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Thick black smoke was rising from burning containers at Iskenderun Port on Feb 6, 2023. The fire was caused by containers that toppled over during the powerful earthquake that struck southeast Turkey. ATurkish Coast Guard vessel was assisting efforts to extinguish the blaze.

Russia's Ministry of Transport has set up a ferry service across the Kerch Strait to take over vehicle traffic, offsetting some of the impact of the damage to the Kerch Strait Bridge after a truck was blown up on the westbound road deck of the Kerch Strait Bridge on Oct 7 at about 6 a.m. Two spans of the westbound deck collapsed into the water, but the adjacent eastbound deck remained in place. The blast's timing coincided with the passage of a fuel train on the adjacent rail deck, and it ignited seven fuel tank cars, which burned for hours after the explosion. A Russian salvage diving team has arrived on the site and is completing an underwater survey of the damage, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said Sunday. An above-water inspection process is already under way. Traffic had partially resumed on the bridge by late Saturday, though restricted by the extent of the damage. Russia's Ministry of Transport said that it also resumed suburban commuter rail service over the rail track, though not heavy freight trains. Two ferries are already in operation to provide a bypass route, and eight separate parking lots have been set up for temporary storage for cars and trucks waiting to make the crossing. Two more ferries will join the effort on Monday, the Yeysh and Mriya.

Yaizu Port is one of the leading fishing ports in Japan. In August 2022, the VesselTracker AIS receiving station opened at Yaizu Port.

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British unions and politicians were on the other end after the country's largest ferry company - P&O Ferries - on March 17, 2022, fired 800 employees without notice, and put security guards to remove the fired from the ferries. In the morning of March 18, the ferries were still not sailing, and according to announcements from the shipping company on Twitter, they will not do so for the rest of the day. DFDS, which competes with P&O Ferries on the route between Dover and Calais, announced on March 17 that they were largely able to transfer the travelers who are currently unable to sail with P&O Ferries. The unions have called for large demonstrations in Dover, Liverpool and Hull on March 18, while the fired crew members are already taking action on the ferries. It was uncertain whether some of the fired were still on board the ferries. Not only the unions that are furious over the dismissals, but also politicians from both major parties condemned in sharp terms the methods used. P&O Ferries, owned by DP World in the United Arab Emirates, in the morning of March 17 ordered all the company's ferries into port, where the crews had to wait for an important announcement from the company. The announcement took the form of a Zoom meeting, where a representative of the management in a recorded feature announced that 800 employees had been fired with immediate effect and that as a result they would have to leave the ferries immediately. The vacancies will be taken over by foreign employees, subject to other agreements. According to the fired crew members, the new crew members were already present in the ports, where they were waiting in buses. Security guards were also waiting at the port. The guards were tasked with removing the fired employees from the ferries. In addition to the affected ferries on the Dover-Calais route, P&O operates ferry routes from Hull to Rotterdam, Liverpool to Dublin and Cairnryan to Larne in Northern Ireland.

One person is was and two others were missing after a crane collapsed into the water on an Ashkelon pier latein the night of March 14, 2023. The collapse of the crane was caused by unusual weather and strong winds. The injured person was in moderate condition and is receiving treatment at Barzilai Medical Center. Attempts to contact two people who had been working on the site of the crane have been unsuccessful, leading police to believe that they were missing after falling into the sea. Extensive search and rescue efforts were commenced with the help of police diving units, the elite 669 Search and Rescue unit, the Israeli Navy and others. The body of a man of about 60 years of age was found on Beersheba Beach in Ashdod on March 15. The gas pier at the Rotenberg power plant in Ashkelon was damaged. The Electric Company formed a team to investigate the incident. Reports with photos: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-734237 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-734373

The Port of Kiel expects another good season in 2023, resulting in 218 cruise calls, said its MD Dirk Claus in the morning of Jan 17, 2023, as part of a presentation reflecting on last year's results. It follows 2022's record-breaking 244 calls, which saw the port handle over 2.24m passengers, 836,000 of those from cruise vessels. The number of calls in 2019 was 37% less by comparison, numbering 178, and passenger volumes 4.1% lower. 2020 had been forecast to become a record season for Kiel, with 200 calls and 880,000 passengers, but aspirations were dashed owing to the pandemic. This year, a number of larger vessels are scheduled to arrive at Kiel on multiple occasions making the gross tonnage of arriving ships similar to 2022. For 2023, the choice of routes and destinations approached from Kiel will be slightly broader. Moving into the future, Claus expects Kiel to settle on between 200 and 250 cruise calls annually. According to the port, last year’s promising results were the result of ‘intense planning’ with international cruise operators. While 11 calls were cancelled owing to the conflict in Ukraine and the resulting loss of St Petersburg from itineraries, nine were newly added as a result of rerouting by operators. Looking ahead, there will be a strong focus on greener shipping with Claus hoping that between 60 and 100 calls can be supplied with green shore power this year. He stated that Kiel will continue to look at strengthening shore power in line with its corporate sustainability strategy to lower carbon emissions. Work on the new Ostuferhafen shore power plant is expected to conclude towards the end of this year, resulting in Kiel being able to offer shoreside connectivity at all its ferry and cruise terminals from 2024. Along with this €17m investment, a further €2m will be invested to install solar arrays. The systems, which will be fitted on roofs at Kiel Port, are intended to cover up to 30% of the port's electricity requirements in the long term.  Kiel’s first call is expected to arrive April 7 with the river vessel 'Frederic Chopin'. The first cruise ship of the season, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ 'Balmoral', will arrive a week later.  The largest ships to call will be 'MSC Euribia' and 'AIDAnova'. At the other end of the scale, the 'Ocean Majesty' will visit Kiel on six occasions while chartered to Hansa Touristik. The vessel, which celebrates its 57th anniversary this year, is popular with the German source market. One of its calls is scheduled to occur on June 18 during the Kieler Woche sailing festival which will run from June 17-25. Traditionally, this marks the peak of the cruise season with this year no exception: 22 calls are expected by Kiel at the same time as the event takes place. While the highest number of calls is expected between mid-April and the end of September as usual, some ships will continue to call later in the year. 'AIDAnova'’s last departure is scheduled for November 4 whilst December 20 will see Phoenix Reisen's 'Amera' arrive at Kiel as part of a pre-Christmas itinerary. The season will draw to a close a few days later with the 'Spirit of Discovery' on December 29. Costa-, AIDA-, MSC- and TUI Cruises will again be the port's largest cruise customers. The majority of calls account for turnarounds serving the German-speaking source markets, but a number of transit calls will also take place, P&O Cruises’ Britannia, Swiss Ruby, Holland America Line’s 'Nieuw Statendam' and Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ 'Seven Seas Splendor' among them. As in previous years, the Ostuferhafen outside the city centre will be heavily utilised by MSC Cruises and most other cruise ships will arrive at the Ostseekai. 

The Crimean Bridge across Kerch Strait suffered an explosion and fire in the morning of Oct 8, 2022. Two spans of the motorway bridge collapsed and fell into the water, the railway bridge above the motorway witha cargo train including railway car tanks with fuel, was on fire. All bridge traffic was suspended. The Crimean Bridge was more than a Bridge, both for Russia and Ukraine. For Russia it was a symbol of the Russian “victory” and historical justice. For the Ukraine, it was a symbol of the Russian aggression and Crimea occupation. The navigation span of the Bridge is yet undamaged, and therefore, the Kerch Strait Channel remained navigable. The Kerch Strait Transit is from now on, however, a risky undertaking, so all ship owners are advised to calculate risks and probably, change their ships voyages, avoiding Azov sea calls.

Workers at Felixstowe have decided to go on a strike for the first time since 1989. Shipping firms and union leaders have warned that the actions could heavily impact the supply chains and also leave buyers waiting for their necessary goods and other commodities. Nearly 1,900 members of the Unite at Felixstowe have walked out in a dispute regarding pay in the most recent outbreak of industrial action to hit some sectors of the economy. Workers, including machine operators, crane drivers, and stevedores will take action after voting by more than nine to one in favor of strikes. The union said that the eight-day halt is likely to have a significant impact on the port that typically handles almost 4m containers in one year from about 2,000 ships. Felixstowe handles about half of the containerized freight that enters the country and the actions could indicate that vessels have to be diverted to ports in other places in Europe or the UK. Haulage majors have warned that the strike could have a serious impact on business, while trade organizations have said that the consumers could be affected by price increases. All through Suffolk, the bill could run into millions and all over the country a lot more. It is not going to impact the food supply chains as all fresh produces are in stock, but it will impact the supply chain in terms of fences, furniture, and bits and bobs. Maersk, one of the largest container shippers in the world, has said that the strike may cause delays and force it to make changes to its vessel lineup. In the meantime, consumers may be hit with price hikes and shortages of some products. Consumer prices are already rising owing to the increases in the shipping rates experienced since the middle of 2020. Further disruptions in the UK are going to add to the cost pressures, even though the temporary unavailability of some commodities may be the first noticeable impact on the consumers.

pls we need to see the vessels in our port and expected vessels also thanks

One of the fastest growing ports in Brazil, having surpassed the mark of 22 million tons handled in 2021, Pecem Port is the newest regular member of the International Association of Ports (IAPH), a global alliance of 170 ports and 140 organizations related to the port sector. Entity of great international prestige, IAPH was founded in 1955 and currently handles more than 60% of the world's maritime trade and around 80% of the world's container traffic, through its members.

⚓ Brazilian Port workers carry out strike this Friday ⚓ Federal government lifts restriction for travelers coming from Africa Brazilian Port workers carry out strike this Friday This Friday (28), port workers all over Brazil have been on strike. The demonstrations have begun at 7 am and shall last until 7pm. The context of the demonstrations is related to CODESA, port authority for the state of Espírito Santo, set to be auctioned on March 25th, 2022. With other four similar auctions being expected this year, port workers are protesting against what they view as a privatization process of the Public Port Authority. After leasing 12 port terminals in 2021 (generating a total of BRL 1.8 billion in investments), the Federal Government now aims to modernize the port authorities themselves. The demonstrators, however, believe Brazil is going against basic principles of the global port system, where the State is present in port management for its administration in matters such as health, safety and the environment. Federal government lifts restriction for travelers coming from Africa Last Friday (21), the Federal Government published an ordinance that ends restrictions on entry into Brazil for travelers coming from Africa. The measure follows Anvisa's guidance published in early January. Now, travelers with passages through South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and Zimbabwe are once again allowed to enter Brazil, provided they present the RT-PCR test with a negative result performed 72 hours before, or the negative antigen performed 24 hours before. It will also be necessary to fill in the Traveler's Health Declaration (DSV) and present the vaccination card. Our team is closely monitoring the situation. For any questions please direct to noelmagioli@gmail.com

The fire at the Port of Iskenderun has finally been extinguished, Turkey's ministry of defense announced on Feb 7. It was the second time that the ministry has reported that the fire has been put out; after the previous announcement, the blaze resumed at scale, and firefighters managed to contain it later that night. Iskenderun's container terminal is still closed due to the severe structural damage, which forced the facility to halt all operations. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck southern Turkey on Feb 6 had a significant impact on the port, toppling stacks of containers and cracking pavement. The physical damage is severe enough that container lines were diverting vessels to other ports, like nearby Mersin. The quake also sparked a fire in the center of the terminal's container storage area. Turkey's coast guard deployed a vessel to apply water from the quayside, and the Turkish air force and army sent aircraft to drop fire retardant on the blaze. The fire spread despite these efforts, but was finally contained in the night of Feb 7. Report with video: https://maritime-executive.com/article/fire-at-port-of-iskenderun-extinguished-after-two-days

On Dec 1, 2022, at about 3 p.m. the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was informed that 15 empty containers at Keppel Terminal had fallen from the wharf into the water as a result of strong winds during a squall. There were no reported injuries and no immediate impact to port operations. The MPA deployed two patrol crafts to monitor and cordon off the affected area to facilitate recovery work by PSA Corporation Ltd. MPA’s Port Operations Control Centre has restricted all vessel movements in the vicinity of Keppel Terminal until the containers were recovered.

For the fourth day in a row, Iranian-made drones attacked Odesa on Sep 26 in the morning, this time against military targets and without civilian casualties. On Sep 23, two civilians were killed during Russian drone attacks on the port city. On Sep 25, Odesa was attacked by three drones, one of which was reportedly shot down by Ukrainian forces. Ukraine has not officially identified the drones, but from the video footage below it appears, according to experts, that they are Iranian-produced Shakhed 136 drones.

Russian missiles struck the port of Odessa on July 23, 2022, violating a deal signed a day earlier to curb grain exports from Black Sea ports and ease global food shortages caused by the war. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the strike as blatant "barbarism" and that Moscow could not be trusted to implement the agreement. The Ukrainian military said that the missiles had not caused any significant damage and that preparations were underway to resume grain exports from Black Sea ports. The deal, signed by Moscow and Kyiv on July 22 and brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, has been hailed as a breakthrough after nearly five months of punitive fighting since Russia invaded its neighbor. By allowing grain exports from Black Sea ports, including Odessa, it is seen as crucial in curbing rising global food prices.

A fire at a container depot in the town of Sitakunda about 40 km from Chittagong led to a chemical explosion in containers that killed at least 49 and injured more than 300 people on June 4, 2022. Among those killed in the blast that could be heard several miles away were several firefighters. Dozens of dead were scattered among the burnt-out containers and many of the wounded were in critical condition after the huge explosion in the depot containing about 4,000 containers. Hundreds of firefighters, police and volunteers quickly arrived at the depot as the fire broke out around 6 p.m. LT. The extinguishing work had started when the violent explosion threw parts from containers and people into the air. At least five firefighters were killed and even more injured. Many were still missing on June 5. The container depot serves as a staging post for the goods - primarily clothing - to be exported via Chittagong, and contained millions of dollars worth of clothing that was to be passed on to businesses in Western countries. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLiyBU7RKIc&feature=emb_title

After the previous year’s downturn caused by the corona pandemic, in 2021 the seaborne cargo throughput trend in the Port of Hamburg was more positive than expected. This totalled 128.7 million tons, or nearly two percent more than in the first year of the corona pandemic. At 8.7 million TEU - 20-ft standard containers, container handling was up by 2.2 percent. Rail freight transport reached a record level in 2021. Last year, the Port of Hamburg Railway handled a transport volume of 48.5 million tons, up by four percent. At 2.79 million TEU, an eight percent advance was achieved for containers. “Hamburg is impressively extending it position as the world’s largest rail port. Despite persistent challenges caused by the pandemic and disrupted transport chains, a new record figure was achieved for environment-friendly freight transport by rail,” said Ingo Egloff, Joint CEO of HHM – Port of Hamburg Marketing. Rail growth was powered by additional container train services and growing shipments in the medium-distance segment of up to 300 kilometres. Rail’s modal-split share of container transport in Hamburg has meanwhile reached around 51.5 percent. Transfer of freight shipments to rail there has been exemplary. This frees up roads and conserves the environment. At 46.1 percent, trucking’s share is declining. For container transport to and from the Port of Hamburg, inland waterway shipping attained a share of 2.4 percent. Rapid growth of container shipments along the New Silk Road Supplementing sea transport, a constantly growing number of containers are being transported between China and Hamburg by rail. Hamburg is Germany’s leading point of arrival and departure for seaborne container shipments and container train services on the New Silk Road. “Even if around 20 days are currently needed for rail transport over the 12,000 kilometres between China and Hamburg, the land route via the New Silk Road is faster than a ship by sea. For time-sensitive freight, the container train services therefore provide an attractive alternative for transport between Hamburg and China. Last year, around 160,000 TEU were shifted by rail between Hamburg and more than 25 destinations in China, an impressive 51 percent increase. Various suppliers market a total of more than 290 China train services to and from Hamburg,” explained Axel Mattern, HHM’s Joint CEO. Seaborne cargo throughput in the Port of Hamburg in 2021 In 2021, the worldwide repercussions of the corona pandemic again affected handling and transport trends in Germanys largest universal port. Over the whole year, 128.7 million tons of seaborne cargoes were loaded or discharged at Port of Hamburg terminals, a 1.9 percent increase on the previous year. Both general cargo throughput, up by 1.3 percent at 88.9 million tons, and bulk cargo handling, 3.3 percent higher at 39.8 million tons, contributed. In the container handling segment, 2021 throughput in Hamburg totalled 8.7 million TEU and was 2.2 percent higher. Within the bulk cargo segment, grab cargo throughput at 21.6 million tons was ahead by 11.2 percent. The main contributions there came from coal imports, up 15.9 percent at 5.5 million tons, and those of ore, 10.6 percent higher at 10.5 million tons. In the agribulk area, a total of 6.4 million tons was handled in 2021. The 14.7 percent downturn there is attributable lower throughput of grain. 2021 throughput of liquid cargoes was 1.7 percent up at 11.8 million tons. Higher exports of mineral oil products were primarily responsible for this slight advance, which formed part of the generally very steady development of this segment. “While considering the cargo volumes handled in the port, one also needs to remember that from German production alone, goods to the value of around 116 billion euros are annually exported all over the world through the Port of Hamburg. The Port of Hamburg secures around 607,000 jobs in Germany,” said Egloff. China, the USA and Singapore head the ranking of Hamburg’s Top Ten partner countries for container handling Of the Port of Hamburg’s ten leading partner countries for container handling, no change occurred among the top six. The downturn in seaborne container handling with China recorded in the previous year has been halted. In 2021, a 5.5 percent advance to 2.6 million TEU was achieved. China consolidated its position as Hamburg’s leading trade partner by a wide margin. “We are delighted that with its China Germany Express (CGX), from April Hapag-Lloyd will be linking the Port of Hamburg every week with the Southern Chinese Dachan Bay terminal that forms part of the Port of Shenzhen. This new container liner service will further expand the range of altogether 18 liner services linking Hamburg with Chinese ports and consolidate Hamburg’s position as the leading China port,” says Mattern. Below China in the ranking of Hamburg’s trading partners in container transport come the USA - up 4.5 percent, Singapore - up 0.9 percent, Russia - down three percent, Sweden - up 7.5 percent, and Great Britain - down 9.9 percent. Port of Hamburg’s Top Ten are completed by Poland - up 20.7 percent in seventh place, South Korea - down 0.4 percent in eighth, Denmark up 4.6 percent in ninth, and Brazil up 3.2 percent in tenth place. Completion of fairway adjustment on Lower and Outer Elbe brings advantages Compared to the situation prior to deepening of the fairway, shipping on arrival and departure now profits from an increase in draft - depending on ship’s size – of between one metre and 1.90 metres. Irrespective of the tide, Megamax vessels with a breadth of up to 62.50 metres or a length of 400 metres, can now sail into port with a draft of up to 13.10 metres. Before the adjustment, the limit was only 11.40 metres. Depending on the tide, on leaving the limit is now 14.10 metres. Incoming, a draft of 15.40 metres is now possible. The maximum previously possible was just 13.60 metres. "We would like to thank our customers and partners for their trust in us - the Port of Hamburg during the fairway adjustment project, which has been under way for many years. Since late January this year, we can offer maximum draughts of between 1.00 and 1.90 m - depending on ship size - in both tide-independent and tide-dependent traffic. This helps to strengthen the Port of Hamburg's competitiveness," says Jens Meier, CEO of the Hamburg Port Authority. An additional advantage is the opportunity now secured for readier passing by mega-ships. Along eight kilometres near Wedel, for instance, a ‘passing box’ has been constructed. This makes it possible for vessels with a combined breadth of up to 104 metres to pass each other. The fairway between Wedel and the Stör estuary has also been widened from 300 to 320 metres. Vessels with a combined breadth of less than 92 metres can now safely pass each other there. The Joint CEOs of Port of Hamburg Marketing, Axel Mattern and Ingo Egloff, welcome the now successfully completed fairway adjustment of the Elbe. “For shipping and our port business customers, these simplifications of access to Germany’s largest universal port also offer them the advantage of being able to route more cargo via Hamburg. Last year alone, 221 mega-containerships with slot capacities of between 18,000 and 24,000 TEU called the Port of Hamburg. That was a 16.9 percent increase, underlining the tremendous importance of the now completed fairway adjustment for rapid and secure traffic control on the Elbe. With high-performance transport routes, smart logistics solutions and growing use of low-emission energy sources and technology, we are on the right course for sustainable growth,” said Mattern. On the land side, environment-friendly rail plays the main part in freight transport, connecting inland market regions rapidly and reliably with the port. Prospects for 2022 "The war in Ukraine will have an impact on the throughput development of the Port of Hamburg. However, it is not yet possible to say to what extent the sanctions imposed on Russia will influence cargo handling. A realistic forecast for the current year cannot be made at this point in time because the pandemic could also continue to have an impact on global trade," says Mattern. For 2022, the Port of Hamburg's marketing organisation hopes for an overall stable trend in seaborne cargo handling.