After the 'Ocean Viking' has rescued over 350 people from distress at sea in several rescue missions. the ship has been assigned Ancona as a safe port, which was 1450 kilometers away. Some survivors have already had a very long and stressful time at sea. In one rescue mission, 25 people were safely brought aboard the 'Ocean Viking', who had previously been on board an unseaworthy boat for around sevendays. They report that about 60 people died along the way and fell overboard. Two people were in such critical condition that they had to be evacuated. One of them has since died. The 'Ocean Viking' finally has reached Ancona on March 18 with the survivors.
News
ANIKITOS
The 'Anikitos' allided with the loading wharf of the mining company South32 at Alyangula, Groote Eylandt, Milner Bay, loaded with 41,140 metric tonnes of manganese ore, when the Cyclone Megan hit the region on March 16, 2024, with 100 kph winds and four meter high swell. The wharf has sustained severe damage and partially collapsed into the sea. The ship remained alongside for the time being. It also had 1,070 tonnes of low sulphur fuel and 109 tonnes of diesel on board. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) had completed oil spill trajectory models and provided the results to the state government. The owners and insurers of the vessel were corresponding with tug providers to arrange tugs to assist the vessel with shifting from its current location alongside the wharf to a safe anchorage. South32 has temporarily suspended operations on Groote Eylandt. Initial inspections indicated that there was structural damage to the wharf. The full impact of the damage and subsequent disruption to production and sales values will be assessed when access to the port and other infrastructure have been restored. The company would return to safe operations as soon as possible. The former cyclone has been downgraded to a tropical low following its coastal crossing overnight, but was being forecast to bring heavy rainfall and possible flooding to parts of the NT throughout the week. The NT's Department of Environment was monitoring the situation with the bulk carrier being stable in location. There was no leak of fuels or oils at this time. The master was working to resolve the situation to move the ship away from the damaged wharf as soon as practicable. The Territory government was planning a response should there be a leak, working with the AMSA and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for support if required. Reports with photos: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-19/bulk-carrier-crashes-into-south32-manganese-wharf-groote-eylandt/103604700 https://maritime-executive.com/article/cyclone-drives-bulker-into-wharf-suspending-large-manganese-mine-operations
Montevideo
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Kiel
The Port of Kiel concluded this year’s cruise season with the call of AIDA Cruises’ AIDAnova on Nov 4. The port welcomed a total of 215 ship calls from 26 companies and a total of 1,174,000 cruise passengers, marking the port’s busiest season ever. “We are closing the 2023 season with a good result. The development in the tourism industry shows a clear trend towards the cruise sector, which was also evident in Kiel this season. “For us, the main issue is to make maritime tourism more environmentally friendly on the port side. Shore power was the dominant topic for us and will continue to be so in the coming season,” said Dirk Claus, managing director of SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. Among the ships that visited the port during 2023 was the 'Disney Dream', the first ship from Disney Cruise Line to be welcomed in Kiel, as well as MSC Cruises’ 'MSC Euribia'. Earlier this year, the port of Kiel achieved a milestone by becoming the first German port to supply a ship with liquidified natural gas. Since then, the' AIDAnova' and 'MSC Euribia' have regularly bunkered LNG in the port of Kiel.
GEO BARENTS
On March 16, the 'Geo Barents' was threatened by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard during the rescue of 150 migrants who were in distress on a wooden boat. While the rescue was in full swing, the so-called Libyan Coast Guard approached with the patrol boat 'LCG-302', which had been handed over by Italy and carried out dangerous maneuvers, pursued the RHIBs and even tried to board one of the RHIBs. After more than two hours, the so-called Libyan Coast Guard boat finally left the scene, but not without threatening the crew with consequences. In total, the 'Geo Barents' has rescued 246 people from distress at sea with three boats since March 16. During one of the rescues, around 45 people fell into the water, but fortunately everyone was able to be brought to safety on the 'Geo Barents' which demanded that a nearby safe harbor be allocated so that the rescued people can be brought to shore as quickly as possible.
102HAEJIN
The 'No. 102 Haejin' sank on March 14, 2024, at 4.12 a.m. on a water depth of 60 meters about 8.5 kilometers south of Yokjido Island in Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do. The accident left three sailors dead and one missing. The sinking was caused by a loss of stability by loading more catches than usual on the aft deck with a net. The Tongyeong Maritime Police Station has secured statements from surviving crew members on March 18, stating that the ship developed a list to port side while moving after loading more catch than usual on the deck behind the ship without storing it in a fish hold on the stern deck to meet the consignment time of the Tongyeong Fisheries Cooperative at around 5 a.m. the same day. Most of the catches were sardines, two to three times more than usual, and about 40 tons were caught. In the case of mackerel, which is mainly caught by this ship, the usual catch is found to be between 10 and 20 tons. The Coast Guard judged that the maximum amount of catch that the ship can load was up to 4,800 boxes, so it was not overloaded.
Itaqui
Brazil: Agriculture Officers Strike Federal agriculture officers decided to start the strike next Monday (22), which will directly affect trading involving perishable products and may cause delays in berthing and unberthing ships. Federal Revenue tax auditors also announced that they will intensify the general strike that has been ongoing since November last year, as reported in our previous newsletters. Next week, from the 22nd to the 26th of January, there will be no cargo clearance at the ports and airports of São Paulo and Bahia. This means that goods release services will be affected at Viracopos airport, the Port of Santos, Salvador customs (from the 23rd) and Guarulhos Airport. During the period, only perishable, live and dangerous cargo will be released at the sites, in addition to medicines and food, as they are considered essential. It is important to highlight that the import and export of goods of animal and plant origin require the consent and inspection of agricultural officers. The category's national union (Anffa Sindical) informed that the release of certificates and goods at ports, in this case, will respect the last day of the deadline set out in the rules of the Ministry of Agriculture. It is worth remembering that in the last meeting held on December 27th with Sindifisco Nacional, minister Fernando Haddad and the special secretary of Revenue, Robinson Barreirinhas, stated that they did not plan to make changes to the proposal presented for the payment of the efficiency bonus in 2024 , which motivated the continuation of the strike. The Superior Courts have already pacified the understanding that the strike movement cannot interrupt essential public services. Therefore, the functioning of the productive activity of shipowners/importers/exporters cannot be delayed by the Customs Inspectors' strike. Customs clearance must continue, regardless of the tax auditors' strike. The Judiciary has been intervening effectively on a case-by-case basis, in order to avoid the harmful effects of the Federal Revenue auditors' strike and maintain the regular activity of taxpayers at Brazilian customs. The strike could affect the port and customs sector. Our team is closely monitoring the situation in the North/Northeast ports and will inform you of any updates.
Kerch
Ukraine has managed a serious blow against the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea on Nov 4, 2023, severely damaging the corvette 'Askold', that was docked at the Zaliv shipyard during successful attacks on the shipping and port infrastructure of the Zaliv shipyard in the temporarily occupied city of Kerch. The “Askold”, which is able to carry up to eight Kalibr or Onyx guided missiles, has been hit by at least one Ukrainian cruise missile. The upper part of the ship was significantly damaged. The damage and destruction of warships of this type is important for the security of Ukraine. Reports with photos: https://www.merkur.de/politik/ukraine-krieg-krim-schwarzmeerflotte-russland-flotte-kiew-moskau-zr-92657747.html https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ukrainian-forces-hit-russian-ship-in-kerch-aftermath-photo/ar-AA1julmU?ocid=weather-verthp-feeds
MSC FANTASIA
A cruise entertainer of the 'MSC Fantasia' allegedly has raped a passenger. A British tourist says she danced all night with the entertainer on the ship. But then the man from Kenya is said to have harassed the 30-year-old woman and forced her to have sex. In a state of shock, the tourist told the captain of the ship what just happened to her. He then reported the suspected rape to the Spanish police. When the 'MSC Fantasia' berthed in Palma de Mallorca on March 15, 2024, the man was arrested. But the entertainer refused to make a statement on March 17. The man has been temporarily released under conditions. Now his cell phone should be examined.
SLEIPNIR
The SAR helicopter Helimer 402 medevaced a sick crew member from the 'Sleipnir', en route to Rotterdam, more than 300 miles from Galicia on March 15, 2024. The patient was hoisted and taken to Alvedro with a doctor on board at 10:20 p.m. The response was coordinated by the Fisterra Rescue Center, which mobilized the helicopter, based at the Alvedro airport in Coruña, and the Sasemar 102 plane, which operates from the Rosalía de Castro in Santiago. The sailor was transported to Alvedro, where an ambulance was waiting for him and took him to a hospital for further medical care. Video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1768983943099957492
Bizerte
A fire destroyed the opening motors of the BIZERTE port bridge on July 26, 2023. The port remained closed to navigation from that date untill November 19. 2023, date of the re-opening of the Port to navigation.
Kiel
At the last weekend, the port of Kiel reached the mark of one million cruise passengers in one season for the first time. On Sep 16, 2023,, the MSC EURIBIA, AIDANOVA and EXCELLENCE CORAL called at the PORT OF KIEL, and on Sep 17 the AIDABELLA and AIDALUNA visited the Ostsee Quay. Kiel had already seen a positive trend in the cruise business in recent years, which had been put on hold by the slump during the Corona pandemic. In addition to the strong presence of the major European cruise lines AIDA, Costa, MSC and TUI, in recent years North American shipping companies, such as Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line, have increasingly chosen Kiel as a cruise destination in the Baltic Sea region for their fleets. As recently as 2022, Kiel's seaport recorded its busiest season ever with 243 calls and 835,000 passengers. For the current season 2023, 222 cruise calls have been announced.