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London, Sep 18 -- A press release, dated Sep 17, states: Investigations are ongoing to find the the cause of fire at the Lurssen Shipyard in Bremen, Germany. However, as of Sep 17, the cause of the incident as well as the extent of damage caused to the shipyard is still unknown.

The Coast Guard Captain of the Port of Hampton Roads has reopened the ports in Virginia, which saw limited impacts after Hurricane Florence made landfall as a category 1 storm on Friday morning. “Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads is coordinating very closely with our port partners to ensure a quick and safe recovery from Hurricane Florence,” said Capt. Kevin Carroll, the commander of Sector Hampton Roads. “Our number one priority is saving lives and preventing life-endangering activities on our waterways. After that, restoring the free-flow of vessel traffic is a top priority, and we realize that our port and personnel could be critical in assisting areas that were more heavily impacted by the storm.”

Venezuela’s PDVSA expects to reopen its main port’s South dock by the end of September, easing strains on crude exports delayed due to a tanker collision last month, according to internal trade documents from the state-run oil firm seen by Reuters. The South American country’s crude exports have remained slow in recent weeks as few customers have accepted the 500,000-barrels-per-cargo maximum neighboring terminals can handle.Source: Reuters

AIDA Cruises, the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the City of Rostock and Rostock Port have agreed to jointly promote environmentally friendly and sustainable cruise shipping in Rostock, Germany. The ‘declaration of intent’ was signed on 11 September 2018 by Manuela Schwesig, Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; Felix Eichhorn, president of AIDA; Roland Methling, Lord Mayor of Rostock; and Jens Aurel Scharner, the port's managing director. According to the agreement, the partners will work together to build a shore power plant for cruise ships at the port of Rostock, which is likely to be operational by 2020. Similar agreements have already been signed in the German cities of Hamburg and Kiel. Source: cruiseandferry.net

The cruise ship Aurora, part of the fleet of the English shipping company P&O Cruises, arrived early Tuesday morning for her first visit to the Kiel Fiord. The ship’s maiden call also marked the 150th visit to Kiel this year by a cruise ship. Nicole Claus, Cruise Shipping Director of the PORT OF KIEL said: “Actually it’s the very first time ever that we have registered 150 visits in a single season. The arrival of the Aurora is a milestone which underscores the development of Kiel into one of the leading cruise shipping ports in northern Europe.” The port expects a total of 165 visits by cruise ships up to the end of this year’s season in October and has already passed its previous record of 147 visits recorded in 2016.

(Reuters) – South Africa’s Transnet said on Tuesday it will spend 7 billion rand ($464 million) to deepen berths at Africa’s biggest container terminal in the port city of Durban to accommodate larger vessels. Transnet, which operates nearly three-quarters of the African rail network, the bulk of which is in South Africa, aims to complete the work by 2023, it said in a statement. Transnet said the project at the Durban port, which handles around 65 percent of South Africa’s container cargo, will include the reconstruction, deepening and lengthening of berths 203 to 205 for the larger ships. The state-owned logistics firm has been embroiled in allegations of corruption involving procurement contracts worth around 54 billion rand.

The US Coast Guard is responding to a diesel fuel spill that took place in the Arthur Kill Waterway near Port Reading, New Jersey, on Thursday September 6. All fuel transfers at the facility are temporarily suspended. Watchstanders at US Coast Guard Sector New York received a report of a diesel fuel spill during a product transfer at the Buckeye Terminal in Port Reading. Because of high winds and rain at the time of the incident, facility personnel could not calculate the exact amount of fuel spilled into the waterway. A pollution response team from US Coast Guard Sector New York is currently on scene to help mitigate the situation. An oil spill removal organization has been contracted to clean up the spill, and they have placed containment boom in the water. One barge was involved in the spill and is inside the containment boom. The federal on scene coordinator and marine inspectors from Sector New York are currently evaluating the condition of the barge. All fuel transfers at the facility are temporarily suspended until investigators can determine the cause of the spill and the facility can safely carry out fueling operations. Source: SAFETY4SEA.

Tug services will be required in Timor Leste once a major new port is built in the nation in the next three years. Bolloré Ports has started construction of a greenfield deepwater port for dry cargo and containers in Timor Leste as part of a total investment of US$490M. This will open a new shipping gateway to the country and change trade dynamics in the region. It will take three years to build the Tibar port, during which time there will be requirements for marine services, towage and vessel assistance. Bolloré Ports expects the port to be opened in 2021, when it will require tug services for handling container ships of up to 7,500 TEU. Investment in the new port will involve construction of a 630 m wharf with a 15 m draught, dredging of access channels and creation of 27 hectares of yard space. Equipment will be installed at the port for cargo handling including two ship-to-shore cranes and five rubber-tired gantry cranes.

On Sep 14, 2018, at 2.37 a.m. a fire broke out aboard the 146-m-yacht "Sassi" in the building dock of the Lürssen-Yard in Bremen-Vegesack and spread over three decks of the ship and the building dock the roof of which was alight on a length of 130 meters. As the dock was complicated to access, the fire brigades had problems with the work to get the blaze under control. The more than 100 men and 35 units worked with ladders and a fire boat. The danger arose that the roof could get instable and collapse. The authoroties advised residents of the Fähr-Lobbendorf to keep their doors and windows closed due to the dense smoke. At 9 a.m. the volunteer forces from Bookholzberg, Lemwerder and Berne were transferred to the yard aboard a ferry to assist in fire fighting which was expected to last the weekend. The yacht had been due for delivery in 2020. German reports with photos and video: https://www.kreiszeitung.de/lokales/bremen/bremen-werft-baudock-brennt-luerssen-10239832.html https://www.kreiszeitung.de/lokales/bremen/fotos-feuer-luerssen-werft-bremen-10239889.html https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/niedersachsen/oldenburg_ostfriesland/Bremen-Baudock-auf-Luerssen-Werft-in-Flammen,luerssen110.html https://www.butenunbinnen.de/nachrichten/gesellschaft/feuer-luerssen-werft-bremen-vegesack-100.html https://www.hna.de/welt/grossbrand-in-bremer-luerssen-werft-mehr-als-100-feuerwehrleute-kaempfen-gegen-flammen-zr-10239878.html

China Communications Construction Co has won a $398 million contract to build a new oil terminal at Kenya’s main port of Mombasa, the acting head of the Kenya Ports Authority said on Thursday. Daniel Manduku said the new terminal, whose construction will take 18 months, will raise the port’s oil handling capacity to 100,000 dead weight tonnes from the current facility’s 20,000-tonne capacity. Source: Reuters

Denmark-headquartered shipping company DFDS is offering a new connection between Sweden and Turkey following its recent acquisition of Turkish company UN Ro-Ro. Through the Sweden – Turkey intermodal connection now in effect, the carrier offers connections from Gothenburg in Sweden to Trieste in Italy, Patras in Greece and Pendik, Ambarli and Mersin in Turkey. By connecting the existing DFDS network in northern Europe with the new routes in southern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, DFDS is capable of offering transportation of cargo from North to South and back. All routes and terminals in this connection are in DFDS ownership and control. Source: MLP

Keel laying Ceremony for Genting's first Global Class ship to be built by MV Werften took place at Warnemünde on 11th September 2018 http://cruisedeck.de/kiellegung-fuer-global-class-schiff/

Havila have confirmed to have ordered two passenger ferries with Tersan shipyard, Yalova, Turkey. These ships are two of totally four to be put into service on the traditional Hurtigruten line. http://cruisedeck.de/tuerkische-werft-tersan-erhaelt-auftrag-fuer-schiffe-im-hurtigruten-dienst/

The world’s largest operational offshore wind farm, Walney Extension, opened at a ceremony in Barrow in the north-west of England. Walney Extension, which is owned by Ørsted and its partners PFA and PKA, is the first project to use wind turbines from two different manufacturers. About Walney Extension Offshore Wind Farm Owned by Ørsted (50%), PKA (25%) and PFA (25%) Located in the Irish Sea - approximately 19km from the Walney Island coast in Cumbria Covers an area of 145km2 equal to around 20,000 football pitches Total capacity of 659MW – capable of powering almost 600,000 UK homes First project to use turbine technology from two different manufacturers More than 200km of cables used to connect the turbines offshore to the National Grid onshore Features two offshore substations, each weighing 4,000 tonnes. The jacket foundation height is 50m, and topside height is 18.5m.

UK – Teesport has become the first port facility to actively address the problem of plastics polluting the country's waterways, with operator PD Ports signing up to the Operation Clean Sweep® (OCS) initiative. The project, which has already seen freight group XPO Logistics come on board, is run in the UK by the British Plastics Federation (BPF), and aims to ensure that the plastic pellets, flakes and powders that pass through manufacturing facilities in the UK are handled with the care they deserve and do not end up in rivers or the ocean.

Germany’s Uniper on Tuesday said it favours a for liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at the Wilhelmshaven deep sea port on the North Sea coast, less than a week after peer RWE said it secured access to capacity should a rival project at Brunsbuettel go ahead. “Wilhelmshaven in particular can be a suitable location, there are many arguments in favour of it,” spokesman Leif Erichsen said in a written statement.He cited the port’s ability to offer infrastructure for LNG vessels of all sizes and its proximity to the German long-distance gas pipeline grids and underground storage caverns in the northern state of Lower Saxony where most gas is produced. “The integration into the gas industry system would be very cost-efficient,” Erichsen said. Source: Reuters

The Japanese group MOL Chemical Tankers is coming to the port of Antwerp. Together with the port group SEA-Invest it is to invest some 300 to 400 million euros in construction of a tank storage terminal for liquid chemicals. This is yet more confirmation of the port’s power of attraction for big investors.

Scottish Government identifies Dales Voe in Lerwick in Shetland as “preferred site” for an "ultra deep water" decommissioning port after UK-wide feasibility study. Scotland’s supply chain could be set to win more large scale decommissioning projects, after Dales Voe in Shetland has been identified as the optimal location for an ultra-deep water port. The Lerwick location was selected following a UK-wide feasibility study, conducted by Ernst and Young, has as the optimal and most cost effective location for decommissioning work. The announcement has been made as key figures from oil and gas operators, service companies and other key stakeholders gather on Shetland for an Oil & Gas Authority roundtable event to understand the challenges and opportunities ahead.

On 10th September 2018 all four cruise ships of Fred. Olsen Cruise lines were gathered in the port of Cadiz. All cruise ship captains of Fred. Olsen attended the event. Fred Olsen were celebrating the 170th anniversary. http://cruisedeck.de/captains-in-cadiz-treffen-der-fred-olsen-cruise-lines-flotte/

International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTSI) will raise its stake in Manila North Harbor Port (MNHP) to 50% for nearly PHP1bn ($18.6m), local reports said.