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London, Sep 19 -- A press report, dated today, states: An earthquake of magnitude 5.8, struck the Western Province of Solomon Islands, just before midnight, local time, on Sep 18. According to the US Geological Survey, the quake's epicentre was located at a depth of 10 kilometres, about 48 kilometres east-southeast of the provincial capital Gizo. No Tsunami warning was issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre. There are no official reports of damages, as of now.

Saga Cruises’ first newbuild boutique cruise ship is to be christened during a ceremony at the Port of Dover, UK on 5 July 2019. Spirit of Discovery will be the first vessel to be named at Dover in more than a decade, which will also make her the first to be christened at Dover Western Docks following a £250 million (US$330 million) redevelopment. “As the place that Saga’s first cruise ship set sail from more than 20 years ago, Dover was ‘the natural choice,” said Nigel Blanks, Saga’s COO.

The Coast Guard assisted in the rescue of four crewmembers from a shing vessel after it capsized near Sabine Pass on Tuesday morning. Eighth Coast Guard District watchstanders in New Orleans received an emergency position indicating radio beacon signal from the 65-foot shing vessel Captain M&M, which provided an approximate location of the vessel, and launched an Air Station Houston MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew. Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders launched a Station Sabine 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boat crew and sent out an urgent marine information broadcast with the vessel’s location.

The Government of Greenland (Naalakkersuisut) has voiced its support for International Maritime Organization’s ban on the use and carriage of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic region. Namely, the government has agreed to actively work for a ban on HFO in Arctic shipping, covering both navigation and transport of HFO in the region. The move follows an analysis undertaken by Greenland, which showed that an HFO ban on sailing will be associated with a socioeconomic cost of around DKK 8.1 million (USD 1.27 million) per year. The authority explained that HFO should be avoided due to dangers involving maritime casualties which can have major environmental and economic consequences.

New South lock at Kiel Canal out of order on Sept. 19 from 08.00 am until 13.00 hrs pm due to maintenance work, North lock remains operational

(Bloomberg) — The Port of Wilmington in North Carolina remains shut in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, freezing shipments of everything from fertilizer to textiles. Florence dropped as much as 40 inches (102 centimeters) of rain in some places as it passed over Wilmington on its way through North and South Carolina. Several major surrounding highways were flooded, limiting access to the coastal city and the port. The port said Tuesday that it plans to start receiving vessels at the end of the week and resume truck operations on Sept. 24.

The heaviest single piece of equipment ever to move on Washington highways came through the Port of Longview recently and will require a trailer as long as a football field to move it to its destination in Central Washington. Portland-area heavy equipment mover Omega Morgan is partnering with the Washington State Patrol and Klickitat County Sheriff’s Office to move a windmill transformer that weighs nearly 1 million pounds from the town of Roosevelt to a wind farm in Goldendale. The transformer, weighing in at nearly 1 million pounds, was originally shipped on the cargo vessel Heino from South Korea into the Port of Longview, where it was loaded on a train and shipped to the Columbia River Gorge. The transformer is extremely heavy but not that long. To spread the weight out so it does’t damage roads or bridges, it is suspended from a trailer measuring 360 feet long and 21 feet high.

All four of Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ ocean ships met in Cádiz, Spain on 10 September, marking the second time in history that the entire ocean fleet has been in the same place at the same time. Following on from the first four-ship meet in Bergen, Norway in July 2015, the Captains in Cádiz event saw Balmoral, Braemar, Boudicca and Black Watch sailed into the Spanish port just before 8am. Their 4,000 guests were welcomed by the Los Sones de Cádiz band. Planned in collaboration with Cádiz Port Authority and various Cádiz and Andalusian tourism partners, the event enabled guests to tour the ships, participate in a ‘Siege of Cádiz’ themed treasure hunt, watch performances by live bands and Flamenco dancers, sample local produce and local sherry, and watch the crew competing in an inter-ship Tug of War competition. The celebration also enabled the fleet’s eight ship masters to meet up with one another and key executives, including the company’s chairman Fred Olsen

ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - It's as much a sign of the changing seasons as the yellow leaves and bulky jackets: The last cruise ship of the year, in Anchorage, docked Monday morning and will leave about 10 p.m. the same night. The cruise industry as a whole is one of the bright economic spots in what has been a less-than-exciting past few years. "It is doing very, very well. The demand has stayed," Ralph Samuels, vice president of external relations for Holland America Line, said. According to the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation's 3-year outlook, growth in cruise passenger traffic this year and next will pump another $100 million into the Alaska economy, and push total summer visitor spending to well over $2 billion. Samuels calls this year a "record" and says next year will most likely be the same. "About 1.2 million, that will be a record year for cruise traffic this year," Samuels said, "next year will be probably 1.3 million. So it will be another record year." Samuels says that about 60 percent of the total traffic that arrives in Alaska gets here by ship. He says out of the other 40 percent, a quarter of those visitors have previously cruised to Alaska and have returned to the state on their own. "Alaska is a unique enough destination to be very different, but it is still affordable enough to go to," Samuels said.

Portuguese stevedoring unions are planning to stage a 24-hour strike on September 20, bringing the port operations in Leixoes and Lisbon to a halt. The strike period had started on September 10, and will last for a month, ending on October 8. However, the strike is only in force for the extra time periods except for the planned one-day stoppage planned for Thursday. Shipping companies are already feeling the impact and have announced measures. “This strike will unfortunately affect the normal activities in the ports of Leixoes and Lisbon, mainly vessel’s arrivals and departures

UAE-based port operator Gulftainer has signed a 50-year concession deal with the state of Delaware to operate and develop the Port of Wilmington. Under the agreement, which was signed by Gulftainer’s subsidiary GT USA, the company would invest will see an expected investment of up to USD 600 million in the port to upgrade and expand the terminal and to turn it into one of the largest facilities of its kind on the Eastern Seaboard. The investment includes USD 400 million on a new 1.2 million TEU container facility at DuPont’s former Edgemoor site, which was acquired by the Diamond State Port Corporation in 2016. Plans for the port also include development of all cargo terminal capabilities at the facility and enhancement of its overall productivity.

Bunker operations at the port of Hong Kong resumed Tuesday after being suspended over the weekend and Monday due to Typhoon Mangkhut, which made landfall on Sunday. The Hong Kong Observatory had removed all warnings related to the typhoon as of 12.05 am local time Tuesday (0405 GMT Monday).

Great South lock at Brunsbüttel out of service due to maintenance works fro 07.00 am until 15.45pm today on September 18, 2018

Kinder Morgan Inc reopened fuel terminals in South Carolina on Sunday after Tropical Storm Florence passed through the area, a spokeswoman said in a statement. “Kinder Morgan’s recovery and start up efforts have begun,” said spokeswoman Katherine Hill. The company is working with authorities to re-enter its facilities in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Monday. Additionally, construction activities at the Elba Island liquefied natural gas terminal are expected to resume on Monday, she said. Source: Reuters

Cruise & Maritime Voyages’ Astoria made history during her inaugural visit to Poole this summer when she also became the largest ship to dock at the UK port’s new cruise berth since it opened in May 2018. The 160-metre-long Astoria berthed at the new £10 million deep-water South Quay, which can accommodate 220-metre-long ships and is said to be one of the largest port developments on the UK’s south coast in recent years.

On September 15, 2018, at approximately 2:45 a.m., Ferryland RCMP were called to a fishing vessel that was on fire. The vessel was docked at the Witless Bay Marina. Witless Bay Fire Department attended and extinguished the fire. The vessel was significantly damaged. There were no people in or near the boat. The Fire Commissioner's Office was contacted and attended the scene. The investigation is ongoing.

Portuguese stevedoring unions are planning to stage a 24-hour strike on September 20, bringing the port operations in Leixoes and Lisbon to a halt. The strike period had started on September 10, and will last for a month, ending on October 8. However, the strike is only in force for the extra time periods except for the planned one-day stoppage planned for Thursday. Shipping companies are already feeling the impact and have announced measures. “This strike will unfortunately affect the normal activities in the ports of Leixoes and Lisbon, mainly vessel’s arrivals and departures.

Great South lock at Brunsbüttel out of service due to maintenance works fro 07.00 am until 15.45pm today on September 19, 2018. Great North lock and both small locks are operational

The PORT OF KIEL is completely restructuring the access area to the Ostuferhafen and has begun the partial demolition of a former grain storage facility. The demolition along with the integration of adjacent areas will free up 2.8 hectares in the port access area on which expanded hard standing space can be created for trucks, trailers and cars. So far separated pre stowage sectors can now be combined outside the ISPS-zone. Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the PORT OF KIEL (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG) said: “Cargo handling in the Ostuferhafen has increased in the last few years. The new access area will mean we can optimise logistics, accommodate the needs of forwarders for more space and handle more cruise shipping passengers.” A sum of €7.25 million overall is being invested in the project and funding from the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein has been applied for. The restructuring of the port access area involves the demolition of some 13,000 m² of warehousing as well as structural engineering, road works, drainage, lighting and the securing of the site. Access to the Ostuferhafen is guaranteed to remain unimpeded throughout the whole of the reconstruction period, which will last until the spring of next year.

The Port of Tacoma has announced: “With air quality returning to healthy levels, service at all terminals in Tacoma are expected to be up and running by 1 p.m.” Excerpts from a KING 5 article titled ‘Stay indoors: Air quality warning issued as Tacoma scrap fire burns’: An overnight fire at Simon Metals scrap yard in Tacoma weakened the surround air quality Monday morning, forcing the Port of Tacoma to put operations on hold. The fire began around 2 a.m. and by 10 a.m. air quality around downtown Tacoma fluctuated between moderate and unhealthy for sensitive groups.