News

The departure of the 'Wasa Express' from Vaasa to Umeå was delayed due to a hydraulic leak on the stern ramp on Oct 16, 2019. The delay was estimated to be about three hours. The ship should have sailed from Vaasa at 2.30 p.m., but repairs were expected to be completed only around 5.30 p.m. The following departure from Umeå, scheduled for 7 p.m., will also be delayed accordingly.

On Oct 15, 2019, at 12 p.m. the CROSS Corsen was alerted by the container ship 'Sajir' about the presence of a drifting and unmanned barge 30 miles north-east of Ushant Island, at the entrance of the traffic separation scheme. An Atlantique 2 patrol aircraft of the French Navy base in Lann-Bihoué was dispatched by the maritime prefect of the Atlantic to relocate the barge. It arrived at the position at 1.45 p.m. and its crew identified the adrift hull as the stern of the 'Thérèse Straub' and confirmed the absence of a crew on board. The emergency tug 'Abeille Bourbon" is engaged as early as 12:34 by the Maritime Prefect of the Atlantic to stop the immediate danger posed by this obstacle to navigation. The rear part of the "Thérèse Straub" was taken in tow at 3.50 p.m. The convoy was scheduled to arrive at the commercial port of Brest in the early afternoon of the Oct 16. The foreship of the "Thérèse Straub" was still being towed by the tug "Arion", under surveillance of the French maritime authorities. French report with photo: https://www.premar-atlantique.gouv.fr/communiques-presse/remorquage-de-la-partie-arriere-de-la-peniche-therese-straub

Last week, the Dutch multimodal operator Multi Modal Rail B.V. launched a new container rail service between Rotterdam and the French town of Ottmarsheim, Port of Rotterdam said in its release. Starting with one round trip per week, the shuttle connection is expected to swiftly expand to two round trips per week. The train calls on each of Rotterdam’s major terminals. After being loaded in Rotterdam on Thursday, the shuttle departs from the sea port on Friday and arrives/departs in Ottmarsheim on Saturday. The train is back at Maasvlakte for unloading on Sunday morning. The shuttle service is offered as a complement to the two existing container rail services between Rotterdam and Strasbourg.

Following the first steel cutting, MV Werften has officially started with the construction of the second 208,000gt Global Class cruise ship for Genting Hong Kong. This not-yet named unit will be delivered in 2022, following GLOBAL DREAM in 2021.

The 'Intruder', 1560 ts (EU-No.: 04801160), ran aground on the Rhine in pos. 50° 1.90' N 008° 13.72' E near the Industry Port of Mainz in the river arm of Mombach on Oct 16, 2019, at 9 a.m. The ship had come from Wesseling, and the master had misjudged the water depth in the river arm so that the cargo of 1.398 tons diesel on board caused too much draught. The river authority authorized the salvage plan presented, and around 4 p.m. work was due to start to pull the tanker off. German report with photo: https://www.allgemeine-zeitung.de/lokales/rhein-main/binnenschiff-fahrt-sich-bei-mainz-auf-dem-rhein-fest_20532897#

Beached at Chittagong 16.10.19

ABP announces that it will be welcoming the Royal Navy’s HMS Grimsby, into the Port of Grimsby on Sunday 15th September. For one day only, HMS Grimsby will be lowering her gangway at ABP's port and allowing the public to come aboard to learn about the important work the Royal Navy does in protecting the UK, as well as the host of other roles it performs across the world. The vessel will open for public viewing between the hours of 12.00 – 16.00 for one day only, at The Port of Grimsby, Cleethorpe Road, Grimsby DN31 3LL.

Sodraco International, a French subsidiary of Jan De Nul Group, has signed a contract to transport and install 80 offshore wind turbines on the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm offshore France. The contract was awarded by Parc du Banc de Guérande, a joint venture between the French renewable energy company EDF Renewables and the Canadian energy infrastructure company Enbridge. It is the first offshore wind contract in France for Jan De Nul. “We are excited to contribute to the further development of renewable energy, and offshore wind in particular, in France. Next to that we are looking forward to working again with EDF Renewables and to confirm our skills and competencies by making the installation of the Offshore Wind Turbines in collaboration with GE a great success,” said Philippe Hutse, offshore director at Jan De Nul Group. The turbine installation works are planned to commence in spring 2022 and will be completed by the end of 2022.

Following the grounding of the 'Rhodanus', operations to refloat the ship continued in close connection with the shipowner and its insurers who made contact with several companies to propose solutions to the maritime prefecture of the Mediterranean. Meanwhile, the security of the site has been strengthened. In addition to the additional anchorage installed in the late afternoon of Oct 13, a team of experts from the French Navy embarked on the 'Rhodanus' while the naval mine clearance divers carried out further inspections of the hull and facilities on board. One to two breaches on the forward peak were detected, one of which was plugged. The teams on site were able to pump out the water which poured in. The hydrographic survey ship 'Lapérouse' has identified the numerous obstacles to navigation in the area and has set up a temporary beaconing system in order to establish an access channel in favour of the various means likely to intervene later on. Draining the 38 tons of fuel has a priority. French report with photo: http://www.premar-mediterranee.gouv.fr/communiques-presse/echouement-d-un-cargo-a-proximite-des-bouches-de-bonifacio-communique-de-presse-n-5 https://www.corsenetinfos.corsica/Rhodanus-echoue-a-Cala-Longa-aucune-pollution-n-a-ete-constatee_a44621.html

The 'Nordic Luebeck', en route from Rotterdam to Ferrol suffered damages to the engine coolant system, in position 49 54 16.0N, 003 11 08.0W, 25 miles southeast of Start Point on Oct 15, 2019, at 08.40 a.m. The issue was rectified at 9 a.m. and the vessel resumed its voyage with an ETA as of Oct 16, 11 p.m.

The fire in the engine room of the crude oil tanker Dubai Harmony moored at the Sture terminal in Øygarden municipality has now been extinguished, Equinor said in its release. At 1102 this morning, Equinor's alarm centre received reports of a fire in the engine room on board Dubai Harmony, which was loading at the quay at the Sture terminal. The fire has now been extinguished and the fire service is continuing to cool the area where the fire took place. The 102 people who were at the Sture terminal were evacuated from the terminal when the incident occurred as a precaution, while only personnel with emergency tasks remained at the terminal. The emergency organisation in Equinor will maintain dialogue with the public rescue service and other relevant authorities.

Washington States Ferries has officially launched its new hybrid-ferry newbuild program at Vigor’s Seattle shipyard. Washington’s legislature authorized a contract extension earlier this year for Vigor to build up to five 144-car Olympic class, hybrid-electric ferries over the coming years for the Washington State Ferries, the largest ferry system in the United States. Vigor has constructed the last twelve ferries in the WSF system and has been actively engaged in the evolution of hybrid-electric solutions, including sending a team to Norway to meet with experts on best practices and available technologies for low carbon ferry systems. Vigor and WSF will again visit Norway as part of a second delegation in September 2019. The Olympic class hull form is one of the most efficient in the fleet with less drag through the water and a small wake for a positive environmental impact. The new hybrid vessels will utilize the existing Olympic class hull form, but will be capable of 100% electric operation on most routes once the infrastructure needed for charging is installed.