News

From March 2025, two ship owners will have to appear at the Rendsburg District Court for illegal shipment of waste. The maximum sentence is five years in prison. The opening of the proceedings is likely to set a precedent for how to deal with similar cases, the dates of which are still pending. The trial goes back to an indictment filed by the Kiel public prosecutor's office in 2022. The opening of the proceedings has been postponed repeatedly. The ship owners are accused of having sent the "Westerhamm" to Alang in 2016 for scrapping. The removal of ships for scrap outside the scope of European legislation can be illegal if it violates certain regulations; this primarily concerns the so-called Basel Convention and the EU regulation on the shipment of waste, which prohibits the export of hazardous waste to non-OECD countries such as India. In 2023, the Hamburg public prosecutor's office charged three representatives of the Peter Döhle shipping company before the Hamburg regional court with illegal ship scrapping.This case concerned the scrapping of the "CS Discovery" at the beginning of 2017, which, according to the Hamburg public prosecutor's office, contained around 14,000 tons of hazardous waste. In the case of the "Westerhamm", the Kiel public prosecutor's office investigated not only the two Rendsburg shipowners, but also the Hamburg shipowners Jochen and Christoph Döhle and Döhle's managing director Gaby Bornheim, who is also president of the Association of German Shipowners (VDR). The investigators assumed that the three accused acted as a kind of broker in the scrapping of the "Westerhamm". The proceedings against Gaby Bornheim and Christoph Döhle have since been discontinued. Jochen Döhle, on the other hand, was charged in January 2024. In a separate case, he is accused of aiding and abetting the illegal disposal of waste. Döhle will also have to answer to the Rendsburg district court. It is not yet clear when the proceedings will begin.

A passenger and a crew member of the ‘Regal Princess’, which stopped at the Port of Funchal on Oct 13, were admitted to a hospital in the Madeiran capital for health reasons. The two individuals had been monitored by the ship’s clinical team before disembarking at the Funchal port, with pre-hospital assistance on land, which was the responsibility of the Portuguese Red Cross, being carried out at different times. The first evacuation took place at 8:00 a.m. and involved a passenger with heart problems, who was taken to the Private Hospital of Madeira. The second case concerned a crew member about 1,5 hours later, due to the worsening of his health condition, which was affected by gastric problems. Both were admitted to the emergency department of the hospital. The cruise ship, which arrived in Funchal shortly after 6:00 a.m., left the port at around 6:00 p.m., heading for the island of Antigua. The vessel had’ docked in the portfor a ten-hour stopover from Cobh, carrying 4,724 people, among them 3,388 passengers and 1,336 crew members.

The first cargo of liquified natural gas under the long-term contract between PGNiG and US LNG provider Cheniere Energy arrived at the President Lech Kaczyński LNG Terminal in Świnoujście. The long-term contract, which was signed in November of 2018, will total approximately 39 bcm of natural gas over the 24 year period of the agreement. The official reception ceremony of the first delivery at the LNG terminal in Świnoujście included representatives of the government of the Republic of Poland, local authorities, as well as executives from PGNiG and Cheniere Energy.

The Tanger Med port has emerged as the biggest port in Africa in terms of container capacity, surpassing Africa’s bigger ports like Durban (South Africa) and Mombasa (Kenya). The Tanger Med port now connects Morocco to 77 countries and 186 ports around the world. The Tanger Med II has two new container terminals – TC3 and TC4 – with an additional 6 million container capacity. The TC3, which is operated by Morocco’s main port operator Marsa Maroc, has a capacity of 1 million TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units). The TC4, which is operated by the Netherlands-based APM Terminals, has a capacity of 5 million TEUs. According to the Tanger Med Port Authority, with its new terminals, Tanger Med port will have a capacity of processing 9 million containers, 7 million passengers, 1 million vehicles and 700,000 trucks. Thanks to its extensions, Tanger Med port has now become the largest port in the Mediterranean region, surpassing some of the region’s top ports like Algeciras (Spain), Valencia (Spain) and Gioia (Italy). The port is located 40 kilometers east of the Moroccan town of Tangier, which is a gateway to both Europe and Africa. “Our aim is to develop an effective port platform integrated with transshipment activities, imports and exports,” Tanger Med Port Authority said on its website. The Tanger Med port has become vital for Morocco’s economy as it handled 317 billion Moroccan dirhams (US$33.14 billion) worth of exports and imports in 2018. It processed an overall tonnage of 52.24 tonnes last year.

The Spanish flagged fishing vessel "Gravina Segunda', with two crew members on board, suffered and engine failure and requested assistance three nautical miles southeast of Cadaqués on Oct 15. The CCS Barcelona of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the 'Salvamar Lyra', which took the vessel in tow and safely pulled it to the port of Roses.

The 'Pan Viva', anchored near Unalaska, was not expected to depart until at least the morning of Oct 14, as poor weather conditions persisted. The tug 'Gretchen Dunlap' and two pilots were deployed on the afternoon of Oct 13 to assess the ship’s situation and determined the bulk carrier should stay in place until the storm passes. Unalaska has faced storm-force winds and rough seas since the morning of Oct 11. The Unified Command, based in Anchorage, was leading response efforts and monitoring the situation for potential safety and environmental impacts. The group is made up of local, state and federal stakeholders including the Coast Guard, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and representatives for the Pan Viva from Gallagher Marine Systems. The group was assessing the condition of the Pan Viva’s 700 to 800 feet of anchor line, which has been out for an extended amount of time and part of which has been dragging along the seafloor. Responders are checking for kinks that could cause problems as the anchor is raised. Responders were aware the ship’s anchor is near the GCI Aleutians-AU fiber optic cable, which connects Unalaska to a statewide internet network. Any decisions made to move the 'Pan Viva' factor in the cable. The vessel had prepared the second anchor to be available in case the first were to fail. The first anchor appeared to be holding. The 'Pan Viva' did not intend to make a port call in Dutch Harbor, but came to the area for safe harbor during this weekend’s intense storm. The original destination was Kalama, Washington, and the ship was expected to continue there once underway, weather permitting. The four crew members aboard the 'Pan Viva' who were evacuated from the vessel by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew on the afternoon of Oct 12, remained in Dutch Harbor. It’s up to the ship’s agent to coordinate their return to the vessel, which will not involve another Coast Guard helicopter. All the crew on board were in good standing. The crew’s safety and the environment were the top priorities as the Coast Guard and other members of the Unified Command continue to monitor the situation. Report with photo and video: https://gcaptain.com/cargo-ship-pan-viva-holds-steady-battling-fierce-storm-off-alaska-coast/

The French port of Marseille Fos plans to spend over US$22 million to reduce air emissions by extending its shoreside electrical connections to every ferry, cruise ship and repair quay in the eastern harbour. The port has also introduced speed restrictions to reduce industrial air pollution. Already available on the Corsica ferry quays, the shore power network will be expanded in two phases to cover North Africa ferry quays and the ship repair hub by 2022 and the cruise terminal between 2022 and 2025. The zero-emissions investment, which is supported by national and regional government, recognises the need to maintain the port’s economic value while improving the city’s waterside air quality.

Phase one of the new Jurong Port Tank Terminals (JPTT) was officially opened on Monday (July 29), with Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat saying it will allow Singapore to strengthen its position as one of the world’s top bunkering ports for low-sulphur fuels. The $200 million, 16ha petrochemical terminal is a joint venture between port operator Jurong Port and German firm Oiltanking with 252,000 cubic m of clean petroleum storage capacity. From January next year, the International Maritime Organisation will prohibit ships from using fuels containing more than 0.5 per cent sulphur.

On Oct 15, 2024, at around 1.40 a.m. the 'Blue Ciment I' , en route from Brevik to Zonguldak, suffered a breakdown/problem in front of Anadolu Hisarı while transiting through the Bosphorus, The ship briefly ran aground and was refloated, after the tugs 'Kurtarma 8' and 'Kurtarma 11' arrived. The vessel continued on its way towards the Black Sea accompanied by the tugs. It dropped anchor in pos. 41° 17' N 029° 03' E for repairs. Report with photo: https://x.com/kiyiemniyet/status/1845981177867313328

Beached at Aliaga 24.08.24 https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=468065696262523&set=a.289991614069933

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) and the City of Dubrovnik have partnered to introduce sustainable tourism management practices that will preserve the Croatian city’s cultural heritage. CLIA president and CEO Kelly Craighead and Dubrovnik’s Mayor Mato Franković signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), which outlines plans to make Dubrovnik a model of sustainable tourism for the Adriatic region. All plans focus on investment, collaboration and best practices that will benefit both Dubrovnik’s residents and visitors. “Today’s agreement validates the work we have already done with Mayor Franković and formalises the cruise industry’s continued commitment to the City of Dubrovnik and its people,” said Craighead.

Congestion at Cambodia’s top port is creating supply chain disruptions. In a note to clients German containerline Hapag-Lloyd noted that terminal productivity at Sihanoukville port has deteriorated due to port and yard congestion. Feeder services and turnaround times are affected and feeder space is tight. In an effort for medium term improvement of this situation, the port is building an extended yard for additional storage space. “Before the new container yard is completed, port congestion may persist,” Hapag-Lloyd warned.