At the Alang ship recycling yard on the Bhavnagar coast, Gujarat, the Shree Ram Vessel Scrap Pvt Ltd. (SRVSPL), filed a police complaint alleging a loss of Rs 45 lakh worth of equipment stolen from the 'DV Erica', which had been brought in from Abu Dhabi for dismantling. According to the complaint filed with Alang Marine police station, the theft was believed to have occurred on March 23, 2024, at around 5 a.m. The ship was anchored in the designated waiting area at the outer anchorage after having been towed from Abu Dhabi. When workers boarded the ship for inspection on the morning, they discovered signs of a break-in. Two ropes were found dangling from the stern of the ship, suggesting the thieves used them to climb aboard.
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URSA MAJOR
The Russian frigate 'Neustrashimy' has escorted a convoy, consisting of the 'URSA Major' and 'Sparta IV' from its own country in the Baltic Sea for the first time through the Fehmarnbelt and the Kadet Trench on March 21, 2024. These ships are said to be carrying large quantities of weapons and equipment from Syria. The deployment of the frigate to escort the two freighters on the Baltic Sea indicates high-quality weapons and equipment. Both freighters were loaded in a Syrian port in February and were supposed to enter the Black Sea through the Turkish straits. However, in view of the threat from Ukrainian drones, the freighters turned around and instead of taking the shorter route through the Bosphorus, chose the almost 9,000 nautical mile route around Europe into the Baltic Sea. The Russian freighters reached a position north of Skagen on MArch 20, where the 'Neustrashimy' was waiting and formed a convoy with the freighters. Weapons and radar systems were active. The Danish Navy sent a patrol boat and a naval home guard boat to escort the convoy through the Great Belt. At 11 a.m. the Belt Bridge near Korsör was passed. There were no violations. After leaving the Great Belt, the Russian convoy was accompanied at the entrance to the Fehmarnbelt in the afternoon by the mine diving boat “Rottweil” of the 3rd Minesweeper Squadron from Kiel and the two patrol ships “Bamberg” and “Neustadt”, with the “Bamberg” sailing ahead of the convoy and the “Neustadt” and “Rottweil” following behind. They passed through the construction site for the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel at a speed of 12 knots. The Russian ships adhered to traffic regulations. The “Sparta IV” and “URSA Major” belong to a shipping company in Novorossiysk. Both ships were visibly well loaded. On the “Sparta IV” there were numerous containers stacked on the deck. They would be an easy target for Ukrainian drones. Russian freighters do not have to provide any information about their cargo or purpose when transiting through Germany's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Federal Police did not have any reliable information about the cargo of the “Sparta IV” and “URSA Major”. However, the draft of the ships revealed that they were carrying heavy cargo. Both freighters have been on the US and EU sanctions lists since 2022. If they were to suffer an accident in German territorial waters, the federal police would arrest them immediately. Until the evening, the surveillance of the Russian ships went without any particular incidents. The ships were expected to leave the German EEZ around 11 p.m. with the same course. On board the frigate “Neustrashimy” is a helicopter specially equipped to defend against drones. The path of the two ships had been followed for weeks by NATO secret services and naval forces.
TAI AN
The controversy unleashed by the actions of the 'Tai An' vessel, reported for illegally fishing 142 tons of toothfish, was detained in the port of Ushuaia by a commission from the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Prefecture after it had detected a serious environmental fault. The 'Tai An' is a ship of Chinese origin, but flagged Argentine by the company Prodesur, belonging to businessman Liu Zhijiang, a Chinese man from Argentina, whose company is based in Ushuaia. The illegal catch led to the resignations of several officials after one of them said he had been pressured to allow illegal fishing from this vessel. The commission found very young specimens of toothfish, a species protected with a fishing quota. The factory trawler produces surimi and is allowed to fish for everything except toothfish, shrimp and quota species, such as toothfish. As a result of the controversy unleashed by the ship, the Director of Fisheries Control and Inspection, Julián Suárez, resigned from his position after denouncing that from the Foreign Ministry he had received pressures to ignore the illegal activity of the Chinese ship. Suárez had requested the ship's route records and had communicated with the inspector on board, thanks to which he detected that he had 142 tons of toothfish on board. The illegal activity has been carried out since February.
GENERAL FRANK BESSON
The 'General Frank S. Besson' from the 7th Transportation Brigade, 3rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, XVIII Airborne Corps, departed on, March 9, 2024, from the Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., en route to the Eastern Mediterranean to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea. The logistics support vessel carried the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies. The Navy will deploy 260 sailors and two U.S. Naval Ships from the West Coast to help build a temporary seaport to deliver aid into Gaza. About 1,000 U.S. troops will deploy a floating pier and a roughly 1,800-foot causeway off Gaza’s coast, where commercial vessels can dock and offload aid to be transported by smaller vessels and vehicles into Gaza. The operation will use a makeshift dock known as a Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, and include Navy and Army personnel. Four Army ships departed Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., carrying dozens of soldiers from the Army’s 7th Transportation Brigade. About 500 soldiers were expected to deploy to support the pier-building operations. They followed the USS 'Frank S. Besson' and will establish a roll-on, roll-off pier capability that allows ship-to-shore humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza. The pier was expected to be fully operational in approximately 60 days, which will be able to facilitate the delivery of up to two million meals daily. Navy officials, on Marchc 20 said 260 sailors and the USNS 2nd Lt. 'John P. Bobo' and USNS '1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez' would be involved in the operation. It was not clear when the ships would be deployed, but the Navy would support the 60-day window. Report with photo: https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2024-03-20/2-usns-ships-260-sailors-gaza-13376025.html
COASTAL CELEBRATION
On March 18, 2024, B.C. Ferries stated that it has decided against pursuing an insurance claim for engine problems on its three Coastal class ships and has opted instead to pay the estimated $8.5 million cost out of its contingency fund, which is in place for major incidents. Considering all the costs related to design, freight (air/sea), the rotors themselves and the work to exchange them, installing six rotors is about $1.4 million each, or approximately $8.5 million total. Initially the 'Coastal Renaissance' was sidelined on Aug. 17, 2023, and taken to Departure Bay in Nanaimo. The motor was subsequently sent to the U.S. for investigation and repair. A problem discovered with the ferry’s rotor prompted B.C. Ferries to investigate the other two Coastal vessels where they discovered similar problems. The ferries were equipped with motors which vibrated and were noisy when in dock. The decision was made to turn off the motors and restart them when departing for the next sailing. That doubled the number of starts for the engines and led to the need to replace the rotors. The company has decided to install variable-speed motors to avoid a similar engine problem in the future on all three Coastal class vessels. The 'Coastal Celebration' arrived in the Victoria Shipyard at the Esquimalt Graving Dock on March 6 and will stay there until April, while it is being repaired and going through refit. After that, the 'Coastal Inspiration' will take its turn for repair and refit. B.C. Ferries is putting on an extra 192 sailings through spring break, March 14 to April 2, which also covers the Easter weekend, March 28 to April 2. Of those additional sailings, 172 will run between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen