News

In the hearing on April 15, the National Transportation Safety Board approved final conclusions from the investigation of the fire aboard the 'Grande Costa D'Avorio' in the port of Newark in 2023. The investigators confirmed that the fire started when the Jeep Wrangler that longshoremen used as a pusher vehicle overheated and burned inside the cargo bay, setting nearby vehicles on fire. The 'Grande Costa D'Avorio' carried used cars from the U.S. to Africa, including forklifts that were so damaged that they could not roll, and "non-runner" vehicles that have to be pushed aboard. The Terminal operator Ports America's local unit in Newark was in the practice of using ordinary passenger vehicles as pusher trucks to shove non-running but still-rolling cars up the loading ramp and up the interior ramps inside the vessel. The Jeep Wrangler was in use in an industrial application for which it was not intended. This particular vehicle model was subject to a recall notice because its transmission had a tendency to overheat under extreme offroad use. Overheating would cause the transmission fluid to boil out of the housing and contact hot engine parts or exhaust piping, where it would catch fire. To address this known problem, the recall required installing an audible hot oil alarm and a warning light on the dashboard; the Jeep had had this service done - but the alarm was just a warning, not a shutoff. On the day of the fire, the 'Grande Costa D'Avorio' was loading 920 used cars for export, including nonrunners. At about 0 p.m., a longshoreman was driving the Wrangler on his 38th push run of the day up the nterior ramps, a far heavier task than the offroading conditions addressed by Jeep's recall. He was shoving a nonrunner ahead when he heard a clunk, and he saw fireballs dripping from underneath the vehicle. Based on the recall notice, the evidence from the scene and the extreme duty cycle imposed on the Jeep, The NTSB concluded that the casualty was caused by the decision to use a vehicle that wasn't designed for the application, resulting in its transmission oil boiling over and catching fire on hot engine parts. The Jeep operator was not able to get the fire out with an extinguisher, and the ship's fire alarm system went off, alerting the crew. 22 minutes after the fire was discovered, the master ordered the space sealed off and the fixed CO2 firefighting system discharged. However, the crew could not close the Deck 12 garage door because there was no external control to operate it. In order to close it, one crew member would have had to stand inside the burning space, hold an actuator button down to shut themselves in with the smoke and fire, then make their way 120 feet aft to a ladder well on the port side - between tightly parked cars. The lack of a button on the ramp side of the door was a SOLAS violation, according to NTSB, but the class society told the agency that it was acceptable because the door stays closed while at sea and does not need to be operated under way - only in port. The captain agreed that closing the door with crew members on the fire side would be unsafe, so the garage door stayed open. The CO2 system was discharged anyways with the door still fully open; an ATF study performed after the fact found that if the crew had had a practical way to close the door, the CO2 would have put out the fire. When the firefighters arrived on scene, the incident commander ordered a squad into the space to attack the fire. The local fire department's decision to open and close other compartment boundaries for moving personnel in and out further reduced the CO2 concentration and the fixed firefighting system's effectiveness, the NTSB concluded, ultimately increasing the severity of the fire. The NTSB noted that this decision was contrary to normal marine firefighting practice. Two firefighters went missing in the space and a SAR effort began. The compartment's ventilation system was turned on to clear smoke, removing the rest of the CO2 and introducing fresh oxygen. The two missing men lost their lives inside the space, and the fire burned for days. The NTSB believed that the two firefighters were exposed to an unnecessary risk when they were ordered into the CO2 flooding zone without being informed that it had been activated. The incident commander did not communicate the fact that the CO2 system had been discharged to the personnel entering the ship; at one point, a fire battalion chief even climbed a ladder well and opened a hatch to look in, despite the risk of asphyxiation on the other side. The NTSB found that most of the local first responders had not recently taken marine firefighting classes, and they were not familiar with the vessel's fire control plan or with CO2 flooding systems. The lack of marine vessel firefighting training left the land based firefighters unprepared to respond to a vessel fire, resulting in an ineffective response that contributed to the fire's spread, vessel damage and led to the firefighters' casualties. The NTSB believed that local Newark firefighters should never have entered the space to fight the fire. The best method to extinguish that fire was to work with the crew to close the Deck 12 door and allow the CO2 to function. The NTSB has issued a recommendation to AAPA to inform all port authorities of the risks of the dangerous misuse of passenger trucks as pusher vehicles. It also asked seaports to help out their local fire departments to increase awareness, adopt basic vessel familiarization and firefighter training among first responders. The NTSB also recommended that the 'Grande Costa D'Avorio''s class society should change its guidelines to require SOLAS fire doors to be closeable from both sides.

arrived Chittagong Anchorage 16.04.25

The American destroyer USS 'Kidd' returned to Everett after nearly 50 crew members aboard were tested positive for coronavirus as of April 27, 2020. This was the second reported outbreak of COVID-19 aboard a US Navy vessel at sea. After concerns were raised about cases aboard the USS 'Theodore Roosevelt', one sailor assigned to that ship died from coronavirus complications. Roughly half the crew members on the USS 'Kidd' have been tested for the virus, and some have been evacuated. 45% of the ship have been tested for COVID-19, with 47 total positive results. Two Sailors have been medically evacuated. 15 sailors have been transferred to USS 'Makin Island (LHD 8)' for monitoring due to persistent symptoms. None were in the ICU or on ventilators. Sailors aboard the USS 'Kidd' were wearing PPE and N95 masks. Initial COVID-19 testing of sailors from the USS 'Theodore Roosevelt' were now complete, there are 955 active cases, along with 14 recovered cases. The USS 'Kidd' was on a counter narcotics mission' when ait was reported at least 18 crew had fallen ill with the virus.

The chairman of the board of Grenaa Shipyard, Esben Møller, was deeply affected by the violent gas explosion on the dredger 'Grete Fighter', which injured three employees on April 23, 2020. The cause is still unknown. Shipyard chairman deeply affected by accide. "We have never experienced anything like it here, ”says Esben Møller. The accident happened shortly after lunch break when the employees were on their way back to the ship, which was in the shipyard in connection with a 5 year revision. On the way to the ship's tank system there was a huge explosion. Two men have reached the bottom of the ship, while the one closest to the exit was being helped out. Police and fire departments were alerted at 9.35 a.m., and shipyard and ship crews quickly reached the two at the bottom of the ship, which were most severely affected by the explosion, but were unable to rescue them. But they stayed with them until the fire department and the ambulance arrived. According to police, the three severely injured people who were flown to Rigshospitalet are a 31-year-old man from Norddjurs, a 53-year-old man from Syddjurs and a 50-year-old man from West Funen. "I don't know about their situation anymore, other than it's very serious," Esben Møller said. The accident is now being investigated by the police and the Labor Inspectorate. The 'Grete Fighter', which is owned by Peter Madsen Rederi, was in the yard for a five-year inspection. According to Grenaa Shipyard, on the ship various steel works were to be carried out, measurements of screw shaft and rudder, full service of auxiliary and main engine, dismantling of bottom and bilge valves and a full coating of bottom and bulwark. In addition, the old excavator had to be dismantled in favour of a new one.

On the morning of April 15, numerous migrant boat departures were reported to the CROSS Gris-Nez between the Walde Lighthouse and Dunkirk. The CROSS deployed several maritime rescue resources to monitor the boats. Initially, the CROSS Gris-Nez engaged the 'Abeille Normandie' to track a boat off the coast of Gravelines. The emergency tug quickly launched its RHIB to assist the occupants of the boat, which was experiencing engine difficulties, and rescued 11 people and brought them to the quay in Boulogne-sur-Mer. At the same time, the CROSS deployed the 'Cormoran' to conduct boat surveillance off the coast of Equihen. Upon arrival, the patrol boat launched its RHIB and made contact with the boat, some of whose occupants requested assistance. In total, the RHIB picked up 12 people and dropped them off at the quay in Boulogne-sur-Mer. Furthermore, the CROSS deployed another patrol boat, the 'Pluvier', to assist a boat in distress off the coast of Bleriot. Once the 'Pluvier' arrived on scene, some of the boat's occupants requested assistance. It picked up seven people on board and dropped them off in Calais. In total, 30 people were assisted and taken into care by the emergency services.

The 'Altzek', loaded with coal bound from Nacala in Nampula, to Poland via Las Palmas, caught fire following an engine room explosion on the afternoon of April 13, 2025. Four tugs with fire-fighting equipment from the CFM-Logistic and Corredor Logístico Norte were mobilized to the site, but the fire had already been extinguished by the ship’s crew. There were four minor injuries among the crew members. They were out of danger and undergoing treatment at a clinic in Nacala after being dropped off in the port. A team of naval engineers was called to carry out a technical assessment of the ship to determine whether it could continue its voyage. Report with photos: https://clubofmozambique.com/news/mozambique-four-sustain-minor-injuries-in-coal-ship-fire-280217/

The 'AIDAblu' made a brief stopover yesterday in Marseille on April 26, 2020, to embark several hundred crew members of one of his sisterships, the 'AIDAsol', which has been moored in the port for 1,5 months. The transfer took place to facilitate the repatriation of AIDA personnel via Germany. The 'AIDAblu' set sail again in the afternoon. At the same time, another cruise ship which had been berthed in Marseille since last month, the 'Europa 2' of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, set sail to also return to Germany, its arrival in Hamburg was scheduled for May 2. The Marseille areas now hosted six cruise ships, the 'Costa Smeralda', 'MSC Magnifica' and 'AIDAsol', 'Le Boréal', 'L’Austral' and 'Le Lyrial'. The repatriation operations of the international personnel of these ships was still in progress, in particular via flights chartered by the owners. This was particularly the case for the crew members of the 'MSC Magnifica', which arrived on April 20 and who also landed 4 tonnes of food surplus, donated to local associations to help the most disadvantaged.

More than 1,000 sailors aboard the aircraft carrier 'Charles de Gaulle' have tested positive for COVID-19, a number that could continue to surge as the crew awaits approximately 930 more test results. The outbreak onboard the French navy’s flagship forced leadership to call off the remaining two weeks of the carrier’s scheduled deployment to the North Atlantic. The ship, which carries a crew of nearly 1,800, pulled into port last week at Toulon Naval Base in southern France. In all, 1,081 crew members from the Charles de Gaulle naval group have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. That total comes almost entirely from the carrier, and includes at least two U.S. sailors who were assigned to the ship as part of the U.S. Navy’s Personnel Exchange Program. The American sailors have since been removed from the ship and were receiving excellent host nation medical care at French facilities. The declining health of one French sailor, meanwhile, necessitated a transfer to the intensive care unit. Partially complicating the early detection process onboard the 'Charles de Gaulle' was the rate of asymptomatic carriers. Of the confirmed cases, nearly half showed no symptoms. Additionally, masks were not made available until late in the ship’s deployment. T The debilitating spread of the virus onboard France’s lone carrier, has sparked concern about the nation’s ability to remain ready to fight. Unlike the U.S. Navy, which touts 10 other active carriers in addition to the coronavirus-stricken USS 'Theodore Roosevelt', losing the 'Charles de Gaulle' for an extended period could cripple France’s nuclear deterrence capabilities.

On the morning of April 15, numerous migrant boat departures were reported to the CROSS Gris-Nez between the Walde Lighthouse and Dunkirk. The CROSS deployed several maritime rescue resources to monitor the boats. Initially, the CROSS Gris-Nez engaged the 'Abeille Normandie' to track a boat off the coast of Gravelines. The emergency tug quickly launched its RHIB to assist the occupants of the boat, which was experiencing engine difficulties, and rescued 11 people and brought them to the quay in Boulogne-sur-Mer. At the same time, the CROSS deployed the 'Cormoran' to conduct boat surveillance off the coast of Equihen. Upon arrival, the patrol boat launched its RHIB and made contact with the boat, some of whose occupants requested assistance. In total, the RHIB picked up 12 people and dropped them off at the quay in Boulogne-sur-Mer. Furthermore, the CROSS deployed another patrol boat, the 'Pluvier', to assist a boat in distress off the coast of Bleriot. Once the 'Pluvier' arrived on scene, some of the boat's occupants requested assistance. It picked up seven people on board and dropped them off in Calais. In total, 30 people were assisted and taken into care by the emergency services.

On April 11, 2025, the 'Rapid' was detained in Poti, with nine deficiencies, eight of which being regarded as seriously and grounds for a detention: 1) Emergency systems - Emergency lighting, batteries and switches Inoperative 2) Emergency systems - Emergency fire pump and its pipes Inoperative 3) Emergency systems - Emergency source of power - emergency generator Inoperative 4) Pollution Prevention - Ballast Water Record Book Not as required 5) Propulsion and auxiliary machinery - Auxiliary machinery Not as required 6) Alarms - Engineers alarm Not as required 7) Certificate & Doc - Other (Certificate) Other 8)) Living and working - Steam pipes and pressure pipes Not as required The vessel was relased again on April 13 and left the port en route to Batumi, where it berthed on April 13. The last detention was only on Feb 13 in Karasu with 24 deficiencies for three days, more recent detentions were on Sep 18, 2024, in Karadeniz Eregli with not less than 33 deficiencies for nine days and on Sep 12, 2023, in Bari with 22 deficiencies for 17 days. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063576908591

The Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft shipyard a which had been operating at a loss for some time, filed for self-administered insolvency on April 24. The goal of the shipyard’s filing was to permit it to start afresh. The future of Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft in the medium term was in building Ro-Ro ferries, according to the message delivered by the management at a workers meeting on Sunday April 26. The move is specifically designed to allow the company to start from fresh without existing contractual obligations to customers and suppliers. Though an administrator will be brought in from outside the company, the company management will continue to control the business which is a different process to bankruptcy in German law. Investor Lars Windhorst is prepared to put money into the business through his Tennor Holding investment vehicle. Tennor Holding took 100% control of the yard in 2019. He has said, however, that the money should not be used on loss making contracts. The former majority owner Siem Industries is interested in contracting 4 further Ro-Ro ferries from the yard. Siem recently took delivery of LIEKUT, the eighth of a series of vessels built by FSG for the company to charter out. FSG had been making significant losses for a number of years. The Siem group acquired the company for a token €1 back in November 2014 after severe liquidity problems. Those losses massively increased in recent years, however, with the yard losing an eye watering €111m in 2018. The hugely increased losses were due in part to delivery delays with Irish Ferries 'W.B. Yeats' and the subsequent penalty payments made to Irish Continental Group (ICG). The agreed contract price to build the 'W.B. Yeats' is understood to have left little to no margin for the yard in the first place.

The US Coast Guard medevaced a crewmember from a 600-foot tanker at anchorage approximately 15 miles southeast of Galveston, Texas, on April 19, 2020. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders received a report of a 58-year-old man reportedly experiencing symptoms of an upper respiratory illness. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon as well as local CDC and county health partners who recommended the medevac. Watchstanders launched a Coast Guard Station Galveston 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boat crew. The RB-M boat crew transferred the patient to awaiting emergency medical services personnel at Station Galveston who transported him to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.