The suspected Iranian spy ship'Behshad' appears to be sailing home after nearly three years at sea. The return of the vessel, which U.S. analysts and officials suspect may have provided information and targeting assistance to Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, would remove one possible high-profile target for any Israeli strikes. Iran has previously warned against targeting the ship, and in a sign of the heightened tensions over possible Israeli targets, a senior Iranian commander warned on April 18, that the country could review its nuclear doctrine. The 'Behshad' crossed from the Arabian Gulf into the Persian Gulf early that morning, and was due to arrive later in the evening at the port of Bandar Abbas. The ship had been at sea since June 18, 2021, lingering in almost the same spot in the Red Sea between Yemen and Eritrea since January 2023. By Jan. 11, it had moved to the Bab al-Mandeb strait near the entrance to the Red Sea. In February, the 'Behshad' sailed south into the Gulf of Aden and docked off the coast of a Chinese military base in Djibouti until the end of March, when it disappeared from view. It did not reappear until early April, this time sailing close to the coast of Iran in the Gulf of Oman, before passing through the Strait of Hormuz on April 17. The Iranian ship had provided electronic intelligence to the Yemen-based Houthis, enabling them to spot and target vessels in the Red Sea region. The 'Behshad' was some miles away as Houthi rebels carried out a number of attacks on commercial vessels that created ship diversions and delays in the global supply chain.
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MSC ARIES
The Cadet Ann Tessa Joseph, a resident of Thrissur, Kerala, who was a crew member of the 'MSC Aries', seized by Iran on April 13, has been released and landed at the Cochin Airport on April 18. The mssion of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in Tehran was in contact with 16 other Indian crew members still on board the vessel, who were in good health and in contact with their families in India. The Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar recently spoke to his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, to request the release of the Indian crew members.
Marseille
On 27 June the Corsican Parliament officially approved the upcoming 15-month public ferry service between Marseille and the island, starting on 1 October 2019.
LAYAR ANGGUN 8
The Johor Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has confirmed that the 'Layar Anggun 8', which had caught fire on April 16, was drifting in Malaysian waters. Tthe incident occurred at a position 5.6 nautical miles southeast of Pulau Lima, Johor. The Maritime Rescue Sub Centre (MRSC) had deployed their assets after receiving a report. However, upon their arrival, the ship was nowhere to be found, as the 12 castaways had already been rescued by the Singapore Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) 9.5 nautical miles east of Tanjung Punggai, Johor. Subsequently, the MMEA, through the Johor Baru MRSC, arranged for an MMEA ship and patrol boat to the location of the incident, but the reported ship was not there. At around 4.30 p.m., the MRSC Johor Baru received confirmation that the tanker had drifted into the waters of Bintan Island. Report with photo: https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2024/04/1039917/johor-mmea-confirms-tanzanian-ship-fire-malaysian-waters
PLOTOVOD-687
On April 17, 2024, the cargo m/v 'Volgo Don 5051' (IMO: 8943179) was in collision with the 'Plotovod 687' on the Volga near Bereznyakovsky Island in the Saratov region, Voskresensky district. There were no injuries as a result of the collision, nor was there any fuel spillage. The 'Volgo Don 5051' suffered significant bow damage above the water line, when it hit the other ship at its side, which was breached on its whole height, causing water ingress in the cargo hold are. The Western Interregional Transport Administration launched an investigation. Report with photos: https://sarinform.ru/news/incident/na-volge-v-saratovskoy-oblasti-stolknulis-barzha-i-teplohod?amp
Port Hedland
Thirty-eight vessels at anchor off Port Hedland, waiting to load iron ore.
Agaete
In a ruling last week, the Court of Justice of the EU rejected an appeal presented by Fred. Olsen S.A. over a sentence dictated by the General Courts of the EU in March 2018, whereby the continued exclusive use of the Port of Agaete on the Island of Gran Canary, by Fred. Olsen, constituted a subsidy by the Government of the Canary Islands to said shipping line.
ROTTERDAM
The 'Rotterdam', while bound for the Azores made a detour to Bermuda after a passenger encountered medical difficulties. The RCC Bermuda was contacted by the ship on April 14 at around noon, while it was sailing from Fort Lauderdale to Ponta Delgada. It had diverted to the island to disembark a 75-year-old passenger to receive medical care. In the late afternoon of April 15 the ship arrived offshore, and the patient was transferred to the pilot rescue boat 'St David' along with a member of the ships medical team. The patient was transferred to an ambulance at Ordnance Island along with the ships nurse allowing the cruise ship to continue her passage to the Azores with an ETA at Ponta Delgada as of April 20.
VOLGO-DON 5051
On April 17, 2024, the 'Volgo Don 5051' was in collision with the barge 'Plotovod 687' (MMSI: 273347460) on the Volga near Bereznyakovsky Island in the Saratov region, Voskresensky district. There were no injuries as a result of the collision, nor was there any fuel spillage. The 'Volgo Don 5051' suffered significant bow damage above the water line, when it hit the other ship at its side, which was breached on its whole height, causing water ingress in the cargo hold are. The Western Interregional Transport Administration launched an investigation. Report with photos: https://sarinform.ru/news/incident/na-volge-v-saratovskoy-oblasti-stolknulis-barzha-i-teplohod?amp
Cancun
Two identical 37-metre, 459-passenger catamarans have been completed by Wight Shipyard Co (WSC). The Incat Crowther-designed vessels will be transported to Cancun, Mexico, for Ultramar early next month.
Rotterdam
The first paperless, instantly financed and fully door-to-door tracked container made its way from Korea to the warehouse of Samsung SDS in Tilburg via Port of Rotterdam on blockchain-based platform DELIVER. ABN AMRO, Port of Rotterdam and Samsung SDS demonstrated that blockchain technology enables interoperability, and that integrated container tracking and tracing, required cargo documentation processing and financing can all be done in a trusted, secure and paperless way.