The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was notified on April 16, 2024, of a fire aboard the 'Layar Tanggun 8' in Singapore territorial waters off Pedra Branca. All 12 crew members have been safely recovered by a Singapore Police Coast Guard craft and were transported to Singapore.. A firefighting vessel from the Singapore Civil Defence Force and MPA patrol craft, including tugs, were mobilized to combat the fire. No pollution was reported, and there was no immediate risk to navigational safety. The MPA was issuing regular navigational broadcasts for passing vessels to keep clear of the vicinity of the burning ship.
News
MSC ARIES
After Britain's Merchant Shipping Authority UKMTO announced that the 'MSC Aries' was seized near the Strait of Hormuz between the United Arab Emirates and Iran, about 50 nautical miles northeast of the port city of Fujairah, the British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps has called on Iran to release the detained ship. He called the seizure unacceptable and a blatant violation of international law, and called for the immediate and unconditional release of the ship and crew. The Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari threatened consequences if Iran decided to escalate further. Expert Hasan Alhasan from the International Institute for Strategic Studies speculated that the seizure could be in retaliation for the attack on the consulate in Damascus in order to save face without causing a major escalation.
Mumbai
The Government of Maharashtra, India, India has named the Virgin Hyperloop One – DP World Consortium as Original Project Proponent (OPP) for the Pune-Mumbai Hyperloop Project, making it the first hyperloop project in the world. In a statement, Virgin Hyperloop One described it as a “landmark announcement” for the building of the Mumbai-Pune hyperloop transportation system.
Balboa
Starting August 1 and until November 30, 2019, the Panama Canal will promote the implementation of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) annual recommendations on speed and maritime transit aimed at protecting cetaceans, which include whales, dolphins and other large aquatic mammals, during their nearby seasonal migration. With these measures, ships should proceed at a speed of not more than 10 knots in specified areas. Panama has monitored this requirement since December 1, 2014 when maritime traffic separation devices (TSS) were installed by both the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean entry points to the Canal.
MV KARAR
A police officer who has been detained in Vigo and removed for possible links to drug trafficking in connection with the seizure of the 'Karar', will finally testify in the trial. The defenses, after his arrest in March, requested that he not testify for his accusations and urged Internal Affairs to clarify whether it investigated the mysterious lack of 60 kilos of cocaine among the 3,824 kilos seized from the tug. The Pontevedra Court has resolved that he will testify as he is the main witness of the National Police. The trial begins on April 17, 2024, in Vigo. The chief inspector of the National Police who served as liaison for the Ministry of the Interior in Colombia until March, was arrested in Vigo last month.
KBV 003
Divers from the Swedish Coast Guard have, in connection with an exercise, dived on the seabed in the Pukavik Bay to find any oil which could have leaked from the the grounding of the roro ferry 'Marco Polo' in Oct 2023. So far no oil has been found. The descended from the 'KBV 003-Amfitrite' in the area on three occasions. The locations that have been relevant have been selected based on received information about suspected oil finds. Some places have been designated by the County Administrative Board in Blekinge County. Visibility below the surface has varied from good to non-existent. The oil that leaked from the 'Marco Polo' was of a type that under certain conditions sinks below the surface, can drift with currents or completely sink and settle to the bottom. When the temperature in the sea rises, there is the possibility that it will rise to the surface again or reach the shore. Any oil finds are reported to the municipality concerned and to the Norwegian Maritime and Water Authority. Report with photo: https://www.kustbevakningen.se/nyheter/resultatlosa-dykningar-efter-olja-i-pukaviksbukten/
Mombasa
The new Lamu Port in Kenya took a big step towards completion yesterday with the announcement that its first of 22 berths is finished. According to the South Sudan and Ethiopia Transport Corridor Development Authority, the second and third berths will be completed by December 2020.
Montevideo
Shandong BaoMa Fisheries Group has shelved plans to build a port in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo that could accommodate 500 Chinese vessels, amid legal complications and strong opposition from local residents and environmental organisations. The US$200 million project, which included a free trade zone, shipyard and fish processing and freezing plants, on a private 28-hectare site in Punta Yeguas, a mostly rural area with a public park, required a change in the legal designation of the land.
VLADIMIR LATYSHEV
A company is demanding €600,000 from the owner of the 'Vladimir Latyshev', which has been detained in Saint-Malo on March 1, 2022, after the start of the Russian war in Ukraine. The ship was to deliver steel coils to Algiers. On April 16, 2024, the Saint-Malo commercial court had to resolve the financial dispute between the buyer of the goods transported by the ship at the time of its immobilization and two Russian companies, the owner and the operator.
FRANCISCO Y CATA
The 'Francisco y Cata' suffered an engine failure and went adrift three nautical miles from the mouth of the Rota marina on April 16, 2024, and requested towing assistance. The CCS Cádiz of Salvamnto Marítimo mobilized the SAR vessel 'Salvamar Suhail', which safely pulled the boat to Rota. Report with photos: https://twitter.com/salvamentogob/status/1780308539812073907
Hamburg
The Port of Hamburg, Germany’s largest universal port, saw its inland and hinterland cargo traffic grow by 12.1% – 2.57 million tons – in the first quarter of 2019, according to its latest financial results. The data also shows that, for the first quarter of 2019, the Port has handled 34,640 TEU – 20ft standard containers – an increase of 20% in comparison with the same period last year.
Mumbai
Mumbai Port’s decision to raise the draft level to 10.3 metres and 11 metres to dock vessels at BPX and BPS respectively, subject to low tides being over 60 cm has been welcomed by maritime fraternity. This has avoided the waiting period for the vessels arriving with deep drafts till the tide is favorable for berthing. At times, such vessels had to arrange for discharging the import cargo for reducing the draft in stream and only subsequently berth at BPX/BPS.