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On Jan 26, 2025, the 'Northumberland' (formerly the Elbe ferry 'Fanafjord') arrived in Pictou. The ferrywill serve the Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island to Caribou, Nova Scotia route. She was acquired by the Government of Canada as an interim solution to replace the former 'Holiday Island'. The vessel will now undergo final refit work to prepare for service. This vessel allows for a safe and reliable two-vessel service between Woods Islands, Prince Edward Island, and Caribou, Nova Scotia. The 'Northumberland' is expected to be ready for service for the beginning of the 2025 operating season. Report with photo: https://www.canada.ca/en/transport-canada/news/2025/01/canada-welcomes-the-arrival-of-the-mv-northumberland.html

The Spanish flagged 15-m-fishing vessel “Daniela Y Sara-3AM-1-4-05”, 7,6 gt (CS: EA8499), with five crew members on board, requested towing assistance following a power loss about 6.9 nautical miles south of Punta Genoveses on Jan 27, 2025. The CCS Almería of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the 'Salvamar Spica', which took the ship in tow and safely pulled it to Carboneras due to the poor state of the sea. Video: https://x.com/i/status/1883940367172788328

Phase one of the new Jurong Port Tank Terminals (JPTT) was officially opened on Monday (July 29), with Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Chee Hong Tat saying it will allow Singapore to strengthen its position as one of the world’s top bunkering ports for low-sulphur fuels. The $200 million, 16ha petrochemical terminal is a joint venture between port operator Jurong Port and German firm Oiltanking with 252,000 cubic m of clean petroleum storage capacity. From January next year, the International Maritime Organisation will prohibit ships from using fuels containing more than 0.5 per cent sulphur.

Moves are afoot for a new multi-billion-rand liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and regasification terminal to be established at the port of Richards Bay by 2024, but state-owned Transnet wants the private sector to be the main investor and operator of the facility. The plan was revealed on Tuesday as Transnet announced the signing of a cost-sharing agreement with the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to jointly fund a feasibility study into the terminal project. The IFC has committed $2 million (around R28 million) as part of the cost-sharing agreement. The move comes as Transnet looks to bolster South Africa’s LNG infrastructure, both at the country’s ports and within its pipelines business.

After the veteran ship 'R142 Ystad' came close to a serious collision with the 'Silverpilen' on Sep 7, 2024, both a commander and a mate are being charged with gross negligence in maritime traffic. The former robot boat had passed a few meters astern of the 'Silverpilen' at a speed of 35 knots and in dense fog at Gålö in the Stockholm archipelago. The ferry was on its way with passengers from Utö to the Årsta jetty. According to the prosecutor, the passengers on the ferry were seconds away from possibly losing their lives. "If the ship had collided with the 'Silverpilen', there would have been fatalities, I am absolutely convinced of that", prosecutor Anton Tunving stated on Jan 27, 2025. According to the description of the incident, the robot boat was sailing south between Äggskären and Vitsgarn, when the 'Silverpilen' appeared on the radar. The commander and the first officer mistakenly believed that the ship was heading in the same direction as the 'R142 Ystad'. They began a port turn astern of the 'Silverpilen', when the ferry suddenly appeared onthe port side as an oncoming ship. The robot boat completed its planned turn and was only between five and ten meters from the 'Silverpilen' when they met. According to the investigation, there were around 40 passengers on the deck of the veteran ship and around 25 passengers on board the 'Silverpilen'. The prosecutor believes that those responsible on the 'R142 Ystad' did not have sufficient supervision and did not keep the speed down sufficiently, which is the basis for the indictment. However, both defendants denied a crime. The robot boat is owned by the State Maritime and Transport History Museums, but the Swedish Robot Boats Association uses the ship in its operations. The ship is almost 44 meters long and has a displacement of 240 tons with full equipment and a crew of 30 people. The Swedish Accident Investigation Board is working on an investigation into the incident. Report with photo: https://www.sjofartstidningen.se/tva-atalas-efter-kollisionstillbud/

The 'Burak', ballasting from Messina to Tuzla, suffered an engine failure in front of Kepez during the transit of the Dardanelles Strait on Jan 22, 2025, at around 9 p.m. UTC. The Çanakkale VTS Center deployed the tugs 'Türkeli' (IMO: 9816256) and 'Kurtarma 18' (IMO: 9974890) to taken the ship in tow to Karanlık Liman. The ship was safely moored in pos. 40° 02' N 026° 18' E close to Erisköy under the coordination of a pilot shortly past 10 p.m. It raised anchor again on Jan 23 at around 9 p.m. UTC and proceeded to the Tuzla shipyard area for permanent repairs, where it arrived on Jan 24 at noon and remained stationary as of Jan 28. Report with photo: https://x.com/kiyiemniyet/status/1882317882790703302

Congestion at Cambodia’s top port is creating supply chain disruptions. In a note to clients German containerline Hapag-Lloyd noted that terminal productivity at Sihanoukville port has deteriorated due to port and yard congestion. Feeder services and turnaround times are affected and feeder space is tight. In an effort for medium term improvement of this situation, the port is building an extended yard for additional storage space. “Before the new container yard is completed, port congestion may persist,” Hapag-Lloyd warned.

Hong Kong-based Dream Cruises’ World Dream cruise ship made its first port call to Keelung on July 8 and tourism operators have said that the port could receive a visit by Royal Caribbean International’s new Spectrum of the Seas in 2021. With gross tonnage (GT) of 151,300, the World Dream is the largest ship ever to visit Keelung Port, the Keelung Harbor Bureau said on Sunday, July 21. Tourism operators have said that the 169,379GT Spectrum of the Seas could set a new record if it makes an anticipated port call in 2021.

The crew of the 'Salvamar Adhara' has accompanied a cayuco with 67 sub-Saharan people on board, among them two minors, on the morning of Jan 27. The boat had been located about eight nautical miles southeast of La Restinga (El Hierro). The response was coordinated by the CCS Tenerife of Salvamento Marítimo. At 9:20 a.m. LT the migrants had safely disembarked in the port. Report with photo: https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/1883821606180716824

On Jan 12, the 'Glyvursnes' left the port of Hirtshals and headed to Frederikshavn, where it berthed at the Orskov Yard for permanent repairs of the extensive fire damage suffered on the evening of Jan 2. The authorities' investigations will also still take a long time. In the violent fire, which had broken out in the ship's engine room, a 34-year-old crew member had died. The Smyril Line chartered the roro ferry 'Mykines' (IMO: 9121998) as a replacement ship.

French oil and gas giant Total SA has taken a 50 per cent stake in Dhamra LNG Terminal Pvt Ltd (DLTPL), a unit of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ), which is constructing a 12 million tonne per annum (mtpa) LNG regasification terminal at its port located at Dhamra in Odisha’s Bhadrak district.

Two more cruise ships bypassed scheduled stops in san Juan as demonstrators have been calling for the resignation of Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló. The loss of tourism is impacting the island's economy. Tourism officials said the two ships would have generated a $1.3 million economic impact. Officials estimated the island missed out on a combined $760,000 from the Seaside and Equinox on Monday