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The sailing yacht 'Flying Black Pearl', with one crew member on board, issued a distress call 23 nautical miles southeast of Roses on Feb 3, 2025. The ship was disabled without rudder and with other damages. The CCS Barcelona of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the 'Salvamar Lyra' to assist, which took the boat in tow and safely pulled it to Roses. The 'LS Barcelona' of the Creu Roja assists during the docking manoever. Report with photo: https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/1886463694705471651

The ' Joseph Napier' rescued five boaters, four men and one woman, from the 18-foot recreational vessel 'Michelle Marie II', which got disabled in eight-foot seas and started taking on water 13 nautical miles off Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, on the afternoon of Feb 1. Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan received a call from a 911 emergency operator and a VHF-Channel 16 radio communication, reporting that the vessel and pumps onboard were disabled, and that the crew was exhausted from manually bailing out water. The watchstanders issued an UMIB to advise nearby vessel traffic of the ongoing distress, they alerted the Puerto Rico Police Joint Forces of Rapid Action, directed the launch of a Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter and diverted the 'Joseph Napier' to the scene. The cutter crew spotted two signal flares that had been launched from the boat and deployed its Over-the-Horizon small boat which came alongside the 'Michelle Marie II'. The crew safely embarked the five boaters. The cutter crew utilized a P-6 pump to help dewater the 'Michelle Marie II'. Afterwards, the salvage vessel 'Kraken' arrived on-scene, embarked the survivors and transported them along with the boat in tow to Combate Beach in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. Report with photos: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/4051549/coast-guard-rescues-5-boaters-from-vessel-taking-on-water-off-cabo-rojo-puerto/

Customers and port stakeholders of Operadora Portuaria Centroamericana (OPC), the Honduran subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) operating Puerto Cortes, Central America 4’s (CA-4) largest port, can expect faster cargo movement in and around the terminal with OPC beefing up its partnership with Honduran authorities for improved and more efficient port services. OPC is working with the Honduran government and Puerto Cortés authorities to enhance the port’s competitiveness and better serve its customers in the four-nation CA-4, comprising Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Enhancements include simplified and faster port transactions, and the construction of critical road infrastructure the will improve cargo movement in the region. As part of efforts to expedite intra-regional trade, the Honduran Customs Agency (Dirección Adjunta de Rentas Aduaneras – DARA) has streamlined its systems for early clearance and dispatch of cargo, matching OPC’s already-efficient operations. Operating hours of customs authorities were likewise extended until 7 p.m., thus giving agents and brokers more time to process shipment.

The Port of Rotterdam Authority has reached an agreement with Sif Holding n.v. regarding the lease of 20 ha of port site and a 200-m stretch of deep-sea quay at Maasvlakte. Sif’s new lot lies adjacent to its existing port site, where the company already works on the assembly of foundations for offshore wind turbines, the company said in its release. Sif will be using the newly allocated site on behalf of clients active in the offshore wind power sector. The first project to be undertaken at the new site will be the logistics handling of all 94 monopiles (wind turbine foundations) destined for the offshore wind farm Borssele 1 + 2, commissioned by Deme Offshore.

On the night of Feb 3, 2025, the 'Salvamar Alphard' was mobilized by the CCS Tenerife of Salvamento Marítimo. The two sailing yachts 'Alborán Albariño' and 'Agi' had been left adrift near the port of Santa Cruz de La Palma. Both boats were taken in tow and safely pulled to the port of Santa Cruz de la Palma. Report with photo: https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/1886700187210469670

The "Heikendorf" has been sold to the Sylt based shipping company Adler Schiffe on Feb 3, 2025, after 42 years of service for the SFK Kiel, along with the 'Schwentine'. With the "Heikendorf", the last ferry of the "Friedrichsort" class is leaving the SFK fleet. The "Heikendorf", built in 1983 at the Lindenau shipyard in Friedrichsort, is the longest-serving ferry in the SFK fleet. The sister ships "Friedrichsort", "Laboe" and "Strande" were retired earlier. The handover trip on the Kiel Fjord started shortly before 11 a.m.. An hour later, the "Schwentine" followed. The ship, built in Hamburg in 2008, was also sold after a test run. Numerous spare parts, from propellers to couplings, were also sold with the ships.

Istanbul’s Galataport, a megaproject expected to boost the city’s tourism with cruise ports and increase tourism revenues, is and slated to open in May 2020. Galataport is jointly being built by Turkey’s Doğuş Group and Bilgili Holding with an investment of $1.7 billion. It is dubbed one of the world’s largest coastal projects, aiming to become one of the top cruise destinations. In a press conference held yesterday in Istanbul, Doğuş Group Chairman Ferit Şahenk confirmed that the port has a capacity to welcome 25 million visitors per year, including 7 million foreigners. The estimated revenues from the increasing number of tourists will be around $1 billion. “The port also has two museums and a recreation area of 14,000 square meters to host culture and art events,” Şahenk added. The Doğuş Group chairman remarked that a “1.2-kilometer-long coast line, which has been closed to the public for 200 years, is now preparing to welcome its visitors.

Genting Hong Kong (GHK) has officially secured funding for the construction and post-delivery financing of Dream Cruises’ two new Global Class ships. KfW IPEX-Bank will supply US$2.9 billion, with backing from the Federal Republic of Germany, Finnish export credit agency Finnvera, and the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. At an overall cost of €3.1 billion (US$3.4 billion), the two new vessels are currently being built at GHK-owned shipyard MV Werften in Germany for the fast-growing Asian cruise market. “We are very appreciative of KfW IPEX-Bank, the bank consortium, the Federal Republic of Germany, the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Finnvera for supporting GHK in the financing of the Global Class ships,” said Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, chief executive of Genting Hong Kong.

The 'Hav Nordic', en route from Stavanger with seven crew members on board, ran aground at Eggesbøneset near Mjølstadneset in Fosnavåg on Feb 4, 2025, at 5.40 a.m. UTC (Lat. 62.3186 Long. 5.6951). The vessel lost its rudder, took on water in its ballast tanks and was listing to port side. The lifeboat "Idar Ulstein" (MMSI: 257393000) was called to assist. Another vessel went on standby at the scene until the "Idar Ulstein" arrived on scene. The lifeboat managed to refloat the vessel, which was then towed to the dock at Mjølstadneset, where it was safely berthed at 7.30 a.m. UTC. Report with photo: https://x.com/NSSR/status/1886700651310145715

The "Heikendorf" has been sold to the Sylt based shipping company Adler Schiffe on Feb 3, 2025, after 42 years of service for the SFK Kiel, along with the 'Schwentine'. With the "Heikendorf", the last ferry of the "Friedrichsort" class is leaving the SFK fleet. The "Heikendorf", built in 1983 at the Lindenau shipyard in Friedrichsort, is the longest-serving ferry in the SFK fleet. The sister ships "Friedrichsort", "Laboe" and "Strande" were retired earlier. The handover trip on the Kiel Fjord started shortly before 11 a.m.. An hour later, the "Schwentine" followed. The ship, built in Hamburg in 2008, was also sold after a test run. Numerous spare parts, from propellers to couplings, were also sold with the ships.

Active construction is currently underway in the D-terminal of the Port of Tallinn being built by Nordecon, in order to open the first phase of construction of the renovated D-terminal to passengers within two months, the port says in a press release. A digital twin of the new D-Terminal building and the remodeled part which aims to make the building's life cycle more efficient was created in the BIM implementation model. The completion of the extension and reconstruction work of the port is scheduled for summer 2020.

Marine battery supplier Corvus Energy is to install its lithium-ion battery storage systems onboard AIDA Cruises’ ships to reduce fossil fuel use and emissions. In a project that will also involve ABB and Siemens, Corvus will install and commission the battery storage systems on the first AIDA ship in 2020. The companies then plan to then use their findings from the pilot project to successfully fit battery systems onboard other vessels in the AIDA fleet. “Our goal is the emissions-neutral ship operation,” said Michael Thamm, group CEO of Costa Group and Carnival Asia.