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The MAIB has published an investigation report into an incident where on July 29, 2021, at 1:53 p.m. the bosun of the 'Clipper Pennant', actually sailing as 'Ur', was fatally crushed when he became trapped between a moving vehicle and the vessel’s structure. The ship was alongside in Liverpool, England, loading a cargo of semi-trailers. A tractor unit driver pushed a semi-trailer into a corner space, marshalled by the vessel’s bosun in his assigned role as banksman. The driver then disconnected the tractor unit and drove away. Shortly afterwards, the bosun was found trapped between the rear of the semi-trailer and the vessel’s structure, having sustained fatal injuries. The accident happened because the tractor unit driver did not stop pushing the semi-trailer when they lost sight of the bosun during the manoeuvre. This was due to a procedural workaround that had become routine practice at the port, whereby the banksman was expected to move to an unsighted position behind a nearby semi-trailer. However, the bosun in this instance did not act as expected. He instead stood on a painted walkway located inside the vehicle lane to marshal the semi-trailer into the space, and so remained in its path as it approached. The semi-trailer had inadvertently been parked at an angle, encroaching the walkway and striking the bosun. The investigation found that the working practices on board the 'Clipper Pennant' did not reflect industry guidelines and company procedure; there was no documented procedure for stowing semi-trailers in the more hazardous corner stowage spaces, which led to the development of local workarounds that went unchallenged; and organisational oversight was insufficiently effective, both in the approach of the vessel’s operator, Seatruck Ferries Limited, to learning lessons from previous accidents and the management of the port and its tractor unit drivers by the vessel’s charterer, P&O Ferries Limited. Since the accident, Seatruck Ferries Limited has taken several actions to improve safety on its vehicle decks, including developing a new safe system of work that recognises dynamic danger zones and establishing standard loading procedures that better reflect the work performed. The company has also engaged with the industry to share its findings following several trials and tests of new procedures on company vessels and in various ports. A safety recommendation has been made to industry bodies to develop a jointly agreed and consolidated industry Code of Practice for vehicle deck safety on roll-on/roll-off vessels. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Health and Safety Executive are recommended to amend their relevant codes and guidelines to reflect industry best practice. Recommendations have also been made to: P&O Ferries Limited to review how it achieves assurance that its ports adhere to its operational procedures and that a jointly agreed safe system of work is in place on chartered vessels; and to CLdN RoRo Limited (formerly Seatruck Ferries Limited) to improve its organisational safety culture and ensure effective supervision of vehicle deck cargo loading operations. Fullö report: https://safety4sea.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/UKMAIB-ClipperPennant-2024_11.pdf

On the morning Nov 7, 2024, the 'Rygerfjell' suffered technical problems in Vassøy. The ship was taken out of service and replaced by the ferry 'Rygerkongen' (IMO: 9359997) until further notice.  The departure from Vassøy at 08.10 a.m. is canceled due to the technical problems. The reserve ship made its first sailing from Stavanger at 09.45 a.m. and at 10.30 a.m. from Vassøy. After repairs, the 'Rygerfjell' was back in operation again for the departure at 12.45 p.m. from Stavanger.

On August 1, ABP announced new customers for the Port of Immingham this week: The port welcomed the first vessel in a new contract with customers Top Blue and The Fuel Trading Company. The new deal is expected to bring an extra 30,000 tonnes per year through the Port of Immingham – the largest Port by tonnage in the UK. The cargo being delivered is Prilled Urea which is a key part of the mixture for the AdBlue market.

The new Lamu Port in Kenya took a big step towards completion yesterday with the announcement that its first of 22 berths is finished. According to the South Sudan and Ethiopia Transport Corridor Development Authority, the second and third berths will be completed by December 2020.

In Benin, the CRIET rendered its decision on Nov 7, 2024, on the request for provisional release of the defendants in the case of 'SPSL Udeme', stranded in Fidjrossè. The 14 people arrested, and police and navy officers allegedly involved in the case will remain in prison pending the outcome of their trial. The Special Court rendered its decision on the request for provisional release of the defendants. In its decision, the court rejected the lawyers' request for provisional release. After its decision, the Court adjourned the proceedings to Nov 28, to continue the proceedings. Following this decision of the court, the 18 defendants, including the 14 members of the ship's crew and twio agents of the national navy, a police commissioner and a smuggler, returned to prison pending the next hearing. The state officials (two sailors and a police officer) are being prosecuted for "abuse of office". As for the 14 members of the crew, they are accused of "navigating without title" in the waters of Benin. The smuggler, presumed owner of the cargo, is being prosecuted for "trafficking in petroleum products". They all pleaded not guilty to these charges. During the previous hearing, the CRIET ordered, at the request of the public prosecutor, the dismantling of vessel at the owner's expense.

The Disciplinary Board for Shipping has investigated the allision of the 'ARM 18-Joris Senior ' with the tanker 'Golden Daisy' on the night of Sep 28, 2022, which was anchored near IJmuiden. The damage was extensive. The cutter was on its way to IJmuiden with six crew members, the ship's home port since the ban on pulse fishing. Just before 11.30 p.m., when it slammed into the tanker's side, rupturing a water tank . The bow of the fishing vessel was badly damaged too. The cause of the accident was that the helmsman was on the toilet. He has now been given a hefty fine. The helmsman was on board as a substitute skipper and officer of the watch at the time of the allision. The man appears to have made one mistake after another. He did not follow the course that the skipper had set. The intention was to sail north of the anchorage to IJmuiden. While the rest of the crew was asleep, the helmsman chose to go through the anchorage area anyway to arrive a bit earlier. It should have been clear to him that, sailing through the anchorage, constant alertness on the bridge was required, but left the bridge for about five minutes, without anyone else there. While he had seen the tanker, he expected the cutter to pass it at a distance of a few hundred metres, not taking into account the influence of the wind and the current. Furthermore, the agreement was that he would call the skipper when they approached IJmuiden. He had failed to do so. The disciplinary board found that the man ‘seriously failed in his responsibilities as a helmsman/officer of the watch, resulting in the allision, and that it was incomprehensible that the man simply went to the toilet. As a result, he ‘endangered the safety of the crews. He was previously fined 1500 euros for acting as a substitute skipper on a ship, while he did not have the correct certifictes for this. The disciplinary board has now imposed a fine of 3000 euros on him, half of which is conditional. This took into account the fact that he is the sole earner and can no longer sail as a crew member due to physical problems, partly caused by the accident. The fishing cutter involved in the accident no longer in service. The ship was handed in for scrapping a few months after the collision as part of the restructuring scheme for the fishing industry. Report with photo: https://www.pzc.nl/middelburg/toiletbezoek-met-grote-gevolgen-viskotter-botst-op-tanker~a5ba1be7/?cb=b6617ba5-164e-488e-9051-51875381afec&auth_rd=1

Terminal operator APM Terminals (APMT) has released a video of the final three ship-to-shore (STS) cranes arriving at the Vado Gateway terminal, which it hopes will be the next major logistics hub for the Mediterranean and Europe. The Vado Gateway terminal is scheduled to open on December 12, 2019, and will be built with a 700-meter deep-sea berth specifically to handle the latest Ultra Large Container Ships (ULCS), as well as an automated gate and stacking area. APMT announced the inauguration date in July 2019 – a story PTI reported on at the time. Located in the Vado Ligure Port Complex in the northwest of the country, it will be the first semi-automated port in Italy and be integrated with an already existing reefer terminal.

The Port of Hamburg, Germany’s largest universal port, saw its inland and hinterland cargo traffic grow by 12.1% – 2.57 million tons – in the first quarter of 2019, according to its latest financial results. The data also shows that, for the first quarter of 2019, the Port has handled 34,640 TEU – 20ft standard containers – an increase of 20% in comparison with the same period last year.

On the morning of Nov 8, 2024, the fire service was called to Frekhaug in Alver after smoke and a burning smell were reported on the Norwegian flagged fast ferry 'Fjordkatt', 226 gt (IMO: 9380790)when it approached the quay in Frekhaug. Fire and police at the site could not find where the smell was coming from. It must have been an electrical fault. There were 35 passengers on board the vessel. There have been no reports of injuries. Most of the passengers were to get off at Frekhaug, while those going on were transported by bus. The crew on board have called in an electrician to find out the cause of the fault. The Nordhordland route, which runs between Knarvik, Frekhaug and Bergen, has been canceled until further notice.

The wreck of the 'Atina', which had sunk on Aug 10, 2024, due to a fire in front of the Saline, has re-emerged from the waters of Olbia on Nov 4. The ship was reised with f a crane, which hoisted the vessel aboard the platform 'Conquest MB1'. On Nov 5, more operations including the inspection and reclamation of the seabed, where the wreck was located, were planned. The Olbia Coastguard will also carry out an inspection of the hull to investigate the cause of the fire. After the operations, the wreck of the 'Atina' will be demolished in Piombino. Report with photos: https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/watch-154-foot-sunken-superyacht-raised-from-sardinian-waters-for-scrapping/

The Government of Maharashtra, India, India has named the Virgin Hyperloop One – DP World Consortium as Original Project Proponent (OPP) for the Pune-Mumbai Hyperloop Project, making it the first hyperloop project in the world. In a statement, Virgin Hyperloop One described it as a “landmark announcement” for the building of the Mumbai-Pune hyperloop transportation system.

Starting August 1 and until November 30, 2019, the Panama Canal will promote the implementation of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) annual recommendations on speed and maritime transit aimed at protecting cetaceans, which include whales, dolphins and other large aquatic mammals, during their nearby seasonal migration. With these measures, ships should proceed at a speed of not more than 10 knots in specified areas. Panama has monitored this requirement since December 1, 2014 when maritime traffic separation devices (TSS) were installed by both the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean entry points to the Canal.