On Sep 11 the pleasure boat 'Alize' with two people on board was stranded at Punta Entinas and requested assistance .The CCS Almería of Salvamento MArítimo mobilized the 'Salvamar Spica' to the scene. Due to draft problems, the collaboration of a boat from the Almerimar marina was requested, before the SAR boat towed the 'Alice' to Garrucha.
News
GEO BARENTS
The international aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders - MSF) on Sep 11 obtained the release of the 'Geo Barents', which was handed a 60-day detention order, for allegedly failing to properly coordinate with Italian and Libyan authorities as it picked up migrants off Libya on Aug. 23. A court in Salerno, the southern Italian port where the vessel had been blocked, suspended the measure, which was the third against the vessel, and the longest to date. MSF International President Christos Christou travelled to Salerno to support the organisation's appeal against it. Christou dismissed government charges against the MSF ship, saying it had been "waiting for instructions" as it approached a migrant boat, and spontaneously picked up its passengers after they jumped into the sea.
Visakhapatnam
With further development to its existing solid European products, Ocean Network Express (ONE) has announced the launch of a new direct service, the Indian Ocean Service 3 (IO3), which covers South East India, Mediterranean, and North Europe. The new product will offer new port coverage and boost reliability to a wider range of direct port call options to ONE’s valued customers. It will also further expand ONE’s already comprehensive service offerings and allow its clients to enjoy greater choice while bringing efficiency and additional values to the supply chain. The first sailing of the loop is now expected to start from 26th October 2019. IO3: Indian Ocean Service 3 Rotation: Visakhapatnam – Krishnapatnam – Chennai – Tuticorin – Colombo – Cochin – Damietta – Piraeus – Rotterdam – London Gateway – Hamburg – Antwerp – Le Havre – Damietta – Jeddah – Colombo – Visakhapatnam (Fixed day weekly service, 63-day rotation)
Callao
APM Terminals has become the first Peruvian port to introduce a customer platform that logs, streamlines and coordinate General Cargo operations in the port of Callao. During the pilot phase, the platform, which was developed together with maritime and customs agents, enabled users to complete transactions 67% faster and operations were completed 12% faster. APM Terminals Callao invested nearly USD 1 million in the implementation of MOST, a new state-of-the-art platform that can be used by maritime agents, customs agencies and carriers, among others. MOST can be used to register cargo and view real-time information, make online payments and generate authorizations for the loading and unloading of all types of General Cargo, from anywhere, anytime. The platform is a clear milestone in the efficient management of port logistics using world-class technology.
SALVAMAR ENIF
On Sep 11 a dinghy with 36 peopleon board, among them one woman, was located by a merchant vessel 44 nautical miles southwest of Barbate, The CCS Tarifa was notified and mobilized the 'Salvamar Enif', which rescued the migrants and transferred them to the port of Cádiz. Report with photo: https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/1833887246526656679
HOEGH XIAMEN
On Sep 9, a settlement exceeding $16 million was reached in the lawsuit regarding the fire aboard the H'Hoegh Xiamen' in Jacksonville on June 4, 2020, between 11 firefighters of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department and the owner Hoegh Autoliners, operator Grimaldi Deep Sea, and port services companies Horizon Terminal Services and SSA Marine. During the fire fighting operation, an explosion occurred which had injured some of the firefighters. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducted an investigation and found several reasons that caused the fire with the major issue being the crew, who did not adhere to Grimaldi's policy of disconnecting the car batteries. The NTSB stated that a fire that caused an explosion was caused by a spark from a car battery aboard the vessel. The other issue noted was the crew's lack of understanding of how to contact the local emergency authorities. The firefighter's lawyer alleged that the crew had limited or no proficiency in English. The fire detection system was also found to have been deactivated after the loading operation resulting in delay for requesting assistance . In August 2020, the vessel along with its cargo of 2420 vehicles were declared a total loss of $40 million. Pajcic & Pajcic, a law firm presenting the firefighters, stated that the settlement was negotiated and finalized with each defendant involved in the lawsuit. Hoegh Autoliners reached a confidential settlement with the firefighters. The final settlement was made before the start of the trial.
Rio de Janeiro
ICTSI subsidiary ICTSI Americas BV has acquired 100% of the shares of Libra Terminal Rio S.A. (Libra Rio) to run the Terminal de Contêineres 1 (T1Rio) container terminal in the Port of Rio, Brazil. Libra Rio holds the concession rights to operate, manage and develop T1Rio and was acquired by ICTSI from Boreal Empreendimentos e Participações SA. The deal to take over the port container terminal concession was disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange, reported Manila Standard. ICTSI said: “The parties will work to sign a share purchase agreement in due course.” Concession until 2048
Limassol
Two and a half years after taking over the operations of the Multi-Purpose and the New Cruise Terminals at the Limassol port, DP World Limassol on Wednesday presented the upgrades and investments in infrastructure and equipment. The company said that it had acquired brand-new equipment in January 2019 as part of an ongoing upgrade of the Limassol port infrastructure. The new machinery was put into operation in March 2019, following intensive training of staff and has contributed to speeding up operations at the Multi-purpose port terminal. More specifically, the new equipment includes: A new, high-tech LHM 420 mobile harbour crane, with maximum lifting capacity of 144 tons and radius of 54 metres enhancing the efficient handling and transportation of bulk cargo, general cargo, containers, oil and gas.
RIO DA BOUZA
The master of the 'Rio Da Bouza' has been convicted of illegal fishing activities after pleading guilty at Macroom District Court on Sep 11, 2024. The vessel was detained at Castletownbere on Sep 9 following an inspection by Sea-Fisheries Protection Officers from the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA). During the court hearing, evidence was presented showing that the officers detected several infringements, including the under-recording of sole and monkfish, failure to separately stow these species, and the unauthorised freezing of fish. The master of the Rio Da Bouza pleaded guilty to all six charges and was fined €3,000 for under-recording sole, with the remaining charges taken into consideration by the judge.
Hanjin Subic Shipyard
The 300-hectare shipyard of Hanjin Philippines may be taken over by several shipping companies that would transform it into a major global port, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said in a chance interview recently. He said the shipyard could be a sprawling multipurpose mixed-use port facility that would be jointly operated by several players. This, he said, is one of the proposals received by Hanjin creditors for the development of the shipyard after Hanjin Philippines declared bankruptcy early this year. “It’s a good masterplan that has been proposed and it is targeted to be implemented this year,” Lopez said. He declined to name the companies but hinted that these include foreign players. Another source said creditors are in negotiations with an American and a Japanese company. Officially, Hanjin has fully shut down just this month, ending the last of its remaining maintenance operations, sources said. As of this writing, the creditors have not made any official announcement yet regarding the final plans for the shipyard.
Lisbon
The Alcantara container terminal in Lisbon announced this week plans to invest 122 million euros (137.4 million U.S. dollars) by 2038 to modernize and streamline the operational activity of its port infrastructure.