The Houthis claimed over the weekend to have widened their area of operations, having targeted three merchant ships as well as US frigates, including one attack in the Indian Ocean. Security consultants however have not confirmed the attacks. and there is a history of the Houthis overstating the success of their naval attacks in the six months that they have been conducting strikes on merchant shipping in support of seeking a truce between Israel and Hamas. The Houthis claimed to have launched missiles against the 'Hope Island', the 'MSC Gina' and the 'MSC Grace F'. The ships were in three separate locations, the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, a significant ramp-up in terms of the geographic spread of attacks, if confirmed. Early indications suggested that none of these ships has been damaged.
News
ICON OF THE SEAS
Edmond Bradley Solomon III, a 66-year-old South Carolina resident, was missing on the 'Icon of the Seas' in the port of Cozumel on April 3, 2024. The former VA critical care nurse had disappeared minutes after getting off the ship. Solomon was recently diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. Solomon and his wife Mimi disembarked from the ship around 1:30 p.m. and stopped for a restroom break before leaving the terminal, where he disappeared. Solomon was reported missing just after 8 p.m., and a search and rescue operation was launched at 9 p.m. During the search, local police received a call from a taxi driver who claimed to have picked up a tourist matching Solomon’s description at around 2:30 p.m. and was asked to drop the American off at a road with beach access. Solomon had paid for the ride using his watch because he claimed he didn’t have any money. The search focused on the vicinity of Isla de la Pasión and all the beaches and businesses in the northern hotel zone were visited, without success. The couple had boarded the 'Icon of the Seas' on March 30 in Miami, Florida and made stops in Costa Maya, Mexico and Roatan, Honduras before docking in Cozumel around 8 a.m. Report with photo and video: https://nypost.com/2024/04/07/us-news/royal-caribbean-passenger-edmond-solomon-missing-in-mexico-vacation/
Tanger-Med
Tangier will today celebrate the opening of the largest container port in capacity terms in the whole of the Mediterranean, something that will bring enormous competition to the likes of Algericas just 25 nautical miles away across the Strait of Gibraltar. The $1.6bn expansion of Tanger Med port, located to the east of the Moroccan city of Tangier, due to be unveiled today will create Africa’s largest port with an annual capacity of 9.5m teu. The port is operated by APM Terminals, Eurogate and a local firm.
Ho Chi Minh
Samsung C&T Corp., a construction unit under Samsung Group, said Tuesday it has won a US$179.5 million project to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Vietnam. Under the deal with Petrovietnam Gas Corp., Samsung C&T and Vietnamese firm PTSC will build the Southeast Asian country’s first LNG terminal, in the coastal area 70 kilometers southeast of Ho Chi Minh City for 40 months. The project also calls for the construction of LNG tanks and other related facilities, according to Samsung C&T. Samsung C&T has a 61 percent stake in the project. Source: Yonhap
MSC GINA
The Houthis claimed over the weekend to have widened their area of operations, having targeted three merchant ships as well as US frigates, including one attack in the Indian Ocean. Security consultants however have not confirmed the attacks. and there is a history of the Houthis overstating the success of their naval attacks in the six months that they have been conducting strikes on merchant shipping in support of seeking a truce between Israel and Hamas. The Houthis claimed to have launched missiles against the 'Hope Island', the 'MSC Gina' and the 'MSC Grace F'. The ships were in three separate locations, the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, a significant ramp-up in terms of the geographic spread of attacks, if confirmed. Early indications suggested that none of these ships has been damaged.
MEGASTAR
On April 6, 2024, the 'Megastar' allided with a quay in Helsinki due to strong gusts of wind. The passengers hardly noticed the impact. The ship suffered minor damage. After an inspection, the ferry was allowed to set sail for Tallinn at 3 p.m. with a delay of 1,5 hours. .
Charleston
South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA), Southeast's deepwater port, said that five rubber-tired gantry (RTG) cranes arrived at Wando Welch Terminal to further modernize operations. The Port has received 14 of the 24 new cranes ordered for the Wando terminal; the terminal currently has 52 RTGs overall. Meanwhile, SCPA reported its strongest May on record, with 204,457 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) handled last month.
Brownsville
The Port of Brownsville is closer to deepening the Brownsville Ship Channel after receiving a key permit June 6 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to advance the Brazos Island Harbor Channel Improvement Project (BIH) to its construction phase.
NUYINA
The 'Nuyina' remains at the center of controversy with the latest report highlighting that it has not carried out any scientific voyages since its launch in 2021. The icebreaker, which is operated by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), has experienced mechanical failures which have raised concerns. as the new Australian federal government report criticizes the fact that the ship has not carried out any scientific expeditions. The only form of scientific research, according to the AAD, arrived in February2024 with its first contribution to a decades-long multinational program studying the tiny marine plants and animals of the Southern Ocean. The 'Nuyina' conducted the survey while sailing to the Casey research station. Before that, the vessel had initially been withdrawn after arriving in Australia due to an electrical problem. During the launch in 2022, it experienced a shortage of spare parts which delayed the first missions until 2023. “The Australian Antarctic Division is struggling to leave enough time on the ship to deliver marine science", the report stated, adding that with Antarctic science being a major benefit the government sought from the investment in the icebreaker, it may be necessary to consider whether the single-ship model is going to achieve all that is required in the Australian Antarctic Programme. The 'Nuyina' is equipped with four permanent scientific laboratories and can accommodate 20 more in additional containers for specialized research projects that will evolve in the coming decades. She can accommodate 117 people and 32 crew for 92 days at sea.
DALI
The Unified Command began to remove containers from the 'Dali' at the Key Bridge on April 7 as part of the effort to gain access to the portion of the bridge that lies atop the ship. The transfer of containers from the the 'Dali' will continue in the coming days, as weather permits. In parallel, wreckage and debris removal continued at the site, including portions of Span 19 that were taken to Sparrows Point, Maryland. While marine traffic was still limited, one vessel has transited through in the last 24 hours, totalling 32 since the creation of the temporary alternate channels. Report with video: https://www.keybridgeresponse2024.com/post/update-11-multimedia-release-removal-of-containers-onboard-m-v-dali-commences-at-site-of-key-bridge
Rotterdam
Container throughput continues to grow in Rotterdam. Following a record year in 2018 and a record quarter in 2019, April of this year was the best month ever for the Port of Rotterdam. 13.6 million tonnes of container freight was handled in April 2019. The previous record month was August 2018 (13.2 million tonnes). Measured in TEU, the standard unit for containers, April 2019 was the second-best month ever, with 1.3 million TEU, just a fraction lower than the record month of August 2018.
San Diego
Matson, Inc., a leading U.S. carrier in the Pacific, and General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard christened the largest combination container/roll-on, roll-off (“con-ro”) ship ever built in the United States in a ceremony at the NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, CA on Saturday, June 15. The new vessel is named ‘Lurline,’ an iconic name in Matson’s long history, dating to the construction of Captain William Matson’s first ship of that name in 1887. Four more ships were given the name in subsequent years; this vessel will be the sixth. The new Lurline is the first of two new ships being built for Honolulu-based Matson by NASSCO at a total cost of approximately $500 million for the pair, and the third of four new vessels that Matson will put into service during 2018, 2019 and 2020. Named in honor of the ocean deity revered in the native Hawaiian culture, Matson’s two “Kanaloa Class” vessels under construction at the NASSCO shipyard are being built on a 3,500 TEU* vessel platform.