The arrival of the 'Bahijah' in Haifa on April 6, 2024, has put an end to one of the most shameful episodes in Australian live export history. The animals on board, who have been subjected to a gruelling 34-day journey, were due to soon be offloaded at the port. The animals were subjected to before being offloaded back in Australia on Feb 15, to stand in feedlots for several weeks before departing again on March 3. In total, at 90+ days, this stood as one of the longest live sheep export journeys in Australian history. The Australian sheep and cattle were sent into the escalating conflict in the Red Sea region, turned around, sat for days in the sweltering heat off the coast of Western Australia, offloaded, sat in a feedlot for over two weeks, loaded on board again, and then sent on an extraordinarily long and treacherous journey around the Cape of Good Hope, known for its rough seas. The RSPCA was urgently seeking further information about the welfare of the animals on board and what actually happened to the animals involved across the entire duration of this saga due to the lack of transparency, the inability of regulations to protect animals, and the profit-at-all-costs approach, that are endemic to live animal export.
News
CORFU
A fire broke out on the 'Corfu' that has just left the port of Cagliari en route to Civitavecchia in the evening of April 8, 2024. Initially, a dense cloud of white smoke came out of the funnel, followed by a brief flame. The firefighters and the Port Authority quickly reached the ship and put out the small fire. The captain started a series of checks. The cause of the accident has not been identified with certainty. The ship has returned to port and was subjected to a thorough inspection by the staff of the Italian Naval Registry (RINA), responsible for ensuring the safety of navigation. The ship finally sailed on April 9 at 12.30 a.m. UTC and reached Civitavecchia on April 9 at 1.50 p.m.
Rizhao
Shandong Landbridge Group has entered into an agreement with Beijing Energy Group to jointly develop a LNG receiving terminal at Landbrige Port in Rizhao. Under the agreement, the two parties will invest RMB6.7bn ($973m) in total for the construction of the terminal, which will have a designed handling capacity of 5m tons of LNG annually. Additionally, the two companies plan to join their efforts to develop overseas energy projects.
Gothenburg
APM Terminals Gothenburg has managed to cut quay crane waiting times by as much as 90% by implementing new standard operational procedures for container lashing. This translates to a reduction from 38 minutes to just four. Using ‘Lean’ methodology, which is being adopted across all of the company’s terminals around the world, a Transformation Team at APM Terminals Gothenburg identified the root cause of the time delay – inaccurate information provided to the vessel crew.
STRIDE
Danaos will scrap the 'Stride' following a fatal fire that killed two crew members on Jann 8, 2024, in Houston, making it the third Greek vessel sold for demolition this year, after it was declared a total loss. The deal to offload the boxship to a local buyer was borne out of necessity after the fire. Danaos did not operate the vessel, which was in service with the Cosco Shipping Lines at the time of the accident. Brokers attributed the vessel's below-average price of 120 US dollars per ldt, approximately 1.07 million US dollars to its unique circumstances and location. Danaos, however, has not incurred a loss from the transaction, as it has obtained an insurance pay-out related to the fire.
BLUE STAR DELOS
During the mooring process of the 'Blue Star Delos' in the port of Mytilene on the morning of April 7, 2024, a mooring cable jammed the starboard side propeller. The ship docked at the port, where it safely disembarked 260 passengers, 29 trucks, 29 cars and five two-wheelers. The Central Port Authority of Mytilini banned the ship from sailing. A diver inspected the propeller and untangled the rope, with no other damage noted. Upon presentation of a sailing certificate by the classification society monitoring the ship, the ban was lifted, and the ferry departed the port for Chios, Vathi, Karlovasi, Fournos, Evdilos Ikarias, Mykonos, Syros, and Piraeus with 175 passengers, 55 vehicles, 10 trucks and 22 two-wheelers on board. When the ship docked in the port of Piraeus, a ban on sailing was again implemented, until the inspection by the classification society monitoring the ship and the presentation of a certificate of saeaworthiness and class maintenance.
Sydney
DP World Australia has called for an end to the strikes at its ports this week, warning that the industrial action comes at a time when shipping lines are reviewing stevedore contracts. “The industrial action will cause significant disruption to DPWA customers and importantly the broader supply chain of shippers, exporters and importers. DPWA employees will also be unnecessarily and avoidably impacted by these lost earnings,” said Andrew Adam, chief operating officer at DPWA. DP World’s Brisbane, Sydney and Fremantle container terminals are on a rolling 48-hour strike, while workers at the company’s Melbourne operations have decided to down tools for 96 hours. The workers said in a release their actions this week are in order to fight against automation, outsourcing, cuts to income protection insurance, and “dishonest bargaining” by the company During the recent 12-week bargaining period, DP World said the local union did not make any material concessions to its initial 50 claims. These claims include a wage increase well above CPI, DP World said.
Rijeka
After many creditors withdrew distraint proceedings, the Commercial Court in Rijeka decided on Thursday to postpone the bankruptcy of Croatia’s debt-ridden shipyard “3. Maj” until Aug. 1. Seven days ago the shipyard’s account was blocked for 156 million kuna (23.8 million U.S. dollars). After some of the creditors pulled back, the blockade now amounts to 86 million kuna (13.1 million U.S. dollars). Judge of the Commercial Court in Rijeka Ljiljana Ugrin urged Croatian Electricity Industry and the Croatian government to engage in the process of revocation of the enforcement order, so that “3. Maj” could continue with unfinished shipbuilding contracts.
NIKITIS
In the morningof April 7, 2024, the Port Authority of Prinos was informed by the Master of the 'Nikitis' that the ship was not able to start its scheduled route from the port of Prinos to the port of Kavala, due to the inability to start the starboard side main engine. The Port Authority banned the ferry from sailing until the repair of the damage and the presentation of a certificate of class maintenance by the monitoring classification society. The 12 passengers were forwarded to their destination from the port of Thassos.
FRIO CHIKUMA
The 'Frío Chikuma', which had run aground on sandy bottom a few meters from the shore in the Bay of Puerto Argentino as a result of bad weather in the area, was able to free itself again on April 4 and became operational in the anchoring area to continue receiving fishing vessels until she finished filling her hold. She had arrived from Matadi in the Republic of the Congo, in ballast and once loaded with 9000 tons squid, will carry the fishing products to Vigo. The ship was in good operating condition. The Vigo fleet operates under license from the Malvinas Islands, in its surrounding waters. Report with photo: https://pescare.com.ar/el-reefer-frio-chikuma-varo-por-las-inclemencias-del-tiempo-en-las-islas-malvinas/
Halsa
With a NOK 1.23 billion offer, Fjord1 won the concession to run the E39 Halsa-Kanestraum route, the latest major ferry connection awarded by the Norwegian Road Authority.
Singapore
Construction work on the second phase of the Tuas mega port began yesterday with the installation of the first concrete structure for the wharf. A total of 227 concrete structures or caissons, each weighing 13,000 tonnes, will be installed over the next eight years to construct the wharf, the largest in the mega port. Almost 400ha of land will be reclaimed for the second phase, which will have 21 container berths and be able to handle 21 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo annually. In April, the last of 221 caissons for the first phase of the mega-port project was installed. Last year, a consortium of three companies – Penta Ocean Construction, Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Boskalis International – won a $1.46 billion contract to develop the second phase of the Tuas port.