News

A violent fire broke out on Jan 26, 2025, at 1.25 a.m. in the engine room of the 'Kriti Captain' with more than 30,000m³ of diesel on board at the anchorage of Port-la-Nouvelle in pos. 43° 01' N 003° 05'. E. 51 firefighters from the barracks of Narbonne, Salles-d’Aude, Port-la-Nouvelle, Leucate, Sigean and Salles-d’Aude were mobilized to the scene. Shortly after 2 a.m., a first team managed to board this vessel. They could be stood down only on Jan 26 at 12:30 p.m. after. more than 11 consecutive hours of intervention. A long inspection of the vessel took place in the middle of the day, and it was found out that it was no longer able to navigate independently. It needed to be towed to the port of Marseille. For this purpose, the tug 'Abeille Méditerranée' (IMO: 9417749) arrived at around 1 p.m. Both ships remained stationary as of Jan 28. Report with photo: https://actu.fr/occitanie/port-la-nouvelle_11266/aude-un-violent-incendie-se-declare-dans-un-cargo-petrolier-11-heures-d-intervention-pour-les-pompiers_62169919.html

On Jan 9, 2025, the 'Olympic OS' was detained in Gemlik with 58 deficiencies, 30 of which being regarded as seriously and grounds for a detention: 1) Certificate & Doc - International Oil Pollution Prevention Missing 2) Certificate & Doc - International Ship Security Certificate Missing 3) Certificate & Doc - Document of compliance 'Not properly filled 4) Certificate & Doc - International Sewage Pollution Prevention Cert Missing 5) Certificate & Doc - Endorsement by flagstate Missing 6) Certificate & Doc - Load Lines (incl exemption) Not properly filled 7) Certificate & Doc - Minimum safe manning document Not as required 8)) Certificate & Doc - Oil record book' Not properly filled 9) Propulsion and auxiliary machinery - Auxiliary engine Missing 10) Propulsion and auxiliary machinery - Auxiliary engine Inadequate 11) Propulsion and auxiliary machinery - Auxiliary engine Not approved 12) Safety of navigation - Charts Not updated 13) Safety of navigation - Nautilcal publication Expired 14) Life saving Appliances - Lifeboats Not ready for use 15) Life saving Appliances - Launching arrangements for survival craft Inoperative 16) Life saving Appliances - Lifeboats inventory Expired 17) Life saving Appliances - Maintenance and inspections Not properly maintained 18) Life saving Appliances - Lifebuoys incl provision and disposition Not as required 19) Life saving Appliances - Emergency equipment for 2-way comm. Batteries expired 20) Fire safety - Fire fighting equipment and appliances Missing 21) Fire safety - Fire fighting equipment and appliances Not properly maintained 22) Fire safety - Fire detection and alarm systems Inoperative 23) Fire safety - Fire pumps and its pipes Inoperative 24) Fire safety - Personal equipment for fire safety Not as required 25) Pollution Prevention - Ballast Water Management Plan Not updated 26) Pollution Prevention - Ballast Water Management System Malfunctioning 27) Water/Weathertight - Covers (Hatchway,- portable,-. tarpaulin etc Not properly maintained 28) Water/Weathertight - Doors Not properly maintained 29) Water/Weathertight - Ventilators, air pipes and casings Cracked 30) ISM - Ism certificate Not as required The vessel was released again on Jan 17 and left the port en route to Tuzla, where it berthed from Jan 21-22, before proceeding to Burgas. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063576908591

Ships could continue to be turned away from Napier Port for the next few days as an "unprecendented" swell hammers Hawke's Bay. Clifton Beach was closed by Hastings District Council on Wednesday and Napier City Council closed the Marine Parade viewing platform after tourists were drenched by a heaving sea on Wednesday morning. MetService meteorologist Tui McInnes said a slow building pressure system out to the east of Hawke's Bay had ramped up the seas, causing swells of close to 4m. McInnes said the 4m swells had the potential to "cause a bit of havoc on the coast" as it could possibly continue until Saturday morning. "The main thing that is causing the big waves is the easterly winds that are occur. "With a large space and a slow build-up it leaves time for some quite nice swells to develop," McInnes said. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12252333

APM Terminals Maasvlakte II’s new rail service between its Rotterdam terminal and Venlo, a key logistics hub on the Dutch-German border is proving popular. Following the success of the initial five-times-per-week service, plans are already in place to scale this up to 14 times per week over the coming weeks.

The 'Bella Fortuna", ex 'Celestyal Olympia',has been renamed 'Fortu' and is flying the flag of the Comores. On Jan 22, at 6.40 p.m. the ship left the oirt of Ras Al Khaimah, probably en route to Alang or Gadani breakers. The owner of the ship is the Voyage Shipping Inc. with the Royal Marine Shipmanagement Pte. Ltd. as manager.

A migrant boat that capsized in Malta's Search and Rescue zone claimed the lives of two children, while 17 others were rescued by the 'Sea Punk 1' on Jan 26, 2025, including a pregnant woman and a critically injured man. The ship's medical team performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on two other children, successfully saving one. Two persons were still believed to be missing at sea. The rescue occurred on the early morning within Malta's Search and Rescue (SAR) zone. A Maltese SAR helicopter airlifted the pregnant woman and the severely injured man, while an Italian Coastguard vessel took on board the remaining 15 survivors and recovered the bodies of the two children. Survivors recounted that the boat originally carried 21 people from Cameroon and Nigeria. The bodies of the deceased were taken to the mortuary chamber in Cala Pisana. The parents of the two toddlers were among the survivors.

Bangladesh has become the top dumping ground for discarded ships in the world with the country dismantling the highest number of vessels in the first half (January-June) of the current year, according to a report of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, a leading NGO coalition campaigning for clean and safe ship recycling.

Canada’s arctic port of Churchill is set to resume its first grain shipments since 2015 after a group backed by investor Prem Watsa stepped in last year to buy the facility and a related rail line linking the northern town with the rest of Manitoba. The 88-year-old port on the shores of Hudson’s Bay will resume operations in the next few months, reducing by several days the shipping time to deliver grains to Europe and the Middle East across the Atlantic Ocean.

On Jan 21, 2025, the Jaohar K' was detained in Samsun with 14 deficiencies. 1) Certificate & Doc - SOPEP Not as required 2) Certificate & Doc - Cargo Ship Safety Construction Not as required 3) Certificate & Doc - Document of Compliance Not as required 4) Certificate & Doc - Signs, indications Not as required 5) Safety of navigation - Charts Not updated 6) Water/Weathertight - Covers (Hatchways,- portable,- tarpaulin etc) Not as required 7) Living and working - Gangway - accommodation-ladder' Not as required 8)) Living and working - Electrical Unsafe 9) Structural conditions - Decks - Corrosion Corroded 10) Alarms - Fire alarms Inoperative 11) Radio communications - Facilities for reception of marine safety inform Not as required 12) Radio communications - Other (Radio communications) Other 13) Pollution Prevention - Oil and oily mixtures from machinery spaces Not as required 14) ISM - Ism certificate Not as required The vessel was released again on Jan 23 and left the port en route to Sulina with an ETA as of Jan 26. The last detention was on Jan 24, 2024, also in Samsun with 14 deficiencies for three days. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063576908591

On Jan 27, 2025, the 'Floating Bridge 6' had to halt crossings on the s the River Medina between Cowes and East Cowes for 48 hours due to a battery fault. The chain ferry was taken out of operation after Marine Electricians identified the issue. It needed four new batteries. It was hoped it would be returning to full service in the next 48 hours. A launch service for pedestrians and cyclists was in operation during this time.

The Portuguese government announced an investment of 547 million euros in the expansion of the Port of Sines in the southwest of the country and an agreement to extend its concession from 2029 to 2049. The agreement was reached last week between Portugal and PSA Singapore for the completion of the 3rd phase of expansion of Terminal XXI, so as to greatly increase its capacity and give another 20 years of operations in Portugal to PSA Singapore. The Sines port, 58 nautical miles south of Lisbon, is one of the major European ports and the great hub port of the Iberian-Atlantic front.

BEST terminal in the Port of Barcelona has recently increased its storage and connection capacity for refrigerated containers, from 1,600 connection points up to 2,750, an increase of 70%, making it one of the terminals with the most connections for refrigerated containers in the whole of the Mediterranean area.