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The "Helm" suffered engine trouble in the Red Sea northwest of Yanbu in the evening of Aug 20, 2019. The AIS was turned off with the last port of call having been Caofeidian, and reappeared on Aug 20. The tanker was adrift about 30 miles off the Saudi Arabian coast. The offshore supply tug "Swissco Supplier" (IMO: 9397078) arrived on size on Aug 21 at 4 a.m.

The stranded migrants onboard the "Open Arms" disembarked the vessel at the port of Lampedusa late last in the night of Aug 20 after spending 19 days at sea after an Italian prosecutor ordered the seizure of the ship. Almost 100 migrants, rescued off the coast of Libya, had been on the ship. On Aug 20 15 of them jumped off the boat in a desperate suicidal bid to escape the deteriorating conditions. People were sleeping side by side on deck and forced to share just two toilets. On Aug 19 eight migrants on board the rescue ship required urgent medical attention and were evacuated from the Spanish vessel to the Italian port of Lampedusa. One other migrant accompanying them also disembarked. After the ship docked, one by one, the migrants walked down the gangway Many were limping and some were bandaged. Italy's hard-line interior minister Matteo Salvini had refused to let the ship dock. There were possible kidnapping charges against Salvini because of his refusal to let the ship dock. The 83 people on board received immediate assistance on land. Open Arms said that the Italian seizure of its ship was a price the charity had to pay to get the migrants the help they need. Spain was sending the navy ship "Audaz" to Lampedusa to help care for the migrants and escort them and the Open Arms vessel to Mallorca. Several European nations, including France, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal and Romania, have offered to accept the migrants. A second ship, the "Ocean Viking" — operated by French charities Doctors Without Borders and SOS Mediterranean — was also at sea with 356 mainly Sudanese migrants looking for a safe port. Migrants picked up by the Libyan coast guard are returned to Libya and housed in migrant detention centers near Tripoli. Some of those centers are caught in the fighting between rival Libyan governments. Two missiles slammed into one detention center last month, killing 53. Reports with photos: https://www.voanews.com/europe/migrants-leave-spanish-charity-ship https://www.euronews.com/2019/08/20/eight-migrants-urgently-evacuated-from-open-arms-rescue-boat

The Port of Salalah, Oman’s major regional gateway port and transshipment hub on the Arabian Sea, set another record in productivity with a delivering 412.97 Port Moves per Hour (PMPH) on vessel Cap San Tainaro handling 3,820 moves in a port stay of 9.25 hours. This is the highest productivity delivered by any port in the region till date.

The Croatian government said it would help a troubled shipyard owned by Uljanik, the country’s largest shipbuilder, resume production. The government, which owns a 25% stake in Uljanik, said in March that it would not back a proposed restructuring plan for the group due to the financial burden it would place on the state. However, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that the government was willing to support 3.Maj, which is located in the northern Adriatic port of Rijeka and is one of the group’s two shipyards, because it did not have as big a debt burden. “Unlike Uljanik, the 3.Maj is not an overly indebted company and there is an interest in the construction of new ships,” Plenkovic told a televised press conference after a government meeting. He said the government expected 3.Maj to draft a plan for its future operations.

On Aug 21, 2019, around 11 a.m. the "Eemstrom", 2127 ts (EU-No.: 02320418), whilst coming from Den Oever, slammed into the gate of the Oranje lock of the Willem-Alexanderkolk near Schellingwoude in Amsterdam. The lock was closed, and technicians of Rijkswaterstaat were called to repair the damaged gate which was expected to last at least until the evening of Aug 22. Divers investigated the submerged part of the gate. There was no passage for ships longer than 95 meters from the east side of the IJ. The tanker remained berthed off the lock. Dutch report with video: https://www.at5.nl/artikelen/196254/tankschip-ramt-sluis-bij-schellingwoude-sluis-minstens-tot-vannacht-dicht

The "Sydfart" ran aground west of Kolsundet outside Stallarholmen on Aug 19, 2019. The grounding occurred when the ship left Stallarholmen's grain port with a load of rapeseed. The planned destination was Karlshamn. At 9.55 p.m. environmental protection vessel "KBV 050" of the Swedish the Coast Guard's was mobilzed. While the ship was hard aground, there was no water ingress and no oil leakage,. The crew of three remained on board. Representatives of the insurance company, the Swedish Transport Administration's maritime inspection and a tug as well as work boats and divers were on scene. Divers have examined the bottom of the ship so that salvage work can be done without damage. There were three empty containers on board that should be filled with water to create a counterbalance during the salvage work. An initial attempt to pull off the "Sydfart" was started in the afternoon of Aug 20. The plan was to tow her back to Stallarholmen's grain port. In the late afternoon, the ship was successfully refloated by the tug. Swedish report with photos: https://www.ekuriren.se/strangnas/k-markt-fartyg-pa-grund-vid-kolsundet-sm5212570.aspx

This is the 22nd marine port in Yilport Holding’s portfolio, and its first terminal in Italy. The company, ranked 12th among international container terminal operators by Drewry, targets to be ranked among the top 10 by 2025. Chairman Robert Yuksel Yildirim made the following remarks at the signing ceremony: “We have a strong presence in the Mediterranean. We are in Malta and operate seven ports between Spain and Portugal. Being able to enter Italy and work here in Taranto is like filling in the missing piece of a puzzle that we are building globally. The infrastructure was there but there was no one to take care of it. Our intention is to create another success story in Taranto. From today until the end of this year, we will be fixing cranes to ramp up business, visiting potential customers, and promote the container terminal. The project also aims to cooperate with local operators to improve cargo and ro-ro traffic.”

Palma de Mallorca, Marseille, Barcelona are a few of the European ports that the President of the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority, Pino Musolino, has sent a letter to in recent days, inviting his colleagues to meet in Venice to discuss the economic and environmental impact of the cruise industry and to draw up guidelines for a new sustainable approach to maritime tourism. The ports mentioned above have already accepted and other replies are expected in the coming days. A date will soon be set for a seminar on the issues, to be held in the Venice area.

After the "Ocean Quest" sank 70 miles off Fraserburgh after taking in water on Aug 18, a major probe is under way to establish how the ship sank. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) confirmed it was sending a team of investigators to the north-east. The investigation process could involve the use of remotely-operated vehicle surveys or divers. Specialists may also take photographs of the scene, retrieve the voyage data recorder if there is one, interview crew and witnesses and collect physical evidence. Skipper James Cowie thanked the emergency services who came to their aid and was now at home in Gardenstown.

In the evening of Aug 19, 2019, the "Freey" allided with the historical bascule bridge in Greifswald-Wieck. During the passage it hit with one of its two masts. No one was injured, but the bridge was barred for both vehicles and ships for investigations.

PSA International Pte Ltd (PSA) has completed the acquisition of Halterm Container Terminal (“Halterm”) in the Port of Halifax, Canada, from Macquarie Infrastructure Partners,a fund managed by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, following formal approval by the relevant regulatory authorities. Halterm is the only container terminal in Eastern Canada that can serve mega container vessels.

There is currently limited supply of marine gasoil at the Turkish port of Istanbul, sources said Friday, August 2, owing to limited cargo deliveries in the region.