Carnival Corporation and its luxury Seabourn brand have announced the sale of the 'Seabourn Odyssey' to the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), which currently operates a one-ship Japanese cruise line with the 'Nippon Maru'. Following the sale, Seabourn will continue to operate all published voyages through Au22, 2024, under a charter arrangement. The 'Seabourn Odyssey' will be delivered to MOL after the charter agreement.
News
Cochin
Misc. for ports and Vessels
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.
Kiel
Misc. for ports and Vessels
The inauguration of the new shore power facility in Kiel on Dec 9, 2020, meant that Stena Line now have the possibility to connect 14 vessels at seven terminals with on-shore electricity during port stay. The new connection in Kiel will reduce the CO2 emissions from the two vessels Stena Scandinavica and Stena Germanica with 2,700 tonnes per year. In total Stena Line reduce its CO2 emissions with shore power with 13,000 tonnes per year. The new shore power facility in Kiel provides 100% green electricity, thus also avoiding NOX-, SOX- and particle emissions during the port stay of the 'Stena Germanica' and 'Stena Scandinavica'. Aside from Kiel, Stena Line have the possibility to connect to shore power supply at its two terminals in Göteborg, as well as in Karlskrona, Norvik, Trelleborg and Hoek van Holland, thus saving 13,000 t of CO2 per year in its network. Of the 36 vessels in the Stena Line fleet, 14 are now equipped with High Voltage Shore Connection systems (HVSC). “Shore power supply is important for us for two reasons: First, we want to have an immediate positive impact on the air quality in the ports we use. Secondly, we expect an even higher share of electrification in ports in the future – at cars, trucks, port vehicles and not the least at ships. With our battery and power bank projects, we develop our ferry services further in that direction constantly and we learn something new each day. In 2030 we expect to launch a 100 % battery powered and fossil free vessel”, say Niclas Mårtensson, CEO Stena Line and member of the Swedish Government Elelctrification Commission. Kiels mayor Dr. Ulf Kämpfer inaugurated the new façade of the shore power facility, which has been specially designed and illuminated. The inauguration marks the offizial start of the on-shore power supply for Stena Line in Kiel. The facility was co-funded by the state government of Schleswig-Holstein (8,9 m Euro) and the EU (1,26 m Euro). In addition, Germany´s federal government recently agreed on a political package to decrease the user prices for on-shore electricity significantly. “We are very grateful for the political support on various levels. The planned decrease of user prices for shore side electricity is an important step for the competitiveness of environmentally- and climate-friendly technologies in Northern Europe. At the same time, we are very happy about the continuous positive dialogue with our partners at Port of Kiel and the city of Kiel”, says Ron Gerlach, Managing Director, Stena Line Germany.
FSO BENCHAMAS 2
Casualty
The authorities in Thailand were continuing to monitor the waters of the Benchamas oil fields for possible signs of pollution in the wake of the explosion on the FSO 'Benchamas 2' by the Royal Thai Navy and other local agencies. Initial reports stated that the explosion occurred as the crew was performing routine maintenance works. An estimated 400,000 barrels of oil were contained aboard the FSO. The navy prepared for the possible leakage of some of the onboard crude by pre-positioning spill response assets. MEanwhile Chevron crews have recovered the body of the worker who was fatally injured on March 13. Oreparations were being made to return the body to the victim's family. The production at the Benchamas oil field in the Gulf of Thailand remained suspended. The Benchamas field produces about 13,000 barrels per day and approximately 45 million cubic feet per of natural gas.
Puerto Brisa
Misc. for ports and Vessels
Debido a la ola invernal y el paso del huracán IOTA, las vías al interior de la región de la alta guajira quedaron en mal estado, lo que no permitió el tránsito de camiones con alimentos y ayudas a la población indígena de esta zona. Por este motivo, a través de Puerto Brisa S.A. se llevó a cabo cargue de estos productos alimenticios y kits de ayudas humanitarias al buque de desembarco anfibio de la Armada Nacional, ARC GOLFO DE MORROSQUILO. De esta manera contribuimos al bienestar del pueblo guajiro, con la organización de los delegados del Programa Mundial de Alimentos de la ONU y ONG locales.
