On Sep 3 the sailing yacht 'Blue Minx' sighted a precarious boat, which had stopped 27 nautical miles east of Benidorm. The ferry 'El Djazair II' diverted to the scene and provided the occupants with food and water. The 'Blue Minx' remained in the area until the arrival of the 'Salvamar Leo', which had been deployed by the CCS Valencia of Salvamento Marítimo for further assistance, which rescues 15 people, among them one woman and one minor, and transferred them to the port of Valencia.
News
SOUNION
A salvage team has abandoned efforts to secure and tow away the 'Sounion' from near the Yemen coast after deciding it was too dangerous on Sep 3. It was not deemed safe for the salvors to proceed and board the vessel.After setting the tanker on fire the Houthis withdrew but have since given permission to salvage crews to approach with the intention of putting out the fires on deck and towing the ship to safety. The Suezmax tanker is fully loaded with crude oil and will become one of the world’s worst ecological disasters if the vessel explodes or otherwise breaks up and her cargo of 100 million barrels of oil escapes from her tanks. Aspides stated: “The private companies responsible for the salvage operation have concluded that the conditions were not met to conduct the towing operation and that it was not safe to proceed. Alternative solutions are now being explored by the private companies.”
Sydney
DP World Australia has called for an end to the strikes at its ports this week, warning that the industrial action comes at a time when shipping lines are reviewing stevedore contracts. “The industrial action will cause significant disruption to DPWA customers and importantly the broader supply chain of shippers, exporters and importers. DPWA employees will also be unnecessarily and avoidably impacted by these lost earnings,” said Andrew Adam, chief operating officer at DPWA. DP World’s Brisbane, Sydney and Fremantle container terminals are on a rolling 48-hour strike, while workers at the company’s Melbourne operations have decided to down tools for 96 hours. The workers said in a release their actions this week are in order to fight against automation, outsourcing, cuts to income protection insurance, and “dishonest bargaining” by the company During the recent 12-week bargaining period, DP World said the local union did not make any material concessions to its initial 50 claims. These claims include a wage increase well above CPI, DP World said.
Rijeka
After many creditors withdrew distraint proceedings, the Commercial Court in Rijeka decided on Thursday to postpone the bankruptcy of Croatia’s debt-ridden shipyard “3. Maj” until Aug. 1. Seven days ago the shipyard’s account was blocked for 156 million kuna (23.8 million U.S. dollars). After some of the creditors pulled back, the blockade now amounts to 86 million kuna (13.1 million U.S. dollars). Judge of the Commercial Court in Rijeka Ljiljana Ugrin urged Croatian Electricity Industry and the Croatian government to engage in the process of revocation of the enforcement order, so that “3. Maj” could continue with unfinished shipbuilding contracts.
VENTURA
The 'Venmtura', en route from Santander to Lisbon, requested the urgent evacuation of a 76-year-old passenger 22 nautical miles northeast of Estaca de Bares on Sep 3. The CCS Fisterra of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the SAR helicopter Helimer 204, which hoisted the patient and transferred him to the A Coruña airport, where an ambulance was waiting for further transport to hospital.
Halsa
With a NOK 1.23 billion offer, Fjord1 won the concession to run the E39 Halsa-Kanestraum route, the latest major ferry connection awarded by the Norwegian Road Authority.
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.
HARI LEELA
On Sep 2, 2024, the 'Hari Leela', en route from Kandla, requested the medevac of a crew member approximately 30 nautical miles off the coast of Gujarat. At 11 p.m. local time, the Indian Coast Guard dispatched an Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) to evacuate the injured cman. The region was on high alert due to the approaching cyclonic weather conditions. While conducting the operation, the helicopter, which had two pilots and two divers on board, was forced to make an emergency landing, which was described as a hard landing in the sea. Later, the helicopter sank. The Coast Guard launched an SAR operation to locate the missing crew members. One of them was rescued, and the search for the remaining three was ongoing. On Sep 3, two bodies were discovered in the Arabian Sea waters, One member of the crew of the crashed helicopter was still missing.
Gothenburg
APM Terminals Gothenburg has managed to cut quay crane waiting times by as much as 90% by implementing new standard operational procedures for container lashing. This translates to a reduction from 38 minutes to just four. Using ‘Lean’ methodology, which is being adopted across all of the company’s terminals around the world, a Transformation Team at APM Terminals Gothenburg identified the root cause of the time delay – inaccurate information provided to the vessel crew.
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.