News

arrived Gulf of Khambhät Anchorage 19.04.21

The Algoma Central Corporation has been fined $500,000 US Dollars in an American court on April 16, 2021, after pleading guilty to dumping unprocessed oily bilge water into the Lake Ontario from the 'Algoma Strongfield' on June 6, 2017. The crew violated the US Clean Water Act back when they dumped approximately 45,000 litres of the wastewater into the lake.

Vesselles

The Port of Beirut (PoB) resumed partial operations on Aug 10 with the first two container ships berthing in the container terminal after the explosion which killed at least 160 persons, injured thousands and made hundred thousands homeless. Out of 16 cranes at the container terminal, 12 were currently operational. The port was gradually resuming operations to ensure the supply of all kinds of goods to citizens. Bassem Al Kaissi, the new Director of the PoB, said that the container terminal will be fully operational by Aug 14. Al Kaissi said that 420 containers were unloaded on Aug 10. The container terminal storage area has been cleaned up and restored to its state before the blast. The container terminal represents 80 percent of the overall cargo movement at the PoB. It is located one kilometer away from the blast epicenter. Container vessels can dock at quay number 16. Shipping movement at the PoB had already plunged by 75 percent due to the economic crisis and has reached 15 percent following the blast. Customs have opened offices in the PoB’s warehouse number 14 which was partially damaged. The customs have become able to carry out the inspection of merchandise- Customs duties are being temporarily paid at the Rafic Hariri International Airport. Tthe PoB is now handling only full containers as groupage consignment requires warehouses which don’t exist now. Amer Al Kaissi said groupage, which represents 15 percent of shipments at the PoB, will be diverted to the Port of Tripoli until the rebuilding of warehouses at the PoB is completed. The first two containerships to berth at the PoB after the blast were the 'Electra' (Gezairi Transport) and the 'Nicolas Delmas' (CMA CGM). The 'Electra', which was carrying 400 containers, was diverted to Tripoli where there was a license to operate but the company insisted to unload it in Beirut when it was told that the PoB has resumed operation. The CMA CGM Group and CEVA Logistics said they are fully operational and ensuring business continuity to serve their customers. The Group has redeployed its employees in its two back-up sites in Beirut Digital District and reinforced its presence in Tripoli. Part of CMA CGM’s vessels has been temporarily directed to Tripoli. Few shipping companies are authorized to operate in other ports such as Tripoli or Saida. BCTC, the Customs and the PoB’s authorities did their best to handle the clearing formalities despite the difficult working conditions. The general cargo area was fully operational on Aug 12 both for imports and exports. This includes wheat and other grains as well as construction steel bars. The cost of rebuilding the port is estimated at around $1 billion.

Repairs of the 'Olesya' in Tuzla have been completed on April 16, 2021. The vessel shifted from the repair yard to the anchorage in the afternoon. Sea trials were ti be carried out under the supervision of a class surveyor together with the owner's superintendent before a new set of trading documents is issued upon its completion and a final inspection. The ship had suffered an engine failure at Chaguaramas on March 1, 2018. Repairs initially could not be carried out by due to financial difficulties. The vessel was towed to Tuzla on Feb 6.

On April 18 the stormy weather that had hampered the SAR poperation for the missing crew of the 'Seacor Power' abated, but the search efforts have not yielded any results. Divers returned to the water in an attempt to find anyone trapped inside the vessel. The wreck was not moved for fear of disturbing air pockets that may have allowed missing crew members to survive. The improved conditions also allowed searchers to work longer. Divers contracted by Seacor have repeatedly searched the vessel's rooms for the missing crew members. Amid pleas from relatives, the number of divers assigned to the effort increased from eight to 14 earlier in the weekend. A fifth body has been recovered in the night of April 18. Authorities were now working to confirm the identity of the victim. The body was found on the second deck of the vessel. There have been a total of five bodies recovered with eight more still unaccounted for. There were a total of 19 crewmembers on board. Six crewmembers have been rescued alive. The bodies of two men found inside the wreck have been identified as Anthony Hartford, 53, of New Orleans and James Wallingsford, 55, of Gilbert, Louisiana. The bodies of the two men were found inside the capsized liftboat on Apri 16 by divers contracted by Seacor Marine. One man recovered from the water on April 15 near the capsized vessel was identified as Ernest Williams, 69, of Arnaudville, Louisiana. On April 14, Coast Guard crew members found the body of David Ledet, 63, from Thibodaux, Louisiana.

Vesselles

Ships

On April 16, 2021, the 'Eli Hermi Dos' suffered a rudder and engine failure East of Cabo de Creus. The crew requested assistance, and Salvamento Marítimo deployed the SAR boat 'Salvamar Alnilam' to take the ship in tow. It was pulled to Puerto de la Selva accordingly for repairs.

The 'MSC Sarah', while enroute from Sines to Coryton with 26 crew members on board, suffered an issue with its engine on April 17, 2021, at 8.50 p.m. The ship was NUC in position 51 51 06N, 001 41 54E, while the issue was being investigated. The crew effected repairs, and the vessel heaved anchor on April 18 at 12.20 a.m. At 6 a.m. it safely arrived atCoryton. No tugs assistance was required.

The PORT OF KIEL has redesigned the port apron in Ostuferhafen, which is the freight and logistics centre on the fjord. Where once stood a grain silo, there is now an expanded pre-stacking and stand-by area of three hectares for trucks, trailers and pas-senger cars.The State Premier of Schleswig- Holstein, Daniel Günther, visited the Ostufer-hafen on 12th August to hand over the grant notice coming from the State Programme Economy for 5.44 million Euros: The project to redesign the port apron included dismantling three hall areas of the former grain silo, excavation and road works as well as drainage, lighting and security measures and the connection of the area to the infrastructure. Through the new and generous port apron it has been possible to merge formerly separated pre-stacking areas, shorten distances and gain more space for trucks, busses, trailers and passenger cars. Furthermore, IT solutions have been developed to accelerate the handling processes at the gate, which also allow truck drivers to reduce personal contact.Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director at the PORT OF KIEL: “Even under the current circumstances the Ostuferhafen operates in a reliable and safe way. The port of Kiel has proven its systemic importance regarding the transshipment of cross-border freight transport.”In the first seven months of the year 2.1 million tons of cargo have been tran-shipped via the Ostuferhafen (+ 1 %). Additional volumes have been transported by the ferries of the DFDS shipping company to the Baltic States or they have been delivered by the SCA-RoRo-freighters from Scandinavia. Not only general cargo and forest products are unloaded resp. transhipped in Ostuferhafen but also project and heavy cargo, scrap metal and agricul-tural products. The integrated passenger terminal to handle cruise vessels emphasizes the universal character of this port part.

Vessells