The 'MSC Michigan VII', which had prompted a multi-agency response in Charleston on June 5, had suffered a failure of its propulsion speed control systems as it headed toward the Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge. The US Coast Guard (USCG) Sector Charleston command center watchstanders received a report at 12:17 p.m. from the Charleston Harbor Pilots dispatch that the ship was experiencing a malfunction with the systems controlling its propulsion on the Cooper River while outbound from the North Charleston Container Terminal. As a precaution, local law enforcement closed vehicle traffic to the Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge and Fort Moultrie Beach was evacuated. The bridge reopened once the vessel safely passed underneath. The ship transited the river at speeds of between 15-17 knots as police scrambled to clear cyclists and pedestrians from the bridge before the vessel passed beneath it. The vessel has been issued a Captain of the Port order and remained stationary in port as of June 7. USCG Charleston Sector deputy commander Cmdr Randy Preston praised state and local officials as well as the vessel’s pilots for their work in ensuring the vessel’s safe transit. There were no reports of serious injuries associated with the incident. The USCG vessel and facility inspectors were currently conducting damage assessments throughout the port and federal aids to navigation in the area are being assessed to ensure there were no discrepancies as a result of this incident, and the incident is under investigation.
News
VERTOM ODETTE
The 'Vertom Odette', which, according to Podemos, could carry weapons destined for Israel, arrived in Cartagena on June 6 at 6 p.m. and left the port heading to Bar (Montenegro) at 9.15 p.m. It berthed at the Escombreras terminal, and it was unknown if the ship has unloaded any merchandise or if it has been inspected to verify that it was not transporting weapons that could be used against Gaza, as Podemos and pro-Palestinian associations have requested. The head of the central investigative court number 1 of the National Court has opened preliminary proceedings on the transit through Spanish waters of the ship which, according to a complaint by Podemos presented to the court, could carry weapons intended for Israel. About a hundred people carrying Palestinian flags and a banner with the slogan 'Cartagena is not a port for genocidal ships' gathered on June 6 on the esplanade of the port of Cartagena demanding that the authorities inspect the ship.
Rostock
On May 2, a HLC 295000 heavy load crane of Liebherr mounted on the deck of the 'Orion I' crashed in the Seaport of Rostock during a test when lifting a pontoon which was filled with 5.550 tons of water. The crane boom broke off, and parts fell onto the 'Orion I', which started to list to port side, and onto the quay edge. Heavy metal pieces flew around. Five people inside the crane's cabin were injured by the heave jerk. The fire brigade, ambulances and police attended with a large contingent. They tried to free the victims from the steel mesh. There were two serious and three minor injuries. A total of 120 people were on board the 'Orion I' who were now being evacuated and looked after. A rescue helicopter has landed. In addition, large amounts of oil leaked out, which the fire brigade has to collect before it got into the water. It is the second accident on the Liebherr site within a few months. In January, two loading cranes fell into the water during tests. The salvage then took several months. Reports with photos and video: https://www.nonstopnews.de/meldung/32916 https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/mecklenburg-vorpommern/Rostock-Erneutes-Unglueck-mit-Hafenkran,hafenkran156.html https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/panorama/id_87809036/rostock-krank-knickt-im-hafen-ab-fuenf-verletzte.html
Everett WA
The American destroyer USS 'Kidd' returned to Everett after nearly 50 crew members aboard were tested positive for coronavirus as of April 27, 2020. This was the second reported outbreak of COVID-19 aboard a US Navy vessel at sea. After concerns were raised about cases aboard the USS 'Theodore Roosevelt', one sailor assigned to that ship died from coronavirus complications. Roughly half the crew members on the USS 'Kidd' have been tested for the virus, and some have been evacuated. 45% of the ship have been tested for COVID-19, with 47 total positive results. Two Sailors have been medically evacuated. 15 sailors have been transferred to USS 'Makin Island (LHD 8)' for monitoring due to persistent symptoms. None were in the ICU or on ventilators. Sailors aboard the USS 'Kidd' were wearing PPE and N95 masks. Initial COVID-19 testing of sailors from the USS 'Theodore Roosevelt' were now complete, there are 955 active cases, along with 14 recovered cases. The USS 'Kidd' was on a counter narcotics mission' when ait was reported at least 18 crew had fallen ill with the virus.
CELEBRITY SUMMIT
68 passengers of the 'Celebrity Summit' got sick in a norovirus outbreak during a recent cruise, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The ship had bon board 2,264 guests on a cruise that ended on Jne 7, 2024, along with five crew members. Their main symptoms were diarrhea and vomiting. The ship is currently sailing week-long Alaska voyages between Vancouver and Seward. In response to the outbreak, the cruise line isolated sick passengers and crew members and collected samples for testing, among other steps. There were an isolated number of cases on board and the impacted guests are no longer on the ship, which was also sanitized.
RIDENS
On June 6, 2024, two migrant boats in difficulty in the Strait of Pas de Calais were reported to CROSS Gris Nez. At the end of the night, a migrant boat set sail in the Calais sector The CROSS deployed the “Ridens” to relocate it and check the situation on site. Once in the area, the "Ridens" noticed that the boat was adrift and heavily loaded with 74 people on board. Initially, 18 people requested assistance and were taken care of on board the 'Ridens'. Some time later, the precarious boat still failed to get underway, and the 56 remaining castaways were also rescued by the 'Ridens'. The castaways were dropped off at the dock in the port of Dunkirk. Early on the morning, another migrant boat shipwrecked in the middle of the Pas de Calais Strait, in the British sector. The MRCC of Dover called on several British resources which collected more than 80 shipwrecked people before depositing them at the dock in Dover. The CROSS Gris Nez engages in parallel the 'Abeille Normandie' and the EMSA drone based at the CROSS as reinforcement. After several hours on site, no drifting bodies were observed in this area.
Marseille
The 'AIDAblu' made a brief stopover yesterday in Marseille on April 26, 2020, to embark several hundred crew members of one of his sisterships, the 'AIDAsol', which has been moored in the port for 1,5 months. The transfer took place to facilitate the repatriation of AIDA personnel via Germany. The 'AIDAblu' set sail again in the afternoon. At the same time, another cruise ship which had been berthed in Marseille since last month, the 'Europa 2' of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, set sail to also return to Germany, its arrival in Hamburg was scheduled for May 2. The Marseille areas now hosted six cruise ships, the 'Costa Smeralda', 'MSC Magnifica' and 'AIDAsol', 'Le Boréal', 'L’Austral' and 'Le Lyrial'. The repatriation operations of the international personnel of these ships was still in progress, in particular via flights chartered by the owners. This was particularly the case for the crew members of the 'MSC Magnifica', which arrived on April 20 and who also landed 4 tonnes of food surplus, donated to local associations to help the most disadvantaged.
MSC ANNA
The world’s largest container ship 'MSC Anna' has become a significant challenge for importers in Karachi. The ship arrived on June 19, 2024, with 19,000 containers, overwhelming the port’s capacity to handle such a large volume. Due to insufficient arrangements at the port, thousands of containers remained stuck, threatening timely clearance. Despite a week having passed, the containers could not be grounded, jeopardizing their clearance within the stipulated time. Consequently, there were fears of heavy detention and demurrage charges for importers. The port authorities were critiziesed for their lack of preparation. The port administration failed to take necessary measures to ensure timely clearance of the containers.
PILOT MECHTA
Explosions rocked the temporarily occupied Kerch, near the Crimean Bridge, overnight on May 30, 2024. Four Russian KS-701 Tunets boats were allegedly hit, destroying two by Ukrainian Magura V5 naval drones. The Ukraine could have hit up to seven enemy ship. Besides the ferries 'Conroe Trader' and 'Avangard ferries', the Mechta also sank in the attack. Already on May 19 Ukraine's Defense Forces destroyed the project 266-M trawler 'Kovrove' of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and sank the missile ship Tsiklon missile ship on May 19. With this, one-third of Russia's Black Sea Fleet have been destroyed. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/russia-has-now-lost-one-third-of-its-black-sea-fleet-after-ukraine-sinks-ship-with-ua-made-magura-sea-drones/ar-BB1nJMAD
San Diego
The number of coronavirus cases aboard the USS 'Kidd' rose to 64 as the Navy destroyer pulled into port at San Diego on April 28, 2020, to get medical care for the crew and to disinfect and decontaminate the ship. The 'Kidd' was the second Navy ship to have an outbreak of the disease while at sea, the other being the USS 'Theodore Roosevelt', an aircraft carrier that has been docked at Guam for a month and has more than 900 sailors with confirmed cases of COVID-19, but the entire crew has now been tested. The Navy has moved swiftly to get the 'Kidd''s crew ashore. That was a point of contention with the 'Roosevelt', whose skipper, Capt. Brett Crozier, felt compelled to write to several other commanders pleading for more urgent Navy action to protect his crew of nearly 5,000. Crozier was then relieved of command for what the Navy's top civilian official at the time, Thomas Modly, called poor judgment. Modly resigned several days later, and the Navy is now seeking higher-level approval to reverse his move and restore Crozier to command. The Navy said that 63% of the 'Kidd''s crew of more than 300 had been tested as of April 28. One sailor was medically evacuated to the United States on April 22 after experiencing shortness of breath. Fifteen were transferred to another ship with a medical facility for closer observation of symptoms. Sailors being removed from the 'Kidd' at San Diego will be isolated with twice-daily medical screenings. Crew members who have tested negative will enter quarantine for a period of observation, with military health professionals monitoring them for symptoms. Also, a small contingent of sailors who tested negative will remain on the ship for essential services and deep cleaning. The cleaning is expected to take two weeks. The destroyer had been off the Pacific coast of Central American doing counter-narcotics operations. The Navy said no deployed ships currently have known coronavirus cases aboard. 13 ships that previously had one or more active cases while in port have zero cases now.
Flensburg
The Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft shipyard a which had been operating at a loss for some time, filed for self-administered insolvency on April 24. The goal of the shipyard’s filing was to permit it to start afresh. The future of Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft in the medium term was in building Ro-Ro ferries, according to the message delivered by the management at a workers meeting on Sunday April 26. The move is specifically designed to allow the company to start from fresh without existing contractual obligations to customers and suppliers. Though an administrator will be brought in from outside the company, the company management will continue to control the business which is a different process to bankruptcy in German law. Investor Lars Windhorst is prepared to put money into the business through his Tennor Holding investment vehicle. Tennor Holding took 100% control of the yard in 2019. He has said, however, that the money should not be used on loss making contracts. The former majority owner Siem Industries is interested in contracting 4 further Ro-Ro ferries from the yard. Siem recently took delivery of LIEKUT, the eighth of a series of vessels built by FSG for the company to charter out. FSG had been making significant losses for a number of years. The Siem group acquired the company for a token €1 back in November 2014 after severe liquidity problems. Those losses massively increased in recent years, however, with the yard losing an eye watering €111m in 2018. The hugely increased losses were due in part to delivery delays with Irish Ferries 'W.B. Yeats' and the subsequent penalty payments made to Irish Continental Group (ICG). The agreed contract price to build the 'W.B. Yeats' is understood to have left little to no margin for the yard in the first place.