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One month after the 'Aito Nui II' was damaged on a reef in Hitia’a on Sep 30, 2024, will be replaced by a Caledonian tug with a 54-ton pulling force, which is expected at the Port of Papeete on Dec10. Until then, the towing operations will be carried out by the remaining port tug 'Aito Nui I' and the two port pushers that are made available by the French Navy. This allows to dock all ships less than 200 meters long. For ships measuring between 200 and 265 meters, it is still possible to dock them at the Port of Papeete if the weather conditions are favourableUntil Dec 10, the port will be able to accommodate at least 14 ships out of the 16 scheduled. The absence of the 'Aito Nui II' was beginning to worry the various economic players in the area, whether public or private. The ship will be chartered for six months, the time it takes to repair the 'Aito Nui II': The ship's keel has been completely deformed, and the impact on the reef also have caused leaks in the ship's hull according to initial findings. There are two investigations underway: an internal investigation by the port of Papeete, and another conducted by the State.

The State proceedings from the planned sale of the 'Matthew' were set to be largely wiped out by the costs of maintaining the vessel over the past 14 months. The bulk carrier was seized on Sep 26, 2023 after a drug interdiction operation by the Naval Service, Gardaí, Army Ranger Wing, Air Corps and Revenue Commissioners. While initially valued at €9.5m, the freighter has depreciated in value since then, while the Revenue Commissioners confirmed that protection and maintenance of the vessel has cost the State €5.3m to the end of September. For the past 14 months, the ship has been berthed between Marino Point and Passage West in Cork, pending the conclusion of ongoing court proceedings, under the provisions of the Customs Act, 2015.. Eight men are due to face trial before the Special Criminal Court in Jan 2025 over the seizure. The plan is to dispose of the vessel, most likely by public auction. The vessel is now forfeit to the Revenue Commissioners. A number of individuals are the subject of legal proceedings being taken by An Garda Síochána and the 'Matthew 'is an exhibit in those proceedings and remains under the care and management of Revenue, as the seizing authority. Protecting and maintaining the 'Matthew' is costing the State €380,000 per month. Generators have to be regularly operated to keep the ship in operational status. For maintenance reasons, the ship cannot be fully shut down, even though this would reduce costs. Once all prosecutions arising from the seizure are concluded, the State will seek a court order to allow the 2.2 tonnes of drugs to be destroyed by incineration. Gardaí have liaised with police in the United Arab Emirates, United States, China, the UK, Spain and the Caribbean over the bulk carrier and its movements in the weeks before its seizure off the Irish coast.

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.

Canada’s arctic port of Churchill is set to resume its first grain shipments since 2015 after a group backed by investor Prem Watsa stepped in last year to buy the facility and a related rail line linking the northern town with the rest of Manitoba. The 88-year-old port on the shores of Hudson’s Bay will resume operations in the next few months, reducing by several days the shipping time to deliver grains to Europe and the Middle East across the Atlantic Ocean.

The Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure VROMI has reached a successful resolution regarding the 'Island Scout”. The cost of the salvage of the vessel from Great Bay has been settled. The vessel, was initially beached on Great Bay during the passage of Tropical Storm Ernesto, which later intensified into a hurricane, was salvaged and brought to Port St. Maarten, after which VROMI issued a liability notice to the owner, requiring them to cover the cost associated with the salvage as mandated by the National Ordinance for the removal of ships and wrecks. An agreement was reached with JWvanStee, a maritime service company responsible for managing the salvage and overseeing the towage to the port. An official inspection to certify the vessel’s fitness for towage was conducted at Port St. Maarten. The owner subsequently committed to pay all costs related to the operation, totalling just under US $70,000. This payment was made one day before the deadline on Oct 15, effectively preventing the sale of the vessel. Following the confirmation of the payment, Minister Patrice Gumbs of VROMI officially lifted the liability notice, restoring ownership and control of the “Island Scout” to its owner. With the settlement completed, country St. Maarten authorized the departure , and the ship sailed on Oct 19.

The 'Solidaire' arrived in the port of Naples with 81 migrants of various nationalities on board on Nov 5, 2024. The reception operations, coordinated by the Prefecture, were carried out according to the plan agreed upon in the preparatory meeting held yesterday at the Government Palace. They involved the Juvenile Court Prosecutor's Office in Naples, the Municipality (Welfare Department), ASL Napoli 1 Centro, the Port Authority, the Maritime Health Office, the Regional Civil Protection, law enforcement, the Port Authority, the Fire Department, the Italian Red Cross, and the Diocesan Caritas. After initial identification and a preliminary health check, the migrants were transferred to the Residence of the Ospedale del Mare, provided by ASL Napoli 1 Centro, for further police operations and health assessments. Subsequently, they will be assigned to the Extraordinary Reception Centers in the region.

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.

BEST terminal in the Port of Barcelona has recently increased its storage and connection capacity for refrigerated containers, from 1,600 connection points up to 2,750, an increase of 70%, making it one of the terminals with the most connections for refrigerated containers in the whole of the Mediterranean area.

Ukraine’s Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) responsible for seized assets during the Russian war has received the court authority to proceed with the sale of the ÄNika Spirit', the Ukraine has detained since 2019. The product tanker, which was involved in an incident pre-dating the February 2022 invasion, will be sold to provide funds for the Ukrainian defense efforts. It can be more effective in selling seized Russian assets instead of the prior plan to manage the assets for income. THe ARMA started preparations for an online auction to sell the tanker after receiving authorization from the Dnipro District Court of Kyiv. The agency had appealed to the court for authority and is in the process of seeking an independent appraiser to set the value of the tanker. The vessel, then sailing as 'Neyma' was involved in an incident in Nov 2018 where it claimed to have grounded near the Kerch Strait Bridge's main channel. The channel was blocked to coincide with the passage of three Ukrainian naval vessels from Odesa to the port of Mariupol. The vessels were attacked by Russian forces which boarded the ships and seized 24 Ukrainian crew members. The Russian authorities charged them as civilians for violating the Russian border. The tanker berthed in July 2019 in Izmir where the Ukrainian authorities moved to detain the ship for its involvement in the incident. The vessel was displaying the name 'Nika Spirit', but was still using the same IMO identification number as Neyma. Ukraine released the crew but continued to hold the vessel. The ARMA took custody of the tanker after the invasion and in 2023 reported it had selected a manager to operate the 'Nika Spirit' until 2026. The agency has instead decided to sell the ship to quickly raise badly needed funds for Ukraine. The agency also has control of the bulk carrier 'Emmakris III', which was in the port of Chornomorsk at the time of the invasion. ARMA presented documentation in court showing the vessel’s beneficial owners were a Russian company, Linter, registered in the city of Rostov-on-Don, although the ship is registered in Panama and listed as being managed by a company in the UAE.

The fire aboard the 'X-Press Pear' has become controversial amid allegations of corruption in handling compensation claims under the previous government. The island nation had a political leadership change in Sep 2024, with Anura Kumara Dissanayake elected as its new president. The new Sri Lankan government has decided to reopen the case in the wake of allegations that a $6.4bn insurance claim filed in Singapore was mishandled, in order to unearth possible lapses and to ascertain how the claim can be recovered. Abot $8m was settled by the ship’s insurer or P&I club, in multiple stages, against the massive claim. A litigation was ongoing against the feeder line in Singapore, and against its London-based insurer in a UK court. Sri Lanka has legal constraints against the carrier or its insurer in the face of “no asset base” for them in the country to underwrite the damages through potential confiscation, sources believe. Multiple sources, including those attached to the Sri Lanka Marine Environmental Protection Authority, had earlier flagged concerns about some “intentional laxity and delays” by agencies of the previous government in pursuing the claim for damages.

APM Terminals Maasvlakte II’s new rail service between its Rotterdam terminal and Venlo, a key logistics hub on the Dutch-German border is proving popular. Following the success of the initial five-times-per-week service, plans are already in place to scale this up to 14 times per week over the coming weeks.

A 24-hour national labour strike is planned on Jul 24, in all Italian ports and all transportations. The planned strike is subject to confirmation in the coming days.