News

The HMS 'Northumberland' will be decommissioned in cost-saving measures announced by Defence Secretary John Healey on Nov 20, 2024. The ageing Type 23 frigate was regarded as beyond economic repair, after structural damages were found, and will be decommissioned along with two Wave class tankers. The Army’s Watchkeeper drones, which cost around £5m each and have been in service for a decade but have been beset by problems and are effectively obsolete, will be grounded and the assault ships HMS 'Albion' and HMS 'Bulwark' will be decommissioned too. These decisions were set to save the MoD £150 million over the next two years and up to £500 million over five years.

The municipality of Goeree-Overflakkee has extended the reception of asylum seekers in the outer harbour of Stellendam until FEb 15, 2026. With this extension, the municipality responded to a request from the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA). The request was to continue to help with the reception of asylum seekers, as there was still a great need for reception places in order to relieve the pressure on the registration centre in Ter Apel. At the moment, 118 asylum seekers are accomodated on the 'Bo Elise' which has replaced the 'Esmeralda', which needed maintenance and will not return Stellendam afterwards. The extension of the reception in Stellendam is in line with the regional reception plan for Rotterdam-Rijnmond. This plan was drawn up in the context of the Distribution Act. It was created after extensive consultation between municipalities and other parties involved. The aim is to achieve a balanced distribution of the reception of asylum seekers across the municipalities in the region. The plan stipulates that Goeree-Overflakkee will provide a total of 298 reception places for asylum seekers. With the locations in Middelharnis and Stellendam, the municipality complies with this agreement. On Nov 7, representatives of the municipality and the COA spoke with a s group of stakeholders at the outer harbour of Stellendam. The reception period from jan 1, 2024 to the present was evaluated. The reception was generally going well and quietly. However, members of the group did ask for attention to traffic safety around the reception ship, especially when it is dark. The municipality and COA are addressing this point.

For the fourth day in a row, Iranian-made drones attacked Odesa on Sep 26 in the morning, this time against military targets and without civilian casualties. On Sep 23, two civilians were killed during Russian drone attacks on the port city. On Sep 25, Odesa was attacked by three drones, one of which was reportedly shot down by Ukrainian forces. Ukraine has not officially identified the drones, but from the video footage below it appears, according to experts, that they are Iranian-produced Shakhed 136 drones.

Russian missiles struck the port of Odessa on July 23, 2022, violating a deal signed a day earlier to curb grain exports from Black Sea ports and ease global food shortages caused by the war. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the strike as blatant "barbarism" and that Moscow could not be trusted to implement the agreement. The Ukrainian military said that the missiles had not caused any significant damage and that preparations were underway to resume grain exports from Black Sea ports. The deal, signed by Moscow and Kyiv on July 22 and brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, has been hailed as a breakthrough after nearly five months of punitive fighting since Russia invaded its neighbor. By allowing grain exports from Black Sea ports, including Odessa, it is seen as crucial in curbing rising global food prices.

The 'Aita Mari' has docked in the port of Catania on Nov 20 and disembarked the 53 people rescued in the central Mediterranean, among them a group made up mostly of young people and minors. They had been adrift at sea for three days before being located . The disembarkation took place at around 4:00 p.m., giving priority to the medical care of two people in serious condition, who were examined by the Italian authorities to confirm the initial diagnoses made by the medical team of the NGO ship. The rescued people were coming from Eritrea, Ethiopia and South Sudan, countries marked by armed conflicts and prolonged humanitarian crises. According to testimonies collected by the crew of the 'Aita Mari', many of them endured long and dangerous journeys through the Sahara, facing extreme conditions, before being trapped in Libya, where they had been subjected to “torture, beatings and imprisonment” in detention centres run by “militias and corrupt networks”. After years of trying to cross the Mediterranean, some described situations in which they were required to pay large sums of money, under threat of death, to obtain their release. After their arrival in Catania, they have been placed under the guardianship of the Italian authorities, who will be responsible for initiating their asylum application processes. The 'Aita Mari'will remain in port for the next few days due to storm forecasts.

On the morning of Nov 21, 2024, the Port Authority of Agios Efstratios was informed by the master of the'Blue Star Mykonos', which was performing its scheduled route from Kavala to Myrina – Agios Efstratios – Mytilini – Chios – Vathi – Karlovasi – Fourni – Agios Kyrykos – Mykonos – Syros and Piraeus, that its approach to the port was deemed unsafe due to the adverse weather conditions prevailing in the area. The ship continued its route for the port of Mytilene. Four passengers and two trucks were waiting to disembark on the ship.

Yaizu Port is one of the leading fishing ports in Japan. In August 2022, the VesselTracker AIS receiving station opened at Yaizu Port.

A fire at a container depot in the town of Sitakunda about 40 km from Chittagong led to a chemical explosion in containers that killed at least 49 and injured more than 300 people on June 4, 2022. Among those killed in the blast that could be heard several miles away were several firefighters. Dozens of dead were scattered among the burnt-out containers and many of the wounded were in critical condition after the huge explosion in the depot containing about 4,000 containers. Hundreds of firefighters, police and volunteers quickly arrived at the depot as the fire broke out around 6 p.m. LT. The extinguishing work had started when the violent explosion threw parts from containers and people into the air. At least five firefighters were killed and even more injured. Many were still missing on June 5. The container depot serves as a staging post for the goods - primarily clothing - to be exported via Chittagong, and contained millions of dollars worth of clothing that was to be passed on to businesses in Western countries. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLiyBU7RKIc&feature=emb_title

Turkey on Nov 20 denounced the missile attack targeting the 'Anadolu S' in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi terrorists. "We condemn the Houthi missile attacks on the Panamanian-flagged dry cargo ship Anadolu S, owned by a Turkish company, sailing off the coast of Yemen," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ministry did not specify whether the ship had suffered any damage and only said that "the necessary initiatives were being taken to prevent a similar incident from happening again." The Houthis, who claimed responsibility for the attack on Nov 19, said it hit the ship “precisely and directly” and was carried out because it had failed to respond “to warnings from naval forces.” The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), run by a multinational naval coalition that includes the United States and European countries and based in Bahrain, said it had investigated the incident and had established “an indirect link of the targeted ship to Israel.”

On the morning of Nov 21, the Port Authority of Milos was informed by the master of the passenger f'Kydon Palace',which was performing its scheduled route from the port of Heraklion to the ports of Milos and Piraeus, that its approach to the port was considered unsafe due to the adverse weather conditions prevailing. The ship continued its route to the port of Piraeus. At the port of Milos, 44 passengers were waiting to board, four vehicles, a truck and two two-wheelers, while one passenger was about to disembark. The passengers were forwarded to their destination by the care of the ship-owning company.

Workers at Felixstowe have decided to go on a strike for the first time since 1989. Shipping firms and union leaders have warned that the actions could heavily impact the supply chains and also leave buyers waiting for their necessary goods and other commodities. Nearly 1,900 members of the Unite at Felixstowe have walked out in a dispute regarding pay in the most recent outbreak of industrial action to hit some sectors of the economy. Workers, including machine operators, crane drivers, and stevedores will take action after voting by more than nine to one in favor of strikes. The union said that the eight-day halt is likely to have a significant impact on the port that typically handles almost 4m containers in one year from about 2,000 ships. Felixstowe handles about half of the containerized freight that enters the country and the actions could indicate that vessels have to be diverted to ports in other places in Europe or the UK. Haulage majors have warned that the strike could have a serious impact on business, while trade organizations have said that the consumers could be affected by price increases. All through Suffolk, the bill could run into millions and all over the country a lot more. It is not going to impact the food supply chains as all fresh produces are in stock, but it will impact the supply chain in terms of fences, furniture, and bits and bobs. Maersk, one of the largest container shippers in the world, has said that the strike may cause delays and force it to make changes to its vessel lineup. In the meantime, consumers may be hit with price hikes and shortages of some products. Consumer prices are already rising owing to the increases in the shipping rates experienced since the middle of 2020. Further disruptions in the UK are going to add to the cost pressures, even though the temporary unavailability of some commodities may be the first noticeable impact on the consumers.

LBH Colombia- SHIP AGENTS We are always glad to provide our dedicated assistance as ship agents when a vessel is calling at any Colombian port or terminal. ON YOUR BEHALF, WE CONTRACT, COORDINATE AND / OR SUPERVISE FOLLOWING SERVICES:  - Provision & Ship Chandler  - Crew change  -Medical assistance  -Bilingual assistance, Interpreter / translator for all related maritime services  -Ship spares & parcel deliveries  -Surveys, inspector, and certificates  -Local repairs and technical services Riohacha | Puerto Brisa ​ Calle 14 G # 21A-05 Barrio Cooperativo Phone: +57 315 8984080 E-mail: opz2@lbhcolombia.com https://www.lbhcolombia.com/ __________________________________