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The owner of the "Evergreen State" that has been docked at the Port of Olympia for more than a year was on the verge of losing the ferry to a potential Port of Olympia public auction for unpaid bills, but he paid his bill in full on May 16. Gregory Jones of Jones Broadcasting paid about $8,000 he owed in the afternoon.

The crew of the "Sea-Watch 3" claimed that the ship has been approached on May 16 at dawn by a Libyan patrol boat which ordered the migrant rescue vessel to leave the area immediately following their rescue of 65 migrants of the Libyan coast. It had requested support from a number of country's, including Malta, but had been offered no support or indications on a port of safety. Among the migrants rescued on May 15 were 11 women, two babies, five children and eight unaccompanied minors. Malta and Italy did not indicate whether they would support the ship or offer a port of safety. At present, the "Sea Watch 3" remained stranded in Mediterranean waters. Report with photo: https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/95039/malta_replies_to_sea_watch_3_but_it_offers_no_support#.XN6EkNjgrcs

Contship Italia S.p.A. has entered into negotiations with MSC for the sale of its 50% shares in CSM Italia Gate S.p.A, the company that controls MCT – Medcenter Container Terminal S.p.A. MCT is the concessionaire of the container terminal activities in the port of Gioia Tauro where MSC is already a partner and the main customer. In order to speed up the deal, Contship Italia has appointed the law firm that will assist the process as well as an independent financial advisor, who has been given the task of expressing the correct value of the terminal activity and assets. During the negotiations, Medcenter Container Terminal will continue to be fully operational.

Hutchison Ports Pakistan received three new remote-controlled quay cranes to mark the beginning of the terminal’s second phase in Karachi. The development will make Pakistan the first country in the South Asia region to install semi-automated, cabin-less cranes. Pakistan’s first and only deep-water container port received the first installment of these high-tech cranes, under their agreement signed with Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. Ltd, China (ZPMC) recently, for the purchase of 8 new cabin-less remote-controlled quay cranes, and 24 remote-controlled rubber-tired gantry cranes (RTGCs). This incoming equipment will be the first of its kind in the country.

Two people suffered minor injuries in the morning of May 16, 2019, after a small fire broke out on deck 1 of the "AMerican Constellation" in the Thea Foss Waterway. The Tacoma Fire Department was alerted about 9 a.m. Fire crews responded and were able to quickly extinguish the fire, though it took several hours to ventilate the smoke. The cause of the fire was under investigation. The cruise ship had sailed from Port Townsend on May 15 at 1 p.m. and berthed in Tacoma on May 16 at 2.20 a.m. Report with photo: https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article230475999.html#storylink=cpy

The Norwegian Maritime Authority has fined the Greek cruise ship operator Global Cruise Lines Ltd. a total of $80,000 for using 0.17 percent sulfur fuel in a 0.10 percent sulfur ECA zone. In March, new Norwegian environmental requirements for emissions in several protected fjords - the Nærøyfjord, Aurlandsfjord, Geirangerfjord, Sunnylvsfjord and Tafjord - entered into force. The fine for Global Cruise Lines was the first issued in connection with the new, stricter rules. On April 16, 2019, the NMA received reports about smoke emissions from the "Magellan", which was berthed in Flåm. NMA surveyors boarded the ship when she arrived at Geiranger the next day, and they measured the sulfur content of the ship’s fuel to be 0.17 percent, or 0.07 percentage points above the regional limit. Tracking of the vessel's AIS signal showed that the vessel made ports of call at Eidfjord and Flåm in the days preceding the port of call at Geiranger. Both of these ports are located within the North Sea ECA, where the maximum allowable fuel sulfur content is 0.10 percent. NMA said that the extent of the violation was significant because the "Magellan" sailed a long distance within the emission control area using a fuel with an excessive sulfur content. As an aggravating factor, Norway's new rules concerning the world heritage fjords were violated.

Meyer Turku has floated Costa Cruises’ first LNG-powered cruise ship, Costa Smeralda, out of her building dock at its yard in Turku, Finland. Following a traditional ceremony to mark the construction milestone, the 180,000gt ship was moved to Meyer Turku’s outfitting pier where she will remain until her delivery in October 2019. Once complete, the ship will offer a three-level area in the middle of the ship that will host entertainment, Italy-inspired piazzas, 11 restaurants, 19 bars, a water park with slides, a multi-sport field, four swimming pools, theatre, disco, casino, jazz club piano bar, a games room and a spa, which has a beauty salon, hammam, thalasso therapy pool and 16 treatment rooms. The vessel will also have her own onboard museum called CoDe - Costa Design Museum, which will be curated by Matteo Vercelloni and showcase the “excellence of Italian design” by featuring many of the people who have contributed to the ship's construction.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) has drawn up plans to replicate its success at Mundra port in terms of cargo handling, at the Kattupalli port as well. On an average, Mundra port had handled over 100 million tonnes of cargo for three years in a row since 2016. “Our vision is to have 30 berths at Adani Kattupalli port to handle all types of commodities including coal, liquefied natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas, including chemicals,” said Ennarasu Karunesan, CEO — Southern Ports, APSEZ. APSEZ acquired Kattupalli port from L&T in June 2018 and renamed it as Adani Kattupalli Port Pvt. Ltd (AKPPL). It has capacity to handle nearly 25 million tonnes of cargo, which is to be enhanced soon. Currently, the port has two berths that handle containers, bulk and break-bulk cargoes, and automotive vehicles. A third berth is under construction.

The "Marshal Z", carrying Iranian fuel oil in violation of U.S. sanctions, has unloaded the cargo into storage tanks of the Jinrun Petroleum Transfer Co. near Zhoushan. The discharging of the nearly 130,000 tonnes of Iranian fuel oil was confirmed by a representative of the oil storage terminal. It marked the end of an odyssey for the cargo that began four months ago. On March 20 it was remarked that Iranian fuel oil had managed to evade the sanctions on petroleum exports by using ship-to-ship transfers involving four different ships, including the "Marshal Z", and by using forged documents that masked the cargoes as originating from Iraq. From March 22 until arriving at the Jinrun terminal on the island of Liuheng on May 8, the tanker maintained a constant draught of 15.9 metres which indicated the cargo was not discharged before reaching the terminal, about 30 km south of Zhoushan, near Shanghai. On May 12, the ship finished unloading the fuel oil and left the terminal, the tracking data showed. The vessel was headed for the waters just outside Singapore, set to arrive on May 21. The "Marshal Z" took on the cargo from a larger tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in January. It transferred the fuel oil to a second tanker, the "Libya", off the Malaysian port of Malacca later that month. But potential buyers wary of the U.S. sanctions steered clear of the "Marshal Z"'s cargo. By March 22, the tanker took the fuel oil back from the "Libya" and anchored off the Malaysian and Singaporean coasts. The vessel lingered off Singapore and Malaysia in March and April, the ship tracking data shows, before sailing to Hong Kong and finally to Liuheng island, off the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. According to a shipbroker report dated Jan. 28, the tanker was sold to an undisclosed buyer and intended for use as floating storage.

In April 2019 the "BBC Orinoco" saved the German skipper of the Leopard 40 catamaran "Samsara" which was dismasted before sinkingduring a gale 200 miles southwest of the Bahamas. The catamaran, which had left the Bahamas five days earlier, was saved from destruction after Hurricane Irma. After several months of repairs, his new owner had planned to bring him back to Europe but the adventure ended earlier than expected. The skipper wanted to bring the boat back to Europe. In early April 2019, seeing a good weather window, he leaves Georgetown, Bahamas; direction Bermuda. But five days after the start of the crossing, the waeather deteriorated, and a wave of nearly 10 meters height dismasted it. A coastguard ship came to the rescue and embarked the crew mate. The skipper decided to separate the mast of the boat and navigate with engine to the port. But contrary to expectations, the weather changed the next night. The wind rose, gusting up to 50 knots, with waves of 6 to 8 meters. Unfortunately, the wind and the direction of the waves turned, so that he could no longer hold his course. There was water in the boat but that he was able to pump. Jointyl with the Coastguard, he decided to change course to have the wind and wavefrom astern until the weather calmed. But it became even worse, and the next morning, one engine broke down, and he could not fix it. With only one engine, it was now impossible to keep the course. The "Samsara" was hit several times by waves broadside and was threatened to capsize, filling up with more and more water. The Coastguard asked the "BBC Orinoco" to assist. When the skipper left his boat, it started to sink. French report with photos: https://voilesetvoiliers.ouest-france.fr/securite-en-mer/naufrage/sauve-in-extremis-apres-le-passage-d-irma-le-catamaran-restaure-coule-au-large-des-bahamas-b0c2bb54-76f7-11e9-8809-a3658dd41a18

No fewer than sixteen Liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels are expected to berth in Onne Port Complex this week in Rivers State Ten of the vessels would discharge imported cargo – containers, general cargo, drilling fluid and inballast, while six vessels would export 364,000 tons of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Butane to other countries of the world. The development was contained in a shipping position issued by the port. The 360000 tons of LNG/Butane would be shipped by these following vessels – LNG Methane Allison Victoria (65000 ton), LNG Maran Gas Hector (70000 ton), LNG Bonny II (77000 ton), LPG Innovator (10000 ton of Butane), LNG Bayelsa (65000 ton) and LNG Lagos II (77000 ton).

The economic importance of nautical tourism for Schleswig-Holstein is continuing to increase. More than 2.2 million passengers are expected in the port of Kiel alone this year, forecasting record numbers like 600,000 cruise passengers and 1.6 million ferry travellers, the company said in its release. Last year, passengers generated a turnover of about 68 million Euros in Kiel. The consumer spending of the port's ferry passengers amounts to more than 53 million Euros. These are complemented by another 15 million Euros spent by cruise passengers and the crews. Out of the total amount, 10 million Euros were spent by passengers for hotel accommodation in Schleswig-Holstein directly before or after their cruise. In 2018, Kiel was visited on 169 separate occasions (143 in 2017) by 34 different cruise ships with a total gross tonnage of more than 11.5 million - an increase of 15.3 % over the previous year. 598,000 cruise passengers boarded or left a cruise ship at the different terminals, an increase of 16.5 %. To date 179 visits to Kiel by 33 different cruise ships have been registered.