On April 25, 2024, the bridge crew of the 'Mein Schiff 1' discovered a boat with two people in distress during a day at sea between the ports of Málaga and Alicante. The Spanish Coastguard was then immediately alerted. The speed of the cruise ship was reduced and a dinghy was lowered into the water, and the people were successfully rescued. After providing support, the 'Mein Schiff 1' continued the current cruise as scheduled.
News
ABEILLE NORMANDIE
On April 27 the CROSS Gris-Nez was informed that some migrant boats were in difficulty off the coast of Pas-de-Calais. At around 3:00 a.m., the CROSS deployed the 'Abeille Normandie' to check the situation on board a migrant boat, detected by the semaphore, which had stopped off the coast of Boulogne with 10 people on board. The tug launched the semi-rigid, which recovered the castaways who were dropped off on a pontoon at the marina of Boulogne-sur-Mer, where they were taken care of at the end of the night by the land rescue services and the border police. Shortly after, the 'Abeille Normandie' was again engaged by the CROSS Gris-Nez to assist another migrant boat reported in difficulty off the coast of Cap-Blanc-Nez and rescued 33 people. Several people still on board the boat refused the assistance offered by French means and continued their journey under appropriate surveillance. The people picked up by the 'Abeille Normandie' were dropped off at the dock in Boulogne-sur-Mer and taken care of by the shore based rescue services and the border police. In the middle of the day, a third migrant boat was reported in difficulty in the Canche Bay. The CROSS Gris-Nez deployed the 'Minck' to assist. Once on scene, the crew informed the CROSS that there were around 50 people on board and that three people were already in the water and that one of the tubes of the boat was punctured. The 'Minck' launched its semi-rigid boat to rescue the people. The CROSS also tasked the Coastguard launch 'DF37-Nordet', the BSAM 'Rhône' and the VCSM 'Maroni' to support the 'Minck' in the rescue operation. The 'Nordet' was the closest and arrived quickly. The 'Minck' indicates to the CROSS that the boat remained afloat despite the puncture and continued the recoveries with the support of the 'Nordet'. The recoveries took place quite quickly, and the CROSS disengaged the other ships to keep them at sea in other maritime sectors. 45 minutes after the start of recovery operations, 56 people were treated on board the 'Minck', including one person with a slight knee injury. All migrants were disembarked at Boulogne-sur-mer and taken care of at the dock.
Itaqui
Brazil: Agriculture Officers Strike Federal agriculture officers decided to start the strike next Monday (22), which will directly affect trading involving perishable products and may cause delays in berthing and unberthing ships. Federal Revenue tax auditors also announced that they will intensify the general strike that has been ongoing since November last year, as reported in our previous newsletters. Next week, from the 22nd to the 26th of January, there will be no cargo clearance at the ports and airports of São Paulo and Bahia. This means that goods release services will be affected at Viracopos airport, the Port of Santos, Salvador customs (from the 23rd) and Guarulhos Airport. During the period, only perishable, live and dangerous cargo will be released at the sites, in addition to medicines and food, as they are considered essential. It is important to highlight that the import and export of goods of animal and plant origin require the consent and inspection of agricultural officers. The category's national union (Anffa Sindical) informed that the release of certificates and goods at ports, in this case, will respect the last day of the deadline set out in the rules of the Ministry of Agriculture. It is worth remembering that in the last meeting held on December 27th with Sindifisco Nacional, minister Fernando Haddad and the special secretary of Revenue, Robinson Barreirinhas, stated that they did not plan to make changes to the proposal presented for the payment of the efficiency bonus in 2024 , which motivated the continuation of the strike. The Superior Courts have already pacified the understanding that the strike movement cannot interrupt essential public services. Therefore, the functioning of the productive activity of shipowners/importers/exporters cannot be delayed by the Customs Inspectors' strike. Customs clearance must continue, regardless of the tax auditors' strike. The Judiciary has been intervening effectively on a case-by-case basis, in order to avoid the harmful effects of the Federal Revenue auditors' strike and maintain the regular activity of taxpayers at Brazilian customs. The strike could affect the port and customs sector. Our team is closely monitoring the situation in the North/Northeast ports and will inform you of any updates.
Kerch
Ukraine has managed a serious blow against the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea on Nov 4, 2023, severely damaging the corvette 'Askold', that was docked at the Zaliv shipyard during successful attacks on the shipping and port infrastructure of the Zaliv shipyard in the temporarily occupied city of Kerch. The “Askold”, which is able to carry up to eight Kalibr or Onyx guided missiles, has been hit by at least one Ukrainian cruise missile. The upper part of the ship was significantly damaged. The damage and destruction of warships of this type is important for the security of Ukraine. Reports with photos: https://www.merkur.de/politik/ukraine-krieg-krim-schwarzmeerflotte-russland-flotte-kiew-moskau-zr-92657747.html https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/ukrainian-forces-hit-russian-ship-in-kerch-aftermath-photo/ar-AA1julmU?ocid=weather-verthp-feeds
ABEILLE NORMANDIE
On April 26 the CROSS Gris-Nez was informed that a migrant boat was in difficulty north of the Hardelot beach through various calls. telephone calls and deployed the 'Abeille Normandie' to check the boat and rescue the people in difficulty. Once on scene, the crew of the 'Abeille Normandie' picked up the 54 people on board the boat. After an initial treatment on board, all migrants were dropped off a few hours later at the dock in Boulogne-sur-Mer and taken care of by the shore based rescue services and the border police.
ARTEMIS
On April 27, 2024, at noon, the Port Authority of Syros was informed by the Master of the 'Artemnis' about a malfunction of the stern ramp during the departure from the port of Parikia, Paros, en route to the port of Syros. The ship sailed safely to the port of Syros, where the 80 passengers disembarked, along with 16 vehicles, three trucks and six two-wheelers. The Port Authority of Syros banned the ferry from sailing until the damage was repaired and a certificate of class maintenance was presented by the monitoring classification society.
Bizerte
A fire destroyed the opening motors of the BIZERTE port bridge on July 26, 2023. The port remained closed to navigation from that date untill November 19. 2023, date of the re-opening of the Port to navigation.
Kiel
At the last weekend, the port of Kiel reached the mark of one million cruise passengers in one season for the first time. On Sep 16, 2023,, the MSC EURIBIA, AIDANOVA and EXCELLENCE CORAL called at the PORT OF KIEL, and on Sep 17 the AIDABELLA and AIDALUNA visited the Ostsee Quay. Kiel had already seen a positive trend in the cruise business in recent years, which had been put on hold by the slump during the Corona pandemic. In addition to the strong presence of the major European cruise lines AIDA, Costa, MSC and TUI, in recent years North American shipping companies, such as Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line, have increasingly chosen Kiel as a cruise destination in the Baltic Sea region for their fleets. As recently as 2022, Kiel's seaport recorded its busiest season ever with 243 calls and 835,000 passengers. For the current season 2023, 222 cruise calls have been announced.
MINCK
On April 27 the CROSS Gris-Nez was informed that some migrant boats were in difficulty off the coast of Pas-de-Calais. At around 3:00 a.m., the CROSS deployed the 'Abeille Normandie' to check the situation on board a migrant boat, detected by the semaphore, which had stopped off the coast of Boulogne with 10 people on board. The tug launched the semi-rigid, which recovered the castaways who were dropped off on a pontoon at the marina of Boulogne-sur-Mer, where they were taken care of at the end of the night by the land rescue services and the border police. Shortly after, the 'Abeille Normandie' was again engaged by the CROSS Gris-Nez to assist another migrant boat reported in difficulty off the coast of Cap-Blanc-Nez and rescued 33 people. Several people still on board the boat refused the assistance offered by French means and continued their journey under appropriate surveillance. The people picked up by the 'Abeille Normandie' were dropped off at the dock in Boulogne-sur-Mer and taken care of by the shore based rescue services and the border police. In the middle of the day, a third migrant boat was reported in difficulty in the Canche Bay. The CROSS Gris-Nez deployed the 'Minck' to assist. Once on scene, the crew informed the CROSS that there were around 50 people on board and that three people were already in the water and that one of the tubes of the boat was punctured. The 'Minck' launched its semi-rigid boat to rescue the people. The CROSS also tasked the Coastguard launch 'DF37-Nordet', the BSAM 'Rhône' and the VCSM 'Maroni' to support the 'Minck' in the rescue operation. The 'Nordet' was the closest and arrived quickly. The 'Minck' indicates to the CROSS that the boat remained afloat despite the puncture and continued the recoveries with the support of the 'Nordet'. The recoveries took place quite quickly, and the CROSS disengaged the other ships to keep them at sea in other maritime sectors. 45 minutes after the start of recovery operations, 56 people were treated on board the 'Minck', including one person with a slight knee injury. All migrants were disembarked at Boulogne-sur-mer and taken care of at the dock.
MOSTRILLO
On the morning of April 22, the 'Mostrillo' began to take on water as it was approaching the port of San Benedetto in very rough seas. The captain and owner managed to get the ship to the quay, where it tilted on its side and settled on a water depth of about three metres. The three crew members could be brought to safety. Recovery operations began on April 26 at 10.30 a.m. with two large mobile cranes from the Pepa transport company of Porto Recanati which operated simultaneously to hoist the vessel onto the quay, supported by divers from the Teramo firefighters. The work was coordinated by the San Benedetto harbour master's office. Reports with photos and video: https://www.ilrestodelcarlino.it/ascoli/cronaca/affondato-peschereccio-comandante-mette-salvo-equipaggio-74b23e7f https://www.veratv.it/articoli/id-3065/recuperato-il-mostrillo-si-indaga-sulle-cause-dell-affondamento
Kiel
The Port of Kiel concluded this year’s cruise season with the call of AIDA Cruises’ AIDAnova on Nov 4. The port welcomed a total of 215 ship calls from 26 companies and a total of 1,174,000 cruise passengers, marking the port’s busiest season ever. “We are closing the 2023 season with a good result. The development in the tourism industry shows a clear trend towards the cruise sector, which was also evident in Kiel this season. “For us, the main issue is to make maritime tourism more environmentally friendly on the port side. Shore power was the dominant topic for us and will continue to be so in the coming season,” said Dirk Claus, managing director of SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. Among the ships that visited the port during 2023 was the 'Disney Dream', the first ship from Disney Cruise Line to be welcomed in Kiel, as well as MSC Cruises’ 'MSC Euribia'. Earlier this year, the port of Kiel achieved a milestone by becoming the first German port to supply a ship with liquidified natural gas. Since then, the' AIDAnova' and 'MSC Euribia' have regularly bunkered LNG in the port of Kiel.
Sevastopol
Ukrainian forces struck the Russian naval base in Sevastopol, in Russian-occupied Crimea 150 miles south of the Ukraine front line on Sep 13, 2023. Fires were raging across a drydock that exploded in the early morning, which cradled two warships, the Ropucha-class amphibious vessel 'Minsk' and the Kilo-class submarine 'Rostov on Don'. The Black Sea Fleet could lose two more of its roughly 30 large ships—ships it can’t replace until Russia’s wider war on Ukraine ends and Turkey reopens the Bosphorus Strait connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. A nighttime drone-boat attack on the landing ship 'Olenegorsky Gornyak' in Novorossiysk, a port in southern Russia just 70 miles east of Russian-occupied Crimea, brought to four the number of major Black Sea Fleet warships the Ukrainian navy definitely has put out of action. The losses include the landing ship 'Saratov', blasted by a ballistic missile in March 2022; the cruiser 'Moskva', holed by an anti-ship missile the following month; the rescue ship 'Vasily Bekh', another victim of an anti-ship missile; and then the 'Olenegorsky Gornyak', which entered a drydock a few days after the Ukrainian attack—and may be out of the war, for good. The Ukrainians also have sank or badly damaged several Russian patrol boats and landing craft—and also recently ejected Russian forces from a pair of captured Ukrainian oil platforms that the Russians had been using as naval outposts in the western Black Sea. The sinkings and raids are a remarkable feat for a Ukrainian fleet that, after scuttling its sole frigate in the early hours of the Russian invasion in February 2022, apparently has just one large ship left: an aging landing ship that has been hiding out near the mouth of the Dnipro River and occasionally lobbing short-range rockets at Russian forces. The Ukrainian navy now effectively is a shipless navy, but no less dangerous for its lack of large hulls. Between its locally-made Neptune anti-ship missiles and Western-made Harpoon ASMs, as well as its missile-armed TB-2 drones and one-way drone boats, the Ukrainian navy isn’t just holding the Russian Black Sea Fleet at bay, it actively is beating back the fleet. Russian warships staging from Crimea are under constant assault; as of last month, ships in Russia proper are at risk, too. When Russian warships leave port, they do so briefly—usually only long enough to launch a few cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities. The Russian fleet’s security is going to get worse before it gets better. The number and variety of deep-strike weapons with which Ukrainian forces can attack the fleet steadily are growing. The Ukrainian industry is developing a new thousand-mile cruise missile; and the administration of U.S. president Joe Biden reportedly has signaled it will donate to Ukraine Army Tactical Missile System ballistic rockets that range as far as 190 miles. Either prospective new weapon could hit Sevastopol from the Ukrainian side of the front line. And the steady drumbeat of Ukrainian attacks on Russian ships is clear evidence that Ukrainian intelligence has no problem pinpointing the ships’ locations. Reports with photos and videos: https://gagadget.com/en/314212-one-of-the-best-vr-games-on-pc-half-life-shooter-until-19-september-alyx-costs-20-on-steam/ https://www.newsweek.com/photos-russian-landing-ship-submarine-damage-crimea-drydocks-hit-sevastopol-1826581