The 'Shingle' will be scuttled to create Ireland’s first artificial reef in north Mayo. The ship,, which is currently the property of the Revenue Commissioners, is expected to arrive in Killala Bay next week. Killala Bay Ships 2 Reef Ltd, which is made up of a group of diving enthusiasts, was granted permission to sink the ship in July. However, before this can be done, an Underwater Archaeological Impact Assessment must be submitted. The assessment is due to be completed this week, and it is expected the green light to sink the ship will be given within 24 hours of the assessment being submitted. Once this has been cleared, the ‘Shingle’, which is currently in dry dock in New Ross Harbour, will be towed to Killala Bay. It will take three days to bring it up from Sep 9. Those behind Killala Bay Ships 2 Reef Ltd have invested up to €35,000 of their own money into the project, and they have also received €50,000 in funding from Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) towards it. The vessel was seized in 2014 after customs officers discovered 32 million packets of cigarettes worth €13 million on board. As Ireland’s first artificial reef, the wreck is expected to attract divers from around the world, bringing economic benefits to the region.
News
RED ORCHID
On Sep 3, 2024, the 'Red Orchid' has been authorized to set sail after paying unpaid debts for pilotage services in the Port of Rosario and in the Río de La Plata, after having been prohibited from leaving Quequén by the Court, applying in this case the provisions in force within the Navigation Law. The ship was only able to leave after it was established that the debt of more than 150,000 dollars was settled by the contribution of the surety insurance policy as a result of a civil file duly prepared called “judicial injunction prohibiting departure to sea” and the ship could not leave the port until the commitment acquired for the services provided at another maritime station was paid. The ship was anchored in the outer harbour after having been unable to set sail for almost a week in the port due to a legal dispute. Against the presentation of a surety insurance policy as a guarantee to cover the sum in dollars owed, the Court ordered the lifting of the embargo. The ship had loaded 16000 tons of corn bound for Peru, but in its cargo hold it already had another 40.000 tons shipped from the Santa Fe terminal of Cosco, in the area of San Lorenzo.
BEREG MECHTY
The 'Bereg Mechty', having been renamed 'Bereg Machty', which arrived at Alang at the end of August 2024, has been arrested by an entity that claims to have been its owner since 2016. The reefer was arrested while at anchor on Sep 5 by Subriton Investment, which claims the ship was stolen from the port of Vladivostok and resold for recycling. The ship was towed away by the Russian-flagged AHTS 'Ajax'. S&P Global’s International Ships Register (ISR) indicated that the renaming took place in May, when ownership was transferred from the Kasira Marine of Cyprus to the Delta Llnk of Singapore. Subriton claimed that it acquired the vessel as 'Bereg Mechty' from the Kasira Marine for $5.5m in June 2016 and was still its rightful owner. Subriton told the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad that after taking delivery of the ship, its paperwork was removed without authorisation by the person who held the power of attorney to sell the ship on Kasira Marine’s behalf. Subriton said that as the new owner of the ship, it got caught up in a legal battle that was playing out in the Arbitration Court of Primorsky Krai between Kasira Marine and other parties. The Bereg Mechty’s last AIS signal was in Vladivostok in Dec 2016. The ship was laid up in the port for the duration of the legal battle that ended when a decision was handed down by the arbitration court on June 15. Subriton argued that the arbitration court declared it to be the owner throughout the jurisdical battle, and in fact when handing down its decision, the court asked it to make payments with respect to vessel. Subriton’s lawyers said the company subsequently learnt that the 'Bereg Mechty' had been towed away from its berth in Vladivostok around June 27, en route to Alang for scrapping with Delta Llnk as its registered owner.
MULAN
Also the 'Mulan' has been sanctioned by the US State Department on Sep 5, 2024, besides the LNG tanker 'New Energy', which has been charged with using deceptive practices and turning off its AIS transponder while engaging in ship-to-ship transfer of LNG from the already sanctioned LNG tanker 'Pioneer'. Gotik Energy Shipping Co. (Gotik) and Plio Energy Cargo Shipping OPC PVT LTD (Plio Energy), which are the shipowner and the commercial manager, respectively, of the vessel'New Energy', have also being sanctioned by the US government. The 'Mulan', managed by the Pilo Energy, has been identified as Pilo Energy’s property of interest and, hence, has also been sanctioned. The ship-to-ship transfer of LNG took place on Aug 25. The LNG was sourced from the Russian Arctic LNG 2 project and transferred onto the 'New Energy' from the 'Pioneer', which had already been sanctioned on Aug 23. The stern stance of the US against the Russian LNG 2 project is to prevent Russia from gaining revenue from energy exports, which the US authorities believe to be used in funding the Russian military.
ALEMANNIA
Asylum seekers will once again be accommodated on the 'Alemannia' in the Sliksloot Port in Krimpen. This was announced by the municipality of Krimpen aan den IJssel. 150 people will be accommodated there for a period of two years. The Distribution Act came into effect on Feb 1, 2024. This obliges municipalities to create reception locations or exchange them with other municipalities. For Krimpen aan den IJssel, this concerns 164 reception places for asylum seekers. The ship has been providing shelter for asylum seekers since Sep 2022 and was officially in use until Dec 2023, but still offered space for asylum seekers who could not yet move on. Previously, minors were accommodated on the vessel, but the COA considers children on the water 'too vulnerable sot that now only families with adult children and adult men and women will be accomodated on the ship. The municipality is organizing residents' meetings on board the 'Alemannia', on two occasions. The mayor and alderman Van der Wal will then explain the decision and answer questions from local residents. The walk-in times are on Sep 18 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.. Interested parties can register via