The U.S. Central Command said on May 25, 2024, the Houthis launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles into the Red Sea, but no injuries or damage were reported. The 'Essex' was anchored off the coast of Alexandria port. The vessel is managed by Zodiac Maritime, which is controlled by Israeli magnate Eyal Ofer. There has been no sign of anything unusual. In an apparent reference to the 'Essex', the British maritime security company Ambrey said in a note that the vessel had traded between Alexandria and Port Said, and had not called at any Israeli port in recent weeks. The tanker was not further offshore Egypt than 15N nautical miles over the prior week. The Houthi language indicated they did not hit the vessel.
News
SPOB JEANITA
On May 24, 2024, a fire broke out aboard the 'SPOB Jeanita' in the waters of Tanjung Uban, Bintan, in pos. 01°03'647" N 104°12'693" E. The Sea and Coast Guard Unit (KPLP) of the Directorate General of Sea Transportation, Ministry of Transportation, succeeded in evacuating the crew with the the Tanjung Uban PLP Base and extinguishing the fire. At 01.00 a.m. WIB the Captain of the KPLP KN patrol boat 'Rantos-P.210' was notified and departed from Tanjung Uban PLP Pangkalan Pier to the ship. At 02.30 WIB it reached the scene and immediately began extinguishing operations with assistance from the ships TB 'Transko Dara 3202' and TB 'Medelin Partner'. At 02.45 a.m. WIB, although the fire began to subside, the ship was still emitting clouds of smoke. At 03.30 a.m. the 'Rantos' began extinguishing fires in the ship's accommodation area and engine rooms using fire hoses. At 05.00 a.m. the KPLP Team cooled the ship to ensure the fire was completely extinguished. Report with photo and video: https://www.beritatrans.com/article/247214/Kebakaran-Kapal-SPOB-Jeanita-di-Perairan-Tanjung-Uban-Tim-KPLP-Berhasil-Padamkan-Api/.
Chittagong
Chittagong Port wants to construct new facility at Ananda Bazar, North Halishohor. It includes construction of breakwater for about 11km, dredging construction of a multi-purpose terminal and two container terminals. It is a project with a possible value above USD 2 Billion. After the decision of the government, PPPA communicated with ESG to nominate a suitable company for the project as a requirement of G2G PPP Policy of Bangladesh and they have nominated PSA Singapore.. Objective: To Provide a major gateway for the country's trade with the outside world Primary issue is the limiting factor in accommodating larger vessel sizes and so Chittagong Port Authority intends to construct the "Bay Terminal” to improve the quality of services and develop adequate facilities and decrease the pressure on the existing Chittagong Port. Enhance competitiveness of the country’s exports as prices of imported and exported commodities decrease as a result of shorter shipping time and lower shipping costs. Exporters would incur lower financial costs for their shipments due to the shorter processing and shipping time for their cargo.
JULIET
On the afternoon of May 23, 2024, the Greek Coast Guard was informed about a migrant boat in difficulties 70 nautical miles south of Crete with 37 people (34 men and thhree minors) on board. The castaways were picked up by the 'Juliet' 83.5 nautical miles. south of Crete. According to the captain's report and testimonies of survivors, one person fell into the sea and drowned. The 37 rescued were transferred to a Greek kifeboat and landed safely at the port of Kale Limeni. Afterwards, they were transferred to Heraklion, accompanied by officials of the Central Port Authority where they stated that they had started from Tobruk on the morning of May 21, paying 150,000 Egyptian pounds for their transportatio. Two men, aged 28 and 36, were arrested by the Central Port Authority of Heraklion, which was conducting the preliminary investigation, for violation of art. 83 of Law 3386/05 "Illegal entry into the country", art. 25 of Law 5083/23 "Facilitation" and art. 306 of the Civil Code "Exhibition".
BASILISK
The 'Basilisk', which had been attacked by pirates in pos. 01°16 S 051°07 E, between the Somali coast and the Seychelles, while the Basilisk was heading north , towards Jebel Alil, was freed the Spanish frigate 'Canarias', one of the warships from the European operation EUNAVFOR Atalanta, which was nearby and approached very quickly. The 'Canarias', returning from the Seychelles, arrived in the area on the evening of May 23. The soldiers boarded at night, sliding down ropes from the helicopter, using the fast-rope technique. The pirates had already left the ship before their arrival. The crew was found safe and sound, with the exception of one crew member who was injured in the attack. He was in stable condition and received medical treatment on board by the on-board medical team.
Chittagong
THE SUPER CYCLONE ‘AMPHAN’ (PRONUNCIATION: UM-PUN) (ECP: 926 HPA) OVER WEST CENTRAL BAY AND ADJOINING AREA MOVED NORTH- NORTHEASTWARDS AND NOW LIES OVER THE SAME AREA (LAT. 16.0°N, LONG. 86.7°E) AND WAS CENTRED AT 06 AM TODAY (19 MAY, 2020) ABOUT 890 KM SOUTHWEST OF CHATTOGRAM PORT, 840 KM SOUTHWEST OF COX’S BAZAR PORT, 785 KM SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF MONGLA PORT AND 775 KM SOUTH-SOUTHWEST OF PAYRA PORT. IT IS LIKELY TO MOVE IN A NORTH-NORTHEASTERLY DIRECTION AND MAY CROSS BANGLADESH COAST BETWEEN KHULNA-CHATTOGRAM DURING LATE NIGHT 19 MAY 2020 TO AFTERNOON / EVENING 20 MAY 2020. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WIND SPEED WITHIN 90 KMS OF THE CYCLONE CENTRE IS ABOUT 225 KPH RISING TO 245 KPH IN GUSTS/ SQUALLS. SEA WILL REMAIN VERY HIGH NEAR THE CYCLONE CENTRE. MARITIME PORTS OF MONGLA AND PAYRA HAVE BEEN ADVISED TO KEEP HOISTED DANGER SIGNAL NUBMER SEVEN (R) SEVEN. COASTAL DISTRICTS OF SATKHIRA, KHULNA, BAGHERHAT, JHALOKATHI, PIROZPUR, BORGUNA, PATUAKHALI, BHOLA, BARISHAL, LAXMIPUR, CHANDPUR AND THEIR OFFSHORE ISLANDS AND CHARS WILL COME UNDER DANGER SIGNAL NUMBER SEVEN (R) SEVEN. MARITIME PORTS OF CHATTOGRAM AND COX’S BAZAR HAVE BEEN ADVISED TO KEEP HOISTED DANGER SIGNAL NUBMER SIX (R) SIX. COASTAL DISTRICTS OF NOAKHALI, FENI, CHATTOGRAM AND COX’S BAZAR THEIR OFFSHORE ISLANDS AND CHARS WILL COME UNDER DANGER SIGNAL NUMBER SIX (R) SIX. UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE VERY SEVERE CYCLONIC STORM “AMPHAN” AND THE NEW MOON PHASE, THE LOW-LYING AREAS OF THE COASTAL DISTRICTS OF SATKHIRA, KHULNA, BAGHERHAT, JHALOKATHI, PIROZPUR, BORGUNA, PATUAKHALI, BHOLA, BARISHAL, LAXMIPUR, CHANDPUR, NOAKHALI, FENI, CHATTOGRAM AND THEIR OFFSHORE ISLANDS AND CHARS ARE LIKELY TO BE INUNDATED BY STORM SURGE OF 4-5 FEET HEIGHT ABOVE NORMAL ASTRONOMICAL TIDE. THE COASTAL DISTRICTS OF SATKHIRA, KHULNA, BAGHERHAT, JHALOKATHI, PIROZPUR, BORGUNA, PATUAKHALI, BHOLA, BARISHAL, LAXMIPUR, CHANDPUR, NOAKHALI, FENI, CHATTOGRAM AND THEIR OFFSHORE ISLANDS AND CHARS ARE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE WIND SPEED UP TO 140-160 KPH IN GUSTS/ SQUALLS WITH HEAVY TO VERY HEAVY FALLS DURING THE PASSAGE OF THE STORM. ALL FISHING BOATS AND TRAWLERS OVER NORTH BAY AND DEEP SEA HAVE BEEN ADVISED TO TAKE SHELTER IMMEDIATELY AND WILL REMAIN IN SHELTER TILL FURTHER NOTICE.
Chittagong
Currently, more than 4,000 TEUs of import containers can be unloaded every day allowing vessels to complete loading and unloading goods at a faster rate, which helps reduce the vessels' stay time at jetties. Vessels' berth occupancy time that had reached 6-7 days last month came down to 3-4 days now, port officials said. The vessels' waiting time at the outer anchorage for getting berths has also dropped to 13-14 days from 16-18 days. Subsequently, the number of vessels waiting at the outer anchorage declined to 24 yesterday though the number hovered around 36 before the steps were taken. AIS Station -BDCGP
N.DADAYLI
On May 23, 2024, the 'N. Dadaily', en route from Damietta, suffered a mechanical failure in the main engine 7.9 nautical miles northnortheast from Ribadesella. The tug 'Alonso de Chaves' was tasked to assist by Salvamento Marítimo and towed the ship away from the coast until a commercial tug arrived and pulled it to the port of Santander, where it was safely moored at the Noatum Terminals on May 24 at 10.15 a.m. UTC. Report with photo: https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/1793993563606229024
RONGTAI 8
The 'Rong Tai 8', which ran aground on the Poklington Reef off Rossel Island in the Milne Bay Province in May 2023, has tilted to port seriously recently. People on Rossel Island have raised concern to the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) and the National Safety Authorityx (NMSA) to investigate and take action to remove the threat. The ship had on board diesel and fuel oil as well as fishing gears and stocks of fish, when it ran aground. New reports said, the ship may be spilling pollutants after it started to tilt. Rough seas have pushed it further up on the reef. Report with photo: https://www.postcourier.com.pg/abandoned-fishing-boat-polluting-the-reef-and-sea/
Varna
A global petition aiming to draw the attention of the general public to the problems of over 150 000 seafarers that cannot leave or cannot joint ship crews due to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative belongs to the International Marittime Organization (IMO) Goodwill Maritime Ambassador for Bulgaria Capt. Andriyan Evtimov. The purpose is to have the document signed online by at least the same number of people as that of the blocked by the COVID-19 seafarers, and then send it to the IMO member-state governments with an appeal for immediate and urgent measures to facilitate the movement of seafaring personnel. Currently, only a few countries permit crewmember exchange in their ports, which has a direct negative impact on seafarers’ wellbeing, on the safety of navigation and the global supply chains. The petition, which can be accessed at www.seafarersmatter.com, draws to the attention of the governments that the maritime industry is the backbone of world trade and any continuation of the restrictive measures currently in place against the seafarers would lead to detrimental effect for the global economy. More than 90% of world trade takes place by sea and the seafarers are those who constantly and in personal deprivation carry out their mission ensuring the operation of the supply chains, including such for medical supplies to combat the pandemic. You can access the petition online at www.seafarersmatter.com
Chittagong
The Department of Shipping (DoS) has asked the shipping lines not to realise container detention charge on import and export shipments during the lockdown period, spurred by COVID-19 outbreak. The shipping lines are also advised not to impose any new or additional charges until May 5 when the 41-day shutdowns end. The department issued the advisory on Wednesday, which sparked resentment among the shipping agents in the country. Usually, containers get free time for 14 days after the common landing date and thereafter charged between $5 and $10 per day as detention charge until the importers return those to the port or off-docks. Associate director of Transmarine Logistics Ltd, the local agent of Yang Ming Line, Mohammad Ahsanuzzaman told the FE on Thursday most shipping lines operate their fleet on a leasing basis and pay for the rental daily. Due to the prolonged congestions at the Chittagong port, the containers now have to stay for 15 days at the outer anchorage and at berth, compared with a minimum of three to four days in recent past, he said. During the shutdown period, the containers are lying at the Chittagong port for several weeks when the designated free days expire. "The shipping lines will have to pay container rent besides the opportunity cost, but now the shipping department is asking us not to charge detention fee on importers, which is a mere cost recovery for the liners. This is not acceptable at all when you consider the impact of COVID-19 has on us," he said. "Shipping lines will incur huge financial losses if the order is implemented," said Mr Ahsanuzzaman. Chairman of the Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association (BSAA) Ahsanul Huq Chowdhury told the FE on Thursday vessels are staying at the outer anchorage and berth for weeks and counting millions of taka as demurrage. Deptt order angers shipping agentsA few days back, shipping agents had requested the government to waive some charges like port dues, pilotage fees, berthing and unbreathing tariffs, quay gantry crane, loading or discharging the container, storage charges, container and non-CPA equipment, and store rent for containers at off-docks. "The government paid no heed to our appeal rather issued an order not to realise the detention charge," Mr Chowdhury said. He said the department issued the advisory in line with the measures taken in Indian ports. But the reality is there is no such congestions in Indian ports and vessels there enter and leave in time while at the Chittagong port an additional two weeks are required in ship handling, he said. After the shipping department's advisory, he wrote that the imposition or waiver of detention charge of containers depends on foreign principals. "The principals may not consider the waiving of the container detention charge unless the government waives or reduces port tariffs for vessels," he noted. AIS station, Chittagong