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Repairs to the propeller shaft, ball bearings and oil seals of the "Voyage Symphony", which were damaged when its engine got overheated causing the engine to be shut down, were completed in Gogha, Bhavnagar, and subseuquent trials were successful. An official of the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) was present during the sea trials. The ferry was to resume operations in Gulf of Khambhat on Dec 14. Actually the ship was anchored off Gogha in pos. 21° 40.74' N 072° 17.66' E. An investigation had revealed that a piece of plastic had been sucked into a pipe causing the engines to overheat.

The Tampa Fire Rescue responded to a report of an injured worker aboard the "Black Powder" in a drydock on the Ybor Channel on Dec 12, 2018, near 1616 Penny Street. The worker was trying to put out a small fire on the vessel and was overcome by smoke. Shipyard workers worked quickly and were able to get the man away from the affected area on the ship prior to firefighters’ arrival. Firefighters were able to secure the man in a stokes basket, and he was lifted to an adjacent dry dock ship using the onboard crane. The patient was lowered onto the deck of the ship and transferred by ambulance to the Tampa General Hospital. His injuries appeared to be non-life threatening. Report with photo: https://www.wfla.com/news/hillsborough-county/man-rescued-from-ship-at-port-tampa-bay-after-being-overcome-by-smoke/1655779497

A vessel carrying 72,000 tons of bulk corn from Brazil arrived and unloaded in Chabahar’s Shahid Beheshti Port on Thursday. According to the director of Sistan-Baluchestan Ports and Maritime Organization, this was the largest bulk carrier to ever dock at this southern Iranian strategic port. “Upon the completion of the unloading phase, the cargo will be sent to local destinations,” he said. Abbas Azarpaykan, deputy for Technical and Engineering Department of Sistan-Baluchestan Ports and Maritime Organization, announced that the country’s highest marine control tower will be constructed at Chabahar Port in the near future. Source: Financial Tribune

The Presidential House estimates that the new Moín terminal will serve up to 10 boats per week next year. The Dutch concessionaire APM Terminals was recently given the go ahead to start commercial operations. The first ship to arrive was the Captain Beatrice with 2,500 refrigerated containers. 300 of them went down to the port to be filled with national products to export. A few days later, the Polar Mexico unloaded and then loaded 700 containers of pineapple and banana going to northern Europe. The terminal is 97% done and will be formally inaugurated in February 2019. The number of ships served and services offered will gradually increase. This terminal will allow access to larger vessels and new routes.

The firefighters in Grand Bank fought a fire aboard the "Marcel Angie II" for ten hours on Dec 11, 2018. It broke out at the town's wharf at 9.55 a.m. The fire was burning out of control when they got there, with flames shooting out of either the engine room or the wheel house. The fire fighters spent the morning fighting the fire on board the boat, but had to pull back due to the chemical smoke coming from melting fibreglass. As the toxic smoke was getting intense and the chief was losing visibility of some of the firefighters on deck, he decided to pull them off for safety reasons and began to fight the fire on shore. The ship was tied up at the wharf while some renovations were being done. It had just bunkered four tons of diesel and had about 100 litres of hydraulic fluid on board. The size of the firefighters' equipment, coupled with the confined space of the engine room, meant they were unable to get inside. Some fuel leaked into the water and caught fire, but was quickly doused by flame-retardant foam. Firefighters put a boom around the boat to prevent fuel from spreading. By the evening, the vessel listed to starboard side and settled to the bottom, with most of the vessel hidden below the water. The firefighters had an easier time putting the fire out once the vessel tipped over, but remaining hot spots on the deck of the wheel house were smouldering until 7 p.m. The Canadian Coastguard arrived later in the night and took control of the scene. Divers were at the wharf in the morning of Dec 12 to examine the hull for any leaks. The fire fighters were able to prevent the fire from damaging the wharf. On Dec 12 a mobile crane and divers were on site to attach lifting bags. Once afloat, the wreck was to be towed to Fortune where a syncro lift was available to pull the ship out of the water. Reports with photos: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/fire-sinks-grand-bank-boat-1.4942293 https://www.thelabradorian.ca/news/regional/coast-guard-monitoring-clean-up-and-removal-after-boat-fire-at-grand-bank-267738/

74 passengers were evacuated from the "Aurora Explorer" after a rope drifting from a fish farm fouled the propeller in the afternoon of Dec 12, 2018, during a whale safari at Skjervøy. The accident happend in calm seas, and the patrolboat "Heimdal" of the Norwegian Coastguard 'was nearby. There was a total of 81 people on board, among them a crew of seven. The Coast Guard ordered the evacuation of the catamaran, and the speedboat "Kvænangen", 144 gt (IMO: 9353929), was called, and the passengers, donned with life vests, they were transferred onto the other ship which transported the tourists to Skjevøy. The operation took about two hours. The tourists returned to Tromsø by bus. At 7 p.m. the crew managed to remove the rope from the propeller from the rope and headed to Tromsø at 20 knots speed. On July 15 the ship had allided with a dock in Barentsburg. 34 people were injured. The cause of the accident was an increase of speed of the engine when the ship was about to dock. Norwegian report with photos: https://www.nordlys.no/turisme/nord-troms/bat/turistbat-evakuert-etter-at-den-fikk-tau-i-propellen/s/5-34-1023746

Jordan wants to build a refinery at Aqaba, to process Iraqi crude from a planned pipeline linking Basra to the Red Sea-facing port, as the country aims to reduce its energy imports by 2020, its oil minister said on Tuesday. “Currently the refinery [at Zarqa] is being upgraded. If there will be a pipeline from Iraq, we will be looking to build a new refinery in Aqaba,” Hala Zawati said. “[We’re building] another one so that white product can be immediately exported through Aqaba.”

Ten bridges will be built in Istanbul, as part of the construction of a shipping channel, Turkish media reported referring to the Transport and Infrastructure Minister of the country Mehmet Cahit Turhan on Nov. 15. Turhan noted that the construction of the shipping channel will begin in 2019. The minister also noted that the project is one of the most important and priority projects in Turkey. The intention to implement the project of construction of the Istanbul shipping channel was announced for the first time in 2011 by the current President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The "W.B. Yeats" has been handed over to Irish Ferries on Dec 12, 2018. The ship, originally due to have been delivered in July, and subsequently delayed until September, was finally expected to arrive in Dublin next week. The delays and cancellations disrupted the holiday plans of around 19,000 customers. The setback was due to what German shipbuilder Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft & Co.KG described this summer as delays in the delivery of interior components for public areas and on the electrical system installation in the hull and deckhouse. Sailings between Dublin Port and Cherbourg are now available to book for 2019, with the new ship set to begin serving the route from mid-March. It will provide passengers with a unique and memorable cruise-style travel experience and can accommodate 1,800 passengers across 440 cabins, including luxury suites with stunning private balcony sea views and a dedicated butler service. Décor will feature famous works of literature from Yeats and other well-known artists and entertainment is provided at The Abbey and The Peacock cinema.

On the Waal near Doornenburg the "Roos", 688 ts (EU-No.: 06003217), suffered severe water ingress in the morning of Dec 13, 2018. The ship was loaded with iron slag. It was berthed in the port of Tolkamer at 9 a.m. where rescue services attended to dewater the vessel. It was coming from Mannheim and had left the port of Wesel at 6.15 a.m. Dutch report with photo: https://www.omroepgelderland.nl/nieuws/2392928/Schip-in-nood-op-Waal-bij-Doornenburg

The Port of Mombasa this year expects to handle a total throughput of slightly over 31 million tons and 1.2 million Twenty Foot Equivalent (Teus) up from 30.35 million tons and 1.190 million Teus handled last year.

U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) company Cheniere Energy Inc officially opened its $15 billion Corpus Christi LNG export facility in Texas. The company, however, would not say when the first cargo will actually leave the facility, which produced its first LNG on Wednesday.