News

The "Ocean Hope", coming from Montreal, suffered an engine failure and had to stop near Deschaillons, Quebec,in position 46 33.84 N, 072 07.2 W, on Dec 8, 2018, at 10 p.m. The crew carried out repairs and the vessel resumed its voyage on the Great Lakes towards Iskenderun, ETA Dec 27.

The "NACC Quebec" suffered an engine failure and had to anchor off Saint-Francois-de-l'Ile-d Orleans, Quebec, in position 47 00.686 N, 070 47.145 W, on Dec 9, 2018. The crew carried out repairs, and the vessel resumed its voyage to Port Daniel, ETA Dec 11.

Estonia’s Port of Tallinn (Tallinna Sadam) and AS Alexela Invest have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly working on the possibility of the development of an LNG terminal to serve LNG tankers and bunkering, and establishing port facilities for loading and unloading LNG on the Pakri peninsula by the Lahepere bay in Paldiski.

A container exploded in the evening of October 30, 2018, at the Evergreens terminal, located under the Vincent Thomas Bridge in Los Angeles,. The terminal was evacuated. No person was injured by the explosion. All other terminals remained open. The explosion was thought to be an industrial accident. The container was filled with scrap intended for export from the country. Based on available information from the Coast Guard, the authorities were investigating another 10 containers, which are assumed to have a corresponding content. The US Coast Guard is working with the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Fire Department and Customs and Border Protection to investigate the case and prevent more explosions.

The Norwegian tank m/v "Vigdis Knutsen" and the "Andromeda" suffered a leakage of a small amount of crude oil during ship-to-ship oil transfer in Brazilian waters on Nov 30, 2018. The crude oil belonged to the Royal Duth Shell Plc. About 200 millilitres of crude were released during the transfer, which was halted after the leak was detected. There was oil dripping for four minutes due to a gap in the equipment fitting. The spill was discovered when hoses were connected between the vessels at Brazil's Santos basin in the STS area. The "Vigdis Knutsen" arrived at the Lula Field on Dec 10 at 10.50 a.m.

The "Meganisi", while departing Tracy, sustained a bridge control failure, causing the main engine to shut down, on Dec 8, 2018 at 10.50 p.m. enroute to Gibraltar. The crew used local controls to restart the engine, and the tanker proceeded to Lanoraie anchorage, Quebec, for repairs and sailed on Dec 9 at 8.50 a.m. with an ETA at Gibraltar as of Dec 18.

At Port Elizabeth one of the container terminal’s ship-to-shore (STS) gantry cranes was blown off its rails and has ended up partially in the sea at the harbour entrance on Oct 30, 2018. Port Elizabeth experienced winds in excess of 50 knots per hour in the morning. This resulted in the damage of a Transnet Port Terminals ship–to–shore crane on the quayside. No employees were injured. An engineering team was assessing the extent of the damage however, the crane has been secured. A business continuity plan has been implemented in an effort to limit any further impact on operations. The port was shut both on account of the strong winds and also because of the crane wreckage lying across part of the entrance channel. In thee evening of Nov 1 the crane boom (jib) has been successfully floated, brought alongside and secured to the quay wall of the berth opposite the breakwater in the port entrance channel. The debris on the seabed remained to be removed and a final dive inspection conducted ahead of the Harbour Master declaring the port safe for shipping. Subject to good weather conditions and no uncontrollable salvage variables, shipping movements have started and continued on Nov 1. Notice has been given to vessels to prepare themselves for shipping. Three pilots, a berthing crew and our two tugs will be deployed to expedite the recovery of the shipping backlog. The collapse of the IMPSA crane on berth 103 at the PE Container Terminal had left a part overhanging into the port entrance channel. As a result of this and in the interest of navigational safety, all commercial shipping movements in the Port of Port Elizabeth were suspended until the port entrance channel had been cleared. Report with photo: https://africaports.co.za/#35 Meanwhile Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) proceeded with terminal operations. The cargo of four vessels were successfully handled leaving them ready to sail while another five vessels were expected to dock once the entrance was reopened.

Russia's sole aircraft carrier, the "Admiral Kuznetsov", was damaged during repairs on Oct 30, 2018, when the drydock holding her sank. One shipyard worker went missing and four were injured in the accident. A70-tonne crane toppled from the drydock's wing wall onto Kuznetsov's deck, leaving a hole measuring four to five meters across. A response team succesfully floated and removed the "Admiral Kuznetsov" from the drydock during the sinking. No vitally important parts of the carrier were damaged, according to United Shipbuilding Corporation . Reparis were estimated to take a week and a half for the welders. The damage would not disrupt the schedule for her repairs. Kuznetsov is scheduled to be out of service for a deep overhaul until 2021. The extensive scope of work included the replacement of her notoriously failure-prone boilers: The Cold War-era vessel has a long history of breakdowns, and she has historically traveled with a fleet tug when she sails abroad. The failed drydock "PD-50" is a key facility at the 82nd Repair Shipyard in Murmansk. The Soviet-era dock measures 330 meters by 88 meters, has a capacity of 80,000 tonnes and was equipped with two tower cranes. Among other noteworthy projects, the PD-50 received the wreckage of the ill-fated nuclear submarine Kursk after its sinking in 2000. The drydock will likely be refloated and repaired, though the timeline for its salvage is uncertain. Russian oil and gas company Rosneft is the majority shareholder of the 82nd Repair Shipyard, and state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation is considering a lawsuit against Rosneft for expenses related to the casualty. An electrical failure could have led to the abnormal immersion of the dock's port side. While the sinking is unlikely to delay repairs to the Kuznetsov, it will impact the schedule for work on the other military vessels that were awaiting their turn in drydock.

The "Vigdis Knutsen" and the crude oil tanker "Andromeda", 162198 gt, suffered a leakage of a small amount of crude oil during ship-to-ship oil transfer in Brazilian waters on Nov 30, 2018. The crude oil belonged to the Royal Duth Shell Plc. About 200 millilitres of crude were released during the transfer, which was halted after the leak was detected. There was oil dripping for four minutes due to a gap in the equipment fitting. The spill was discovered when hoses were connected between the vessels at Brazil's Santos basin in the STS area. The "Vigdis Knutsen" arrived at the Lula Field on Dec 10 at 10.50 a.m.

The "Volgo-Balt 206", en route from Azov to Bandirma in laden condition, suffered a technical failure during the passage of the Bosphorus and dropped anchor at Büyükdere on Dec 11, 2018, at 1 a.m. Repairs were subsequently carried out by the crew, and the vessel resumed the strait passage at 8 a.m. It moored on Bandirma anchorage at 6 p.m. and remained stationary in pos. pos. 40° 22.29' N 027° 58.88' E on Dec 12.

Keel laying ceremony for the second Edge class ship for Celebrity Cruises took place on 31st October 2018 on Chantiers de l'Atlantique right after delivery of CELEBRITY EDGE. http://cruisedeck.de/celebrity-edge-abgeliefert-celebrity-apex-auf-kiel-gelegt/

Florida based Virgin Voyages ordered their 4th cruise ship with Fincantieri, which is expected to be delivered in 2023 http://cruisedeck.de/virgin-voyages-bestellen-viertes-kreuzfahrtschiff/