An employee of Clearwater Seafoods died following an accident that took place on the 'Anne Risley', which had been undergoing annual maintenance refits in Mulgrave, Nova Scotia, on Feb 22, 2024. It’s not clear what happened to the worker, but a stop-work order was put in place by Occupational Health and Safety Officers as they investigated the incident.
News
SPAR LYRA
The Portuguese Navy, through the MRSC Funchal, and in conjunction with the captain of the Port of Funchal, coordinated the medevac of an Indian crew member, aged 33, from the 'Spar Lyra' 63 nautical miles northwest of Funchal in the morning of Feb 26. The alert was received at ther MRSC Funchal at 4:50 a.m., with a disembarkation request. After a medical evaluation at the Mar Urgent Patient Guidance Center (CODU-Mar), the crew member was diagnosed with gastroenteritis and needed to be transported to a hospital. After the ship was authorized to approach the Port of Funchal, a vessel from the Funchal Lifeboat Station was mobilized and took the patient off at around 12:20 p.m. He was transported by a Funchal Firefighters ambulance to a hospital. The Local Command of the Maritime Police took charge of the incident. Report with photo: https://funchalnoticias.net/2024/02/26/marinha-coordenou-resgate-de-tripulante-de-navio/
San Diego
Matson, Inc., a leading U.S. carrier in the Pacific, and General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard christened the largest combination container/roll-on, roll-off (“con-ro”) ship ever built in the United States in a ceremony at the NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, CA on Saturday, June 15. The new vessel is named ‘Lurline,’ an iconic name in Matson’s long history, dating to the construction of Captain William Matson’s first ship of that name in 1887. Four more ships were given the name in subsequent years; this vessel will be the sixth. The new Lurline is the first of two new ships being built for Honolulu-based Matson by NASSCO at a total cost of approximately $500 million for the pair, and the third of four new vessels that Matson will put into service during 2018, 2019 and 2020. Named in honor of the ocean deity revered in the native Hawaiian culture, Matson’s two “Kanaloa Class” vessels under construction at the NASSCO shipyard are being built on a 3,500 TEU* vessel platform.
Philadelphia
Federal authorities have seized approximately 16.5 tons of cocaine from a ship at the Port of Philadelphia, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania tweeted Tuesday. The drugs were seized on a ship at the Packer Marine Terminal on the Delaware River. The U.S. Attorney’s office said the drug bust marks the largest drug seizure in the history of the district. The drugs have an estimated street value of approximately $1 billion the office said. The amount of drugs would rank in among the top drug seizures in U.S. history, including 21 tons of cocaine that was seized in California and 14 tons of cocaine in Texas both in 1989, Reuters reported. At least some crew members on board the ship have been arrested, the Attorney’s office said in another tweet.
NORUEGO
The crew of the 'Noruego' found the 54-year-old Michael Holt from Porthmadog, Gwynedd, North Wales, dead in the cabin of his boat 'Manadd' in the night of Feb 24, 2024, during an attempt to row across the Atlantic Ocean. He left Gran Canaria on Jan 27 on his 2,942-mile solo challenge from Gran Canaria to Barbados last month to raise money for two charities. But some 700 miles in, Holt, who had type 1 diabetes, fell ill. The 'Noruego' accepted a tasking from Cape Verde JRCC and made directly for Michael's coordinates. Report with photo: https://news.sky.com/story/michael-holt-british-man-dies-during-charity-row-across-the-atlantic-13081529
VLADIMIR LATYSHEV
The 'Vladimir Latyshev' aling with its seven sailors has been stranded in Saint-Malo for two years after being immobilized in response to Putin's invasion of Ukraine in Feb 2022. Since March 1, 2022, the bulk carrier has been stuck in the Vauban basin of Saint-Malo at the Jacques-Cartier quay after its arrival from St. Petersburg on Feb 28 with a cargo of 440 tons of magnesia and copper coils, which was seized too.
Kribi
International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) is poised to further strengthen its position as a global ports operator giant as it looks to add the Port of Kribi in Central Africa in its extensive portfolio. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, ICTSI said it has been declared by the Port Autonome de Kribi on June 14 as the preferred bidder for the concession of the development, operation, and maintenance of the multi-purpose terminal of the Port of Kribi.
Turku
Finnish shipyard Meyer Turku has officially begun constructing Carnival Cruise Line’s Mardi Gras. A traditional coin ceremony took place on 18 June to mark the start of the ship’s hull assembly. Mardi Gras is the second LNG-powered cruise ship being built at Meyer Turku and will have many innovations, including six themed zones and the world’s first roller coaster on a ship . One onboard highlight will be the Grand Central area, which has a floor-to-ceiling glass front. “We have been very excited to design and start assembling Carnival’s Mardi Gras,” said Jan Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku.
CARNIVAL MAGIC
The U.S. Coast Guard launched a searchfor a man who fell from the 'Carnival Magic' off the coast of Florida on Feb 26, 2024. The 35-year-old passenger got lost about 185 miles east of Jacksonville. Aircraft and ships were being used in the search. The man’s companion reported him missing in the late afternoon. Security footage on the ship showed that the man leaned over the railing of his stateroom balcony and dropped into the water at around 4 a.m. The Coast Guard released the ship from search efforts and told the captain to head back to port in Norfolk, Virginia.
NS BRAVO
The USA have pinned 14 of Sovcomflot's tankers, the 'Anatoly Kolodkin' NS Antarctic', 'NS Lion', 'Ns Consul', 'Ns Burgas', Ns Captain' 'NS Columbus', 'Sakhalin Island', 'Nevskiy Prospect', 'Georgy Maslov', 'Liteyny Prospect', 'Krymsk' 'Ns Creation' and 'Ns Bravo', giving the Russian shipping company 45 days to unload oil and other cargo. The company is being prosecuted for violating the crude price cap in force since December 2022. This battalion of clandestine ships, owned by companies with opaque ownership to conceal illicit operations, has been in the crosshairs of the Western coalition for many months with widely documented practices such as STS oil transfer operations and deactivation of AIS, with the fleet constantly expanding. The Office of Foreign Asset Control of the Treasury (OFAC) has designated the 14 tankers in which Sovcomflot has an interest, and in particular 12 of the 75 vessels operated by the Oil Tankers SCF Management FZCO, a company which had to inherit part of of the SCF fleet when the latter was forced to sell or disperse to companies abroad following international sanctions. The first inclusion of SCF on the international sanctions list (United Kingdom, European Union, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, etc.) dates back to 2022 and concerned financial transactions involving long-term debt or new shares. The company has 45 days to unload oil and other cargo, but OFAC has not banned transactions for its other tankers and has even made it clear to oil traders that they can continue to use the large majority of the Russian carrier's fleet without repercussions, which claims 147 ships. Capping the price of oil, which consists of applying a discount per barrel of crude compared to the market price but without harming the stability of international markets, aims to limit the resources that Russia earns from the sale of hydrocarbons. Russia sold its oil in January at a discount of $19 per barrel compared to Brent (international benchmark) compared to $12 to $13 per barrel in October. With a barrel at this price, Russia therefore received 75% of the oil revenue it should have received, or 25% less. At the same time, Russian military spending has increased by 60%, leading many observers to say that the system is ineffective, due to a lack of monitoring and control means. 196 tankers, identified as belonging to the clandestine fleet, had left Russian ports in December 2023. Five new shipping companies based in the United Arab Emirates have started to transport Russian crude since November 2023. The US Treasury has sanctioned 27 oil companies for violating the price cap since October, when the cap was implemented.
Waterford
A Dutch shipping line will open up Waterford port to new international trade routes when it commences a weekly service on the Waterford to Rotterdam route which will act as a deep-sea feeder for Irish importers and exporters. BG Freight Line, in partnership with global shipping giant Maersk, is to commence the service on July 6th to support industry in the southeast. Effectively the move will allow goods travelling from Waterford to continue through Rotterdam to other ports such as Shanghai, whereas previously goods for destinations beyond Europe would typically have shipped from Dublin.
Haifa
The US has once again warned Israel to reconsider Chinese investment in the port of Haifa in Israel. This warning, contained within a major spending bill currently passing through the Senate, follows a review late last year into the deal that would see China's state-owned Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) operate the terminal for 25 years.