The 'Behshad', owned by Iran's Rahbaran Omid Darya Ship Management Co., has been accused of playing a central role in disruptions to commercial maritime traffic in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, and of being a source for vital information for the Houthis. It was even suspected of having sabotaged submarine cables in the Red Sea when damage was noted to these infrastructures used for the transit of Internet data. The ship was nearby at the time of the incident. Even the USA seemed to be convinced that the 'Behshad' is not just a simple cargo ship. The vessel was the target of an American cyberattack which temporarily paralyzed it in February. Two weeks later, it was operational again. The official Iranian version – that it is a commercial ship – is difficult to swallow for experts. It is, for example, far too equipped for a commercial cargo ship. In Jan 2024, it left the Red Sea enroute to the Gulf of Aden and then positioned itself about 100 kilometers from the coast of Djibouti and began zizaging in the Gulf of Aden. The arrival of the ship in the Gulf of Aden coincided with a sharp increase in attacks on ships in this area. The 'Behshad' is thus suspected of crisscrossing the area in search of potential targets for the Houthis and sending them geolocation data so that they can strike right.
News
TRUE CONFIDENCE
The two remaining Filipino crew members of the 'True Confidence' returned to the Philippines on MArch 14. They arrived via a chartered medical evacuation flight at 6:45 a.m. They had suffered serious injuries in the missile attack but they were cleared fit for travel by medical authorities in Djibouti on March 13. The two were taken to a hospital where they have been reunited with their families and will continue their recovery. They requested privacy. On March 12, a first batch of 11 Filipino crew members was repatriated. One of them had minor injuries. Two Filipinos were killed and three were severely injured in the attack. The remains of the two Filipino seafarers were expected to be retrieved soon as their ship has reached Oman under tow.
Papenburg
The Meyer shipyard located in Papenburg, Germany, announced, they secured an order for a new cruise ship. The new customer is NYK who placed an order for a medium size cruise ship for their brand Asuka Cruises. Full article + image: https://www.cruisedeck.de/meyer-werft-sichert-sich-neubau-auftrag/
Cochin
The Cochin Port Trust handled a record 3.20 million tonnes of cargo in December 2020, a monthly record volume for it. The volume is a 10.55 per cent growth over December 2019, said Cochin Port Trust chairperson M. Beena, in a message to the employees and officials of the port trust. Container movement too touched a consistent 60,000 TEUs consecutively in the four months leading to December. The surge in the movement of cargo is being looked upon as new shoots in the port business after the plans of 2020 were washed away in the COVID-19 pandemic. The growth in cargo movement is “charting a new growth trajectory. However, we need to find new vistas for revenue generation by optimum utilisation of resources available to us,” the chairperson told the port community. The port has been recovering from the losses, which had affected it for the past decade. But the pandemic and resultant loss in business had pushed the port into the red. But the port was expected to make a recovery by the end of 2021, the chairperson said. There was optimism stemming from the fact that though there was a substantial fall in cargo movement in the first half of the current financial year, there was some recovery in the second half. The port trust was also optimistic that the inauguration of the Kochi-Mangaluru LNG pipeline earlier this month would pave the way for more gas volumes and revenue for the port. Meanwhile, figures from the Indian Ports Association showed that ports across the country suffered owing to the pandemic and its impact on the global economy. The average fall across the major ports in the country is nearly nine per cent for the period. Mumbai suffered a fall of more than 17 per cent and the Momugao traffic fell more than 23 per cent and JNPT traffic was down by over 12 per cent. Haldia Dock Complex, Paradip, Visakhapatnam, and New Mangaluru suffered lesser falls in business.
JENNIFER
The 'Jennifer' has arrived on March 13, 2024, at Larnaca Port, en route from Rhodes, and was expected to depart for Gaza on March 15 to transport 500 tons of humanitarian aid, which arrived from abroad by air at Larnaca Airport, Glafkos Clerides, and was then transferred to a warehouse at Larnaca Port. The humanitarian aid included sugar, flour, pasta, canned goods, and milk. Scanners have been placed at Larnaca Port, operated by specialized personnel from Israel. Necessary checks of the humanitarian aid were conducted for security reasons, and then the specially packaged pallets were to be loaded onto the ship. The ship was estimated to reach Gaza in 36 hours. Due to the seabed’s topography, the ship will wait for the unloading of the humanitarian aid carried by the “Open Arms” and the barge 'MMS Aris' to be completed. Then, the goods will be unloaded to the barge to be transported to the shore. Report with photos: https://in-cyprus.philenews.com/in-cyprus/second-ship-carrying-humanitarian-aid-to-depart-for-gaza-tomorrow/
OPEN ARMS
The 'Open Arms' with a barge carrying 200 tons of much-needed food aid was slowly sailing toward the Gaza Strip. The current voyage is the first of several planned as part of a maritime aid corridor to the Gaza Strip. The ship was slowly sailing south of the coast of Israel on March 14. On March 13, Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said a second aid ship with bigger capacity was being prepared at a virtual meeting on the maritime corridor with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and senior ministers and officials from the UK, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the European Union and the United Nations. The ministers agreed that there was no meaningful substitute to land routes via Egypt and Jordan and entry points from Israel into Gaza for aid delivery at scale. They also called on Israel to open the port of Ashdod, which lies north of Gaza, for aid deliveries. Since the beginning of the war on Oct 7, 2023, 303,930 tons of aid have been delivered to Gaza, according to COGAT, the Israeli military body that handles Palestinian civilian affairs.
Cochin
The coast guard found signs of an accident on the British oil tanker Orange Victoria which was seized in COCHIN after the accident involving a fishing boat on the coast of Vizhinjam The Fort Kochi Coastal Police and the Marine Mercantile Division conducted an inspection of the ship anchored in the open sea on Saturday morning .The paint on this part has been collected by scientific experts for scientific examination . Captain Nikhil told the Coastal Police that they were not aware that the ship had collided with the boat . There are 23 sailors on board . The ship while en route from Singapore to Indian port, presumably struck fiberglass fishing boat 46 nm off COCHIN at night Mar 18. boat was damaged, all 6 crew safe. Hull paint samples are taken, to conduct lab analysis
ABDULLAH
The 20 hijackers of the 'Abdullah' have demanded a $50 million ransom and threatened to kill the crew if there was any delay in payment. The ship was due to reach Somalia anchjorage early on March 14. All the crew members were reportedly safe and sound for the time being. A European Union vessel was tracking the ship as it headed toward the coast. At that time, there was a gunfight between the two sides. However, the raiding vessel later retreated fearing the death of the sailors held hostage on the Bangladeshi vessel. Meanwhile relatives received calls from board: "Our ship has been attacked. The ship is being hijacked and taken to the coast of Somalia. We are all being held in a room. We have not been beaten. By the grace of Allah, we are doing well, so far, please pray!" These were the words of ASM Saiduzzaman, chief engineer of the hijacked 'Abdullah' to his wife Mehreen Safrin, living in the RG Naogaon area of Naogaon city Zaman, by phone on the night of March 12. On March 13 morning, a recorded voice message came to Mehreen's phone again. In that message, a voice was heard saying, "Sir is fine. Sir is sleeping after eating Sehri. If you have any messages, send an SMS to this number." Mehreen, worried about her husband, said, "The work of the ship is very risky. Sometimes when he goes deep into the sea, there is no contact with him for 15-20 days. I used to worry then. I would only get in touch with him when he came back within the network. But this time the matter is very worrying. They have fallen into the hands of pirates. I see in the news that if they don't get the ransom, they will kill them one by one. “I am spending my time in extreme anxiety in this situation. I can't go anywhere for help with my one-year-old daughter and ailing in-laws. Our appeal to the government and the shipping company authorities is to somehow rescue my husband from the pirates." Qaiyum, a former principal of Sapahar Government College in Nawabganj and former president of Nawabganj District Press Club, received a call from his son's number on March 13 at 3:30 p.m. He called and said that their ship had been attacked by pirates. The ship is being taken to the coast of Somalia. After that, he sent a voice SMS from another number in the night and the next morning. He said in the voice SMS that he was doing well. The pirates did not beat him. They are all being held in a room. They are not being given much water to drink as there is a shortage of food and water on the ship." Omn March 12 at 1:30 pm Bangladesh time, Somali pirates had boarded and took control of the ship, en route from Maputo with 58,000 tonnes of coal. All 23 sailors on board were Bangladeshis. The ship is owned by SR Shipping Limited, an associate company of Chattogram’s Kabir Group.
FV NICOLAS JEREMY
Aboard the 'Nicolas-Jérémy' which was off the coast of the Côte d’Opale, Dunkirk, on March 13, 2024, the fisherman Ludovic Caloin, 51, died following a heart attack. The ship requested medical assistance from the CROSS Gris-Nez after he suffered a cardio-respiratory arrest. The CROSS then established a telephone conference between the maritime medical consultation center in Toulouse, the maritime medical coordination ambulance in Le Havre and the ship. A medical evacuation by helicopter was recommended, and the CROSS Gris-Nez deployed the Dauphin helicopter of the French Navy base in Le Touquet, reinforced by a medical team from the mobile emergency and maritime resuscitation service from the Boulogne-sur-Mer hospital. The medical team was dropped off aboard the trawler. Despite the cardiac massage provided by the crew and the intervention of emergency services, the victim could not be resuscitated. The sailor was declared dead by the medical team before being brought ashore at the port of Dunkirk.
Chittagong
Crew change have resumed at the port of Chittagong, albeit to a limited extent. In case of joining, covid negative certificate is required. In case of sign off, the crew will have to undergo a covid test at a local government approved hospital. Which takes a total of 3 days to stay in a hotel. Then he has to show immigration and airlines authorities when he gets on the plane. We've learned from talking to a crew service provider that this process is safe for all parties. NC Shipping's operations manager said Chittagong port service is now much more efficient and less time consuming. All rules are governed by international standards. "Even in the covid pandemic lockdown, we get international quality service from Chittagong port which has played a positive role in the operation of our ships and maintaining the dynamism of the maritime trade," he added. He thinks crew change approval is part of a continuous process. This is a valiant decision of the government and port authorities