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On Dec 10, 2019, the KM 'Bahari Indah 5', enroute from the Pelindo Harbor, Dumai City, Riau, to Johor, sank in the waters of the Bengkalis Regency on the way to the Malacca Strait in rough seas of two meters height. The ship suffered water ingress causing an engine failure. Four crew members floated in the sea for approximately 28 hours before they were rescued by the m/v 'Sinar Masela'. They were equipped with life jackets and had embraced so as not to separate. They were taken to Dumai after their rescue. Report with photo: https://pekanbaru.tribunnews.com/2019/12/11/km-bahari-indah-5-tenggelam-di-riau-4-abk-berpelukan-untuk-bertahan-hidup-28-jam-di-tengah-lautan

In the morning of Dec 10, 2019, the 'Bara ar Vicher' got in trouble off Étocs after the trawl was caught in the propelle. The SNSM lifeboat 'Men Meur' was deployed from the station Guilvinec-Treffiagat to assist. Escorted by the lifeboat, the trawler was able to return to the port without towing. At the port entrance it was taken alingside due to the stron wind. The lifeboat return to its station at 12:45 p.m. French report with photo: https://www.letelegramme.fr/finistere/le-guilvinec/le-bara-ar-vicher-remorque-au-large-des-etocs-10-12-2019-12455017.php

Affiliates of Qatar Petroleum and the Belgian independent natural gas transport company Fluxys Belgium signed a long-term agreement for LNG unloading services at the Zeebrugge LNG Terminal. Under the agreement, Qatar Terminal Limited (QTL) -a subsidiary of Qatar Petroleum- will subscribe to the full capacity at the terminal from the expiry of the existing long-term unloading contracts and up to 2044. The transaction follows a competitive evaluation process as well as the approval of the Belgian regulators. QTL is already a party to an existing agreement under which approximately 50% of the terminal’s capacity is utilized for delivery of Qatari LNG into Belgium under long-term LNG agreements.

The first berth of the Lamu Port is now 98 per cent complete and is set to be unveiled next month. The construction has been ongoing for three years. Stakeholders are optimistic that it will have a socio-economic transformation of the region through trade. It will open up the corridor counties to the rest of the country and neighbouring states. At least 33 shipping companies have shown interest and their representatives have either toured the site or will do so before the opening date. Lamu Port will be actively involved in the transhipment business as its depth can accommodate big ships from which cargo can be loaded to smaller ships bound for Mombasa, according to Abdullahi Samatar, Kenya Ports Authority general manager in charge of Infrastructure development.

The 'Golden Ray' will have its propellers and rudders removed this week and thus begin slimming down a bit. The process will relieve about 130 tons from the ship's stern and help to stabilize the overturned vessel. On Dec 12 the salvage crews had completed draining the tanks of 320.000 gallons of fuel. A total of 26 tanks needed emptying. Some of them were submerged and could be reached only by rappelling into the ship's interior and then diving underwater. The interior of each drained fuel tank was then cleaned with steam to remove any residual fuel. The Gallagher Marine Systems was overseeing the operations, and more than 500 people assisted in removing the fuel from the ship.

On Nov 11, 2019, at dawn the 'Hamada S' with a crew of 11 on board, among them seven Indians, two Syrians and two Egyptians, ran aground in the Bizerte Governorate near Errimel at the the Rimal beach. The ship had been broken down off Bizerte two days ago, but the local authorities denied access to the port and requested the ship to accept tug assistance. The captain refused to pay for the towing services after lengthy negotiations before the ropes broke due to bad weather on Dec 10. The ship had arrived from Algeria and was bound to a repair yard in Menzel Bourguiba but was prevented from crossing the canal by bad weather. The stormy seas had brought it stepwise closer to the coast. The civil protection and the Maritime Guard as well as the regional authorities represented by the governor of the region arrived at the scene. A crisis unit was set up for the response. French reports with photos and video: https://tn24.ween.tn/fr/article/bizerte-un-navire-togolais-echoue-a-la-plage-errimel-videos-210171 https://www.tunisienumerique.com/tunisie-un-navire-togolais-en-provenance-dalgerie-chavire-sur-une-plage-a-bizerte/ https://news.gnet.tn/bizerte-naufrage-dun-bateau-sur-la-plage-du-rimel/ https://africanmanager.com/bizerte-incident-du-bateau-togolais-cellule-de-crise-pour-suivre-de-pres-la-situation/

The commercial port in Libya’s second city Benghazi is working round the clock three years after reopening, attempting to raise revenues for its restoration and expansion. The port was caught in the crossfire as rival factions battled for control of Benghazi from 2014 in a conflict that left parts of the eastern Libyan city in ruins. It suspended operations as the main gate and some buildings were destroyed and the roads strewn with shells. Forces led by Khalifa Haftar eventually declared victory in Benghazi in 2017. Repairs and reconstruction have been limited — two out of three damaged tug boats are still out of service. But the port is now doing brisk business and trucks loaded with cars and containers carrying foodstuffs, motor oils and other goods can be seen streaming out of the main gate near the city center. Port manager Yzaid Bozraida said monthly revenues stood at more than seven million Libyan dinars ($4.9 million) before the war, though the income had not been used to develop the port.

NSW Ports and Patrick Terminals have commenced work on a A$190 million project to double on-dock rail infrastructure capacity at Port Botany’s Patrick Terminals - Sydney AutoStrad in Australia. The project includes investment of A$120 million from NSW Ports to deliver on-dock rail infrastructure and A$70 million from Patrick Terminals to deliver automated rail operating equipment at the container terminal. The project will deliver capacity to handle one million TEUs on rail and improve train turn-around times by 33 percent. It will be opened in stages to allow existing rail operations at the terminal to continue throughout the construction period. Once fully operational in 2023, the project will increase rail capacity of the Patrick Terminals – Sydney AutoStrad from 250,000 to one million TEU. It is anticipated to reduce the truck kilometers travelled in Sydney by at least 10 million per year, saving over two million liters of diesel per year – the equivalent of a net reduction of more than 5,400 in CO2 emissions tonnes per year.

The 'Lady Boss' - which was auctioned last spring - is still moored at the Levante dock of the port of Alméria, while it was prepared to leave after more than two years. The vessel was intercepted by Customs and Civil Guard patrols in August 2017 in international waters of the Alboran Sea, when it transported about 16 tons of hashish. On Feb 19, 2019, it was put up for auction. Its sale was authorized by the Government Delegation for the National Drug Plan, once awarded to the State by a final decision of the National Court. The auction wascarried out by the Port Authority of Alméria, and the 'Lady Boss' was sold to Abdul Karim Kartich for 201,000 Euros (excluding taxes). Once the commissioning works have been completed and the authorization of the Maritime Captaincy has been received, the ship may leave the Levante dock, where it has been moored since the end of November 2018. Spanish report with photo: https://almeria360.com/empresa/11122019_lady-boss_190314.html

The 'Fedjefjord"' on Dec 11, 2019, ran aground on its way to Fedje at 10.30 a.m. a few minutes after she left Sævrøy in Austrheim. The ship got stuck on an islet on the left and suffered water ingress. Everyone was told to put on life jackets. There were 15 passengers and seven crew members on board. The vessel tried to sail back to Sævrøy with its own engine. At 11.15 the ferry, however, lost engine power and dropped anchor. The tug 'Boris' (IMO: 9334753) was called from Mongstad. At the same time, the "Draapen" took on board firefighters who were going out to the ferry. No injuries were reported. On the quay at Sævrøy, ambulance, police patrol and fire trucks were ready to receive the 'Fedjefjord'. Inside the waiting room at the Sævrøy ferry quay a stretcher has been made clear. The tug 'Boris' (IMO: 9334753) pushed the ferry back to the quay, where it arrived at 11.36 a.m. and could finally be berthed despite some trouble caused by the bow damage at port side. Norwegian reports with photos and video: https://www.bt.no/nyheter/lokalt/i/VbrKb4/ferge-grunnstoette-paa-vei-til-fedje-jeg-ble-vettskremt https://www.nrk.no/hordaland/ferje-gjekk-pa-grunn-_-tar-seg-til-land-for-eiga-maskin-1.14818554

Freeport LNG on Sept. 03 announced that it has shipped the first LNG commissioning cargo for Train 1 from its liquefaction facility located on Quintana Island in Freeport, Texas. Approximately 150,000 cubic meters of LNG were loaded aboard the LNG Jurojin, which departed from the Freeport LNG terminal on September 3. “This first cargo loading is another significant step that gets us one step closer towards our start of commercial operations which is anticipated later this month,” said Michael Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Freeport LNG. “We are very pleased that it took less than 45 days to load our first cargo since gas was first introduced to our liquefaction facilities.” Freeport’s Train 2 is advancing pre-commissioning to support an in service date of January 2020. Train 3 is nearing completion to support an in service date of May 2020. Source: Freeport LNG

Singapore-based port operator PSA International has completed the acquisition of Penn Terminals, located on the Delaware River in the US, from Macquarie Infrastructure Partners. According to PSA, Penn Terminals is one of the best equipped, privately owned multipurpose marine terminals on the Eastern Coast of the US. The deal marks PSA’s first acquisition in the US. Penn has recently undergone a significant capacity upgrade with the addition of two new post-panamax ship-to-shore (STS) cranes in late 2018.