News

On March 30, 2020, at 12.45 a.m. the Venezuelan flagged Coast Guard vessel “Naiguatá - GC 23”, 1500 dwt, capsized and sank in the Caribbean Sea after a collision with the RCGS 'Resolute'. It was on patrol tasks seven miles northwest of La Tortuga island. The Venezuelan vessel had ordered the cruise ship, which sailed in Venezuelan territorial waters, to set sail for Isla Margarita which is located east of the island of La Tortuga. The 'RCGS Resolute' probably came from the east and should therefore turn around. According to the Venezuelan authorities, the ships collided when the 'Naiguatá' escorted the cruise ship to the said port. The 44 crew members of the patrol ship were rescued by Venezuelan rescue services and were taken to the main station of the Coast Guard of La Guaira, Vargas. Their ship sank on a water deph of about 70 meters. The 'RCGS Resolute', enroute from Buenos Aires without passengers, headed to the port of Willemstad, Curaçao, where it docked in the morning of March 31 with some bow damage at the Motetwerf in Sint Anna Bay. Venezuela has indicated that there will be an investigation and a lawsuit. It was unclear why the Venezuelan authorities initially wanted to detain the ship which sailed in territorial waters and according to the law of the sea had the right of free passage as long as they comply with the regulations that the country has laid down, such as the prohibition of discharging oil or fishing without a license. Reports with photos: https://curacao.nu/marineschip-venezuela-gezonken-cruiseboot-vaart-door-naar-curacao/ https://www.infodefensa.com/latam/2020/04/01/noticia-resolute-resistio-registro-naiguata-asistio-buque-impacto.html https://www.conelmazodando.com.ve/asi-quedo-barco-pirata-portugues-que-hundio-buque-venezolano https://twitter.com/ConflictsW/status/1245076319924338700

On March 30, 76 passengers and 117 crew members of the 'Zaandam' showed flu-like symptoms. At least eight people have been infected with the virus. The 'Zaandam' hoped to be able to dock in Fort Lauderdale on April 2, so that passengers can disembark there to be treated or to be repatriated. On March 30, the Governor of Florida announced that the ship was not welcome. US President Donald Trump said in a news conference in the evening of March 31 that he will review the situation. Trump was going to consult with Governor Ron DeSantis about the possible admission of the vessel. People who did not show any symptoms of disease have previously been transferred to the 'Rotterdam' which has not yet been allowed to dock in the USA too.

Three South Korean brokerage firms, including Samsung Securities Co. Ltd., underwrote around 250 billion won ($208 million) of a subordinated debt on Abbot Point coal terminal in Australia in the second investment by South Korean institutions in the export terminal. Samsung and Hanwha Investment & Securities Co. Ltd. acquired 150 billion won of the five-year debt in aggregate for an expected yield of about 8%. They are selling them down to domestic institutional investors.

Carnival Cruise Line is to fully renovate and significantly expand Cruise Terminal F at Florida’s PortMiami to accommodate its Excel-class cruise ships, which will be the largest in its fleet and will be powered by LNG. Following approval from the Miami-Dade County Commission, Carnival has shared its plans to work with Miami-based design firm Berenblum Busch Architects to create a terminal with a simple and open layout. The terminal will be equipped with various technologies, such as facial recognition systems, to make the embarkation process quicker and safer. Terminal F is set to open in October 2022 to coincide with the arrival of Carnival’s second Excel-class ship (yet to be named) and is one of three dedicated to the line’s operations in Miami.

After its departure from Rotterdam on March 25, 2020, teh 'Lady-Anne Beau' experienced problems with its main engine while en route to Pasajes, where the ship was expected on March 31. Off Finistère it diverted to Brest where it arrived in the late afternoon of March 30. The freighter berthed at the east quay of the 5th basin where the necessary repairs were carried out. On March 231 at 5.15 p.m. the problem was fixed and the ship sailed again with a revised ETA as of April 2, 6 a.m.

Four crew members of the 'Voyager of the Seas' which has been moored off Port Kembla since April 1, 2020, were tested positive for corona virus. Only persons who had showed symptoms of were in close contact with passengers who previously had been tested positive have been tested too. The test kits had been supplied by the Australian health authorities.

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has signed a contract to supply Infraestructura Portuaria Mexicana (IPM) with two ship-to-shore (STS) and three rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes for the IPM Altamira terminal. The order, which also includes Kalmar SmartPort process automation solutions for the RTGs, was booked in Cargotec’s 2019 Q3 order intake with handover scheduled to be completed during Q1 of 2021. The IPM Altamira terminal is located on the Gulf of Mexico, in the state of Tamaulipas. The terminal’s current equipment fleet already includes one Kalmar STS crane, eight Kalmar RTGs and a variety of Kalmar mobile equipment such as terminal tractors and forklifts. The Kalmar STS cranes will be Super Post-Panamax size with an outreach of 21 container rows and have twin-lift capability with a capacity of 65 tonnes under the spreader.

ECOsubsea, the Norwegian cleantech firm with a unique hull cleaning technology has won contracts to clean in North European ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge thanks to the technology’s ability to remove all hull fouling from the water, the company said in its release. The technologically-advanced system has now been approved for use in the two North European ports following around 500 vessel cleanings in Southampton and Norway and its proven ability to meet strict environmental requirements. While hull cleaning is an important part of vessel efficiency it has become mired in controversy due to the high risk of invasive species being easily transferred across the oceans and becoming an environmental and economic hazard.

157 persons aboard the 'Celebrity Apex' have been tested positive for the corona virus. Until March 31 734 people have been tested. Until April 3 all persons aboard will have been tested. The bulk of the evacuations was scheduled for next week. The health status of the 'Celebrity Apex' in Saint-Nazaire was closely monitored by the Regional Health Agency. 18 persons were disembarked on MArch 31, and five will be disembarked on April 1. They were from Italy, the Philippines, Ukraine, Romania, Honduras and the United States. Repatriation remained complicated to certain countries, whose borders have been closed. The government was negotiating. The bulk of the transfer should take place next week. Everyone aboard has been confined to safe places and the ship's air conditioning has been modified to reduce the circulation of the virus. The four doctors and five nurses on board will be joined by a new caregiver on April 2. In the evening of April 2 at the latest, all attendants will have undergone a first series of tests. 72 hours later, a second series will follow, with a new type of test.

The 'Elefherios Venizelos' has been quarantined in Piraeus on March 31, 2020, after 20 persons on board have been tested positive on the coronavirus. On board were 383 crew members and passengers. The ship had arrived in port on March 22. Two crew members, an Indonesian and a Swiss national, have been transferred to hospitals for treatment. Doctors at Greece’s public health agency conducted tests on the crew members and passengers. The results of the remaining tests will be known later on April 1. The vessel had been hired by a U.S cruise operator in order to operate as a floating hotel in Spain. It arrived from Turkey transporting dozens of technicians and manual workers who were hired to work at a shipyard in Cadiz.

Container lines Hapag Lloyd, ONE, YML, COSCO and OOCL will jointly run a new direct service from Visakha Container Terminal (VCT), the privately-run facility at State-owned Visakhapatnam Port Trust, to the Mediterranean and Europe, which will also bring connectivity with Africa and the America. The announcement strengthens Visakha Container Terminal’s rising stature as a regional container transshipment hub on the east coast, said shipping industry sources. “The commercial benefits offered by Visakhapatanam Port Trust makes the terminal even more attractive in the long run by being the gateway to the East for both northern and southern regions extending right up to Bangladesh and even Myanmar,” the terminal operator said. The terminal, majority owned by International Cargo Terminals & Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, is located centrally and strategically on the East Coast of India between Kolkata and Chennai. The facility handled over 0.45 million TEUs during FY19 and is on the verge of crossing the 0.5-million TEUs in FY20, aided by a 16 pre cent growth in traffic, complemented rail movement and also transshipment.

By the Southern Canal Dock in the inner port of Zeebrugge, a ceremony was held yesterday for the start of the construction of a new 1,071 meter quay wall, an extension of the existing Bastenaken quay. This quay wall is the final missing piece that will connect the Bastenaken quay with the reverse quay at the dock's end, where International Car Operators Zeebrugge is located. When this project is finished, the largest dock in het port of Zeebrugge will be completed.