On Aug 27, 2024, the Republic of Palau has temporarily suspended the registration of the 'Asya Energy', 'Everest Energy' and 'Pioneer', that were recently sanctioned by the US over links to Russian gas exports. The Palau International Ship Registry was investigating whether the vessels violated sanctions through deceptive practices. The LNG carriers were sanctioned by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Aug 23. The sanctions imposed on seven LNG carriers linked to Russian gas exports from its newest plant, Arctic LNG 2, have been a fresh blow to Russia as it spent months developing what was believed to be a shadow fleet of tankers for natural gas in a similar way it did for transporting crude oil and products. Such vessels have opaque ownership, unknown insurers and deploy practices such as hiding their location by switching off or manipulating their AIS. The vessel sanctioning is an additional expansion by the US to target Russian energy exports after the US sanctioned the Arctic-based facility late lin 2023. Attempts to operationalize the Arctic LNG 2 project will continue to be met with a swift US government response.
News
MAR DE LUZ
On Aug 27, 2024, the 'Mar de Luz' requested the medical evacuation of a crew member 17 nautical miles southwest of Huelva. The CCS Huelva of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the SAR boat 'Salvamar Alkaid' to assist, which embarked the patient and transferred him to the marina of Mazagón, where an ambulance was waiting for him. Report with photos;: https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/1828429292486734185
SCF PRIMORYE
On Aug 23, 2024, the US State Department has blacklisted a Panama-based company after claiming that its crude tanker was involved in a “dark” ship-to-ship oil transfer with a sanctioned Sovcomflot vessel. It was designating Jiang Ping Shipping over the purported STS activity involving the 'SCF Primorye'. The Sovcomflot tanker had conducted this ship-to-ship transfer with both vessels’ AIS deactivated in an attempt to conceal the activity.
ITT PUMA
The search for the missing three crew members of the ITT Puma', among them captain Sudam Debnath from Calcutta , which had sunk after the 1900 tons cargo shifted 90 nautical miles south of Sagar Island, was still contiued late on Aug 26. the vessel) had set off from Calcutta for Port Blair on the night of Aug 24, carrying sand, steel and containers The sea was extremely rough, and it was raining heavily. The choppy waters and extremely poor visibility have made the rescue operation difficult and risky. The MRCC inin Chennai had received a distress email from the shipping company on Aug 25 at 4.25 p.m. and forwarded it immediately to the Coast guard’s Haldia unit. The Indian Coast Guard regional headquarters Northeast, directed two vessels and a Dornier aircraft for the search and rescue efforts. The Dornier spotted the 'ITT Puma' at around 6.30 pm. “The aircraft, with night-vision-capable sensors, detected two life rafts adrift. From their life rafts, the crew of the sinking vessel spotted the aircraft and fired red flares, which the Dornier detected. The Coast guard’s fast patrol vessel 'Amogh' and the off-shore patrol vessel 'Sarang' reached the spot around 9 p.m., and found the two rafts with orange canopies tied together. The survivors were waving their arms desperately and using whistles as signals. The rescue began late the day and continued till early Aiug 26. The 11 castaways were offered medical assistance on board the two vessels.
KATHRIN
Namibia has blocked the 'Kathrin', which was due to dock in Walvis Bay on Aug 26, 2024, over concerns that the ship was carrying military cargo destined for Israeli use in the ongoing war in Gaza. The ship was stopped because it was carrying explosive material destined for Israel. The vessel, which departed from Hai Phing, had requested permission to dock at Walvis Bay harbour before sailing north on a suspected route to the Mediterranean via the Strait of Gibraltar. It was not known why the ship wanted to dock, but ships on long voyages often stop to replenish supplies, rest, or to unload or load cargo. The ship anchored in pos. 22° 10' S 013° 57' E.