News

The Argentine Naval Prefecture responded to an emergency declared by the captain of the 'Papu Mar', which was navigating at kilometer 77 of the Paso Banco Chico channel on April 20, 2025. Due to the ingress of water, the nine crew abandoned the vessel and took refuge on a barge, where they were later rescued by the National Maritime Authority. They were safely transferred to the Port of La Plata for medical attention. The 'Papu Mar' remained partially sunken and did not pose a danger to navigation on the main shipping route. The barge, carrying 153 containers, remained attached to the tug, and no cargo losses were reported. The Prefecture was conducting inspections and verifying possible environmental damage through an overflight. Meanwhile, the tug 'Ona Don Lorenzo' was assisting the barge to prevent it from drifting into the navigation channel. Report with photo: https://portalportuario.cl/prefectura-naval-argentina-rescata-a-tripulantes-de-remolcador-que-decreto-emergencia-en-canal-paso-banco-chico/

The fire aboard the 'Delphine' has been finally extinguished. Although the fire was brought under control fairly quickly on the day itself, there was still a risk of re-emergence in recent days. This was partly because there were also electric cars on board. The Bruges fire brigade was able to open and ventilate the hold with the burnt-out cars without any problems on April 18. This had to be done carefully, because otherwise there was a chance that the fire would flare up again. First the fire fighters opened the ship's hatches. Then the vessels's ventilation system was gradually activated, which all went off without incident. There was no longer any danger of the fire flaring up again. The deck is accessible again.It is not yet clear when the burned-out cars will be removed from the ship. It is estimated that at least 100 cars have been destroyed.

The PORT OF KIEL has redesigned the port apron in Ostuferhafen, which is the freight and logistics centre on the fjord. Where once stood a grain silo, there is now an expanded pre-stacking and stand-by area of three hectares for trucks, trailers and pas-senger cars.The State Premier of Schleswig- Holstein, Daniel Günther, visited the Ostufer-hafen on 12th August to hand over the grant notice coming from the State Programme Economy for 5.44 million Euros: The project to redesign the port apron included dismantling three hall areas of the former grain silo, excavation and road works as well as drainage, lighting and security measures and the connection of the area to the infrastructure. Through the new and generous port apron it has been possible to merge formerly separated pre-stacking areas, shorten distances and gain more space for trucks, busses, trailers and passenger cars. Furthermore, IT solutions have been developed to accelerate the handling processes at the gate, which also allow truck drivers to reduce personal contact.Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director at the PORT OF KIEL: “Even under the current circumstances the Ostuferhafen operates in a reliable and safe way. The port of Kiel has proven its systemic importance regarding the transshipment of cross-border freight transport.”In the first seven months of the year 2.1 million tons of cargo have been tran-shipped via the Ostuferhafen (+ 1 %). Additional volumes have been transported by the ferries of the DFDS shipping company to the Baltic States or they have been delivered by the SCA-RoRo-freighters from Scandinavia. Not only general cargo and forest products are unloaded resp. transhipped in Ostuferhafen but also project and heavy cargo, scrap metal and agricul-tural products. The integrated passenger terminal to handle cruise vessels emphasizes the universal character of this port part.

Vessells

On April 19, 2025, at about 9 a.m. the captain of the 'Sorlandet' requested assistance from the CROSS Jobourgm after one ofcrew member had fallen ill, when the training ship was sailing approximately six nautical miles off the coast of Flamanville, bound for the Netherlands. The lifeboat 'La Regnouse' of the Dielette SNSM station, took charge of the sick young sailor and two companions. It brought him back to the port of Dielette where he was treated by the firefighters initially. He was then transported to the Pasteur Hospital in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. On the morning of April 20, 2025, the SNSM brought the two companions back aboard the sail training ship.

On April 16, 2025, at around 11:34 a.m, the ferry ''Frisia E 1' (IMO: 1013250) was in collision with the 'Frisia II', in the Norddeich ferry port (Aurich district) while casting off. The accident caused a hole approximately 30 x 30 centimetres on the port side above the waterline. No one was injured, and no environmental damage was caused. The further investigations were being carried out by the Water Police Emden The ferry has not been operational since the accident. The damagewas repaired in the port. On the morning of April 16, the department of the German Transport Accident Insurance Association responsible for ship safety, was able to release the ship. The 'Frisia E-1' was back in service by 12:30 p.m. The 'Frisia II' also suffered minor damage. Report with photos: https://www.norderney-zs.de/magazin/news/kollision-des-e-kat-mit-der-frisia-ii/

The Port of Beirut (PoB) resumed partial operations on Aug 10 with the first two container ships berthing in the container terminal after the explosion which killed at least 160 persons, injured thousands and made hundred thousands homeless. Out of 16 cranes at the container terminal, 12 were currently operational. The port was gradually resuming operations to ensure the supply of all kinds of goods to citizens. Bassem Al Kaissi, the new Director of the PoB, said that the container terminal will be fully operational by Aug 14. Al Kaissi said that 420 containers were unloaded on Aug 10. The container terminal storage area has been cleaned up and restored to its state before the blast. The container terminal represents 80 percent of the overall cargo movement at the PoB. It is located one kilometer away from the blast epicenter. Container vessels can dock at quay number 16. Shipping movement at the PoB had already plunged by 75 percent due to the economic crisis and has reached 15 percent following the blast. Customs have opened offices in the PoB’s warehouse number 14 which was partially damaged. The customs have become able to carry out the inspection of merchandise- Customs duties are being temporarily paid at the Rafic Hariri International Airport. Tthe PoB is now handling only full containers as groupage consignment requires warehouses which don’t exist now. Amer Al Kaissi said groupage, which represents 15 percent of shipments at the PoB, will be diverted to the Port of Tripoli until the rebuilding of warehouses at the PoB is completed. The first two containerships to berth at the PoB after the blast were the 'Electra' (Gezairi Transport) and the 'Nicolas Delmas' (CMA CGM). The 'Electra', which was carrying 400 containers, was diverted to Tripoli where there was a license to operate but the company insisted to unload it in Beirut when it was told that the PoB has resumed operation. The CMA CGM Group and CEVA Logistics said they are fully operational and ensuring business continuity to serve their customers. The Group has redeployed its employees in its two back-up sites in Beirut Digital District and reinforced its presence in Tripoli. Part of CMA CGM’s vessels has been temporarily directed to Tripoli. Few shipping companies are authorized to operate in other ports such as Tripoli or Saida. BCTC, the Customs and the PoB’s authorities did their best to handle the clearing formalities despite the difficult working conditions. The general cargo area was fully operational on Aug 12 both for imports and exports. This includes wheat and other grains as well as construction steel bars. The cost of rebuilding the port is estimated at around $1 billion.

Ships

Algerian coastguard units carried out a rescue operation off the coast of Cap Matifou on the evening of, April 18. Three British tourists were medevaced from the 'Spirit of Discovery'. The ship had sailed from Gibraltar and was heading for Malta. It issued a distress signal 16 nautical miles northwest of Cape Matifou after three British passengers were in a dangerous condition. The National Maritime Surveillance and Rescue Operations Center, part of the Coast Guard's Naval Forces Command, immediately launched a two-stage rescue and evacuation operation. An MS-66 helicopter belonging to the 560th Search and Rescue Helicopter Squadron (1st Military Region) and a lifeboat from the Dellys Territorial Coast Guard Group (1st Military Region) were deployed. The patients were taken off and subsequently transferred to the Mustapha Pacha University Hospital (CHU) for medical treatment.

On April 16, 2025, at around 11:34 a.m, the ''Frisia E 1' was in collision with another island ferry, the 'Frisia II (IMO: 7723974)', in the Norddeich ferry port (Aurich district) while casting off. The accident caused a hole approximately 30 x 30 centimetres on the port side above the waterline. No one was injured, and no environmental damage was caused. The further investigations were being carried out by the Water Police Emden The ferry has not been operational since the accident. The damagewas repaired in the port. On the morning of April 16, the department of the German Transport Accident Insurance Association responsible for ship safety, was able to release the ship. The 'Frisia E-1' was back in service by 12:30 p.m. The 'Frisia II' also suffered minor damage. Report with photos: https://www.norderney-zs.de/magazin/news/kollision-des-e-kat-mit-der-frisia-ii/

Ships

Ships