The ship recycling facility SN Corporation has been ordered to pay $5,856 to the families of six workers who were killed in the explosion aboard the 'Swarajya'. Bangladesh’s Ministry of Industries ordered the ship recycler to pay a compensation in the form of 12 months of salary and all medical costs to six other workers who were seriously injured. A report by an investigative committee that was established to investigate the explosion blamed it on safety violations, operational misconduct, and a failure to ensure safe working conditionss, which has has cost the ship recycler an additional $21,740 in fines. The SN Corporation has been ordered to halt all operations at its ship recycling facilities for a three-month period. The Ministry released a 20-point suggestion list to prevent similar incidents in the future. Among the recommendations were safety measures such as forbidding the simultaneous operation of hot and cold work, ensuring sufficient ventilation while cutting tanks, engine rooms, and pump rooms, and making sure these areas are gas-free before issuing hot work permits. The recycler was also instructed to ensure that proper firefighting and rescue arrangements were in place when working on high-risk areas of ships. The SN Corporation was urged to recruit trained, experienced workers, and ensure that they strictly follow the ship cutting plan.
News
GEO BARENTS
The 'Geo Barents' has rescued 205 migrants during two missons within a few hours in the central Mediterranean on Sep 19, after an administrative suspension imposed on Aug. 26 was lifted on Sep 11. On the morning, a group of 96 people who had been on an overcrowded wooden boat, were taken aboard. Many of them were women and children, the majority of whom were travelling alone.A few hours later, in the afternoon, the ship rescued another group of 109 people who had been in difficulty onboard a makeshift vessel. The refugees had fled Libya and were also travelling on an overcrowded wooden vessel. The NGO Doctors without Froontiers denounces 'dangerous maneuvers' by the socalled Libyan Coastguard during the rescue operations, "a boat from the Libyan Coast Guard, donated by Italy, approached the scene and conducted dangerous maneuvers. The vessel was directed to the port of Genoa for the disembarkation of the migrants with an ETA as of Sep 23.
Cochin
The coast guard found signs of an accident on the British oil tanker Orange Victoria which was seized in COCHIN after the accident involving a fishing boat on the coast of Vizhinjam The Fort Kochi Coastal Police and the Marine Mercantile Division conducted an inspection of the ship anchored in the open sea on Saturday morning .The paint on this part has been collected by scientific experts for scientific examination . Captain Nikhil told the Coastal Police that they were not aware that the ship had collided with the boat . There are 23 sailors on board . The ship while en route from Singapore to Indian port, presumably struck fiberglass fishing boat 46 nm off COCHIN at night Mar 18. boat was damaged, all 6 crew safe. Hull paint samples are taken, to conduct lab analysis
SOUNION
It could take weeks to put out the fires aboard the 'Sounion' after it was towed away from the danger zone and moved further north to safer waters in the Red Sea a week ago. Specialist teams were focused on putting out the flames and preventing further blasts from gases that have built up in the cargo tanks. A complex stabilisation and firefighting operation was due to begin shortly. Specialist equipment has now arrived and was being prepared for the firefighting phase. None of the crude cargo has leaked from the vessel, though it was hit three times by the Houthis. The missiles struck the starboard side, damaging the engine compartment and starting a fire. The crude cargo is owned by Greek refiner Motor Oil.
TRANSFORMER OL
On Sep 19, 2024, at 1.30 p.m. the 'Transformer OL'', en route from Chittagong to Vung Tau, was in collision with the fishing boat 'BV99778TS 22'.about 22 nautical miles southeast of Con Dao. The accident caused the fishing boat to sink, and all 14 crew members fell into the sea. Thanks to the timely support of nearby vessels, 12 fishermen were rescued and brought safely to shore, while the remaining two fishermen were missing. The Coast Guard Region 3 Command dispatched the 'Coast Guard Ship 2011' to participate in the SAR operation. On Sep 21 at 2:00 a.m. it arrived at the scene, contacted the 'Transformer Ol' and nearby vehicles to coordinate the search. After more than two days of searching in harsh weather conditions with wave heights of 6-7 meters and gusts of 8 Beaufort, the crew found the body of a victim ofdrifting at sea. After thebody was recovered, he was handed over to the 'SAR Ship 413' of the Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center Region III at 12:50 p.m. the same day. The body was brought to the mainland to be handed over to the authorities and family. After completing the handover, the 'Coast Guard ship 2011' remained at the scene to coordinate with the authorities and fishing boats to continue searching for the remaining victim. The weather in this area was still very bad,causing many difficulties for the search. Report with photos: https://daibieunhandan.vn/bo-tu-lenh-vung-canh-sat-bien-3-no-luc-tim-kiem-nan-nhan-vu-va-cham-tau-ca-ngoai-khoi-con-dao-post391070.html
Chittagong
Crew change have resumed at the port of Chittagong, albeit to a limited extent. In case of joining, covid negative certificate is required. In case of sign off, the crew will have to undergo a covid test at a local government approved hospital. Which takes a total of 3 days to stay in a hotel. Then he has to show immigration and airlines authorities when he gets on the plane. We've learned from talking to a crew service provider that this process is safe for all parties. NC Shipping's operations manager said Chittagong port service is now much more efficient and less time consuming. All rules are governed by international standards. "Even in the covid pandemic lockdown, we get international quality service from Chittagong port which has played a positive role in the operation of our ships and maintaining the dynamism of the maritime trade," he added. He thinks crew change approval is part of a continuous process. This is a valiant decision of the government and port authorities
PHOENICIAN-M
The Croatian Captain Marko Bekavac and the First Officer Ali Albokhari of the 'Phoenician M' have been sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment in Turkey after being found guilty of smuggling 137 kg of cocaine on board the vessel. They were arrested along with eight crew members in Oct 2023 and detained in an Ankara prison ahead of their trial, which started in June. Bekavac has a 30-year record at sea with no reported offences. Both Bekavac and Albokhari were sentenced to 30 years each in jail after the cocaine was discovered hidden in the cargo on the coal-laden vessel, which had arrived in the port of Eregli from Columbia. Authorities searched the vessel and found 137 kg of cocaine hidden among the coal. Eight seafarers were acquitted on the same charges as the authorities focused on the responsibility of the captain and his first officer. The ship was detained for 11 days by the UK authorities in May 2023, who inspected the vessel, then named 'Clipper Palma' and found 11 deficiencies across a broad range of categories. The vessel was renamed the next month. Albokhari told the court during the trial that he had reported that the ship did not have sufficient security while it was being loaded in Colombia. He said he had advised the Turkish authorities of this when the vessel arrived in port. It also emerged in court that Bekavac had told the ship’s managers that security should be increased and additional cameras should be added for the Colombian port call. However, his requests were ignored. The Colombian authorities searched the vessel before it sailed and found a small amount of cocaine in the aft peak tank. The ship’s crew comprised 20 seafarers from the Philippines, Finland, Poland, and Russia when it was detained. After arresting the 10 suspects, the authorities released the vessel. The prosecutors were unable to provide any evidence linking the eight crew members to the cocaine, so they were acquitted. However, the state prosecutor said the master and first officer were responsible for managing the vessel. The Croatian government supported the crew during the trial and its ambassador was present at court.
SALVAMAR AL NAIR
On Sep 23 a number of responses were coordinated by the CCS Las Palmas of Salvamento Marítimo. The 'Guardamar Talía' assisted three precarious boats off the Canary islands, one inflatable boat with 50 people on board and two with 65 migrants each. The more than 170 people disembarked in Puerto del Rosario upon Fuerteventura. The 'Salvamar Al Nair' rescued 45 migrants from an inflatable boat, who were disembarked in Arrecife upon Lanzarote.
Cochin
The Cochin Port Trust handled a record 3.20 million tonnes of cargo in December 2020, a monthly record volume for it. The volume is a 10.55 per cent growth over December 2019, said Cochin Port Trust chairperson M. Beena, in a message to the employees and officials of the port trust. Container movement too touched a consistent 60,000 TEUs consecutively in the four months leading to December. The surge in the movement of cargo is being looked upon as new shoots in the port business after the plans of 2020 were washed away in the COVID-19 pandemic. The growth in cargo movement is “charting a new growth trajectory. However, we need to find new vistas for revenue generation by optimum utilisation of resources available to us,” the chairperson told the port community. The port has been recovering from the losses, which had affected it for the past decade. But the pandemic and resultant loss in business had pushed the port into the red. But the port was expected to make a recovery by the end of 2021, the chairperson said. There was optimism stemming from the fact that though there was a substantial fall in cargo movement in the first half of the current financial year, there was some recovery in the second half. The port trust was also optimistic that the inauguration of the Kochi-Mangaluru LNG pipeline earlier this month would pave the way for more gas volumes and revenue for the port. Meanwhile, figures from the Indian Ports Association showed that ports across the country suffered owing to the pandemic and its impact on the global economy. The average fall across the major ports in the country is nearly nine per cent for the period. Mumbai suffered a fall of more than 17 per cent and the Momugao traffic fell more than 23 per cent and JNPT traffic was down by over 12 per cent. Haldia Dock Complex, Paradip, Visakhapatnam, and New Mangaluru suffered lesser falls in business.
Kiel
The inauguration of the new shore power facility in Kiel on Dec 9, 2020, meant that Stena Line now have the possibility to connect 14 vessels at seven terminals with on-shore electricity during port stay. The new connection in Kiel will reduce the CO2 emissions from the two vessels Stena Scandinavica and Stena Germanica with 2,700 tonnes per year. In total Stena Line reduce its CO2 emissions with shore power with 13,000 tonnes per year. The new shore power facility in Kiel provides 100% green electricity, thus also avoiding NOX-, SOX- and particle emissions during the port stay of the 'Stena Germanica' and 'Stena Scandinavica'. Aside from Kiel, Stena Line have the possibility to connect to shore power supply at its two terminals in Göteborg, as well as in Karlskrona, Norvik, Trelleborg and Hoek van Holland, thus saving 13,000 t of CO2 per year in its network. Of the 36 vessels in the Stena Line fleet, 14 are now equipped with High Voltage Shore Connection systems (HVSC). “Shore power supply is important for us for two reasons: First, we want to have an immediate positive impact on the air quality in the ports we use. Secondly, we expect an even higher share of electrification in ports in the future – at cars, trucks, port vehicles and not the least at ships. With our battery and power bank projects, we develop our ferry services further in that direction constantly and we learn something new each day. In 2030 we expect to launch a 100 % battery powered and fossil free vessel”, say Niclas Mårtensson, CEO Stena Line and member of the Swedish Government Elelctrification Commission. Kiels mayor Dr. Ulf Kämpfer inaugurated the new façade of the shore power facility, which has been specially designed and illuminated. The inauguration marks the offizial start of the on-shore power supply for Stena Line in Kiel. The facility was co-funded by the state government of Schleswig-Holstein (8,9 m Euro) and the EU (1,26 m Euro). In addition, Germany´s federal government recently agreed on a political package to decrease the user prices for on-shore electricity significantly. “We are very grateful for the political support on various levels. The planned decrease of user prices for shore side electricity is an important step for the competitiveness of environmentally- and climate-friendly technologies in Northern Europe. At the same time, we are very happy about the continuous positive dialogue with our partners at Port of Kiel and the city of Kiel”, says Ron Gerlach, Managing Director, Stena Line Germany.