Two members of the engineering crew on the 'Matanuska' tested positive for COVID-19 on a trip from Washington state to Juneau on April 17, 2021. No passengers were identified as close contacts. The ferry was underway from Bellingham to Ketchikan when one crew member began showing symptoms of the virus. The captain, following the ship’s COVID-19 protocols, quarantined the crew member in the cabin with the ventilation system turned off. The crew member tested positive for the virus at Ketchikan Hospital. He was isolating at a hotel in Ketchikan. Testing and contact tracing revealed one other engineering crew member who tested positive for the virus. That person stayed aboard the ferry until it arrived in Juneau. Both crew members will remain isolated for at least 10 days, state officials say. The crew will receive follow-up testing in Ketchikan on April 21.
News
OPEN ARMS
The 'Open Arms' was subject of a PSC at the general cargo terminal 1 in port of Pozzallo on April 17. The vessel has been placed under administrative detention in accordance with the Paris MoU. The checks lasted for about 17 hours, ending in the evening. The Italian Coast Guard found some deficiencies regarding navigational safety and protection of the marine environment. The PSC detention will remain in force until the defiencies have been rectified.
ST WIND
On April 19, 2021, the authorities of the port of Nakhodka detained the 'ST Wind' due to outstanding wages of the crew. The debt exceeded two million rubles. There were 16 crew members on board. At present, representatives of the FERO RPSM and the transport police were working on the ship. The owner of the vessel is the same company that owns the 'Port May' which was previously detained in Kamchatka due to crew salary arrears and technical malfunctions.
GHANA
On April 18, 2021, the 'Ghana' ran aground in vicinity 11 46 27.82N, 124 52 44.71E, at the breakwater of the port of Catbalogan. The cause of the grounding was suspected to have been strong winds and waves brought by the typhoon Surigae. The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office in Catbalogan City were monitoring the situation. They have advised the residents living in the area to evacuate in case the vessel drifts closer and allides their houses.
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.
Kiel
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.
