On May 13, 2024, at 03.45 a.m. the 'Largo Eden' was boarded by six men at Chattogram Anchorage in pos. 22° 17' N 120° 91.43' E. Shore watchmen were found tied and unable to move. NBo injuries were reported. The pirates stole unsecured items from the tanker.
News
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.
Beirut
The Port of Beirut (PoB) resumed partial operations on Aug 10 with the first two container ships berthing in the container terminal after the explosion which killed at least 160 persons, injured thousands and made hundred thousands homeless. Out of 16 cranes at the container terminal, 12 were currently operational. The port was gradually resuming operations to ensure the supply of all kinds of goods to citizens. Bassem Al Kaissi, the new Director of the PoB, said that the container terminal will be fully operational by Aug 14. Al Kaissi said that 420 containers were unloaded on Aug 10. The container terminal storage area has been cleaned up and restored to its state before the blast. The container terminal represents 80 percent of the overall cargo movement at the PoB. It is located one kilometer away from the blast epicenter. Container vessels can dock at quay number 16. Shipping movement at the PoB had already plunged by 75 percent due to the economic crisis and has reached 15 percent following the blast. Customs have opened offices in the PoB’s warehouse number 14 which was partially damaged. The customs have become able to carry out the inspection of merchandise- Customs duties are being temporarily paid at the Rafic Hariri International Airport. Tthe PoB is now handling only full containers as groupage consignment requires warehouses which don’t exist now. Amer Al Kaissi said groupage, which represents 15 percent of shipments at the PoB, will be diverted to the Port of Tripoli until the rebuilding of warehouses at the PoB is completed. The first two containerships to berth at the PoB after the blast were the 'Electra' (Gezairi Transport) and the 'Nicolas Delmas' (CMA CGM). The 'Electra', which was carrying 400 containers, was diverted to Tripoli where there was a license to operate but the company insisted to unload it in Beirut when it was told that the PoB has resumed operation. The CMA CGM Group and CEVA Logistics said they are fully operational and ensuring business continuity to serve their customers. The Group has redeployed its employees in its two back-up sites in Beirut Digital District and reinforced its presence in Tripoli. Part of CMA CGM’s vessels has been temporarily directed to Tripoli. Few shipping companies are authorized to operate in other ports such as Tripoli or Saida. BCTC, the Customs and the PoB’s authorities did their best to handle the clearing formalities despite the difficult working conditions. The general cargo area was fully operational on Aug 12 both for imports and exports. This includes wheat and other grains as well as construction steel bars. The cost of rebuilding the port is estimated at around $1 billion.
ESL DACHAN BAY
On May 10, 2024, at 3.32 a.m. the 'ESL Dachan Bay' was boarded by two men at the Manila International Container Terminal in pos. 14° 35.69' N 120° 50.67' E. The perpetrators stole ship's stores. No injuries were reported.
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.
LADY NAOMI
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.
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.
Kiel
The PORT OF KIEL has redesigned the port apron in Ostuferhafen, which is the freight and logistics centre on the fjord. Where once stood a grain silo, there is now an expanded pre-stacking and stand-by area of three hectares for trucks, trailers and pas-senger cars.The State Premier of Schleswig- Holstein, Daniel Günther, visited the Ostufer-hafen on 12th August to hand over the grant notice coming from the State Programme Economy for 5.44 million Euros: The project to redesign the port apron included dismantling three hall areas of the former grain silo, excavation and road works as well as drainage, lighting and security measures and the connection of the area to the infrastructure. Through the new and generous port apron it has been possible to merge formerly separated pre-stacking areas, shorten distances and gain more space for trucks, busses, trailers and passenger cars. Furthermore, IT solutions have been developed to accelerate the handling processes at the gate, which also allow truck drivers to reduce personal contact.Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director at the PORT OF KIEL: “Even under the current circumstances the Ostuferhafen operates in a reliable and safe way. The port of Kiel has proven its systemic importance regarding the transshipment of cross-border freight transport.”In the first seven months of the year 2.1 million tons of cargo have been tran-shipped via the Ostuferhafen (+ 1 %). Additional volumes have been transported by the ferries of the DFDS shipping company to the Baltic States or they have been delivered by the SCA-RoRo-freighters from Scandinavia. Not only general cargo and forest products are unloaded resp. transhipped in Ostuferhafen but also project and heavy cargo, scrap metal and agricul-tural products. The integrated passenger terminal to handle cruise vessels emphasizes the universal character of this port part.