The USNS '2nd Lt. John P. Bobo (T-AK 3008)' which was deployed to support the mission of building a pier to deliver aid to starving residents in Gaza, was forced to turn back on April 11, 2024, after it suffered a fire in its engine room, while in transit to the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The crew evacuated the area and used portable extinguishers to put out the fire. The ship had to return to Jacksonville, Florida, using just one engine for further assessments. The incident came as the Pentagon's self-imposed deadline of having the pier operational and delivering the needed aid by May rapidly approached. When the Pentagon first announced the plan to use the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, platform to construct the pier that would serve as a way to quickly deliver large amounts of aid to war-torn Gaza in early March, it was hoped the pier would be operational in the next 60 days. Shortly after that announcement, a group of five Army ships left for the Mediterranean, followed by the m/v 'Roy P. Benavidez', a military sealift command vessel that was carrying heavy equipment and material needed to construct a temporary pier. In late March, the Navy said that it would deploy Naval Beach Group 1 along with the Bobo and the USNS '1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez'. The unit and the ships would bring enough watercraft and equipment to operate a huge floating dock three miles off the coast of Gaza that would serve as the off-load point for aid. One of the Army Landing Craft Utility ships, the 'Wilson Wharf', seems to be stuck in Tenerife, the Army's Logistics Support Vessel 'General Frank S. Besson' spent a week in the Azores before finally making it to the Navy's base at Souda Bay, which may indicate the ship had an engineering issue.
News
ERA STAR
On March 3, 2024, at 03.45 a.m. the 'Era Staro was boarded by 8-10 perpetrators, armed iwht long knives, at the Hiron Pilot Station, Mongla, in pos. 21° 50.93' N 89° 31.82' E. They stole heave lines and messenger lines. The ship left Mongla again on April 1 and anchored off the port.
Richards Bay
Moves are afoot for a new multi-billion-rand liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and regasification terminal to be established at the port of Richards Bay by 2024, but state-owned Transnet wants the private sector to be the main investor and operator of the facility. The plan was revealed on Tuesday as Transnet announced the signing of a cost-sharing agreement with the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to jointly fund a feasibility study into the terminal project. The IFC has committed $2 million (around R28 million) as part of the cost-sharing agreement. The move comes as Transnet looks to bolster South Africa’s LNG infrastructure, both at the country’s ports and within its pipelines business.
Napier
Ships could continue to be turned away from Napier Port for the next few days as an "unprecendented" swell hammers Hawke's Bay. Clifton Beach was closed by Hastings District Council on Wednesday and Napier City Council closed the Marine Parade viewing platform after tourists were drenched by a heaving sea on Wednesday morning. MetService meteorologist Tui McInnes said a slow building pressure system out to the east of Hawke's Bay had ramped up the seas, causing swells of close to 4m. McInnes said the 4m swells had the potential to "cause a bit of havoc on the coast" as it could possibly continue until Saturday morning. "The main thing that is causing the big waves is the easterly winds that are occur. "With a large space and a slow build-up it leaves time for some quite nice swells to develop," McInnes said. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12252333
RNLI LIFEBOAT 13-03
Three fishermen were rescued after their vessel sank off Devon's coast on April 16, 2024. RNLI teams from Exmouth and Torbay were requiested at 9.32 p.m. by the HM Coastguard after having received an urgent mayday call, stating: "fishing vessel sinking". This report was quickly followed by a 999 call confirming that all three crew had taken to the vessel's life raft. Within 12 minutes, both the 'R & J Welburn' from Exmouth and Torbay's Severn Class all-weather lifeboat were on their way to the scene. Additionally, an HM Coastguard's rescue helicopter was also tasked to join the effort. The HM Coastguard secured the location of the sunken vessel using its emergency positioning beacon, pinpointing it roughly 14 miles northeast from Berry Head. The Exmouth's crew were the first to arrive on the scene and recovered all three fishermen from their life raft. Despite being cold, none required further medical assistance. All three casualties were then safely transferred to the waiting Torbay lifeboat and brought back to Brixham, where they were met and collected by their waiting families. Report with photos: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/three-fishermen-forced-life-raft-140714624.html
CASANOVA
On April 14, 2024, tat 02.47 a.m. he 'Casanova', en route from Liuheng to Son Duong, was boarded by five perpetrators, armed with pistols, in pos. 1° 4.47' N 103° 40.72' E, at the Takong Kecil Light. Nothing was reported stolen. The ship arrived in the port of destination on April 18 at 2.10 a.m. uTC.
Keelung
Hong Kong-based Dream Cruises’ World Dream cruise ship made its first port call to Keelung on July 8 and tourism operators have said that the port could receive a visit by Royal Caribbean International’s new Spectrum of the Seas in 2021. With gross tonnage (GT) of 151,300, the World Dream is the largest ship ever to visit Keelung Port, the Keelung Harbor Bureau said on Sunday, July 21. Tourism operators have said that the 169,379GT Spectrum of the Seas could set a new record if it makes an anticipated port call in 2021.
Chittagong Shipbreakers
Bangladesh has become the top dumping ground for discarded ships in the world with the country dismantling the highest number of vessels in the first half (January-June) of the current year, according to a report of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, a leading NGO coalition campaigning for clean and safe ship recycling.
SCOT PIONEER
A leaked radio exchange between an the captain of the 'Scot Pioneer' and the French Coastguard exposed France's infuriating response to the small boats crisis. The captain was outraged after he spotted French navy vessels, including a warship, guiding the traffickers' boats around his ship towards Britain and blocked the 'Scot Pioneer' from entering Dunkirk harbour. The captain begins his protest by radioing the French coastguard with the words: 'I would like to report what is an illegal operation in your waters. This morning we witnessed a French government vessel and a French navy warship escort a boat-load of illegal immigrants across the Channel to the midway point where they handed them over to another [Border Force] ship out of Dover. It has now arrived there. Now I have the French warship passing under my stern, passing another boat-load of immigrants across the Channel. There is also another [French] vessel to the west of us which is escorting a third boat of migrants." In response, the Coastguard informed him that there was an 'arrangement' between the London and Paris governments for the French navy to escort migrant boats towards Britain.
BONGAWAN 9
On April 14, 2024, at 10.20 a.m. four perpetrators boarded the 'Bongawan 9' along with the barge 'Hexagro 9' in pos. 1° 20.93' N 104° 21.08' E off Tanjung Penyusop. The pirates stole scrap metals from the barge.
San Juan
Two more cruise ships bypassed scheduled stops in san Juan as demonstrators have been calling for the resignation of Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló. The loss of tourism is impacting the island's economy. Tourism officials said the two ships would have generated a $1.3 million economic impact. Officials estimated the island missed out on a combined $760,000 from the Seaside and Equinox on Monday
Sines
The Portuguese government announced an investment of 547 million euros in the expansion of the Port of Sines in the southwest of the country and an agreement to extend its concession from 2029 to 2049. The agreement was reached last week between Portugal and PSA Singapore for the completion of the 3rd phase of expansion of Terminal XXI, so as to greatly increase its capacity and give another 20 years of operations in Portugal to PSA Singapore. The Sines port, 58 nautical miles south of Lisbon, is one of the major European ports and the great hub port of the Iberian-Atlantic front.