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Following an explosion, a fire broke out on one of the production decks located below the cabin area of the 'Petrobras' Cherne 1 (PCH-1)' in the Campos Basin, Brazil, on April 21, 2025. at 7:25 a.m. LT., One of the oil workers who was on site had left shortly before to go up to the cabin and heard a loud explosion. He noticed that the floor was heating up and the alarm started to sound. The corridor was filled with smoke. Oil workers managed to get through the smoke and reach the meeting point, where they remained until disembarking. From the deck where the oil workers were waiting to disembark, it was possible to see the deck hit by the explosion with the twisted installations. All 176 non-essential workers from the platform were evacuated, and 32 of them were taken to the hospitals in Campos dos Goytacazes and Macaé for medical attention.14 of them had suffered burns, and the others have been admitted to hospitals for smoke inhalation. In the chaos of the rescue operation, one worker fell into the water, but was quickly rescued by the 'Locar XXII'. He was alive and conscious, but had suffered burn injuries. Another worker reported that, during the escape, he found a route intended for emergency exits that was blocked, and had to take another route, amid the flames. Emergency vessels battled the fire for around four hours, and by 11:25 a.m., was brought under control. The gas flow from the platform was stopped at the time for safety reasons. Petrobrás continued unloading the unit on April 22.. The goal was to keep only those oil workers essential to the operations of habitability, safety and food on board. The estimate was that less than 100 would remain on the platform. The 'Chern-1' platform has not produced oil since 2020 and was sold to the Perenco Oil and Gas of Brazil Ltd., in April 2024. However, the handover of the platform to its new owner has not been completed yet, and it still remains under Petrobras's management. Petrobras has formed a commission to thoroughly investigate the incident and determine its cause. Reports with photos: https://sindipetronf.org.br/pch-1-primeiros-relatos-de-trabalhadores-mostram-a-gravidade-da-explosao-e-rota-de-fuga-interditada/ https://www.correiodopovo.com.br/not%C3%ADcias/economia/explos%C3%A3o-em-plataforma-da-petrobras-deixa-11-feridos-segundo-sindicato-de-petroleiros-1.1600860 https://jovempan.com.br/noticias/brasil/explosao-em-plataforma-da-petrobras-deixa-11-feridos-diz-sindicato-de-petroleiros.html

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported a gastrointestinal illness outbreak aboard the 'Viking Polaris' during the voyage from April 11 to April 23, 2025. Out of 355 passengers, 28 reported symptoms consistent with acute gastroenteritis, including vomiting and diarrhea. Additionally, four crew members out of 260 were affected. The causative agent of the outbreak has not yet been identified, and stool specimens are being collected for testing. In response to the outbreak, Viking Expeditions implemented enhanced cleaning and disinfection protocols, isolated affected individuals, and consulted with the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) regarding sanitation procedures and illness reporting. The VSP is remotely monitoring the situation, including reviewing the ship's outbreak response and sanitation measures. The 'Viking Polaris' was scheduled to arrive in New York on April 23, concluding the 12-day voyage through Canada.

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On April 10, 2025, the 'Sea Beauty' was detained in Porto Nogaro with 18 deficiencies, six of which being regarded as seriously and grounds for a detention: 1) Fire safety - Fire pumps and its pipes Inoperative 2) Fire safety - Evaluation of crew performance Lack of training 3) Emergency systems - Abandon ship drills Insufficient frequency 4) Safety of navigation - Electronic charts (ECDIS) Not as required 5) Life saving Appliances - Launching arrangement for survival craft Seized 6) ISM - Ism certificate Not as required The vessel was released again on April 18 and left the port on April 19, enroute to the shipyard area in Elefsis, with an ETA as of April 24. The last detention was on June 24, 2024, in Port la Nouvelle with five deficiencies for four days. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063576908591

Two scheduled sailings of the 'Aratere' have been cancelled due to an electrical fault on April 22, 2024. The 4 p.m. crossing from Wellington to Picton and the return journey scheduled for 8.50 p.m. ave been cancelled to give engineers time to fix the fault in a hydraulic pump. Affected passengers were being moved to the next sailings, which have space available.

The PORT OF KIEL has redesigned the port apron in Ostuferhafen, which is the freight and logistics centre on the fjord. Where once stood a grain silo, there is now an expanded pre-stacking and stand-by area of three hectares for trucks, trailers and pas-senger cars.The State Premier of Schleswig- Holstein, Daniel Günther, visited the Ostufer-hafen on 12th August to hand over the grant notice coming from the State Programme Economy for 5.44 million Euros: The project to redesign the port apron included dismantling three hall areas of the former grain silo, excavation and road works as well as drainage, lighting and security measures and the connection of the area to the infrastructure. Through the new and generous port apron it has been possible to merge formerly separated pre-stacking areas, shorten distances and gain more space for trucks, busses, trailers and passenger cars. Furthermore, IT solutions have been developed to accelerate the handling processes at the gate, which also allow truck drivers to reduce personal contact.Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director at the PORT OF KIEL: “Even under the current circumstances the Ostuferhafen operates in a reliable and safe way. The port of Kiel has proven its systemic importance regarding the transshipment of cross-border freight transport.”In the first seven months of the year 2.1 million tons of cargo have been tran-shipped via the Ostuferhafen (+ 1 %). Additional volumes have been transported by the ferries of the DFDS shipping company to the Baltic States or they have been delivered by the SCA-RoRo-freighters from Scandinavia. Not only general cargo and forest products are unloaded resp. transhipped in Ostuferhafen but also project and heavy cargo, scrap metal and agricul-tural products. The integrated passenger terminal to handle cruise vessels emphasizes the universal character of this port part.

Vessells

Almost ten months after the fire aboard the"Tenacia," owned by Isabella Grimaldi's Grimaldi Investments, is back at the disposal of its charterer, GNV, and will return to service next summer. The ship has been repaired and modernized in the affected areas at the Nuova Meccanica Navale shipyard in Naples, in which MSC holds a shareholding. The fire broke out in the engine room on July 8, 2023, while the ferry was sailing north of Ibiza.

The 'Queen of Coquitlam' had to be assisted into Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver by the tug 'Ospresy' (IMO: 9623128) after suffering a mechanical failure on April 21, 2025, at 1 p.m., a short distance from the Langdale Terminal. The operation took 40 minutes. The breakdown led to disruptions on the busy Langdale-Horseshoe Bay route and stranded passengers for approximately three hours as it resulted in the cancellation of multiple sailings.The passengers and vehicles were off-loaded around 3:30 p.m. BC Ferries reported that the pitch control issue had been repaired by 2:20 p.m. The vessel was to undergo sea trials with the assistance of a tug, while awaiting final clearance from Transport Canada to resume service. The company aimed to restart sailings with the 4:20 p.m. departure from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale- The ferry company hired three 12-person-water taxis to shuttle travellers who were booked on other sailings. Two round-trip sailings of the ferry between Langdale on the Sunshine Coast and Horseshoe Bay had to be cancelled. Report with photo and video: https://www.msn.com/en-in/travel/news/easter-monday-ferry-fiasco-aging-vessel-breaks-down-between-sunshine-coast-and-vancouver-passengers-stranded/ar-AA1DnR5V https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypd1lARwBbI

The Port of Beirut (PoB) resumed partial operations on Aug 10 with the first two container ships berthing in the container terminal after the explosion which killed at least 160 persons, injured thousands and made hundred thousands homeless. Out of 16 cranes at the container terminal, 12 were currently operational. The port was gradually resuming operations to ensure the supply of all kinds of goods to citizens. Bassem Al Kaissi, the new Director of the PoB, said that the container terminal will be fully operational by Aug 14. Al Kaissi said that 420 containers were unloaded on Aug 10. The container terminal storage area has been cleaned up and restored to its state before the blast. The container terminal represents 80 percent of the overall cargo movement at the PoB. It is located one kilometer away from the blast epicenter. Container vessels can dock at quay number 16. Shipping movement at the PoB had already plunged by 75 percent due to the economic crisis and has reached 15 percent following the blast. Customs have opened offices in the PoB’s warehouse number 14 which was partially damaged. The customs have become able to carry out the inspection of merchandise- Customs duties are being temporarily paid at the Rafic Hariri International Airport. Tthe PoB is now handling only full containers as groupage consignment requires warehouses which don’t exist now. Amer Al Kaissi said groupage, which represents 15 percent of shipments at the PoB, will be diverted to the Port of Tripoli until the rebuilding of warehouses at the PoB is completed. The first two containerships to berth at the PoB after the blast were the 'Electra' (Gezairi Transport) and the 'Nicolas Delmas' (CMA CGM). The 'Electra', which was carrying 400 containers, was diverted to Tripoli where there was a license to operate but the company insisted to unload it in Beirut when it was told that the PoB has resumed operation. The CMA CGM Group and CEVA Logistics said they are fully operational and ensuring business continuity to serve their customers. The Group has redeployed its employees in its two back-up sites in Beirut Digital District and reinforced its presence in Tripoli. Part of CMA CGM’s vessels has been temporarily directed to Tripoli. Few shipping companies are authorized to operate in other ports such as Tripoli or Saida. BCTC, the Customs and the PoB’s authorities did their best to handle the clearing formalities despite the difficult working conditions. The general cargo area was fully operational on Aug 12 both for imports and exports. This includes wheat and other grains as well as construction steel bars. The cost of rebuilding the port is estimated at around $1 billion.

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