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On Sep 30, 2024, the “Finnhawk" arrived at the port of Las Palmas on its positioning voyage from Zeebrugge for delivery to the Fred. Olsen Cargo Express, to be renamed “Bahía Cargo" after the registration procedures. It will enter the Fred. Olsen Cargo Express service in October in a combined schedule with the “Bentayga Cargo” for cargo services between Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.

The 'Berge Shari' has been immobilized for three months at the port of Annaba. It arrived at the port on June 27, 2024, carrying 25,000 tons of logs from Argentina. The ship was initially supposed to unload its cargo within days of its arrival. However, a series of complications extended its stay. The main problem was the poor cargo stowage, which has significantly slowed down unloading operations. The mobilization of staff with adequate handling equipment has exacerbated the situation, preventing any rapid progress in processing the ship. After three months of immobilization, the accumulated demurrage now exceeds 1.2 million dollars. Initially, the ship was to unload its cargo at the port of Skikda, but it was diverted by the EP Annaba team to Annaba. This change, supposed to be a better solution, faced logistical problems. In an attempt to limit losses, the client was authorized to introduce its own handling equipment to speed up unloading. The Minister of Transport has sent a strict instruction to the port managers to speed up cargo processing operations and reduce the time ships spend in port on Sep 8, 2024, the purpose of which is the implementation of the instructions of the Council of Ministers of June 2, 2024. The lack of modern handling equipment, as well as insufficient maintenance capacity during the night, were slowing down the implementation of this directive. The minister has tasked the Serport group with supervising the improvements. The port of Annaba, once a major player in non-hydrocarbon exports, has been suffering for several years from a deterioration of its infrastructure and is facing significant structural problems. Several quays are partially out of service, and some are showing signs of weakness. Two of its five main quays are currently unusable, severely limiting the port’s ability to meet the growing needs of maritime trade. Many customershave turned to competing ports, which threatens not only the local economy, but also the port’s position on the national and international scene. Report with photo: https://elwatan-dz.com/le-navire-berge-shari-immobilise-depuis-trois-mois-au-port-de-annaba-deja-plus-de-12-million-de-dollars-de-surestaries

On the morning of Sep 30, 2024, the Port Authority of Salamis was informed that the 'Arch. Michael' with 19 crew members, while carrying out repair work at the pier of a shipyard in Ampelakia, broke lose from its moorings and went adrift. It allided with an adjacent tug, which was docked at the site, which subsequently hit another tug which in turn allided with the wharf. The 'Arch- Michael' allided with a docked tanker and then moved away towards the open waters. Port Authority officials went to the scene immediately, while the bulk carrier, assisted by the tugs "Alexander 5", "Christos XLI", "Christos III" and "Christos XXXVII" was moved bach to the shipyard pier. No injuries were reported from the incident and no marine pollution was observed. A preliminary investigation was being carried out by the Central Port Authority of Piraeus. The affected ships have been banned from sailing until the damages have been repaired and seaworthiness certificates were presented by the monitoring classification societies.

More than 180 people got sick in a gastrointestinal outbreak during a cruise of the 'Radiance of the Seas', that ended on Sep 27, 2024. Among 2,172 passengers on the ship, 180 reported being ill along with three crew members, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Their main symptoms were abdominal cramps, diarrhea, headache and muscle aches. The health agency listed the causative agent as unknown. The ship was on an Alaska cruise at the time. The sailing left from Vancouver, Canada, on Sep 20. The ship also made announcements about the outbreak and encouraged “good hand hygiene” and case reporting, among other steps. The CDC has logged 10 outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on cruises that met its threshold for public notification in 2024. Norovirus was listed as the causative agent in every instance but three.

On Sep 30, 2024, at 10.45 a.m. a fire broke out on the "Banglar Jyoti" after an explosion on the ship's bow, while the tanker was anchored at Dolphin Jetty No. 7 of the Eastern Refinery in Chattogram at Patenga in the River Karnaphuli . The CPA, along with the Bangladesh Navy, Coast Guard, and Fire Service and Civil Defence, dispatched multiple tugs and firefighting vessels to control the blaze. The Fire Service Agrabad dispatched eight units from the Agrabad, Bandar, Karnaphuli EPZ, and CEPZ stations to the scene. The fire could be brought under control at around 12:30 p.m. Three crew memberswere missing after the incident. The cause of the fire had yet to be determined. As a precautionary measure, all nearby ships were relocated to safe zones, and oil installations were instructed to remain on high alert. Reports with photos: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/accidents-fires/news/fire-crude-oil-tanker-banglar-jyoti-ctg-port-under-control-3715976 https://www.newagebd.net/post/country/246572/petroleum-carrying-vessel-catches-fire-after-explosion-in-karnaphuli https://www.banglanews24.com/english/national/news/bd/157207.details

The US Coast Guard Cutter 'Valiant' repatriated 182 people to Haiti on Sep 27, following an interdiction south of the Turks and Caicos Islands. A Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations multi-purpose aircraft aircrew  had notified Coast Guard District Seven watchstanders of an overloaded makeshift vessel on Sep 22 at approximately 10:15 a.m.. They diverted the' William 'Trump' to interdict the vessel. Once aboard the cutter, the migrants were processed to determine their identity and are provided food, water, shelter, and basic medical attention before repatriation to their country of origin or return to the country from which they departed.   Report with photos: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3919045/coast-guard-repatriates-182-migrants-to-haiti/

A cayuco capsized in the early hours of the morning of Sep 28 at 12.15 a.m. four nautical miles east of El Hierro, south of the port of La Estaca. A total of 84 people were on board the boat. 27 people were rescued alive and nine recovered dead. The search for 48 missing people continued by the the 'Guardamar Calíope' and the 'LS Hades' along with the patrol boat 'Rio Guadiato' and two CUCO helicopters of the Guardia Civil and one from the GES @112canarias.

On Sep 28 the 'Sea Watch 5' has docked in the port of Vinaròs after ten months in which it has rescued and brought 834 people to safe ports. The ship had set sail from Vinaròs on Nov 14, 2023 to undertake its first rescue operations. In this period, in addition to saving hundreds of lives, it has also been affected by strategies to hinder humanitarian action carried out by the Italian state. On March 9, an arbitrary administrative blockade was imposed against the 'Sea-Watch 5' and other ships, such as the 'Sea-Eye 4' and 'Humanity I'. After 20 days, the Courts of the Italian city of Ragusa declared the different blockades as illegal. Meanwhile, the German NGO reported that during its forced stop at least 145 people had drowned without any kind of help. The last rescueoperation was on Aug 31 in an operation in which 289 people were taken to a safe port. On Sep 4, just the day after the survivors disembarked, the Italian authorities imposed a new sailing ban on the 'Sea-Watch' 5 for another 20 days. After this the ship that set sail from Civitavecchia back to the port of Vinaròs where it plans to carry out repairs, maintenance and supplies. For several weeks, teams from the local entity have been working to prepare their arrival and provide them with all the necessary tools to carry out the actions they require, and activated a mobile operating base equipped to provide its support service in the best conditions. Report with photo: https://castellonplaza.com/barcohumanitarioseawatch5vuelvevinarostrassocorrer834personas

An accident aboard the 'Eckerö', on Oct 13, 2023, in which two people were injured and a car was crushed under a hanging deck, happened as a result of the automatic control of the so-called hanging tires being broken, the Swedish Accident Commission stated in its report, which was published on Sep 30, 2024. At the same time, there were deficiencies in the safety functions for controlling the suspension decks manually, the accident commission wrote. The sailor who operated the hanging deck had not done so for a long time. Inadequate training of the staff was listed as a contributing cause of the accident. The suspension deck was also built and installed in a way that made the structure vulnerable to accidents. Inadequate repairs contributed to the platform's cable slack giving way under load. Eckerölinjen has been given time until January to ensure that the systems work and that the staff receives sufficient training.

The 'Pioneer' sanctioned by the USA, over its links to Russia-sourced liquefied natural gas (LNG), has passed through the Suez Canal with an LNG cargo. The source of the destination were not immediately clear. The tanker is registered to Zara Shipholding Co, which has offices in Dubai and India's Mumbai. The USA have imposed sanctions on two companies and two vessels, including the 'Pioneer', which are linked to Russia's Arctic LNG 2 project, in one of Washington's latest move to penalise Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. The 'Pioneer' was involved in a ship-to-ship transfer of gas from Arctic LNG 2 on Aug. 25. The manually listed destination for the 'Pioneer' has recently showed “Not Support Israel".. It hasn’t discharged elsewhere and is now closer to potential buyers in Asia.

On Sep 30 the 'Salvamar Menkalinan' was mobilized to assist a cayuco which had been located six nautical miles south ofLa Restinga. The boat had 77 sub-Saharan peopleon board, among them four women and three minors. The migrants were accompanied to the port of La Restinga. The respnmse was coordinated by the CCS Tenerife of Salvamento Marítimo.

On the Volga near Astrakhanin the Narimanov District, the tug Plotodov 610', 123 gt , with seven people on board, while towing the barge 'TTX 1501', 814 gt, was in collision with the 'Omskiy 207'. No casualties or oil spills were recorded as a result of the collision, shipping was not disrupted. The "Omskiy-207" suffered a hole above the waterline. The shipping was not disupted.

The 'Valiant' repatriated 182 people to Haiti on Sep 27, following an interdiction south of the Turks and Caicos Islands. A Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations multi-purpose aircraft aircrew  hadnotified Coast Guard District Seven watchstanders of an overloaded makeshift vessel on Sep 22 at approximately 10:15 a.m.. They diverted the Coast Guard Cutter William 'Trump' to interdict the vessel. Once aboard the cutter, the migrants were processed to determine their identity and are provided food, water, shelter, and basic medical attention before repatriation to their country of origin or return to the country from which they departed.   Report with photos: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3919045/coast-guard-repatriates-182-migrants-to-haiti/

The U.S. Coast Guard has launched an investigation into a potential oil spill from the 'SSI Defiant' on the Patapsco River in Baltimore Harbor. On the evening of Sep 26, 2024, a 50-foot by 50-foot oil sheen was reported near the bulk carrier. The incident was first reported at approximately 6:24 p.m., when Maryland Pilot Dispatch alerted Coast Guard watchstanders to an unknown sheen observed around the vessel Coast Guard officials, in collaboration with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and other partner agencies, were conducting assessments aboard the anchored vessel in the Baltimore Inner Harbor. As a precautionary measure, a 1,500-foot safety zone has been established around the ship. The Coast Guard was conducting oversight and monitoring of the vessel’s pollution response measures to ensure adequate protection of the environment, and the authorities have conducted aerial surveys of the affected area, with additional overflights scheduled for Sep 27. Report with photo: https://gcaptain.com/oil-sheen-spotted-near-bulk-carrier-in-baltimore-harbor/

The search for the 54 missing people, who went missing after their boat capsized on Sep 28, 2024, seven kilometers off the coast of El Hierro, was continued for the third consecutive day on Sep 30 by sea, land and air on Sep 30, while 112 sub-Saharan Africans, among them three minors, arrived in El Hierro. A third cayuco was intercepted off the Canary Islands with 70 migrants on board on Sep 28. The possibility of finding any more survivors was idecreasing rapidly. While the 'Rio Tajo', 'Guardamar Caliope', a semi-rigid boat from the GEAS underwater group and another from the Red Cross, as well as two helicopters, a Cuco from the armed institute and another from the GES of the regional government, continued the rescue work, in addition, two drones from the Civil Guard were added in an area closer to the coast and were to be joined by two more from the regional GES. There were resources deployed ashore to detect if remains of the shipwreck and bodies appear in the coastal area. The great water depthwhere the shipwreck occurred, dropping to 1000 meters, can prevent, due to pressure, the bodies from emerging to the surface, to which are added the underwater currents that make it difficult to locate more bodies.

The 'Mein Schiff 7' had to interrupt the departure maneuver in Kirkwall on the evening of Sep 30, 2024, due to a medical emergency on board the ship. The captain postponed the departure time indefinitely because the patient had to be handed over to land first. At the time of the information about the medical emergency on board, the preparatory work for departure was underway with the release of the lines by port employees. The ship was moored firmly to the pier again until an ambulance arrived at the pier a few minutes later. The patient was handed overwithin a few minutes and was then being cared for in a hospital. Only a slight delay resulted from the emergency. The 'Mein Schiff 7' finally left the port oat around 7:10 p.m. local time. The ship was originally scheduled to depart for Hamburg at 6:30 p.m. with an ETA as of Oct 3.

The 'Asya Energy' sanctioned by the US is currently heading to potential buyers in North Asia after sailing thousands of miles through the Arctic Ocean. The tanker passed the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula, carrying a shipment from the Arctic LNG 2 plant. It will be closely watched to see if it will continue sailing to an import terminal in the region, or try to cloak its identity in a bid to protect end-users from US retaliatory measures. Washington put restrictions on the ship and facility as part of efforts to stem Russia’s plans to expand natural gas exports and tap funds for its war in Ukraine. While Arctic LNG 2 started shipments in August via vessels with opaque ownership that were hiding their location, characteristics of a shadow fleet that are used to circumvent western restrictions, none have yet docked at another country’s port. Executives from Novatek PJSC, the majority owner of Arctic LNG 2, have been traveling around the world to find buyers for the sanctioned LNG, and have pursued multiple deals in China and with other Asian buyers, Bloomberg reported earlier this month. The company’s Chinese unit was sanctioned by the US in August for marketing gas from the project. On Sep 10, Novatek has denied that the company was involved in creating or managing the shadow fleet, describing such suggestions as “untrue”. The 'Asya Energy' passed the Koryak floating storage unit in Russia on Sep 29, which means the LNG shipment likely won’t be offloaded at the facility. Three of Arctic LNG 2’s six cargoes so far have been delivered to Russian storage units, while the others remain on the water. Meanwhile, the tanker 'Pioneer', which was believed to have loaded Arctic LNG 2’s first cargo in early August, and also sanctioned by the US, has traversed the Red Sea. It was the first observed LNG tanker since January to sail the length of the waterway amid Houthi attacks on Western and Israeli vessels. Ships have instead taken longer journeys around Africa. The manually listed destination for the 'Pioneer' has recently showed “Not Support Israel." It hadn’t discharged elsewhere and was now closer to potential buyers in Asia.

Dozens of people were believed to have died when a migrant boat sank off the coast of the Canary Island of El Hierro. There was still no trace of at least 48 missing people. After the accident on the night of Sep 28, nine bodies were recovered. 27 migrants were rescued, including four minors. The search operations were resumed after daybreak. Three ships and three helicopters were deployed. The hopes of rescuing some of the missing people alive were rapidly fading. The boat had set off from Nouadhibou. The people on the boat had gone for two days without food or water and called the authorities themselves. When rescuers arrived, they rushed to one side, causing it to tip and capsize. The boat may have originally been carrying 90 people. Involved in the SAR operation were the 'LS Hades', the helicopter Helo GES MI71, the CUCO helicopter of the Guardia Civil, the Coast Guard patrol boat 'Río Tajo' and the 'Guardamar Caliope'.

The 'Kathleen Moore' returned 60 migrants to the Dominican Republic between Sep 25 and Sep 26, 2024, following two separate interdictions of irregular, unlawful maritime migration voyages in Mona Passage waters near Puerto Rico. Two of the interdicted migrants remained in U.S. custody to face federal prosecution by the U.S. District Court of Puerto Rico on separate charges including attempted reentry into the United States subsequent to an aggravated felony under 8 U.S.C. 1326(b)(2), and failure to heave to under 8 U.S.C. 2237. The first interdiction occurred on the morning of Sep 23, when the crew of the 'Kathleen Moore' sighted a 20-foot makeshift vessel in the Mona Passage waters north of Mona Island, Puerto Rico. A responding Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations multi-role enforcement aircraft arrived on scene and provided air coverage as the cutter embarked all 14 migrants. Among the interdicted were 10 men and three women who claimed to be Dominican Republic nationals, and one other man who claimed to be a Haitian national. The second interdiction occurred on the afternoon, after a Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations multi-role enforcement aircraft had sighted a 30-foot makeshift vessel north of Mona Island, Puerto Rico. Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector San Juan diverted the 'Kathleen Moore' to interdict the suspect vessel, alongside a responding Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations boat. While in pursuit of the suspect vessel, the 'Kathleen Moore' recovered seven people from the water who had jumped from the non-compliant suspect vessel. All of the migrants who jumped overboard were safely recovered and embarked aboard the cutter. Shortly thereafter, the Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations boat successfully stopped the migrant vessel. Following the interdiction, the 'Kathleen Moore' safely embarked the migrants. Among the interdicted were 39 men, eight women, and two minors who claimed to be Dominican Republic nationals, and one other man who claimed to be a Haitian national. Report with photos: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3919040/coast-guard-returns-60-migrants-to-dominican-republic-following-2-interdictions/

The US Coast Guard interdicted five lanchas and seized 900 pounds of illegally caught fish in federal waters off southern Texas on Sep 28, 2024. Boat crews from the Coast Guard Station South Padre Island and the 'Edgar Culbertson', in coordination with the Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi, located and stopped a total of 23 Mexican fishermen engaged in illegal fishing north of the Maritime Boundary Line. After interdicting the lanchas, the Coast Guard seized 900 pounds of red snapper and shark, along with fishing gear and highflyers on board the vessels, detained the Mexican fishermen, brought them ashore, and transferred the detainees to U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel for further processing.