During an inspection of the"Aura Seaways" after its arrival from Klaipeda on Oct 15, 2024, the federal police in Kiel arrested a 45-year-old Latvian. He was wanted on an arrest warrant from Berlin because he had been convicted of forgery. As the 45-year-old could not pay the 1500 euros demanded to avoid a prison sentence, he was taken to a correctional facility. During the inspection, the man presented his passport and a Latvian driver's license. The officers recognized features that indicated a forgery, the police said. A check in the European registration system for driver's licenses revealed that the man did not actually have a valid Latvian driver's license. He then admitted to having bought the fake driver's license in Riga. In addition to being in prison, he now faces criminal charges for forgery.
News
PAN VIVA
After the 'Pan Viva' has departed Dutch Harbor, Alaska on the night of Oct 14, enroute its intended destination in Kalama, Washington, the Unified Command managing the incident has stood down, and all response operations have been completed. The potentially disastrous situation was avoided thanks to early notification by the 'Pan Viva' and a swift, coordinated response by the Coast Guard Seventeenth District. It was regarded as an excellent example of our federal, tribal, state and industry partners coming together to ensure safety of life at sea and prevent a maritime environmental accident. On Oct 12, the Coast Guard had received notification from the vessel with approximately 300,000 gallons of fuel and 21 people aboard, which dropped anchor northeast of Unalaska after being beset by weather and in danger of running aground. Coast Guard watchstanders dispatched a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew forward-deployed to Cold Bay, and a second MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and HC-130 Hercules airplane from Air Station Kodiak. Coast Guard Cutter Stratton (WMSL 752) was also diverted to assist but experienced sustained heavy weather with winds in excess of 60 mph while attempting to transit to the scene. Tug vessel Gretchen Dunlap, based out of Dutch Harbor, was also unable to assist due to weather but staged an Emergency Towing System aboard and made ready to respond once weather subsided. On-scene weather at the time in the vicinity of the 'Pan Viva' was up to 58-mph winds and 29-foot seas with two-mile visibility. As the 'Pan Viva' evaluated the effectiveness of its anchor holding position, a Jayhawk helicopter crew hoisted and transported four non-essential crew members to Dutch Harbor. This precautionary measure reduced potential evacuation time for the remaining 17 crew members in case the situation worsened. On Oct 13 the weather had continued to prevent the 'Pan Viva' from recovering its anchor and getting underway. The tug 'Gretchen Dunlap' arrived on scene to assess the ship’s ability to weigh anchor, but weather conditions continued to prevent further action. The Unified Command was stood up consisting of the Federal On-Scene Coordinator from the Coast Guard, a State On-Scene Coordinator from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, and an Incident Coordinator from Gallagher Marine Systems. Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic stood up an Incident Management Team in Anchorage. Oil spill response equipment was also pre-staged around Unalaska. The 'Pan Viva' successfully weighed anchor on the late afternoon of Oct 14 amid improving weather. The tugs 'Gretchen Dunlap' and 'James Dunlap' escorted the vessel out to sea, and the Coast Guard Cutter 'Stratton' remained on scene as the 'Pan Viva' resumed its transit. Report with photo: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3937144/vessel-beset-by-weather-departs-dutch-harbor-alaska/
Tallinn
Active construction is currently underway in the D-terminal of the Port of Tallinn being built by Nordecon, in order to open the first phase of construction of the renovated D-terminal to passengers within two months, the port says in a press release. A digital twin of the new D-Terminal building and the remodeled part which aims to make the building's life cycle more efficient was created in the BIM implementation model. The completion of the extension and reconstruction work of the port is scheduled for summer 2020.
Rostock
Marine battery supplier Corvus Energy is to install its lithium-ion battery storage systems onboard AIDA Cruises’ ships to reduce fossil fuel use and emissions. In a project that will also involve ABB and Siemens, Corvus will install and commission the battery storage systems on the first AIDA ship in 2020. The companies then plan to then use their findings from the pilot project to successfully fit battery systems onboard other vessels in the AIDA fleet. “Our goal is the emissions-neutral ship operation,” said Michael Thamm, group CEO of Costa Group and Carnival Asia.
PARPALI
The 'Parpalı', en route from Libya to Iskenderun, saved the lives of 96 migrants in the Mediterranean on Oct 16, 2024. At 03:10a.m. the ship was notified via VHF to assist the refugee boat that was in danger of sinking south of Crete Island. It was taking in water due to its excessive human weight. All people on board were safely taken on board and handed over to the competent authority at Kali Limenes Port. Report with photos: https://turkdeniz.com/turk-bayrakli-parpali-isimli-konteyner-gemisi-96-duzensiz-gocmenin-hayatini-kurtardi
CG MARGARET NORVELL
The Coast Guard Cutter 'Valiant' repatriated 169 people to Haiti on Oct 16, following an interdiction south of the Turks and Caicos Islands. A Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 aircrew forward deployed in support of Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos notified Coast Guard District Seven watchstanders of an overloaded makeshift vessel, which was taking on water on Oct 12 at approximately 5 p.m., District Seven watchstanders diverted the 'Margaret Norvell' to interdict the vessel. Once aboard the Coast Guard cutter, the migrants were processed to determine their identity and provided food, water, shelter, and basic medical attention before repatriation to their country of origin or return to the country from which they departed. Report with photos: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3935373/coast-guard-repatriates-169-migrants-to-haiti/
Rotterdam
The Port of Rotterdam Authority has reached an agreement with Sif Holding n.v. regarding the lease of 20 ha of port site and a 200-m stretch of deep-sea quay at Maasvlakte. Sif’s new lot lies adjacent to its existing port site, where the company already works on the assembly of foundations for offshore wind turbines, the company said in its release. Sif will be using the newly allocated site on behalf of clients active in the offshore wind power sector. The first project to be undertaken at the new site will be the logistics handling of all 94 monopiles (wind turbine foundations) destined for the offshore wind farm Borssele 1 + 2, commissioned by Deme Offshore.
Tangier
Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has concluded an agreement with long-term customer EUROGATE Tanger (EGT) in Morocco to upgrade four ZPMC ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, as part of the terminal’s expansion plans. With a quay length of 821 meters, a terminal area of 400,000 m2 and a water depth of up to 18 meters, the facility is well-equipped to handle the new generation of containerships. The terminal’s equipment fleet already includes several Kalmar machines, including rubber-tired gantry cranes (RTGs). Furthermore, Kalar will be responsible for the planning, engineering and execution of the entire project, which involves heightening the four STS cranes by 11 meters and extending the booms by six meters. The project with Kalmar will help the terminal serve mega-sized container vessels.
ALONISSOS
The 'Alonissos' ran aground on Oct 12, 2024, at 1:20 a.m. at kilometer 393.5 on the left bank of the Paraná River, south of Rosario, while it was carrying out anchoring maneuvers in the General Lagos harbour. The bulk carrier was assisted by the tugs 'Candela S' and 'Criollo', which were later joined by the 'Brutos'. The ship did not obstruct navigation through the main channel. The Coast Guard deployed the 'GC-176' in compliance with the stranded vessel protocol The bulk carrier was loaded with 37000 tons of soy flour, en route from San Lorenzo to Las Palmas. According to information from the Coast Guard, the salvage work was initially carried out by the company Resolve and from 6 a.m. on Oct 15, it was carried out by the Salvage Master, Gustavo Deleersnyder, hired by the company Tsavliris Salvage. At 1.25 p.m. thje ship was finally refloated and dropped anchor in pos. 33° 07' S 060° 30 W. The vessel was exceeding its draft (10.16 meters) when the dispatch draft was 9.97 meters and in Paso Yaguarón (km 352.9) the effective depth was 10.57 meters. Report with photos: https://argenports.com/nota/un-buque-granelero-estuvo-tres-dias-varado-en-el-rio-parana
CG VALIANT
The 'Valiant' repatriated 169 people to Haiti on Oct 16, following an interdiction south of the Turks and Caicos Islands. A Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 aircrew forward deployed in support of Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos notified Coast Guard District Seven watchstanders of an overloaded makeshift vessel, which was taking on water on OCt 12 at approximately 5 p.m., District Seven watchstanders diverted the Coast Guard Cutter 'Margaret Norvell' to interdict the vessel. Once aboard the Coast Guard cutter, the migrants were processed to determine their identity and provided food, water, shelter, and basic medical attention before repatriation to their country of origin or return to the country from which they departed. Report with photos: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3935373/coast-guard-repatriates-169-migrants-to-haiti/
Wismar
Genting Hong Kong (GHK) has officially secured funding for the construction and post-delivery financing of Dream Cruises’ two new Global Class ships. KfW IPEX-Bank will supply US$2.9 billion, with backing from the Federal Republic of Germany, Finnish export credit agency Finnvera, and the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. At an overall cost of €3.1 billion (US$3.4 billion), the two new vessels are currently being built at GHK-owned shipyard MV Werften in Germany for the fast-growing Asian cruise market. “We are very appreciative of KfW IPEX-Bank, the bank consortium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Finnvera for supporting GHK in the financing of the Global Class ships,” said Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, chief executive of Genting Hong Kong.
Mogadishu
Qatar has established an investment partnership with Somalia to build a new port in the latter's country. The Ministry of Transport and Communications in Qatar said that the partnership between Qatar Ports Management Company (Mwani) and Somalia will see the construction of the Hobyo Port in the Mudug region of central Somalia. Hobyo Port is expected to bring multiple economic benefits for Somalia. The port could create new business opportunities for the country by bolstering the commercial relationship with new markets in Africa and providing access to global markets, in addition to providing maritime services to vast areas in Somalia. The Hobyo Port is in proximity to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the world’s most important sea crossing points. Hobyo is also important due to its location in the Mudug region, which links the south and north of the country.