The 'Solaris' was in collision with the 'Chaika' in St. Petersburg on the Neva under the Lyvarny Bridge on the evening of May 26, 2024. The "Solaris" hit the bow of the excursion ship and caused minor damage. No injuries were reported. The circumstances of the accident were being investigated by the St. Petersburg Transport Prosecutor's Office along with the water police.
News
ICON OF THE SEAS
A man was rescued after jumping into the sea from the 'Icon of the Seas' on the morning of May 26, 2024, as the ship sailed towards Roatan, Honduras, one day after departing from Miami, Florida, for a seven-night Western Caribbean cruise, approximately 40 miles north of Santa Lucia, Cuba. The vessel deviated its course to launch a rescue craft to locate the man overboard. An announcement was made stating that the man was recovered shortly after the rescue craft had been launched. He was in the ship’s intensive care unit with his family. The ship was due to arrive in the first port of call, Roatan, early on May 27. Report with photos: https://cruiseradio.net/man-in-critical-condition-after-jumping-from-worlds-largest-cruise-ship/
Houston
Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI) announced a series of projects, totaling over $170 million of capital investment, that will increase efficiency, add product liquidity, and enhance blending capabilities at its Pasadena and Galena Park terminals, part of its best-in-class refined products storage hub on the Houston Ship Channel. In response to growing customer demand, KMI’s liquids terminal platform now boasts 10 ship docks, 38 barge spots, 20 inbound pipelines providing connectivity to 10 regional refineries and chemical plants, 15 outbound pipelines, 14 cross-channel lines, and approximately 43 million barrels of storage on the Houston Ship Channel, North America’s leading port for energy exports.
Takoradi
Expansion works on the Takoradi Port have started with the construction of a multipurpose on-dock Atlantic Container Terminal. The project will see the port basin being dredged to create a 16-metre depth and land reclamation for the building of five new berths to hold bigger capacity vessels. A visit to the Takoradi Port in the Western Region revealed that the contractors were casting the foundation stones for the quay wall to herald the expansion project at the port. The project, being developed by Ibistek Ghana Limited at a cost of $475 million, marks the first time a wholly owned Ghanaian firm has been engaged in port development in the country. The Atlantic terminal, which will be the major development in the history of the Takoradi port when completed, will have a cargo holding space of one million twenty-footer equivalent units (TEUs), an upscale from the average container traffic of about 55,000 TEUs a year.
SALVAMAR ENIF
On May 27 at 1.59 a.m. the 'Salvamar Enif' rescued four North African migrants from a toy boat, which had been located 16 nautical miles southwest of Trafalgar. The castaways were disembarked in Algeciras/El Saladillo. The response was coordinated by the MRCC of Salvamento Maritimo in Tarifa.
MV MAA
The plan to promote tourism on the beachfront in Visakhapatnam by converting the 'Maa' into a floating restaurant still remained on hold. Though the State government had declared an allotment of Rs 10 crore for the project, it was yet to take some shape due to procedural wrangle in getting clearance from environmental point of view. The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) had also tied up with Shore & Ship Resorts Private Repair Ltd. to make necessary alterations within the vessel at an estimated cost of Rs 15 crore. Green activists said that the continuation of the ship just close to Tenneti Park, a popular venue for the localities and tourists in the city, was an environmental risk. The State government explored various options to make the ship fit by redesigning to convert it into a restaurant as part of an effort to promote beach tourism. However, delay in getting clearances from the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, clearance under the Coastal Regular Zone (CRZ) guidelines and other authorities turned the project jinxed. Report with photo: https://www.bizzbuzz.news/national/bid-to-convert-abandoned-bdesh-ship-into-floating-restaurant-turns-jinxed-1317293
Hamburg
Germany’s largest universal port remains on a growth course, achieving a distinct 4.1 percent advance to 69.4 million tons in seaborne cargo handling in the first half of 2019. Especially good growth trend in the general cargo segment, up 6.1 percent at 48.4 million tons, was the main contributor to the excellent figures for total and container handling. The total for bulk cargo handling was just 0.3 percent lower than for last year’s first half at 21.0 million tons. Germany’s largest universal port remains on a growth course, achieving a distinct 4.1 percent advance to 69.4 million tons in seaborne cargo handling in the first half of 2019. Especially good growth trend in the general cargo segment, up 6.1 percent at 48.4 million tons, was the main contributor to the excellent figures for total and container handling. The total for bulk cargo handling was just 0.3 percent lower than for last year’s first half at 21.0 million tons.
Sabetta
Icebreaker assistance and ice restrictions for ships entering the basin of Section No.1 at the Port of Sabetta, Yamal and access channel are canceled as of 00:00 Moscow time, August 6. The corresponding order was signed by the Port Harbourmaster Nikolay Nesterov. The order says that there is a possibility of separately floating ice floes, therefore masters of ships sailing in this water area of the Port of Sabetta and on approaches to the port are advised to exercise caution. Arctic Port of Sabetta is built on the western shore of the Gulf of Ob (Kara Sea) for transshipment of hydrocarbons from the South-Tambey gas condensate field on the Yamal peninsula to the Western Europe, South America and APR countries under Yamal LNG project. The project envisages the construction of an LNG plant capable of producing 16.5 million metric tonnes of LNG and 1.35 million tonnes of gas condensate annually
COSTA TOSCANA
On May 27, 2024, the 'Costa Toscana' requested the medevac of a passenger 10 nautical miles East of Palamós. The CCS Barcelona of Salvamento Marítimo deplopyed the SAR boat 'Salvamar Sirius', which which placed itself next to the ship and embarked the patient, a family member and a nurse.
USAV MATAMOROS
On May 26, 2024, the USAV 'Matamoros' assisted in refloating a landing craft 'LCM 8558' that had grounded on the Ashdod shore on March 25. The landing craft had been working with the US-built floating pier off the coast. It was beached while assisting a US army tug that was helping move the floating pier from an area off the Gaza coast to near Ashdod due to adverse weather conditions with high swells of about 1.5 meters that emerged on May 23 and May 24, while winds gusted to some 20 knots, which necessitated moving the pier. The floating pier has been helping deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. It was constructed after a decision in early March to deploy the unique US Army capability. The Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore capability was deployed beginning in mid-March with several vessels sailing from Fort Eustis across the Atlantic via Crete to the coast of Gaza. It began operations in mid-May. On the evening of Maya 23, several vessels involved with moving the pier broke free from their moorings. The tug was beached on Ashdod Beach, a hundred meters north of a lifeguard stand near an area called Beersheba Beach. The 'LCM 8558' tried to help the tug, but became stranded on the beach near the tug with the low tide. It had to be dug out with a front-loader. The US had been trying to free the LCM and the tug since May 25. The USAV 'Matamoros' arrived on the afternoon. It connected a rope to the LCM. On May 26 by midday the LCM was ready to be pulled off. The tide remained an issue because the low tide was around 6 p.m. Around 9 p.m. the LCM was pulled off the beach, with the hope that it would remain free of the sand. The goal was then to pull the tug off the beach. Then, the vessels will all be united with the floating pier and likely return to the coast of Gaza so humanitarian aid can be delivered again. The Israel Navy assisted in the efforts to free the ships. Report with photos: https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-803750
Monfalcone
ENCHANTED PRINCESS, the fifth in a line of six Royal Class ships built for Princess Cruises, was floated out on 6 August at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Monfalcone.
Immingham
On August 1, ABP announced new customers for the Port of Immingham this week: The port welcomed the first vessel in a new contract with customers Top Blue and The Fuel Trading Company. The new deal is expected to bring an extra 30,000 tonnes per year through the Port of Immingham – the largest Port by tonnage in the UK. The cargo being delivered is Prilled Urea which is a key part of the mixture for the AdBlue market.