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On Sep 24, 2023, the Rosslare RNLI volunteers were mobilised at around 11.30 p.m. to the 'Castlemore', which had grounded off Wexford with two crew on board. They unsuccessfully tried to fire a towline towards the trawler to pull it back into open waters, but with conditions extremely choppy and only two crew aboard, it proved too difficult. At that point, the wind also posed too much of a danger to try to winch the two sailors on board a rescue helicopter. At around 3 a.m. the Irish Navy vessel 'LÉ William Butler Yeats' arrived on scene and kept a close eye on proceedings. Having circled for hours, the Rescue 117 was forced to return to base in Waterford to refuel around half an hour later, but by 4.30 a.m. they were back on scene. By this time, the wind had subsided somewhat and the helicopter crew was able to successfully winch the sailors,. Both the lifeboat and the rescue helicopter left the scene shortly after 6 a.m., while the 'LÉ William Butler Yeats' remained off the Wexford coast overnight.

The bulk carrier 'Xin Hai Tong 32' ((IMO: 9594573), en route to Chittagong Shipbreakers, came in contact with the 'Cycas at Chittagong's outer anchorage on Sep 20, 2023, at around 07.30 a.m. The propeller of the 'Xin Hai Tong 32' had been out of order. The ship remained stationary in pos. 22° 17.52' N 091° 42.93' E as of Sep 25. The 'Cycas' was being moored in pos. 22° 09.36'N 091° 44.90' E.

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/

Vessells

The yacht 'Second Life' with three New Zealanders on board was assisted by the 'Pacific Explorer', which waas en route from Auckland to Suva in the Fijian islands. They were seriously injured after being hit by a broken mast off the coast of Fiji, with one receiving medical attention on a cruise ship. The crew had sent a mayday distress call near Nadi on Sep 24, 2023, at around 9 p.m. The 'Pacific Explorer' diverted its route. Two further support vessels were expected on Sep 25 at about midday and another at 4 p.m. to assist the other people on-board the yacht as, due to conditions and the size of the 'Pacific Explorer', assisting the remaining people on-board the yacht was impossible. The ship continued to work closely with RCC Fiji and Maritime New Zealand's Rescue Coordination Centre. One person has died in the incident, and one survivor was picked up by the Fijian Navy vessel 'Savenaca' in the afternoon of Sep 25. Both survivors were being taken to Fiji, as has the body of the dead person. Reports with photo and video: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/498710/mayday-call-three-nzers-on-yacht-seriously-injured https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/new-zealand-yacht-crewmember-rescued-by-cruise-ship-off-fiji/ELEODRVJMRFABHKSFO4IW7GMEU/

The 'Xin Hai Tong 32', en route to Chittagong Shipbreakers, came in contact with the bulk carrier 'Cycas' (IMO: 9403114) at Chittagong's outer anchorage on Sep 20, 2023, at around 07.30 a.m. The propeller of the 'Xin Hai Tong 32' had been out of order. The ship remained stationary in pos. 22° 17.52' N 091° 42.93' E as of Sep 25. The 'Cycas' was being moored in pos. 22° 09.36'N 091° 44.90' E.

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

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.

The Port Authority of Paxos was informed in the morning of Sep 24, 2023, by the maoster of the 'Ilida Dolphin' about damage to the staarboard side main engine, while sailing in the wasters of Aspprokavo in the Corfu province on a scheduled route from the port of Corfu to the port of Gaios Paxos. The ship sailed safely to the port of Paxos, where it disembarked its 10 passengers. The Central Port Authority of Corfu prohibited the sailing of the sihp until the repair of the damage and the presentation of a certificate of class maintenance by the monitoring classification society. Passengers from the port of Paxos to the port of Corfu were forwarded by the ship-owning company.

The 'Catalina Commander' with four crew members on board, was disabled after a fire on board in pos. 42 25 44.4 N, 066 16 51.0 W, about 59 nautical miles from South Seal Island, at Browns Bank, Nova Scotia, on Sep 12, 2023, at 12.35 a.m. UTC. The crew extinguished the fire, and the vessel was towed to West Pubnico by the fishing vessel 'HAannah Mae' and later by the Canadian Coastguard vessel 'Chedabucto Bay'.

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 

Ships