News

The 'Hephaestus' which ran onto rocks in Malta was now set to be deliberately sunk as the islands’ latest wreck attraction. The vessel is to be scuttled at a depth of 30-40m off Qala Point on Gozo, at a site chosen because it is clear of seagrass beds. As a boat-dive, the location is easily accessible from Gozo, Malta or Comino. The 'Hephaestus' is currently being prepared with the aim of scuttling it next spring, ready for the start of the 2020 diving season. A second smaller vessel, the 'Patrol Boat 33', was originally earmarked to be scuttled as an artificial reef off Gozo in 2020, but the location of the wreck was now being reconsidered.

Cruise ships were either changing course to avoid the Maine coast or heading to Portland to seek shelter from a powerful nor’easter that was forecast to arrive in the night of Oct 16, 2019. The 'AIDAdiva' sought shelter in Portland on Oct 16. The vessel, which was not on the city’s cruise ship schedule, carried 2050 passengers and 607 crew members. The 'Mein Schiff 1' arrived ahead of schedule in Portland Harbor in the evening and was to stay overnight because of the storm. The vessel, which had 1,914 passengers and 900 crew members on board, had been scheduled to arrive on OCt 17. The 'Norwegian Gem', also due to arrive on Oct 17, opted not to call at Portland because of the storm. The vessel had 2,394 passengers and 1,101 crew on board. Wind speeds were forecast to be 20 to 30 miles per hour with gusts up to 60 mph in Portland and along the coast. Rain will be heavy at times.

A work accident with deadly outcome occurred at the container terminal in Copenhagen's North Port on Oct 4, 2019. A worker who was seriously injured when two straddle carriers collided at the terminal died of his injuries on Oct 6, 2019. The details of the accident were not disclosed. Authorities were investigating the accident. Since the accident, employees have been offered various types of emergency assistance.

With the successful start an important milestone has been reached in the execution of the contract to operate the tugboat fleet for Fortescue Metals Group (Fortescue) in Port Hedland, the world’s largest bulk export port on Australia´s west coast. The fleet consists of eight new ART 85-32W and one RT80-32 Rotortugs®. Six of them are Fortescue owned, three are owned by KOTUG, which are chartered directly to Fortescue. KOTUG manages the entire contract.

On Oct 17, 2019, the 'Color Hybrid' stopped in the Sandefjordsfjord. The ship had sailed from the dock in Sandefjord at 5 p.m. but suffered a complete blackout short time after the departure. When the power was restored it was announced over the OA system that there was a loss of control and therefore the ferry had anchored. Just before 7 p.m. 18 it was reported over the speaker system that the ship was ready to return to Sandefjord due to the technical problems for repairs. The departures from Sandefjord at and Strømstad at 8 p.m. were cancelled.

Cruise ships were either changing course to avoid the Maine coast or heading to Portland to seek shelter from a powerful nor’easter that was forecast to arrive in the night of Oct 16, 2019. The 'AIDAdiva' sought shelter in Portland on Oct 16. The vessel, which was not on the city’s cruise ship schedule, carried 2050 passengers and 607 crew members. The 'Mein Schiff 1' arrived ahead of schedule in Portland Harbor in the evening and was to stay overnight because of the storm. The vessel, which had 1,914 passengers and 900 crew members on board, had been scheduled to arrive on OCt 17. The 'Norwegian Gem', also due to arrive on Oct 17, opted not to call at Portland because of the storm. The vessel had 2,394 passengers and 1,101 crew on board. Wind speeds were forecast to be 20 to 30 miles per hour with gusts up to 60 mph in Portland and along the coast. Rain will be heavy at times.

Hapag-Lloyd continues to develop its position in Africa and launches the new MIAX (Middle East-India-Africa Express) service – which will offer direct connections and fast transit times between South and West Africa, the Persian Gulf, India, Colombo (Sri Lanka) and La Réunion. Hapag-Lloyd has entered the African market about twelve years ago and has since then seen steady and significant growth in transported volumes to and from Africa."With the new MIAX service our customers will now benefit from an even wider range of fast and flexible direct connections," says Dheeraj Bhatia, Senior Managing Director of Hapag-Lloyd's Region Middle East.The MIAX service will be connected to the Global Mainline Network via the key ports of Jebel Ali (Dubai) and Colombo. Hapag-Lloyd will jointly operate the MIAX service with it's THE Alliance partner Ocean Network Express. A total of nine ships with a capacity of 2,800 TEU each, including five provided by Hapag-Lloyd, will be deployed for the new service.

Gas infrastructure along Russia’s Northern Sea Route is set to get a Japanese upgrade with news Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) have signed a cooperation agreement with Novatek to develop LNG transhipment projects in Kamchatka and Murmansk. The projects will construct floating storage units (FSUs) to tranship LNG cargoes from ice-breaking LNG ships to conventional LNG ships. The FSUs will be located in Kamchatka and in Murmansk and will be used for the transhipment of LNG cargoes produced by Novatek’s Yamal LNG Project and Arctic LNG 2 Project, two of the largest gas developments in the world.

arrived Alang Anchorage 17.10.19

Cruise ships were either changing course to avoid the Maine coast or heading to Portland to seek shelter from a powerful nor’easter that was forecast to arrive in the night of Oct 16, 2019. The 'AIDAdiva' sought shelter in Portland on Oct 16. The vessel, which was not on the city’s cruise ship schedule, carried 2050 passengers and 607 crew members. The 'Mein Schiff 1' arrived ahead of schedule in Portland Harbor in the evening and was to stay overnight because of the storm. The vessel, which had 1,914 passengers and 900 crew members on board, had been scheduled to arrive on OCt 17. The 'Norwegian Gem', also due to arrive on Oct 17, opted not to call at Portland because of the storm. The vessel had 2,394 passengers and 1,101 crew on board. Wind speeds were forecast to be 20 to 30 miles per hour with gusts up to 60 mph in Portland and along the coast. Rain will be heavy at times.

The Port of Los Angeles has announced a development opportunity for an Outer Harbor Cruise Terminal at Berths 46 and 50, with plans to release a Request for Proposal (RFP) later this fall. The proposal is intended for cruise lines, terminal operators, and real estate developers interested in creating a new state-of-the-art cruise terminal in a prime location for expansion of west coast cruise travel at America’s busiest port. Located on the south end of an extensive LA Waterfront development, the proposed 13-acre site offers unique panoramic views of the coastline and Catalina Island. The area is currently used as a concert venue, special event site, and temporary berth location for cruise ships.

The Chinese Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) sees its order intake for ro-pax ferries further increase following a long-awaited double order from P&O Ferries for a next-generation of Dover-Calais shuttle ferries.