The 'Lady Naomi' which used to sail to American Samoa and the Cook Islands from Samoa is likely to be sunk after continuous mechanical and structural problems have caused the vessel to be out of service with major damages to its rails, and bollards, as well as dents on its hull from alliding with the wharf due to strong ocean currents. The government will now dispose of the ferry in the deep further from Apia. The vessel’s condition has continued to deteriorate, which has resulted in costly repair and maintenance bills paid by the Corporation to comply with international maritime safety requirements.
News
BIRGER JARL
The municipal real estate company Älvstranden Utveckling AB has rejected a berth for the 'Birger Jarl' in Gothenburg. At the end of April a couple of investors from the Gothenburg area annonuced that they wanted to buy the classic shipfrom the current owner Leif-Ivan Karlsson, who has had the vessel lying in Lunde harbor in the Kramfors municipality since 2022.
Beirut
The Lebanese army on Sep 3 found a further 4.35 tonnes of the explosive ammonium nitrate a month after 2,750 tonnes of the substance exploded in the harbour and destroyed large parts of the city. The explosive substance was found in a warehouse immediately outside one of the entrances to the port, and engineers from the army took care of it. Simultaneously with the new discovery, it emerged that the outgoing Prime Minister Hassan Diab told the head of the investigation of the catastrophic explosion that he knew of the existence of the large amount of ammonium nitrate at the port before the explosion. 25 suspects have been arrested so far, including the port's chief of staff Hassan Koraytem and customs chief Badri Daher. Among the others arrested were also three Syrian workers who carried out welding work at the warehouse, where the huge amount of ammonium nitrate was stored, on the day the explosion took place. Up to 200 were killed and about 6,500 injured in the blast, causing damage to a double-digit billion.
Kiel
https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/schleswig-holstein/NOK-Havarie-Frachter-fuhr-ohne-Lotsen,schleuse886.html
OCEAN VIKING
The 'Ocean Viking' has rescued 35 Bangladeshis who were on a boat in distress off the coast of Malta on May 20 at 2 a.m. GMT. The migrants, all men who had set off from Benghazi to Sicily on a fiberglass boat in the joint search area between Malta and Italy. The castaways had spent at least two days and two nights at sea. Italian authorities have assigned the port of Ortona to disembark the migrants with an ETA as of May 22.
SD SOLENT RACER
On the morning of May 20, 2024, the 'SD Solent Racer' sufferered a serious engine fire at the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour. The polot boat was bringing pilot back after taking the HMS 'Iron Duke' out. The fire was eventually extinguished by the crew. The vessel was brought back in alonside an MoD Police boat with Serco tugs being on standby. Video: https://x.com/i/status/1792504272271061301
Vladivostok
The typhoon Maysak crushed onto the port of Vladivostok on Sep 3, 2020, wreaking havoc at the Navy base and in the commercial port. A floating dock in the base broke off her moorings, drifted along the piers and hit berthed submarines and other ships. The amount of damage was yet unknown. The container terminal at the ommercial port was flooded. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=50&v=Yr8JHgunKNY&feature=emb_title
Kiel
An investigation was launched into the allision of the Panama flagged cargo m/v cargo m/v 'Else', 2449 gt ( IMO: 9006320 ), enroute from Klaipeda to Les Sables with a cargo of ammonnium nitrate, with the northern lock of the Kiel Canal in Kiel-Holtenau upon entering the lock on Aug 29 at 5 a.m. at the pier of the Lindenau Yard in Kiel-Friedrcrichsort. Usually ships stop about 800 meters off the locks on the Kiel Fjord to take a pilot on board, and may only proceed once he has embarked. The 'Else' had ordered a pilot but continued its voyage without reducing speed and crashed into the closed gate with about six knots. The gate was severely damaged, and inspections by divers were to start on Aug 31 to find out if the submerged tanks of it were damaged too. The lock was closed for shipping for the time being, leaving only one of four locks in Holtenau in operating condition. One gate is still under repair after having been hit by the container m/v 'Akacia' 2,5 years ago, another gate is under repair too. It was investigated if this could be used once the now damaged gate has been removed.
HARMONY OF THE SEAS
The US Coast Guard medevaced an 85-year-old man from the 'Harmony of the Seas', which was sailing 24 miles off Galveston, Texas, on May 20, 2024. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders received a medevac request at 6:30 p.m., stating an 85-year-old male passenger had sustained a head injury due to a fall aboard the vessel. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon, who recommended a medevac. An already-airborne Coast Guard Air Station Houston MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew was diverted to conduct the medevac. The helicopter crew arrived on scene, embarked the passenger and transported him to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston in stable condition.
MICHEL
On May 18, 2024, at around 4:00 a.m. LT the cargo m/v 'Mohammed Z' (IMO: 8805078) with 11 crew members, including nine Syrian and two Egyptian nationals, on board sank en route from Istanbul Anchorage to Sulina about 26 nautical off the city of Sfântu Gheorghe in the Black Sea after a collision with the 'Michel', which was en route from Odessa to Varna with a cargo of steel pipes. The Romanian authorities launched an SAR operation and notified two merchant vessels sailing in the area to assist. The 'Michel' rescued eight castaways and took them to Constanta for medical treatment. One of them was suffering from two injuries and has been admitted to the hospital. The Romanian authorities have also deployed a helicopter from the Romania Air Force and two rescue vessels, the 'Artemis' and 'Apollo' from ARSVOM to search the three missing crewmembers. Two police boats have also joined the search. According to a port inspection conducted in Egypt, the vessel had deficiencies, including inoperative safety lamps and improperly maintained life buoys. An investigation into the accident was ongoing with the cooperation of the rescued crew members. The 'Michel' arrived in Varna with structural bow damages on May 19 at 7.20 a.m. UTC.
Andernach
Vorbeifahrt Rheinufer 56567 Neuwied-Feldkirchen (Fahr am Rhein) Gegenüber dem Industriehafen Andernach 26.08.2020 - Imperial Gas 79 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuTSSugJmIk&feature=youtu.be 26.08.2020 - MISSOURI Cargo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgkscB-aLoY 26.08.2020 - WSP14 Wasserschutzpolizei https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjHD9XwE9X8 26.08.2020 - VOYAGE Tankschiff https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m7xqvoroX8