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The crew of the 'ASL Bauhinia' has abandoned the vessel in the southern Red Sea early on Jan 28. A nearby vessel rescued the crew with no injuries reported. Thick smoke was reportedly seen emanating from the forward section of the ship. The 'ASL Bauhinia' remains adrift, while investigations into the cause of the explosion and fire were ongoing. The securiy firm Ambre suggested that the fire may have been caused by an explosion involving hazardous cargo. The vessel was en route from the Jebel Ali commercial terminal in Dubai, scheduled to make a port call in Jeddah on Jan 29 with an ETA in Aqaba as of Jan 31, operating on behalf of CU Lines, on a regular rotation between Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the port of Aqaba.The vessel is classed by Japan’s Nippon Kaiji Kyokai and is insured by the UK Mutual Steam Ship Assurance Association. Vespucci Maritime chief executive Lars Jensen suggested that the next stage would be organising salvage and the likely declaration of General Average on its cargo. However, he also questioned whether shippers insured against General Average would be able to claim, given the location of the casualty. Report with photo: https://theloadstar.com/crew-abandons-chinese-feeder-vessel-on-fire-in-the-red-sea/

The 'Kildin' caught fire and burned for several hours on Jan 23, 2025, off Syria’s Mediterranean coast near the port of Tartus. The crew hoisted two black spheres, signaling it was NUC, but declined assistance from other nearby Russian ships and told the Togolese-flagged cargo m/v 'Milla Moon', which was nearby, to keep its distance. Thick black smoke and flames were billowing funnel, indicating a possible engine-room fire. The blaze was contained after about five hours. French and other Western naval forces monitored the situation, ready to intervene, but Russia did not request aid. It was uncertain whether the 'Kildin' could continue its intelligence-gathering mission. The spy ship, which left a Baltic Sea base in the fall of 2024 and entered the Mediterranean in mid-November, had reportedly conducted surveillance near Spain, France, Italy, and more recently Turkey, before disappearing from radar on Dec 17, 2024. Report with photos: https://www.polskieradio.pl/395/7785/Artykul/3475924,russian-spy-ship-catches-fire-off-syrian-coast-crew-declines-help

The Croatian government said it would help a troubled shipyard owned by Uljanik, the country’s largest shipbuilder, resume production. The government, which owns a 25% stake in Uljanik, said in March that it would not back a proposed restructuring plan for the group due to the financial burden it would place on the state. However, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that the government was willing to support 3.Maj, which is located in the northern Adriatic port of Rijeka and is one of the group’s two shipyards, because it did not have as big a debt burden. “Unlike Uljanik, the 3.Maj is not an overly indebted company and there is an interest in the construction of new ships,” Plenkovic told a televised press conference after a government meeting. He said the government expected 3.Maj to draft a plan for its future operations.

It was very easy to see the expected all the vessel in old version. But in new vision, it's seemingly useless. We hope you'll advise us & take necessary steps so that we could take the previous taste in vessel tracker. Thank you.

On Jan 28, 2025, at around 9 a.m. a fire broke out in the engine room of the 'Firuze G', which was berthed at the Sanayi Pier in the port of Samsun. Firefighters tried to tackle the blaze aboard the unloaded ship from the shore, and two firefighting tugs of the Port Authority assisted from the sea. The fire brigade attended with 15 vehicles and 50 personnel. Besides the fire department, the police and Provincial Disaster and Emergency Directorate (AFAD) teams were deployed to the scene too. The fire could be brought under control within 2,5 hours, and the cooling operation was started. The fire was believed to have been caused by a generator failure. All 33 people aboard the ship were evacuated in good health. Reports with photo and video: https://www.milliyet.com.tr/gundem/samsun-limaninda-bulunan-gemide-cikan-yangina-mudahale-ediliyor-7293334 https://www.denizhaber.com/samsun-limaninda-firuze-g-adli-ro-ro-gemisinde-yangin-cikti/123631 https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/gundem/samsun-limaninda-bulunan-gemide-cikan-yangin-kontrol-altina-alindi/3464066 https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/samsun-limaninda-gemi-yangini-mudahale-ediliyor-42673140 https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/gundem/samsun-limaninda-bulunan-gemide-cikan-yangin-kontrol-altina-alindi/3464066 https://oxu.az/tr/gundem/samsun-da-kuru-yuk-gemisinde-yangin

On Jan 27, 2025, at around 11.40 p.m. UTC the 'ASL Bauhinia' with an all Chinese-crew on board caught fire and went adrift in the southern Red Sea about 122 nautical miles northwest of Hodeidah (Lat. 16.5100 Lng. 40.9150) on a northbound voyage en route from Jebel Ali towards the Suez Canal, according to the Diaplous Maritime Services, a security consultancy which stated that the ship was posing a navigational hazard to other vessels in the area. It was unknown if the ship was attacked or if the blaze started by other reasons.

Palma de Mallorca, Marseille, Barcelona are a few of the European ports that the President of the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority, Pino Musolino, has sent a letter to in recent days, inviting his colleagues to meet in Venice to discuss the economic and environmental impact of the cruise industry and to draw up guidelines for a new sustainable approach to maritime tourism. The ports mentioned above have already accepted and other replies are expected in the coming days. A date will soon be set for a seminar on the issues, to be held in the Venice area.

The joint venture of Kition Ocean Holdings has submitted its proposal for the development of the existing Larnaca port and marina. After lengthy negotiations with the government, the Cypriot and Israeli joint venture of Kition Ocean Holdings submitted an updated proposal for the far-reaching utilisation and development of the Larnaca port and marina, it said. The company proposes the ultramodern upgrading and expansion of Larnaca port in order to become a pole of attraction for new companies operating in the fields of commercial cruises, transport and energy.

The initial phase of fuel removal from the 'Manawanui' has been completed at the Tafitoala Reef. 950 tonnes of diesel were on board when the ship went down. The salvors have recovered a significant amount of liquid, a mix of fuel and other pollutants along with seawater, which has been pumped from the tanks in the ship up into tanktainers on the barge. Cycle one tanktainers were offloaded in Apia more than a week ago and cycle two tanktainers were stored on the barge. The offloaded tanktainers were being stored at the port while disposal processes for the fuel and pollutants were being organised. The liquid was tested in preparation for processing. The salvage teams have faced technical challenges in extracting the remaining fuel and pollutants. The Sāmoan government had expanded areas for fishing activities based on recent water testing results. For safety reasons, a two-kilometre-restricted zone around the 'Manawanui' remains in effect during the ongoing fuel removal. The second cycle in the removal was now well underway, with the salvors making excellent progress in favourable weather conditions.The salvors have pumped the fuel and other pollutants from the larger and more accessible tanks. Now they were preparing and pumping liquids from harder-to-reach areas. Once tanks are pumped of fuel and other pollutants, they are sealed. The salvors were continually monitoring the weather and sea state. It was thus not possible to provide an exact timeline of when the fuel recovery operation would be completed. Report with photos: https://www.samoaobserver.ws/category/samoa/112909

The laden ' Unity' has broken down in the stormy Bay of Biscay off France on Jan 23, 2025. The aframax tanker had departed from Primorsk on Jan 16 with Russian oil bound for Mangalore. The ship ran into difficulties overnight off the west coast of France, losing its propulsion during extremely stormy conditions in the Atlantic. On Jan 24 the ship turned around, and on Jan 27 it dropped anchor off the French coast in pos. 49° 49' N 000° 56' W. The tanker is owned by Moscow-headquartered Argo Tanker Group, who acquired the ship in September 2024.

There is currently limited supply of marine gasoil at the Turkish port of Istanbul, sources said Friday, August 2, owing to limited cargo deliveries in the region.

Portsmouth International Port is set to welcome 150,000 cruise passengers each year following the completion of its multimillion-pound berth extension project, which has just been started in collaboration with construction firm Knights Brown. The renovation will include levelling out the cruise berth and building an additional dolphin. As a result, ships up to 255 metres in length will be able to safely and conveniently berth at the port.