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A deceased person was found on the foredeck of the 'Baracas', en route from Maasbracht to Maashees, at lock III on the Dongen Canal Dike in Tilburg on the morning of Jan 29, 2025. The police have started a major investigation into the cause of death, and the vessel was enclosed by fencing. The fire brigade also assisted in this. The Forensic Investigation Department was present with four vans on on the afternoon and investigated the cause of the death. In addition to the police, detectives were also present and questioned the crew members and examining traces on the ship. On Jan 30, the police announced that it was not a crime or an accident. It is not known who the deceased person is. Reports with photos: https://www.schuttevaer.nl/nieuws/actueel/2025/01/29/overleden-persoon-gevonden-op-schip-bij-sluis-iii-tilburg/ https://www.bd.nl/112-nieuws-tilburg/overledene-op-vrachtschip-bij-sluis-iii-in-tilburg-geen-slachtoffer-geworden-van-misdrijf~a9fcd3f3/

The fire on the 'ASL Bauhinia' was probably the result of an explosion in the cargo and not a Houthi attack. The crew managed to safely leave the burning ship and were taken aboard a nearby vessel. At the time of the explosion, the ship was approximately 140 miles off the coast of Hodeida. The ship's cargo was described as dangerous, without providing further details. The abandoned ship was still on fire. There were fears that the ship and its cargo will have to be considered lost.

Freeport LNG on Sept. 03 announced that it has shipped the first LNG commissioning cargo for Train 1 from its liquefaction facility located on Quintana Island in Freeport, Texas. Approximately 150,000 cubic meters of LNG were loaded aboard the LNG Jurojin, which departed from the Freeport LNG terminal on September 3. “This first cargo loading is another significant step that gets us one step closer towards our start of commercial operations which is anticipated later this month,” said Michael Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Freeport LNG. “We are very pleased that it took less than 45 days to load our first cargo since gas was first introduced to our liquefaction facilities.” Freeport’s Train 2 is advancing pre-commissioning to support an in service date of January 2020. Train 3 is nearing completion to support an in service date of May 2020. Source: Freeport LNG

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.

The "Eventin" was still detained on Jan 30, almost three weeks after its accident near the island of Rügen. The technical inspection has not yet been completed, according to the Federal Ministry of Transport. The temporary ban on further sailing by the ship safety department therefore still applied. A few days later, the main engine was running again, and the captain asked for permission to leave. However, this was also prohibited due to inspections by the General Customs Directorate. An investigation was being carried out to determine whether the cargo was Russian oil and whether the EU oil embargo was being violated. According to the Stralsund public prosecutor's office, the inspection carried out so far has not revealed any initial suspicion of a criminal offense. Representatives of the classification society DNV went on board for the technical inspection. The evaluation of this inspection has not been completed. The tanker is on a list of ships from the so-called Russian shadow fleet, which mostly refers to older tankers and other cargo ships with opaque ownership structures that Russia uses to circumvent sanctions as a result of its war against Ukraine.

The US Coast Guard interdicted a panga with 14 migrants aboard approximately 20 nautical miles off the coast of Point Loma on the night of Jan 27. At approximately 4:45 p.m., U.S. Customs and Border Protection notified Coast Guard personnel at the Joint Harbor Operations Center of a panga-style vessel traveling north toward the maritime boundary line. The 'Terrell Horne' was diverted to the scene. The cutter launched a boarding team, and with the CBP’s assistance, successfully interdicted the vessel. The boarding teams discovered 14 individuals aboard the panga. Initial interviews revealed that all individuals claimed Mexican nationality. The migrants were safely transferred to U.S. Border Patrol custody. Report with video: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/4047491/coast-guard-interdicts-14-aliens-near-point-loma/

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.

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.

More than a year after the 'La Primavera' crashed into the Iffezheim lock (Rastatt district) on the Upper Rhine on Nov 25, 2023, ships can use both lock chambers again. The new upper gate is 25.5 meters wide and 11 meters high including the walkway. It is designed to operate for 70 years. Those responsible tested that the processes worked perfectly during more than 100 test locks without ship traffic. As of Jan 30, 2025 at 10 a.m., the lock is fully operational again, according to the Upper Rhine Waterways and Shipping Authority (WSA). The badly damaged upper gate of the right chamber has been replaced. The district court in Kehl, Baden, as the responsible shipping court, sentenced the helmswoman to five months' probation. The 50-year-old caused the accident because she had drunk alcohol and then fell asleep. The woman has appealed against the decision to the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court.

The 'Isaac Mayo' repatriated 12 refugees to Cuba on Jan 29, 2025, following two migration attempts. A Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations crew notified Coast Guard Sector Key West watchstanders of a raft on Jan. 19, approximately 21 nautical miles south of Long Key. Sector Key West command center watchstanders diverted the crew of Coast Guard Cutter 'Charles David Jr'. to interdict. A good Samaritan notified Coast Guard Sector New Orleans that they embarked seven migrants from a disabled vessel on Jan 23, about 50 nautical miles southwest of Cuba in the Yucatan Passage. Coast Guard District Eight watchstanders notified Coast Guard District Seven command center watchstanders who diverted the Coast Guard Cutter 'Reliance' to respond. No injuries were reported. Once aboard the Coast Guard cutters, the boat people were processed to determine their identity and nationality, 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 photo: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/4047571/coast-guard-repatriates-12-aliens-to-cuba/

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.

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).