The 'MSC Armonia' with around 1,500 passengers on board has been detained at the port of Barcelona after 69 Bolivian citizens without a valid Schengen zone visa were prevented from disembarking. The Spanish National Police suspected that their documents were forged. Barcelona was the final destination for the Bolivian passengers, but not for all those on board. The ship was originally supposed to continue to Croatia, but is now anchored in the Catalan port awaiting a solution to the situation. MSC Cruises were working with the Spanish authorities to manage the situation regarding the passengers from Bolivia, including families and children, who traveled with invalid documents. The passengers appeared to have proper documentation upon embarkation in Maceo. However, MSC Cruises was later informed by the Spanish authorities that the visas were invalid for the entry into the Schengen area, preventing them from docking in Barcelona on April 2. The ship remained in the port of Barcelona while the company was working with the relevant authorities to facilitate this process and has informed passengers on board of the situation.
News
INGRID
A US Coast Guard helicopter aircrew medically evacuates a 29-year-old male person from the 'Ingrid', approximately 160 miles southwest of San Diego, on the afternoon of April 3, 2024. Watchstanders at the Sector San Diego Joint Harbor Operations Center received a distress call from the 'Ingrid' at approximately 1:30 p.m., reporting that a person on board was experiencing a medical emergency. In response to the distress call, it was determined that the patient required immediate higher-level medical care. The Sector San Diego launched an Air Station Jayhawk Helicopter crew with an embarked Specialized Trauma Assistance Team (STAR) medic to retrieve and transport the patient ashore. The aircrew landed at Sector San Diego at approximately 4:30 p.m. and successfully transferred the patient to awaiting Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The patient was reported to be in stable condition.
Tanger-Med
The Tanger Med port has emerged as the biggest port in Africa in terms of container capacity, surpassing Africa’s bigger ports like Durban (South Africa) and Mombasa (Kenya). The Tanger Med port now connects Morocco to 77 countries and 186 ports around the world. The Tanger Med II has two new container terminals – TC3 and TC4 – with an additional 6 million container capacity. The TC3, which is operated by Morocco’s main port operator Marsa Maroc, has a capacity of 1 million TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units). The TC4, which is operated by the Netherlands-based APM Terminals, has a capacity of 5 million TEUs. According to the Tanger Med Port Authority, with its new terminals, Tanger Med port will have a capacity of processing 9 million containers, 7 million passengers, 1 million vehicles and 700,000 trucks. Thanks to its extensions, Tanger Med port has now become the largest port in the Mediterranean region, surpassing some of the region’s top ports like Algeciras (Spain), Valencia (Spain) and Gioia (Italy). The port is located 40 kilometers east of the Moroccan town of Tangier, which is a gateway to both Europe and Africa. “Our aim is to develop an effective port platform integrated with transshipment activities, imports and exports,” Tanger Med Port Authority said on its website. The Tanger Med port has become vital for Morocco’s economy as it handled 317 billion Moroccan dirhams (US$33.14 billion) worth of exports and imports in 2018. It processed an overall tonnage of 52.24 tonnes last year.
Dhamra
French oil and gas giant Total SA has taken a 50 per cent stake in Dhamra LNG Terminal Pvt Ltd (DLTPL), a unit of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), which is constructing a 12 million tonne per annum (mtpa) LNG regasification terminal at its port located at Dhamra in Odisha’s Bhadrak district.
NORWEGIAN DAWN
The group of eight passengers which had missed the 'Norwegian Dawn' for more than one hour on March 27, finally re-embarked in Dakar on Apri 2. The first attempt to get the guests back on the ship occurred on April 1, when they hoped to re-embark at a port in Banjul, Gambia, some 1,800 miles from São Tomé and Príncipe. However, adverse weather conditions, as well as tidal restrictions meant that the ship could not dock safely. As a result, the guests had to chase the ship to Dakar, a distance of some 100 miles further. The Norwegian Cruise Line helped the passengers by facilitating their visas, and would pay them back for the trip from Gambia to Senegal. The passengers had traveled through seven countries in 48 hours to catch up with the ship.
DE YI
The 'De Y' with 13 Chinese and Indonesian crew members on board has been detained on March 30, 2024, by the South Korean authorities in waters near Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. The ship was allegedly headed to Vladivostok from North Korea with a stop in Shidao. The ship initially refused orders to stop; however, the South Korean Coast Guard subsequently ordered the vessel to move to Busan, where it anchored in pos. 35° 03.45' N 129° 01.56' E at noon. The authorities have been unable to confirm what the ship was carrying as the crew was refusing to open the cargo hold. The ship was last operated by an owner in Hong Kong. The South Korean Foreign Ministry was conducting an investigation, in close coordination with the USA. The vessel was allegedly involved in the violation of UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea. The ministry has also stated that they believed the ship to have been in North Korea’s Namo port before heading to Shandong, China.
Singapore
Phase one of the new Jurong Port Tank Terminals (JPTT) was officially opened on Monday (July 29), with Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat saying it will allow Singapore to strengthen its position as one of the world’s top bunkering ports for low-sulphur fuels. The $200 million, 16ha petrochemical terminal is a joint venture between port operator Jurong Port and German firm Oiltanking with 252,000 cubic m of clean petroleum storage capacity. From January next year, the International Maritime Organisation will prohibit ships from using fuels containing more than 0.5 per cent sulphur.
Richards Bay
Moves are afoot for a new multi-billion-rand liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and regasification terminal to be established at the port of Richards Bay by 2024, but state-owned Transnet wants the private sector to be the main investor and operator of the facility. The plan was revealed on Tuesday as Transnet announced the signing of a cost-sharing agreement with the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to jointly fund a feasibility study into the terminal project. The IFC has committed $2 million (around R28 million) as part of the cost-sharing agreement. The move comes as Transnet looks to bolster South Africa’s LNG infrastructure, both at the country’s ports and within its pipelines business.
DALI
The Unified Command continued to coordinate response operations on April 3 to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, despite the challenging weather conditions which included severe thunderstorms and high winds. Eight commercial vessels have meanwhile passed through the two temporary alternate channels that were opened up. The Unified Command staged to begin lifting the first of the undamaged containers off the bow of the 'Dali' to give space to safely operate to begin to plan to remove portions of the bridge that are now also embedded into the ship. They were also waiting for a better weather window to do a 350 ton lift off a section near the main channel. Trained crews, in conjunction with the Unified Command, were taking steps forward with operations and are conducting routine salvage assessments, while evaluating the safest and most effective routes. Divers were on scene to conduct underwater surveys along with mapping out plans for future wreckage removal. While the operations continued, they were adjusted as necessary in response to the adverse weather conditions. The Unified Command remaind committed to re-opening the port while ensuring safety and environmental protection. The Key Bridge Response 2024 Unified Command continues to coordinate response operations despite the challenging weather conditions in Baltimore. The Key Bridge Response Unified Command priorities were ensuring the safety of the public and first responders, accountability of missing persons, safely restoring transportation infrastructure and commerce, protecting the environment, and supporting the investigation. The Maryland Department of the Environment received the results of water sampling taken the day of the incident upriver and downstream of the site. The samples were analyzed for substances associated with fuel constituents, including volatile organic compounds. There was no detection of any of these contaminants. The results will be used as a baseline for comparison with water quality monitoring done throughout response, recovery and reconstruction. Sampling will continue indefinitely every few days, as needed. The current 2,000-yard safety zone around the Francis Scott Key Bridge remained in effect and is intended to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment. Members of the public may not enter the safety zone unless authorized by the COTP or designated representative. Those in the safety zone must comply with all lawful orders or directions given to them by the COTP or designated representative. The COTP issued a Broadcast Notice to Mariners (BNM) via VHF-FM marine channel 16. Mariners are requested to monitor channel 16 for the latest information. A Debris Reporting Hotline has been established. If the public encounters any debris from the incident, please contact +1 (410) 205-6625 The Key Bridge Response 2024 Unified Command includes the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Maryland Department of the Environment, the Maryland Transportation Authority, the Maryland State Police and Witt O’Brien’s representing Synergy Marine. A website with incident response information can be found at the following URL: https://www.keybridgeresponse2024.com For updated information on the status of the maritime transportation system visit the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Maryland - National Capital Region Homeport page: https://homeport.uscg.mil/port-directory/maryland-ncr The media is requested to call the Joint Information Center at +1 (410) 631-8939 for interview response inquiries and interviews. Resources are available for businesses and individuals impacted by the Port closure: Benefit Line for Port of Baltimore Workers: +1 (667) 930-5989 Disaster Loan Assistance: https://lending.sba.gov
HDMS IVER HUITFELDT
On April 3, the Dankish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen dismissed its the Defense Chief Flemming Lentfer as a consequence of the problems with the 'Iver Huitfeldt's system failure and defective ammunition. The matter of the frigate's failing systems became publich on April 2 and led to Troels Lund Poulsen asking the defense chief for a quick statement on the matter. He received it on the morning of April 3 from the Defense Command - but parts of the statement were leaked to TV 2 before the minister had even explained the case to the rapporteurs in the defense conciliation circle. In this statement, the Defense Command acquits itself and stated that the Ministry of Defense's department was informed of the case. But the minister was not, he stressed both on April 2 and at the press conference on Aprl 3. But quite surprisingly and quite unseen, the minister receives a new report on the same matter on April 3 from the same sender - the Defense Command. But now the content had changed. The first statement should have contained information that the ministry's department was briefed on the problems with the weapons system on the frigate on March 15, and that this information was to be elaborated on at a meeting between the ministry and the defense command on March 18. The new statement has been changed, but the minister did not say at the press conference exactly which information has been changed. “I'm not trying to hide anything. There have been different perceptions of what was disclosed at a meeting on 18 March," he stated at the press conference, where the minister stated that Major General Michael Hyldgaard has been appointed acting chief of defence. At the press conference, the minister also said that no correct information has been given about the costs of the controversial arms purchase from the Israeli manufacturer Elbit. Potentially, the budget could be exceeded by over a billion Danish crowns. The 'Iver Huitfeldt' returned to Denmark on April 3 morning after a 2-month long mission in the Red Sea, where the task was to protect shipping against attacks by the Houthi movement, a task the frigate had difficulty solving, as it turned out that the ship's central radar system is unstable, and the ammunition for the main guns consists of 30-year-old shells. These were conditions that Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen was not aware of.
Sihanoukville
Congestion at Cambodia’s top port is creating supply chain disruptions. In a note to clients German containerline Hapag-Lloyd noted that terminal productivity at Sihanoukville port has deteriorated due to port and yard congestion. Feeder services and turnaround times are affected and feeder space is tight. In an effort for medium term improvement of this situation, the port is building an extended yard for additional storage space. “Before the new container yard is completed, port congestion may persist,” Hapag-Lloyd warned.
Keelung
Hong Kong-based Dream Cruises’ World Dream cruise ship made its first port call to Keelung on July 8 and tourism operators have said that the port could receive a visit by Royal Caribbean International’s new Spectrum of the Seas in 2021. With gross tonnage (GT) of 151,300, the World Dream is the largest ship ever to visit Keelung Port, the Keelung Harbor Bureau said on Sunday, July 21. Tourism operators have said that the 169,379GT Spectrum of the Seas could set a new record if it makes an anticipated port call in 2021.