smoke detectors on board were located just outside of the engine room door and in the galley, and they only activated after the captain opened the engine room door to investigate the smoke. It was unknown how long the fire had been burning before the captain noticed smoke; however, had the engine room CCTV system been on or had smoke or fire detectors been installed in the engine room, the captain would have likely been alerted to the fire sooner. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the fire aboard the 'Tarka II' was an unknown source within the engine room. Full report: file:///C:/Users/TEMP.UNI-KIEL/Downloads/NTSB-Fire-aboard-fishing-vessel-Tarka-II-2025_06.pdf

A 52-year old Cape Town truck driver was killed on March 20, 2020, when the spreader from a Transnet Port Terminal crane collapsed and crushed his truck cab inside the container terminal. The accident occurred around 11h00 on Friday morning when the truck arrived to collect a container at the TPT terminal. The reach stacker crane passed over the truck when the spreader bar was dislodged and fell onto the cab of the truck. The reason why the spreader fell was not clear but one witness claimed that the crane involved in the accident had been receiving attention from a technician shortly beforehand. Immediately following the accident the crane operator attempted to hoist the spreader off the truck but was unsuccessful. The driver of the truck was trapped in his cab and died at the scene despite the efforts of Transnet paramedics who were quickly on the scene. Following the accident the South African Police Services opened an inquest docket for further investigation. Operations remained suspended for some hours until all regulatory authorities currently onsite, concluded their assessments. The maintenance of the Kalmar equipment at the port was recently taken over by Transnet.

In the second ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation to take place in Germany and the first ever in the Port of Rostock, on Jan 22, 2020 the world’s largest LNG bunker vessel 'Kairos' supplied fuel to the newly-built offshore installation vessel 'Orion' which was berthed at the Liebherr construction yard in the Port of Rostock, where she is being outfitted with a 5,000-tonne crane. DEME is a leading adopter of LNG as a marine fuel, and the 'Orion' is its fifth dual-fuel vessel. This operation strengthens the LNG cluster in Rostock significantly and is an essential extension of the services offered by the port. The continuous development from the LNG bunkering operations by truck during the last years towards the first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation shows the strong operational performance of the port team. Report with photo: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/port-of-rostock-hosts-its-first-ship-to-ship-lng-bunkering

Broken up since 05/2024 https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1037748511847143&set=pcb.1916034399171485

Beached at Chittagong 28.06.25 https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10234430598779785&set=pcb.2477508615964120

The Port of Kiel commissioned Siemens to build Germany’s largest shore power system to date. With a power of 16 megavolt amperes (MVA), the Siharbor solution will supply two ships simultaneously with certified eco-power, for the first time. This will reduce annual CO2 emissions by more than 8,000 tons. The system is expected to go into test operation within the 2020 cruise ship season. Maritime shipping plays a special role in Kiel. The port is the point of departure for cruises and has ferry connections to the Baltic states and Scandinavia. 32 different cruise ships stopped in 174 times at the port facilities in 2018. The Siemens installation consists of one substation with four Geafol cast resin transformers, four airinsulated medium-voltage Nxair switchgears as well as one 16-MVA frequency converter. The cast resin transformers with a rated power of six and 16 MVA are especially suited for challenging environmental conditions, such as the salty air present at the port. The switchgear is robust and has a compact design, making it suitable for this application. For an uninterrupted and efficient power supply of the mooring ships the Siemens converter system “Siplink” is used. It features a frequency converter and a software for central controlling of the two berths. With the system, two medium-voltage networks with different frequencies can be connected. In this case the local distribution grid with 50 Hz and the ship’s onboard electrical system with 60 Hz. Siplink synchronizes both networks and takes over the power supply automatically within a few minutes. In addition, it coordinates the energy supply of the ships’ two networks so that power can be supplied to both simultaneously. “With this set up, we are able for the first time to supply two ships simultaneously with the necessary 60-Hz onboard frequency by means of one shore power system,” said Axel Mohr, head of sales for Distribution Systems, Region North, at Siemens Smart Infrastructure. “We’re excited to support the Port of Kiel with this sustainable solution, thereby taking on a leading role in Europe together. Such systems will become increasingly important in the future, also outside of Germany, as climate protection goals are implemented. With its “Master Plan for 100% Climate Protection”, the City of Kiel has an ambitious roadmap to be CO2-neutral by 2050. The new shore power system at the Port of Kiel aims to support this goal with the reduction in CO2 emissions it will bring. The shoreside power supply installed by Siemens in the spring of 2019 at the Norwegenkai has already started operations. To date, it has helped slash CO2 emissions by about 1,000 tons.

The Port of Kiel has reported that it achieved good results in 2019. The cargo sector achieved an increase of 1.9 % to 6.8 million t handled on the terminals operated by the port. Taking into account the bulk cargo business at independent facilities, all in all the 7 million t mark could be affirmed despite the decommissioning of the local coal power station. Highlights: Handling result rose by 1.9 % in port areas operated by the Port of Kiel. The port again reached the 7 million t mark in overall cargo handling. Investment in shore power supply plants at Norwegenkai, Ostseekai and Schwedenkai. Passenger traffic rose by 8.4 % to nearly 2.4 million passengers. Dr. Dirk Claus, Managing Director at the port, said: “The Port of Kiel was able to pursue its growth course in its core business areas – the ferry traffic and the cruise business sector. At the same time, the focus of our investments lies on the implementation of the Blue Port strategy – on the shore power plants and the intermodal traffic, so that the Port of Kiel will be climate-neutral by 2030.” Approximately €15 million are currently being invested in the construction of shore power plants so that they will be ready for operation at all three ferry and cruise terminals in the city port in the course of 2020. The Color Line ferry has been supplied with shore power at the Norwegenkai Terminal on a daily basis since early summer 2019. Ferry traffic contributing more to overall transhipment rate The core business of the port is the general cargo handled in the ferry traffic sector and with nearly 6 million t it accounts for 85% of overall transhipment activities. The biggest volume handled was on the Kiel – Klaipeda (Lithuania) service of the DFDS shipping company. For the first time, 2.5 million t of cargo were transhipped and the frequency was also augmented with an eighth weekly departure in autumn. Since April 2019, more trucks destined for Russia have been transported on this route after the weekly ferry service to St. Petersburg was suspended. Longer trains and new connections in intermodal transport In the ferry traffic sector to Norway resp. West Sweden the service of an additional freight ferry has had a positive impact on the Kiel – Oslo route, whereas fewer unaccompanied trailers were transported between Kiel and Gothenburg in 2019. Trains with an overall length of 750 m (550 m before) can now enter the Rbf Kiel-Meimersdorf and a third shunting track is about to be completed at the Schwedenkai Terminal. At this terminal, no less than 25% of the hinterland transport units are transhipped by rail already. After nearly 24 000 load units were transhipped by rail in 2019, this number is expected to increase to well over 32 000 in 2020. Investments in terminal facilities and environmental protection The port is currently investing nearly €30 million in terminal facilities and environmental protection. After the apron in Ostuferhafen (Germany) was completely redesigned in 2019 in order to optimise logistical processes and to create more space for trucks, trailers and passenger cars, the construction projects now focus on the city port. The interior construction of the new terminal measuring 3700 m2 is in full swing while the works on the exterior façade are nearly finished. The €10 million building will be inaugurated in spring with the beginning of the season. The largest single investment of the port is the shore power supply plant for the Ostseekai and Schwedenkai terminals amounting to €13 million. Construction works at the shore power supply plant started last autumn and the structural as well as the civil engineering is currently in progress. The technical equipment will follow so that the power plant can start test operations during the season.

The Russian submarine 'Novorossiysk' was caught sailing west through British waters. The HMS 'Mersey', a Wildcat helicopter from the 815 Naval Air Squadron, and a specialist submarine-hunting Merlin aircraft from 824 Naval Air Squadron were tracking the Kilo class 'Novorossiysk' as it sailed through UK waters along with the Goryn-class tug boat Yakov Grebelski". The British warship and helicopters utilised powerful sensors and systems to watch every move during their voyage. The monitoring responsibilities were passed on to Nato allies after the Russian submarine left UK waters. The operation was regarded as another clear demonstration of the Royal Navy's enduring commitment to safeguarding the United Kingdom's maritime interests. It was the sixth such tasking for the HMS 'Mersey' in the last three months and comes just a week after the patrol ship and fellow Portsmouth ships HMS 'Duncan' and HMS 'Trent' were all activated to watch the Russian frigate 'Admiral Grigorovich' and the corvette 'Boikiy' in UK waters. Report with photos: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/royal-navy-scrambles-vessel-to-shadow-putins-terrifying-attack-submarine/ar-AA1HQ7OG

arrived Grenaa Scrapyard 17.03.25 https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1037748461847148&set=pcb.1916034399171485

At the Yatomi Pier in the port of Nagoya an accident occurred aboard the Japanese cargo m/v 'Tensho Maru No. 1', 1600 dwt (IMO: 9105437), on Feb 3, 2020, at 8.30 a.m. while unloading 72 concrete slabs, in piles of 8 units each. Two workers were buried underneath one when the plate with a weight of 7 to 8 tons fell down after the ropes were untied. Firefighters were called, and cranes were used to rescue them. One of the workers, Keigo Niwa, 24, from Minato-ku, in Nagoya, was recovered dead after having been pressed in the abdominal region. The other, in his 30s, had suffered fractures in both legs. With the fall of the plate, the cargo ship was tilted about 30 degrees to starboard side. The Coast Guard was investigating the cause of the accident. Report with photo: https://www.portalmie.com/atualidade/noticias-do-japao/acidentes/2020/02/acidente-no-navio-cargueiro-em-aichi-mata-um-trabalhador/

On its way from Cebu to Tagbilaran City, Bohol, the 'Oceanjet 88', 240 gt (IMO: 9712929), was forced to return to port in the morning of Jan 10, 2020, after its starboard-side generator set experienced a voltage fluctuation due to bogged down air-conditioning compressor. The chief engineer found out that the port and starboard’s air-conditioning compressor broke down and experienced high voltage, affecting the starboard-side generator. The malfunction occurred while sailing along the vicinity of the Naga Point just between the waters of Bohol and Cebu. At the Pier 1, all of the 191 passengers of the 'Oceanjet 88' were transferred to the 'Oceanjet 15' which departed at 10:10 a.m.