News

After a submarine cable used by the Latvian State Radio and Television Center (LVRTC) was damaged in the Baltic Sea, Latvia has reported initial progress in the investigation. The Latvian Navy, in cooperation with Swedish partners, has received initial video footage from the seabed, said Prime Minister Evika Siliņa, on Jan 28. According to this, it is very likely that the damaged part of the cable has been located. According to Navy Chief Maris Polencs, a torpedo-like device with acoustic sensors is being used for the investigation, which is lowered to the seabed to determine the location of the cable and also film it. However, visibility is very low at a depth of around 100 meters. Specialists and investigators will therefore continue to analyze the information received. Latvian naval divers and experts from the LVRTC have made their way to the site of the damage, which is located around 130 kilometers off the Latvian coast. The authorities in Stockholm are investigating possible "serious sabotage" and have detained the suspicious 'Vezhen'.

The catamaran yacht 'Amelie' (MMSI: 249407000), with three crew members on board, was left without electricity or wind three nautical miles southeast of Fuengirola on Jan 28, 2025, and requeste assistance. The CCS Tarifa of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the 'Salvamar Alnitak', which took the boat in tow and safely pulled it to the port of Malaga. Report with photo: https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/1884310589230780569

Icebreaker assistance and ice restrictions for ships entering the basin of Section No.1 at the Port of Sabetta, Yamal and access channel are canceled as of 00:00 Moscow time, August 6. The corresponding order was signed by the Port Harbourmaster Nikolay Nesterov. The order says that there is a possibility of separately floating ice floes, therefore masters of ships sailing in this water area of the Port of Sabetta and on approaches to the port are advised to exercise caution. Arctic Port of Sabetta is built on the western shore of the Gulf of Ob (Kara Sea) for transshipment of hydrocarbons from the South-Tambey gas condensate field on the Yamal peninsula to the Western Europe, South America and APR countries under Yamal LNG project. The project envisages the construction of an LNG plant capable of producing 16.5 million metric tonnes of LNG and 1.35 million tonnes of gas condensate annually

The Government of Maharashtra, India, India has named the Virgin Hyperloop One – DP World Consortium as Original Project Proponent (OPP) for the Pune-Mumbai Hyperloop Project, making it the first hyperloop project in the world. In a statement, Virgin Hyperloop One described it as a “landmark announcement” for the building of the Mumbai-Pune hyperloop transportation system.

The 'Alfred', sailing on the route Troon-Brodick, suffered a technical issue affecting the sewage system on Jan 28, 2025. The issue has impacted the crew's compensatory rest. As a consequence, the scheduled departures from Brodick at 3:45 p.m. and from Troon at 6:00 p.m. had to be cancelled.

The "Calimero Sampa" ran aground on Jan 28, 2025, shortly before 6 a.m. on the reef protecting the beach to the west of the port of Cesenatico, about 250 meters from the coast, for reasons currently being investigated. After the Rimini Harbour Master's Office Operations Room received a radio distress call from the crew, the Coast Guard of Rimini and Cesenatico sent the patrol boat 'CP 842' to provide assistance, along with the RHIB 'GC B142', given the shallow waters in that stretch of sea. The four crew members, one Italian national and three Tunisians, had in the meantime taken refuge on the deckhouse of the vessel, now lying on its starboard side. The rescue operations, complicated by the shallow water, the increasing swell, the proximity of the embankment and the drifting debris from the fishing vessel itself, lasted for about 45 minutes. All fishermen were embarked on the Cesenatico Coast Guard dinghy. Medical personnel who intervened in the meantime found them to be in good health, but were transferred as a precaution to the Cesena Hospital for more in-depth checks. Reports with photos: https://risveglioduemila.it/2025/01/un-peschereccio-resta-incagliato-a-cesenatico-equipaggio-salvato-dalla-guardia-costiera/ https://www.cesenatoday.it/cronaca/incidente-mare-peschereccio-ricostruzione-guardia-costiera.html https://www.corrierecesenate.it/cesenatico-un-peschereccio-ribaltato-in-acqua-a-ponente/

On August 1, ABP announced new customers for the Port of Immingham this week: The port welcomed the first vessel in a new contract with customers Top Blue and The Fuel Trading Company. The new deal is expected to bring an extra 30,000 tonnes per year through the Port of Immingham – the largest Port by tonnage in the UK. The cargo being delivered is Prilled Urea which is a key part of the mixture for the AdBlue market.

The new Lamu Port in Kenya took a big step towards completion yesterday with the announcement that its first of 22 berths is finished. According to the South Sudan and Ethiopia Transport Corridor Development Authority, the second and third berths will be completed by December 2020.

The'Amelie', with three crew members on board, was left without electricity or wind three nautical miles southeast of Fuengirola on Jan 28, 2025, and requested assistance. The CCS Tarifa of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the SAR boat 'Salvamar Alnitak', which took the boat in tow and safely pulled it to the port of Malaga. Report with photo: https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/1884310589230780569

The Italian Coast Guard has ordered the detention of two ships in the port of Genova, among the ten inspected since the beginning of the year, as part of the environmental and safety control activities conducted by the Port State Control personnel on foreign vessels transiting Italian ports. The detention orders were issued against the 'Commander' and 'Salammbo', which had serious shortcomings in terms of navigation safety and environmental protection. The 'Commander', which had arrived in port on Jan 21, 2025, was selected thanks to the targeting system developed by the General Command of the Coast Guard. The system, in line with the objectives of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, analyses a series of data relating to ships, considering elements such as the company's performance, the flag and the results of previous inspections (https://www.parismou.org/detentions-banning/white-grey-and-black-list). The analysis of the data, in particular the low performance of the company and the shortcomings already reported in a previous inspection, allowed the ship to be identified as a priority for control. After three days of detention, the ship was authorised to leave again following a re-inspection which verified that the technical, operational and documentary shortcomings had been resolved, in collaboration with the flag State and the monitoring Classification Society, and left the port on Jan 24 en route to Samsun with an ETA as of Feb 3. The 'Salammbo', which had arrived in Genova on Jan 19, was inspected for its high risk profile. Serious deficiencies were also found on this ship, which remained moored at the Genova Port Terminal, including problems with the collective lifesaving equipment and the waste water treatment plant, in violation of current environmental regulations. At the moment, the ship remains detained, awaiting resolution of the reported critical issues.

Terminal operator APM Terminals (APMT) has released a video of the final three ship-to-shore (STS) cranes arriving at the Vado Gateway terminal, which it hopes will be the next major logistics hub for the Mediterranean and Europe. The Vado Gateway terminal is scheduled to open on December 12, 2019, and will be built with a 700-meter deep-sea berth specifically to handle the latest Ultra Large Container Ships (ULCS), as well as an automated gate and stacking area. APMT announced the inauguration date in July 2019 – a story PTI reported on at the time. Located in the Vado Ligure Port Complex in the northwest of the country, it will be the first semi-automated port in Italy and be integrated with an already existing reefer terminal.

The Port of Hamburg, Germany’s largest universal port, saw its inland and hinterland cargo traffic grow by 12.1% – 2.57 million tons – in the first quarter of 2019, according to its latest financial results. The data also shows that, for the first quarter of 2019, the Port has handled 34,640 TEU – 20ft standard containers – an increase of 20% in comparison with the same period last year.