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The Italian Coast Guard has ordered the detention of two ships in the port of Genova, among the ten inspected since the beginning of the year, as part of the environmental and safety control activities conducted by the Port State Control personnel on foreign vessels transiting Italian ports. The detention orders were issued against the 'Commander' and 'Salammbo', which had serious shortcomings in terms of navigation safety and environmental protection. The 'Commander', which had arrived in port on Jan 21, 2025, was selected thanks to the targeting system developed by the General Command of the Coast Guard. The system, in line with the objectives of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, analyses a series of data relating to ships, considering elements such as the company's performance, the flag and the results of previous inspections (https://www.parismou.org/detentions-banning/white-grey-and-black-list). The analysis of the data, in particular the low performance of the company and the shortcomings already reported in a previous inspection, allowed the ship to be identified as a priority for control. After three days of detention, the ship was authorised to leave again following a re-inspection which verified that the technical, operational and documentary shortcomings had been resolved, in collaboration with the flag State and the monitoring Classification Society, and left the port on Jan 24 en route to Samsun with an ETA as of Feb 3. The 'Salammbo' was inspected for its high risk profile. Serious deficiencies were also found on this ship, which remained moored at the Genova Port Terminal, including problems with the collective lifesaving equipment and the waste water treatment plant, in violation of current environmental regulations. At the moment, the ship remains detained, awaiting resolution of the reported critical issues.

The 'Northern Endurance', which had run aground near Little Priest Rock on the morning of Jan 23, about three miles from downtown Unalaska, was successfully pulled off again on the morning of Jan 24 by the local salvage company Resolve Marine. The City of Unalaska Fire Department responded to the incident the previous afternoon, but handed operations over to the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit shortly after arrival. “The on-scene commander contacted the vessel's captain and confirmed there were no injuries to the crew members aboard, as well as no additional hazardous conditions. The ship was pulled from the rocks around 9 a.m. and has since been docked near Unalaska’s spit for evaluation. The Coast Guard has launched an investigation into the grounding as part of its standard protocol for commercial fishing vessel incidents. The investigation showed that the vessel’s track line appeared relatively straight as it approached Dutch Harbor, but the grounding could have resulted from various factors, including mechanical failures, human error, or navigation system issues. Report with photo: https://www.nationalfisherman.com/fv-northern-endurance-freed-after-grounding-near-unalaska

Starting August 1 and until November 30, 2019, the Panama Canal will promote the implementation of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) annual recommendations on speed and maritime transit aimed at protecting cetaceans, which include whales, dolphins and other large aquatic mammals, during their nearby seasonal migration. With these measures, ships should proceed at a speed of not more than 10 knots in specified areas. Panama has monitored this requirement since December 1, 2014 when maritime traffic separation devices (TSS) were installed by both the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean entry points to the Canal.

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.

On the morning of Jan 26, the Port Authority of Igoumenitsa was informed that, during the departure of the 'Lefka Ori' from the port of Venice, a mechanical failure was detected. The ship berthed in the port of Igoumenitsa with 88 passengers, 92 trucks, 60 private cars, two trailers and five campers. An inspection was carried out by officers of the Local Inspection Team of the Central Port Authority of Igoumenitsa and then, upon presentation of a certificate of class maintenance from the classification society that monitors it, it was allowed to continue sailing.

The Russian nuclear icebreaker '50 Let Pobedy' (IMO: 9152959), en route towards the Ob Bay, suffered significant damage to its port side foreship in a collision with the 'Yamal Krechet', en route from Arkhangelsk to Sabetta, the port where Novatek's Yamal LNG production facilitates are located, while operating on the Northern Sea Route., opening a deep gash near its bow on the night of Jan 26, 2025, in the Kara Sea. The accident happened while maintaining winter shipping lanes and escorting a cargo vessel. The condition of the bulkcarrier, which was hit at port side ahead of the accommodation block, was unknown. According to Russia’s operator of nuclear icebreakers, Atomflot, the '50 Let Pobedy' remained seaworthy and continued operating in the Ob Bay. The damaged section was not proximate to the vessel’s nuclear reactor and the power plant continued operating normally. It was, however, unclear if the vessel will complete its regular stint of winter icebreaking services or will return to Murmansk early to undergo repairs. Reports with photo and video: https://gcaptain.com/russian-nuclear-icebreaker-sustains-damage-in-arctic-collision-with-cargo-ship/ https://maritime-executive.com/article/video-russian-nuclear-icebreaker-damaged-in-collision

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.”

On the afternoon of Jan 27, 2025, the Central Port Authority of Piraeus was informed of a man, who was lying on the ground, in a semi-conscious state, in the area of ​​gate E2 in the port of Piraeus. Immediately, Port Authority officials and an ambulance arrived at the scene, which transported the 51-year-old to the University General Hospital Attiko for medical treatment. Following investigation, it was determined that he was an engine driver on the 'Dionisios Solomos', which had set sail to carry out the scheduled route Piraeus – Serifos – Sifnos – Kimolos – Folegandros – Sikinos – Ios – Thira. After the submission of a request by the Master and approval by the Sifnos Port Authority, the ferry was allowed to continue its route (in accordance with articles 88 and 89 of the Public Maritime Law Code) with 84 passengers, 17 trucks, 22 private vehicles and three motorcycles on board. A preliminary investigation is being carried out by the Piraeus Port Authority.

Pictures have been released which show how the National Task Force boarded the 'Vezhen' by helicopter. They parachuted down from one of the Swedish Armed Forces helicopters in order to be able to take control of the ship as quickly as possible. After the Coast Guard had approached the ship out at sea and escorted it towards the Swedish coast, the police's National Task Force took over. After the master heeded the call to take the vessel to anchorage, the police chose to board the vessel from a helicopter. The weather conditions were difficult with strong winds and rough seas combined with darkness and cold, which meant that resources were required from the task force for safety reasons. The personnel from the task force went up to the ship's bridge, They had police dogs and other equipment with them. One of the police tasks on board has been to secure various types of evidence on behalf of the Security Service, which is handling the preliminary investigation, and it was confirmed that the anchor was of interest in the investigation and will be examined by forensic experts. A number of other investigative measures will follow in the future, where the police support the Security Service with cutting-edge expertise in areas such as IT forensics, forensic technology and interrogation management. The weather continues to be a challenge and the work environment perspective is important to take into account. The police are working closely with the Coast Guard and the Armed Forces. Reports with photo and video: https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/har-stormas-fartyget-av-insatsstyrkan-efter-misstankta-kabelsabotaget https://polisen.se/aktuellt/nyheter/nationell/2025/januari/polisen-bordade-fartyget-under-svara-vaderforhallanden/

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.