The 'Sarah M' was lingering off Spain awaiting orders after the vessel was denied entry into Greenore on April 30, 2024, for a scheduled export voyage. An animal activist group used the sanctions against Russia and the fact that the ship had recently switched to the Russian classification society to get the ship barred from the trade she has been involved in for a few years. The 'Sarah M' didn’t dock at Greenore, it turned around and scuttled away empty shortly after Farming Ireland sent off a bunch of emails to various authorities. sHe eft Irish waters, turned east into international waters, and then dropped anchor. Ethical Farming Ireland spotted in the records that the vessel, despite operating since 2019 as the 'Sarah M', in March 2024 switched flags from Panama to Antigua and Barbuda. It also moved from the Polish class society to the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. That provided the opening for the activists who quickly highlighted to the Irish authorities that the April 2023 EU sanctions imposed on Russia included a provision to block any vessel in the Russian class from EU ports. The ship was due to reach Greenore to export 2,000 young bulls. The vessel has had past problems with the authorities. Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in the past revoked the operation license of the 'Sarah M' for breaches of regulations before being re-granted. In late 2019, the vessel made a trip for its prior owner, Beirut Shipping Company, but then suddenly changed ownership to DMS Lines, also in Lebanon. Media reports were that the prior owner had its license revoked because of a low-performance rating. The Agricultural authority opted to remain silent on the latest incident. The 'Sarah M' arrived on May 7 off Cartagena with the AIS signal showing it was waiting for orders.
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PLAYA DE CESANTES
On May 8, 2024, the 'Playa de Cesantes' suffered an engine failure with 10 crew members on board. The fishing vessel 'Xurel Uno' started pulling the ship, but requested assistance due to problems with the tow. The CCS Santanader of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the SAR vessel 'Salvamar Deneb', which took over the tow and pulled the ships safely to the port of Laredo. Report with photo: https://twitter.com/salvamentogob/status/1788170641302077884
Singapore
Construction work on the second phase of the Tuas mega port began yesterday with the installation of the first concrete structure for the wharf. A total of 227 concrete structures or caissons, each weighing 13,000 tonnes, will be installed over the next eight years to construct the wharf, the largest in the mega port. Almost 400ha of land will be reclaimed for the second phase, which will have 21 container berths and be able to handle 21 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo annually. In April, the last of 221 caissons for the first phase of the mega-port project was installed. Last year, a consortium of three companies – Penta Ocean Construction, Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Boskalis International – won a $1.46 billion contract to develop the second phase of the Tuas port.
Piraeus
A press report, dated Jul 3, states: The 24-hour strike by seamen on Jul 3, has left Greek ferries and other passenger boats tied up in port, stranding tourists and Greeks heading for vacation and leaving many islands cut off for the day. The PNO seamen?s union called Wednesday?s strike to demand salary increases as part of collective wage agreements. Dozens of inhabited Greek islands don?t have airports and are accessible only by sea. The passenger shipping business association SEEN, with which the seamen?s union had been negotiating, had expressed surprise when the strike was announced in late June, saying it offered a two percent wage increase for 2019 on top of a retroactive two percent increase for 2018. It said the offer, along with staff increases, was ?beyond our actual capabilities during a particularly difficult time? with 50% fuel cost increases.
MITRA BAHARI IX
On May 5, 2024, the crew of the KM 'Mitra Bahari IX' was successfully evacuated after the ship sank due to a leak in the hull. The 16 crew members were picked up by the passing 'Bratan' five nautical miles from Balikpapan. The distance between the MBS 'Bratan' and the KM 'Mitra Bahari IX' was around 23 miles. The castaways were transferred onto ships of the Balikpapan Harbour Master and Port Authority (KSOP) ships. The ship was loaded with approximately 1,900 tons of fertilizer and sank en route from Gresik, East Java, to Central Kalimantan, in the waters of Tanjung Puting, West Kotawaring. Before, the captain of the KM 'Mitra Bahari' had tried to ground the ship in Tanjung Puting waters. This attempt failed because the ship suddenly suffered a blackout. Report with photo: https://www.prokal.co/kalimantan-timur/1774633537/kapal-bawa-pupuk-tenggelam-16-abk-berhasil-dievakuasi
SALVAMAR ALPHERATZ
On May 8, 2024, a cayuco issued a distress call by mobil telephone south of Tenerife. It was located by a whale watching boat. The CCS Tenerife of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the 'Salvamar Menkalinan' and the 'Salvamar Alpheratz', which rescued the 52 people on board and transferred them to Los Cristianos. The canoe ended up sinking. Report with photos: https://twitter.com/salvamentogob/status/1788214298923135323
Timaru
A massive container ship will return to Timaru on Sunday after the world’s largest logistics company confirmed weekly visits to the port. This follows a trial late in May when the 286.5 metre long and 40m wide, Rio de Janeiro’s berthing acted as a test run for similar sized ships to dock in Timaru after a $2.5 million project to widen the port’s inner breakwater entrance from 90m to 140m. PrimePort chief executive Phil Melhopt confirmed the 6pm Sunday call of the giant vessel and said it was another demonstration of the forward steps the port was taking. “Maersk shipping line have been very consistent since the Timaru container terminal started their operations in 2014 and will be calling in at Timaru again,” he said. “They have recently announced their Southern Star Rio Class will form part of their service into Timaru. They’re going to call here going forward.
Tanger-Med
APM Terminals second terminal in Morocco, MedPort Tangier was inaugurated this week. Part of the Tanger Med Port complex, it has an annual capacity of 5 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalents). With this new capacity, Morocco is establishing itself as one of the most important transhipment locations in the world. Tanger Med Port is already ranked as the leading African port and is amongst the world’s top 50 container ports due to its prime location along key trade lanes and increasing cargo flows, to and from Africa. The construction of the state-of-the-art APM Terminals MedPort Tangier facility took two years and a total investment of USD 800m. This new transhipment terminal is designed, constructed and operated by APM Terminals, and will join existing hub facilities servicing Maersk and its partners. Built utilizing the latest technology, the terminal is set to be one of the most efficient and safest in the world.
BREMEN
On the early morning of May 8, 2024, the 'Bremen', en route from Klaipeda, ran aground at Silloth at around 12:10 a.m. Efforts were underway to address the situation and minimize potential risks resulting from the grounding. The circumstances surrounding the grounding were under investigation, with authorities diligently ensuring the safety of both the vessel and the surrounding environment.
SALVAMAR MENKALINAN
On May 8, 2024, a cayuco issued a distress call by mobil telephone south of Tenerife. It was located by a whale watching boat. The CCS Tenerife of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the 'Salvamar Menkalinan' and the 'Salvamar Alpheratz', which rescued the 52 people on board and transferred them to Los Cristianos. The canoe ended up sinking. Report with photos: https://twitter.com/salvamentogob/status/1788214298923135323
Balboa
Balboa, Jul 4 -- Panama Canal Port Condition report for Jul 4. Projected backlog at 0001 hrs: Fifty-one vessels today, 47 tomorrow and 44 on Jul 6. There are 29 vessels arriving today, 30 tomorrow and 42 on Jul 6. There are 33 vessels scheduled for today and 33 for tomorrow. Estimated delays for vessels without reservation/non-booked: Northbound: All types of vessels, two days. Southbound: All types of vessels, one to two days
Point Samson
Nine vessels at anchor off Port Walcott, waiting to load iron ore