News

An operation to transfer approximately 150,000 tons of crude oil from the 'Sounion' to the 'Delta Blue'', using portable equipment, started at a safe anchorage point in the port of Suez on Nov 7. It is being conducted by a salvage crew aboard the tug 'Aigaion Pelagos'. The process is expected to take three to four weeks. The 20 separate fires caused by explosions triggered by the Houthis have been successfully extinguished by the crew of the 'Aigaion Pelagos'. The primary goal is to secure the ship and ensure its stability, as it lacks operational mechanical systems and its hull plates have been weakened by deck fires and subsequent explosions after being struck in a drone attack on Aug 21.

The ‘Libra’ has arrived in the port of Shengjin on the morning of Nov 7. The ship had left Lampedusa with just eight asylum seekers on board, after judges in Catania and Rome rejected the Meloni government’s “safe countries” decree on Nov 4. As the conflict between the Italian judiciary and the government over migrants continued, the eight asylum seekers were sent to Albania on ‘Libra’ on the morning of Nov 6. The migrants will be transferred to the Gjader repatriation centre. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said on Nov 6 that the decision to transfer the small number of people was taken according to very strict operational procedures. The Catania court did not validate the detention of three Egyptian citizens and two Bangladeshi citizens who arrived in Pozzallo. The president of the Catania court, Massimo Escher, said that the list of safe countries drawn up by the government on Oct 21 did not prevent the judiciary from fulfilling its obligation to verify the consistency of such an approach with European law, given the accelerated nature of the procedure for processing asylum applications. The Court of Justice of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Oct 4 that many of the countries listed by Italy could not be considered completely safe. He stressed that Egypt cannot be considered safe given that serious human rights violations take place in the North African country, such as the death penalty, systematic torture by the police, as well as violence and discrimination against women and minors.

Shandong BaoMa Fisheries Group has shelved plans to build a port in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo that could accommodate 500 Chinese vessels, amid legal complications and strong opposition from local residents and environmental organisations. The US$200 million project, which included a free trade zone, shipyard and fish processing and freezing plants, on a private 28-hectare site in Punta Yeguas, a mostly rural area with a public park, required a change in the legal designation of the land.

This is the 22nd marine port in Yilport Holding’s portfolio, and its first terminal in Italy. The company, ranked 12th among international container terminal operators by Drewry, targets to be ranked among the top 10 by 2025. Chairman Robert Yuksel Yildirim made the following remarks at the signing ceremony: “We have a strong presence in the Mediterranean. We are in Malta and operate seven ports between Spain and Portugal. Being able to enter Italy and work here in Taranto is like filling in the missing piece of a puzzle that we are building globally. The infrastructure was there but there was no one to take care of it. Our intention is to create another success story in Taranto. From today until the end of this year, we will be fixing cranes to ramp up business, visiting potential customers, and promote the container terminal. The project also aims to cooperate with local operators to improve cargo and ro-ro traffic.”

Modernising the 'Ben my Chree' would cost £18m to and the spend would not be recovered over its remaining lifespan of the ferry, the treasury minister Alex Allinson MHK said in the House of Keys on Nov 5,. The 'Ben-my-Chree' was currently operating with several outdated systems, which affected its efficiency and reliability. He outlined a list of works that would be needed to bring it up to modern standards, including an overhaul of the accommodation. uring the sitting, Chris Thomas MHK questioned the potential costs presented by Allinson and said an independent evaluation of the of the numbers provided should be carried out. Allinson told the members that a complete upgrade of the back-up vessel's propulsion system would cost between £8m and £10m. To align with standards on the ferroes 'Manannan' and 'Manxman' , the passenger accommodation needed to be upgraded at a cost of about £3.5m. The lift was dated, slow and increasingly unreliable, and replacing it would cost approximately £1.5m, and the existing life saving equipment should ideally be replaced, which would cost £2m. A further £1m would be needed to replace the antifoul paint system, and updates to control systems would require £250,000 of spending. Although the upgrades would result in a more reliable and efficient vessel, the cost would exceed the vessel's end value and would not be recoverable over its remaining lifespan.

The 'Grande Napoli' suffered an engine failure on Oct 29, 2024, about 28 nautical miles west of Viana do Castelo, en route from Portbury (Bristol) to Setúbal. The tug  "Ría de Vigo" (IMO: 8311417) was deployed to the ship in the night- On the morning of Oct 30, the ships were in pos.  41° 36' N 009° 12' W with status restricted movement. The ship was finally towed into the port of Vigo at 7 p.m.

Mumbai Port’s decision to raise the draft level to 10.3 metres and 11 metres to dock vessels at BPX and BPS respectively, subject to low tides being over 60 cm has been welcomed by maritime fraternity. This has avoided the waiting period for the vessels arriving with deep drafts till the tide is favorable for berthing. At times, such vessels had to arrange for discharging the import cargo for reducing the draft in stream and only subsequently berth at BPX/BPS.

PSA International Pte Ltd (PSA) has completed the acquisition of Halterm Container Terminal (“Halterm”) in the Port of Halifax, Canada, from Macquarie Infrastructure Partners,a fund managed by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, following formal approval by the relevant regulatory authorities. Halterm is the only container terminal in Eastern Canada that can serve mega container vessels.

A 71 year old, Australian passenger of the 'Noordam' has drowned while swimming near Boracay Island on Nov 6, 2024, at 10.30 a.m. He was pulled from the water unresponsive after calling for help as he struggled to stay afloat in the water. The man had been swimming with several people near the Cagban Jetty Port, about 10 meters from the shore. Emergency services rushed the man to Ciriaco S. Tirol Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The "Rhoon C", en route from Stavanger, got in trouble on Oct 25, 2024, at around 3.40 a.m. UTC (Lat. 66.0063 Lng. 9.8380), west of Ytterholmen. The ship requested assistance and was taken in tow to Sandnessjøen by the tug ''Boa Balder' (IMO: 9462342), whch was deployed from Mo I Ranna. The 'Rhoon C' was safely berthed on Oct 26 at 10.40 a.m.

The Port of Salalah, Oman’s major regional gateway port and transshipment hub on the Arabian Sea, set another record in productivity with a delivering 412.97 Port Moves per Hour (PMPH) on vessel Cap San Tainaro handling 3,820 moves in a port stay of 9.25 hours. This is the highest productivity delivered by any port in the region till date.

The Croatian government said it would help a troubled shipyard owned by Uljanik, the country’s largest shipbuilder, resume production. The government, which owns a 25% stake in Uljanik, said in March that it would not back a proposed restructuring plan for the group due to the financial burden it would place on the state. However, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that the government was willing to support 3.Maj, which is located in the northern Adriatic port of Rijeka and is one of the group’s two shipyards, because it did not have as big a debt burden. “Unlike Uljanik, the 3.Maj is not an overly indebted company and there is an interest in the construction of new ships,” Plenkovic told a televised press conference after a government meeting. He said the government expected 3.Maj to draft a plan for its future operations.