News

On the morning of Sep 19, officers of the Port Authority of Chios arrested a 21-year-old Albanian citizen for violating article 372 of the Criminal Code. Following an investigation by the officers of the Port Authority, theman was found to be in possession of €3,600 as the product of a theft, which took place on the 'Nissos Samos'. The Central Port Authority of Chios, which conducted the preliminary investigation, confiscated the amount of money.

The 'Glen Sannox' became the first ship in the UK to have successfully bunkered LNG. The fuel was bunkered aboard on Sep 13, following 4,5 days of cooling the LNG tank to the required temperature of minus 146 degrees using liquefied nitrogen, two days later than originally planned, ahead of the next phase of testing. The official handover date for the ship was still Sep 30. Sea trials were now expected to take place on Sep 20, though further trials will be needed after the vessel has been handed over to its new owners, the Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd, in order to be able to enter service. Load testing will be the next phase of trials to take place. This process involves switching all engines on to ensure they are operating efficiently and to establish the vessel’s propulsion set capabilities. All systems will undergo rigorous testing quayside before the 'Glen Sannox' leaves the port for two to three days to evaluate itl’s manoeuvrability, acceleration and speed.

On Sep 18 at 11.40 a.m. the rescue helicopter from Aalborg medevaced a patient from the 'Costa Diadema' off Skagen. The ship was on its way from Stavanger to Kiel. After the patient was hoisted aboard, he eflown to the hospital for further medical treatment.

The 'Mare Jonio' of the Bologna-based NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans has been placed under administrative detention following checks carried out Sep 17 by inspectors from the Harbour Office in Trapani, where the vessel was moored. "We are in a state of detention and we have an order, issued by the Ministry of Transport, to disembark, immediately, the rescue assets, under penalty of losing our certificate of seaworthiness," said mission head Luca Casarini in Trapani.

The Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, has finally confirmed that the 'Kathrin' was indeed transporting explosive material for onward transport to Israel. The ship is heading for two ports on the Adriatic, one in Slovenia and the other in Montenegro, carrying explosive material, which is basically the material that would be used by the buyers of this material for their firms’ and companies’ own purposes. Meanwhile it was established that the material was destined for three countries, one of them Israel, and the other two being Poland and Slovakia. As of Sep 19, the 'Kathrin' was still in African waters with an ETA in Montenegro as of Oct 1. The ship will finish its cargo operations in the Adriatic Sea, and then the material will be transported by other vessels or by land to its final destinations. Half the cargo is to be delivered to companies that manufacture arms for Israel, the other half to companies that manufacture arms in Poland and Slovakia. The Portuguese government wasanalysing the situation, and was in contact with the competent authorities.. Earlier, the ship was prevented from docking in Namibia due to the Israeli link to the cargo and has been the subject of several complaints for allegedly supplying war material to be used in Gaza.