On Nov 8 the medical evacuation of a passenger from the 'Costa Favolosa' became necessaey. The 'Salvamar Fomalhaut' was tasked by Salvamento Marìtimo to take the patient off and transferred the person, along with a member of the ship's medical team, to Tarragona.
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EXPLORER OF THE SEAS
On Nov 7, the 'Explorer of the Seas encountered a sudden gust of near hurricane-force winds sending the massive cruise ship into several exaggerated rolls. Passengers were sliding about and in the aftermath plates, glass, bottles at the bar, gift shop merchandise, and more all scattered about. In the immediate aftermath of the severe weather the ship was put into a safety protocol according to reports with all passengers asked to return to their cabins. The crew worked to account for everyone and determine the extent of injuries. Several crewmembers and passengers reported sustained injuries. One passenger is requiring more extensive medical care. The ship turned around to Las Palmas, where it arrived in Nov 9.
Mombasa
The first berth of the Lamu Port is now 98 per cent complete and is set to be unveiled next month. The construction has been ongoing for three years. Stakeholders are optimistic that it will have a socio-economic transformation of the region through trade. It will open up the corridor counties to the rest of the country and neighbouring states. At least 33 shipping companies have shown interest and their representatives have either toured the site or will do so before the opening date. Lamu Port will be actively involved in the transhipment business as its depth can accommodate big ships from which cargo can be loaded to smaller ships bound for Mombasa, according to Abdullahi Samatar, Kenya Ports Authority general manager in charge of Infrastructure development.
Chittagong Shipbreakers
Two workers were killed and three others injured after a cable attached to a ship collapsed on them at a shipbreaking yard at Sitakunda in Bangladesh on Saturday evening. The accident happened at the Ziri Subedar shipbreaking yard and is the latest in a series of deaths at Bangladeshi yards this year. On July 31, three workers died after inhaling toxic fumes from a gas leak while dismantling a tanker in the same shipbreaking yard.
CAPELLA
The 'Capella' ran aground on Nov 11, 2024, at 4.51 p.m. near Holmön in Norra Kvarken. The Sea Rescue Society rushed out to the scene as well as a pilot boat. A helicopter was also put on standby, but there was no need for help. There were seven people on board the ship - five passengers and two crew members -, which did not take in water and did not leak fuel. The weather was calm during the evening, but there was some fog. At 7.30 p.m. all passengers were evacuated to shore with the help of the Sea Rescue Society. The ferry was to be towed away on the morning of Nov 12 at daylight. The ferry 'Helena Elisabeth' was inserted on the route at 6 a.m. as a replacement. The accident commission will investigate what caused the ferry to run aground.
Sydney
NSW Ports and Patrick Terminals have commenced work on a A$190 million project to double on-dock rail infrastructure capacity at Port Botany’s Patrick Terminals - Sydney AutoStrad in Australia. The project includes investment of A$120 million from NSW Ports to deliver on-dock rail infrastructure and A$70 million from Patrick Terminals to deliver automated rail operating equipment at the container terminal. The project will deliver capacity to handle one million TEUs on rail and improve train turn-around times by 33 percent. It will be opened in stages to allow existing rail operations at the terminal to continue throughout the construction period. Once fully operational in 2023, the project will increase rail capacity of the Patrick Terminals – Sydney AutoStrad from 250,000 to one million TEU. It is anticipated to reduce the truck kilometers travelled in Sydney by at least 10 million per year, saving over two million liters of diesel per year – the equivalent of a net reduction of more than 5,400 in CO2 emissions tonnes per year.
Colombo
The Sri Lankan government on Friday said it has begun a massive development project to further modernize its ports across the country in order to transform Sri Lanka into a maritime hub in the region. The government information department said in a statement that under this mega development project, the Port of Colombo will continue to develop its facilities for container handling by continuous addition of capacity, advanced handling and processing technology. “The development of the East Container Terminal (ECT) at the Port of Colombo will be followed by the West Container Terminal (WCT 1 and 2) ahead of demand. The ECT and the South Asia Gateway Terminal will be expanded to create an ultra large container terminal, expanding the total capacity to 35 million TEUs in the coming years,” Sirimevan Ranasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Ports and Shipping and Western Development said. Last year, the Port of Colombo handled a record breaking seven million TEUs(twenty-foot equivalent units).
UKUSHIMA
On Nov 10, 2024, at 9.40 a.m. LT a fire broke out in the engine room of the 'Ukushima', while the minesweeper was sailing north of Fukuoka on the island of Kyushu, en route to southeastern Kyushu for mine warfare drills. An unitial attempt by the crew to contain the blaze failed. As the fire began to engulf the vessel, the Japan Coast Guard dispatched a fire fighting vessel to assist, while the MSDF redirected the minesweeper 'Toyoshima' to the scene. After several hours of fire fighting, the fire looked as if it was contained. However, it flared up again a short time later and spread through out the wooden hull. Firefighting efforts were ongoing as of 8:30 p.m. after the crew was evacuated to the 'Toyoshima'. When the evacuation was completed, a roll call found that the petty officer on duty in the engine room had been left on board the 'Ukushima'. Another crew member, was also on duty in the engine room at the time of the incident had to be taken to hospital for smoke inhalation. The flames continued to engulf the 'Ukushima' until the vessel capsized and sank. The Coast Guard have dispatched divers to inspect the wreck and search the vessel for the missing officer. The MSDF has launched an investigation into the incident. Report with video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-8ESzG3YQY&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fshipwrecklog.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE
Philadelphia
Singapore-based port operator PSA International has completed the acquisition of Penn Terminals, located on the Delaware River in the US, from Macquarie Infrastructure Partners. According to PSA, Penn Terminals is one of the best equipped, privately owned multipurpose marine terminals on the Eastern Coast of the US. The deal marks PSA’s first acquisition in the US. Penn has recently undergone a significant capacity upgrade with the addition of two new post-panamax ship-to-shore (STS) cranes in late 2018.
Aqaba
The Aqaba Container Terminal (ACT) is the only container port in Jordan and the primary trade gateway for the Jordanian market, bordering five countries and three continents. The port handles capacities of 1.2 million TEUs and 1km of berthing. Under a joint Development Agreement between APM Terminals and the Aqaba Development Corporation (ADC), BAM International, a subsidiary of the European BAM Group, built the container terminal in 2013 and the Aqaba New Port in 2014. APM Terminals has invested USD 284 million in developing the terminal’s infrastructure and expanding its capacity.