The 'Sankt Petersburg' ran aground near Kronstadt Port in pos. 59° 54.18' N 030° 05.53' E in the night of March 24, 2024, while navigating the Kronstadt ship fairway. The North-Western Transport Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation into the incident, which occurred en route from the Big Port of St. Petersburg. Despite salvage efforts, the ship remaind immobilized, while no injuries or oil spills have been reported. A diving surveywas underway, with towing companies awaiting clearance to commence the vessel's retrieval. The ship had left St. Petersburg on March 24 at 11 p.m. UTC, and was bound for Nava Sheva, India, carrying various containers, including one with hazardous cargo—turpentine.
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GUARDAMAR CALIOPE
On March 26 at 11:35 p.m. Canary Islands time the 'Guardamar Calíope' rescued 53 people from a cayuco about 110 miles south of Gran Canaria. A merchant ship had located the cayuco, and the Sasemar 101 plane and the Helimer 201 helicopter were dispatched to locate the boat. The response was corrdinated by the JRCC of Salvamento Marítimo in Las Palmas. Photos: https://twitter.com/salvamentogob/status/1772911324940447799
Iskenderun
The fire at the Port of Iskenderun has finally been extinguished, Turkey's ministry of defense announced on Feb 7. It was the second time that the ministry has reported that the fire has been put out; after the previous announcement, the blaze resumed at scale, and firefighters managed to contain it later that night. Iskenderun's container terminal is still closed due to the severe structural damage, which forced the facility to halt all operations. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck southern Turkey on Feb 6 had a significant impact on the port, toppling stacks of containers and cracking pavement. The physical damage is severe enough that container lines were diverting vessels to other ports, like nearby Mersin. The quake also sparked a fire in the center of the terminal's container storage area. Turkey's coast guard deployed a vessel to apply water from the quayside, and the Turkish air force and army sent aircraft to drop fire retardant on the blaze. The fire spread despite these efforts, but was finally contained in the night of Feb 7. Report with video: https://maritime-executive.com/article/fire-at-port-of-iskenderun-extinguished-after-two-days
Singapore
On Dec 1, 2022, at about 3 p.m. the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was informed that 15 empty containers at Keppel Terminal had fallen from the wharf into the water as a result of strong winds during a squall. There were no reported injuries and no immediate impact to port operations. The MPA deployed two patrol crafts to monitor and cordon off the affected area to facilitate recovery work by PSA Corporation Ltd. MPA’s Port Operations Control Centre has restricted all vessel movements in the vicinity of Keppel Terminal until the containers were recovered.
CARNIVAL SUNRISE
The 'Carnival Sunrise' faced undefined flooding on its way back to Miami from a five-day Caribbean cruise on MArch 23, 2024, at around 2 a.m. Cabins were flooed with two to four inches of water. Passengers were told to go to their muster station. The vessel had taken on water, as bad weather had impacted the route. The crew distributed bottled water and a small number of blankets to passengers who got off the ship shortly after 8 a.m. Some staterooms were taken out of service for the next departure as the Carnival team completed clean up and replaced carpet. Those guests who were not able to sail were provided full refunds, a future cruise credit and received overnight accommodations if they needed them.
SALVAMAR SIRIUS
On March 27, the motore boat 'Puca', with three crew members on board, suffered an engine breakdown in the southern Agaró Bay (Sant Feliu de Guíxols). The CCS Barcelona of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the 'Salvamar Sirius', which took the boat in tow and safely pulled it to Palamós.
Iskenderun
Thick black smoke was rising from burning containers at Iskenderun Port on Feb 6, 2023. The fire was caused by containers that toppled over during the powerful earthquake that struck southeast Turkey. ATurkish Coast Guard vessel was assisting efforts to extinguish the blaze.
Kerch
Russia's Ministry of Transport has set up a ferry service across the Kerch Strait to take over vehicle traffic, offsetting some of the impact of the damage to the Kerch Strait Bridge after a truck was blown up on the westbound road deck of the Kerch Strait Bridge on Oct 7 at about 6 a.m. Two spans of the westbound deck collapsed into the water, but the adjacent eastbound deck remained in place. The blast's timing coincided with the passage of a fuel train on the adjacent rail deck, and it ignited seven fuel tank cars, which burned for hours after the explosion. A Russian salvage diving team has arrived on the site and is completing an underwater survey of the damage, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said Sunday. An above-water inspection process is already under way. Traffic had partially resumed on the bridge by late Saturday, though restricted by the extent of the damage. Russia's Ministry of Transport said that it also resumed suburban commuter rail service over the rail track, though not heavy freight trains. Two ferries are already in operation to provide a bypass route, and eight separate parking lots have been set up for temporary storage for cars and trucks waiting to make the crossing. Two more ferries will join the effort on Monday, the Yeysh and Mriya.
BINTANG MULIA 2
The 'Bintang Mulia 2', carrying 42 containers containing basic necessities including chicken eggs, cooking oil, flour, corn, plant seeds, fertilizer, Coca Cola drinks and electronic goods, from Medan to Batam for the people of the Riau Islands, sank in Tanjung Sibunga, in the waters of the Malacca Strait, on March 24 2024, at around 9.50 p.m. WIB. The ship suffered a list of around 15 degrees in the afternoon before finally sinking completely at night. The crew of the ship was rescued and interviewed by the relevant agencies at the Tanjung Beringin Harbour Master's Office. Report with photo: https://www.batamnews.co.id/berita-110288-km-bintang-mulia-2-yang-tenggelam-berisi-pasokan-sembako-dari-medan-ke-kepri.html
SALVAMAR DRACO
On March 27, a container fell into the sea at the height of the synchrolift in the port of Cartagena. The Port Authority requested assistance, and the CCS Cartagena mobilized the 'Salvamar Draco', which towed it to the Navantia dock for recovery. Photo: https://twitter.com/salvamentogob/status/1773009823245676701
Kiel
The Port of Kiel expects another good season in 2023, resulting in 218 cruise calls, said its MD Dirk Claus in the morning of Jan 17, 2023, as part of a presentation reflecting on last year's results. It follows 2022's record-breaking 244 calls, which saw the port handle over 2.24m passengers, 836,000 of those from cruise vessels. The number of calls in 2019 was 37% less by comparison, numbering 178, and passenger volumes 4.1% lower. 2020 had been forecast to become a record season for Kiel, with 200 calls and 880,000 passengers, but aspirations were dashed owing to the pandemic. This year, a number of larger vessels are scheduled to arrive at Kiel on multiple occasions making the gross tonnage of arriving ships similar to 2022. For 2023, the choice of routes and destinations approached from Kiel will be slightly broader. Moving into the future, Claus expects Kiel to settle on between 200 and 250 cruise calls annually. According to the port, last year’s promising results were the result of ‘intense planning’ with international cruise operators. While 11 calls were cancelled owing to the conflict in Ukraine and the resulting loss of St Petersburg from itineraries, nine were newly added as a result of rerouting by operators. Looking ahead, there will be a strong focus on greener shipping with Claus hoping that between 60 and 100 calls can be supplied with green shore power this year. He stated that Kiel will continue to look at strengthening shore power in line with its corporate sustainability strategy to lower carbon emissions. Work on the new Ostuferhafen shore power plant is expected to conclude towards the end of this year, resulting in Kiel being able to offer shoreside connectivity at all its ferry and cruise terminals from 2024. Along with this €17m investment, a further €2m will be invested to install solar arrays. The systems, which will be fitted on roofs at Kiel Port, are intended to cover up to 30% of the port's electricity requirements in the long term. Kiel’s first call is expected to arrive April 7 with the river vessel 'Frederic Chopin'. The first cruise ship of the season, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ 'Balmoral', will arrive a week later. The largest ships to call will be 'MSC Euribia' and 'AIDAnova'. At the other end of the scale, the 'Ocean Majesty' will visit Kiel on six occasions while chartered to Hansa Touristik. The vessel, which celebrates its 57th anniversary this year, is popular with the German source market. One of its calls is scheduled to occur on June 18 during the Kieler Woche sailing festival which will run from June 17-25. Traditionally, this marks the peak of the cruise season with this year no exception: 22 calls are expected by Kiel at the same time as the event takes place. While the highest number of calls is expected between mid-April and the end of September as usual, some ships will continue to call later in the year. 'AIDAnova'’s last departure is scheduled for November 4 whilst December 20 will see Phoenix Reisen's 'Amera' arrive at Kiel as part of a pre-Christmas itinerary. The season will draw to a close a few days later with the 'Spirit of Discovery' on December 29. Costa-, AIDA-, MSC- and TUI Cruises will again be the port's largest cruise customers. The majority of calls account for turnarounds serving the German-speaking source markets, but a number of transit calls will also take place, P&O Cruises’ Britannia, Swiss Ruby, Holland America Line’s 'Nieuw Statendam' and Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ 'Seven Seas Splendor' among them. As in previous years, the Ostuferhafen outside the city centre will be heavily utilised by MSC Cruises and most other cruise ships will arrive at the Ostseekai.
Kerch
The Crimean Bridge across Kerch Strait suffered an explosion and fire in the morning of Oct 8, 2022. Two spans of the motorway bridge collapsed and fell into the water, the railway bridge above the motorway witha cargo train including railway car tanks with fuel, was on fire. All bridge traffic was suspended. The Crimean Bridge was more than a Bridge, both for Russia and Ukraine. For Russia it was a symbol of the Russian “victory” and historical justice. For the Ukraine, it was a symbol of the Russian aggression and Crimea occupation. The navigation span of the Bridge is yet undamaged, and therefore, the Kerch Strait Channel remained navigable. The Kerch Strait Transit is from now on, however, a risky undertaking, so all ship owners are advised to calculate risks and probably, change their ships voyages, avoiding Azov sea calls.