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On May 2, 2020, at 08.50 a.m. the NSRI Port Elizabeth duty crew and EC Government Health EMS were activated by the Transnet National Ports Authority to respond to rendezvous with a bulk carrier approaching Port Elizabeth from Cape Town to attend to a 52 year old Iraqi crew member onboard the ship suffering an emergency medical condition, not Covid-19 related. The sea rescue craft 'Spirit of Toft' was launched accompanied by an EMS rescue paramedic and rendezvoused with the ship seven miles East of Cape Recife. The EMS rescue paramedic and an NSRI rescue swimmer were transferred onto the ship and the patient was found to be in a critical condition. The paramedic took over emergency medical treatment from the ships medical crew and the patient, secured into a stokes basket stretcher, was transferred onto the sea rescue craft and the EMS paramedic and NSRI medics continued with medical care onboard the sea rescue craft while the patient was brought to the NSRI Port Elizabeth sea rescue base and in the care of paramedics he was transported to hospital by EMS ambulance. Despite extensive efforts by hospital medical staff the patient passed away.

On May 2, a HLC 295000 heavy load crane of Liebherr mounted on the deck of the 'Orion I' crashed in the Seaport of Rostock during a test when lifting a pontoon which was filled with 5.550 tons of water. The crane boom broke off, and parts fell onto the 'Orion I', which started to list to port side, and onto the quay edge. Heavy metal pieces flew around. Five people inside the crane's cabin were injured by the heave jerk. The fire brigade, ambulances and police attended with a large contingent. They tried to free the victims from the steel mesh. There were two serious and three minor injuries. A total of 120 people were on board the 'Orion I' who were now being evacuated and looked after. A rescue helicopter has landed. In addition, large amounts of oil leaked out, which the fire brigade has to collect before it got into the water. It is the second accident on the Liebherr site within a few months. In January, two loading cranes fell into the water during tests. The salvage then took several months. Reports with photos and video: https://www.nonstopnews.de/meldung/32916 https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/mecklenburg-vorpommern/Rostock-Erneutes-Unglueck-mit-Hafenkran,hafenkran156.html https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/panorama/id_87809036/rostock-krank-knickt-im-hafen-ab-fuenf-verletzte.html

The American destroyer USS 'Kidd' returned to Everett after nearly 50 crew members aboard were tested positive for coronavirus as of April 27, 2020. This was the second reported outbreak of COVID-19 aboard a US Navy vessel at sea. After concerns were raised about cases aboard the USS 'Theodore Roosevelt', one sailor assigned to that ship died from coronavirus complications. Roughly half the crew members on the USS 'Kidd' have been tested for the virus, and some have been evacuated. 45% of the ship have been tested for COVID-19, with 47 total positive results. Two Sailors have been medically evacuated. 15 sailors have been transferred to USS 'Makin Island (LHD 8)' for monitoring due to persistent symptoms. None were in the ICU or on ventilators. Sailors aboard the USS 'Kidd' were wearing PPE and N95 masks. Initial COVID-19 testing of sailors from the USS 'Theodore Roosevelt' were now complete, there are 955 active cases, along with 14 recovered cases. The USS 'Kidd' was on a counter narcotics mission' when ait was reported at least 18 crew had fallen ill with the virus.

The chairman of the board of Grenaa Shipyard, Esben Møller, was deeply affected by the violent gas explosion on the dredger 'Grete Fighter', which injured three employees on April 23, 2020. The cause is still unknown. Shipyard chairman deeply affected by accide. "We have never experienced anything like it here, ”says Esben Møller. The accident happened shortly after lunch break when the employees were on their way back to the ship, which was in the shipyard in connection with a 5 year revision. On the way to the ship's tank system there was a huge explosion. Two men have reached the bottom of the ship, while the one closest to the exit was being helped out. Police and fire departments were alerted at 9.35 a.m., and shipyard and ship crews quickly reached the two at the bottom of the ship, which were most severely affected by the explosion, but were unable to rescue them. But they stayed with them until the fire department and the ambulance arrived. According to police, the three severely injured people who were flown to Rigshospitalet are a 31-year-old man from Norddjurs, a 53-year-old man from Syddjurs and a 50-year-old man from West Funen. "I don't know about their situation anymore, other than it's very serious," Esben Møller said. The accident is now being investigated by the police and the Labor Inspectorate. The 'Grete Fighter', which is owned by Peter Madsen Rederi, was in the yard for a five-year inspection. According to Grenaa Shipyard, on the ship various steel works were to be carried out, measurements of screw shaft and rudder, full service of auxiliary and main engine, dismantling of bottom and bilge valves and a full coating of bottom and bulwark. In addition, the old excavator had to be dismantled in favour of a new one.

One crew member of the USS 'Theodore Roosevelt' which was being anchored off Guam has died of a corona virus infection on April 14, 2020. The woman had been in intensive care but died of health complications. More than 550 crew members of the 5.000 crew members were tested positive. The ship has been largely evacuated during the recent days. Commander Brett Crozier had been fired as he wrote a letter expressing his concern about the crew situation and asked for help by the Navy.

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

On May 3, 2020, at 10.15 a.m. the NSRI Durban launched the sea rescue craft 'Alick Rennie' to transport a ShipsMed doctor to a bulk carrier at the outer anchorage off-shore of the Port of Durban. The Port Health Authorities had arranged for the doctor to take sample swabs from a crewman onboard the ship, which is due to enter Port, for Covid-19 laboratory testing prior to the ship being granted permission to enter Port. Observing all Covid-19 Department of Health and Port Health Authority safety regulations and protocols on arrival at the ship the doctor was transferred onto the ship and sample swabs were collected from the crewman. The doctor returned to the sea rescue craft accompanied by the samples that he had collected and he was brought into Durban Port without incident. Port Health Authorities evaluated the samples to determine safe passage for the ship to enter Port. The operation completed at 11.40 a.m.

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The 'AIDAblu' made a brief stopover yesterday in Marseille on April 26, 2020, to embark several hundred crew members of one of his sisterships, the 'AIDAsol', which has been moored in the port for 1,5 months. The transfer took place to facilitate the repatriation of AIDA personnel via Germany. The 'AIDAblu' set sail again in the afternoon. At the same time, another cruise ship which had been berthed in Marseille since last month, the 'Europa 2' of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, set sail to also return to Germany, its arrival in Hamburg was scheduled for May 2. The Marseille areas now hosted six cruise ships, the 'Costa Smeralda', 'MSC Magnifica' and 'AIDAsol', 'Le Boréal', 'L’Austral' and 'Le Lyrial'. The repatriation operations of the international personnel of these ships was still in progress, in particular via flights chartered by the owners. This was particularly the case for the crew members of the 'MSC Magnifica', which arrived on April 20 and who also landed 4 tonnes of food surplus, donated to local associations to help the most disadvantaged.

More than 1,000 sailors aboard the aircraft carrier 'Charles de Gaulle' have tested positive for COVID-19, a number that could continue to surge as the crew awaits approximately 930 more test results. The outbreak onboard the French navy’s flagship forced leadership to call off the remaining two weeks of the carrier’s scheduled deployment to the North Atlantic. The ship, which carries a crew of nearly 1,800, pulled into port last week at Toulon Naval Base in southern France. In all, 1,081 crew members from the Charles de Gaulle naval group have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. That total comes almost entirely from the carrier, and includes at least two U.S. sailors who were assigned to the ship as part of the U.S. Navy’s Personnel Exchange Program. The American sailors have since been removed from the ship and were receiving excellent host nation medical care at French facilities. The declining health of one French sailor, meanwhile, necessitated a transfer to the intensive care unit. Partially complicating the early detection process onboard the 'Charles de Gaulle' was the rate of asymptomatic carriers. Of the confirmed cases, nearly half showed no symptoms. Additionally, masks were not made available until late in the ship’s deployment. T The debilitating spread of the virus onboard France’s lone carrier, has sparked concern about the nation’s ability to remain ready to fight. Unlike the U.S. Navy, which touts 10 other active carriers in addition to the coronavirus-stricken USS 'Theodore Roosevelt', losing the 'Charles de Gaulle' for an extended period could cripple France’s nuclear deterrence capabilities.

On March 31, 2020, around 9 a.m. a fire broke out aboard the new built Panama flagged cruise ship 'Mardi Gras', 183200 gt (9837444), which is currently built at the Meyer yard in Turku. The fire occurred in a cabin on the upper deck, and fire crews managed to limit the fire to one cabin. In total, 18 fire brigade units were sent from the rescue service to the shipyard, but the fire could quickly be extinguished by the shipyard's own fire department. However, the ship must be checked to make sure there were no remaining hot spots. All workers were evacuated from the ship, but no one was injured in the fire. The cause of the fire was still unclear.

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.

After the gas explosion aboard the Danish dredger vessel ‘Grete Fighter‘, 582 gt (IMO: 7944762), on April 23 in the port of Grenå,the Grenaa Shipyard has not yet received a report from the Labor Inspectorate on the cause of the accident which was thought to be be due to gas emissions or diesel fumes. However, the yard has already chosen to tighten security in several areas. On April 28, a joint meeting was held where staff and management discussed what they could do to be 100 percent sure the accident cannot recur. It was decided to buy a lot of technical equipment to prevent such an explosion in the future, and some new procedures for this type of work will be intrduced. The two survivors of the accident were in critical condition.

The number of coronavirus cases aboard the USS 'Kidd' rose to 64 as the Navy destroyer pulled into port at San Diego on April 28, 2020, to get medical care for the crew and to disinfect and decontaminate the ship. The 'Kidd' was the second Navy ship to have an outbreak of the disease while at sea, the other being the USS 'Theodore Roosevelt', an aircraft carrier that has been docked at Guam for a month and has more than 900 sailors with confirmed cases of COVID-19, but the entire crew has now been tested. The Navy has moved swiftly to get the 'Kidd''s crew ashore. That was a point of contention with the 'Roosevelt', whose skipper, Capt. Brett Crozier, felt compelled to write to several other commanders pleading for more urgent Navy action to protect his crew of nearly 5,000. Crozier was then relieved of command for what the Navy's top civilian official at the time, Thomas Modly, called poor judgment. Modly resigned several days later, and the Navy is now seeking higher-level approval to reverse his move and restore Crozier to command. The Navy said that 63% of the 'Kidd''s crew of more than 300 had been tested as of April 28. One sailor was medically evacuated to the United States on April 22 after experiencing shortness of breath. Fifteen were transferred to another ship with a medical facility for closer observation of symptoms. Sailors being removed from the 'Kidd' at San Diego will be isolated with twice-daily medical screenings. Crew members who have tested negative will enter quarantine for a period of observation, with military health professionals monitoring them for symptoms. Also, a small contingent of sailors who tested negative will remain on the ship for essential services and deep cleaning. The cleaning is expected to take two weeks. The destroyer had been off the Pacific coast of Central American doing counter-narcotics operations. The Navy said no deployed ships currently have known coronavirus cases aboard. 13 ships that previously had one or more active cases while in port have zero cases now.

The Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft shipyard a which had been operating at a loss for some time, filed for self-administered insolvency on April 24. The goal of the shipyard’s filing was to permit it to start afresh. The future of Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft in the medium term was in building Ro-Ro ferries, according to the message delivered by the management at a workers meeting on Sunday April 26. The move is specifically designed to allow the company to start from fresh without existing contractual obligations to customers and suppliers. Though an administrator will be brought in from outside the company, the company management will continue to control the business which is a different process to bankruptcy in German law. Investor Lars Windhorst is prepared to put money into the business through his Tennor Holding investment vehicle. Tennor Holding took 100% control of the yard in 2019. He has said, however, that the money should not be used on loss making contracts. The former majority owner Siem Industries is interested in contracting 4 further Ro-Ro ferries from the yard. Siem recently took delivery of LIEKUT, the eighth of a series of vessels built by FSG for the company to charter out. FSG had been making significant losses for a number of years. The Siem group acquired the company for a token €1 back in November 2014 after severe liquidity problems. Those losses massively increased in recent years, however, with the yard losing an eye watering €111m in 2018. The hugely increased losses were due in part to delivery delays with Irish Ferries 'W.B. Yeats' and the subsequent penalty payments made to Irish Continental Group (ICG). The agreed contract price to build the 'W.B. Yeats' is understood to have left little to no margin for the yard in the first place.

The US Coast Guard medevaced a crewmember from a 600-foot tanker at anchorage approximately 15 miles southeast of Galveston, Texas, on April 19, 2020. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders received a report of a 58-year-old man reportedly experiencing symptoms of an upper respiratory illness. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon as well as local CDC and county health partners who recommended the medevac. Watchstanders launched a Coast Guard Station Galveston 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boat crew. The RB-M boat crew transferred the patient to awaiting emergency medical services personnel at Station Galveston who transported him to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

On March 31, 2020, around 9 a.m. a fire broke out aboard the new built Panama flagged cruise ship 'Mardi Gras', 183200 gt (9837444), which is currently built at the Åbovarvet Meyer Turku. The fire occurred in a cabin on the upper deck, and fire crews managed to limit the fire to one cabin. In total, 18 fire brigade units were sent from the rescue service to the shipyard, but the fire could quickly be extinguished by the shipyard's own fire department. However, the ship must be checked to make sure there were no remaining hot spots. All workers were evacuated from the ship, but no one was injured in the fire. The cause of the fire was still unclear.

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/