Category: news

October 14, 2022

By 2025, alternative energy sources should be used by seagoing boats, according to a green corridor established by the Belgian North Sea Port and the Swedish Port of Gothenburg. When the Directors of the Gothenburg Port Authority and North Sea Port gathered in Gothenburg on October 12 for Gothenburg Port Day, the green corridor was officially unveiled.

The Port of Gothenburg and North Sea Port are modifying their infrastructure to transform the area between both ports into a green corridor. These include more rebates on port fees for ships utilizing renewable fuels through their separate Environmental Discount Programmes, As Well As Bunkering Operating Rules For Renewable Fuels. Since the early 1990s, trade between Scandinavia and Central Europe has been centered on the route between Gothenburg and Ghent in the North Sea Port. According to Elvir  Dzanic, CEO of the Gothenburg Port Authority, “its significance just keeps growing; these are huge volumes of goods that will now have a significantly smaller climate footprint.

North Sea Port’s CEO, Daan Schalck, continued, “North Sea Port has indicated in its strategic plan ‘Connect 2025’ the desire to decrease CO2 emissions in the port city and to be a carbon neutral port in 2050 in partnership with the firms headquartered in the port.

“An initiative to accomplish this goal is the green corridor connecting North Sea Port and Port of Gothenburg. By providing reductions on port fees for environmentally friendly vessels, establishing a renewable fuels cost structure with existing green fuel production, import, and storage, and simplifying bunkering laws, North Sea Port is dedicated to developing this green corridor.

Additionally, the Port of Gothenburg already offers onshore electricity supply (OPS) at a number of port terminals, including for vessels that travel to Belgium. OPS allows for zero emissions by the quayside because vessels are not required to maintain their additional engines running during their stay in port.

Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the North Sea Vincent Van Quickenborne made the following statement regarding the green corridor between the two ports: “Belgium has been playing a pioneering international role in decreasing sulphur and nitrogen emissions from ships for many years. It requires time and ambition to reduce ship emissions.

“At the COP26 in Glasgow less than a year ago, I joined Sweden and 22 other nations in signing the Clydebank Declaration. With the opening of the first green corridor in the world between the ports of Ghent on the North Sea and Gothenburg in Sweden, we have a world first today. The availability of these fuels and technology will rise as shipping shifts more and more to alternative fuels like methanol, and they will also provide options for smaller ships.”

Also Read: Hong Kong declines to enforce US sanctions on Russian megayacht

October 13, 2022

The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has identified the lowest rate of international piracy and armed robbery occurrences since 1992 when reviewing the first two-thirds of this year. The first nine months of 2022 witnessed 90 incidences of pirate attacks against vessels, the fewest such cases in the past 33 years, according to the ICC IMB’s most recent international quarter pirate report.

In 95% of the recorded instances, which are degraded as 85 boats attacked, four major attacks, and one vessel abducted, the attackers were able to gain entrance to the vessels. Nearly all of the occurrences took place at night, and several of the vessels were whether at rest or underway when they were attacked.

Deny the reality that these are some of the few reports in a long time, there are still 27 crew members held to ransom, six attacked, and five intimidated. No matter how trivial or convenient the situation, there is still a serious risk to the crew.

13 of the 90 pirate attacks and armed robbery incidents reported worldwide to 27 during the identical period in 2021—have taken place in the Gulf of Guinea region, indicating a substantial and positive drop in the number of cases reported in the territory of west Africa, which has become the world’s largest piracy hotspot in recent years.

“We congratulate the actions of the coastline authority in the Gulf of Guinea,” IMB director Michael Howlett said. Although the drop is to be welcomed, the maritime officials’ initial effort and the existence of the worldwide navies are still necessary to protect seafarers and long-term regional and worldwide shipping and trade. No room exists for carelessness.

Also Read: Hong Kong declines to enforce US Sanctions on Russian Megayatch

Despite warnings from the US Department of State, Hong Kong political leadership has rejected a request to impose US sanctions on the Russian megayacht Nord.

A 466-foot, 10,000 GT, $500 million megayacht named The Nord was recently delivered in Germany. She is the biggest yacht that her maker has ever sold. She includes 20 guest cabins, two helicopter landing pads, a retractable hangar, and other amenities typical of a ship of her size, including a beauty salon, elevator, stern fold-down “beach club,” and a theater.

The proprietor of the Severstal mining and metals giant in Russia, Alexei Mordashov, a sanctioned steel billionaire, is the owner of Nord. According to Forbes, his family’s wealth totals close to $30 billion, making him the richest person in Russia.

Mordashov owns stock in Rossiya Bank, which the EU refers to as the “personal bank” of Russian officials who benefited financially from their country’s 2014 invasion of Crimea. Due to this concern and his alleged connections to the Kremlin, he was included to the first EU sanctions list in late February. Additionally, the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand have all imposed sanctions on him.

Since the beginning of the invasion, the Nord has been more active than the majority of authorized Russian vessels. She left her cruising grounds in Seychelles in mid-March and crossed the Singapore Strait before arriving in the port of Vladivostok in the Russian Far East in April. This month, she traveled south from Vladivostok to Hong Kong, taking a chance that she would experience a seizure if she had to make an emergency port stop.

As soon as the U.S. Treasury became aware of Nord’s warship-sized presence in Hong Kong’s harbor, it called the territory’s Chinese-run administration to demand its seizure. John Lee Ka-chiu, the CEO of Hong Kong and a person on the U.S. Treasury’s blacklist, stated unequivocally that Hong Kong would only execute sanctions imposed by the United Nations and not by the United States on its own.

“We cannot do anything that has no legal basis,” Lee told the AP. In response, the U.S. State Department questioned Hong Kong’s reputation. The openness of the business climate is further called into question by the potential for individuals to use Hong Kong as a safe haven to evade sanctions from several jurisdictions, a State Department official said in a statement on Monday.

Also Read: Shrinking Mississippi River Lessens US Gulf Grain Shipment

The Mississippi River is the largest domestic shipping channel for US Grain exports. River levels in Cairo, Illinois are critically low and forecast to drop even further. Fertilizer sent north from the US Gulf for growers to apply in preparation for next year’s crop is also under threat. 

Commercial barge traffic on southern stretches of the Mississippi River was at a standstill on Tuesday. Low water levels halted shipments of grain, fertilizer, and other commodities on the critical waterway. The price for loading a barge of soybeans on the Upper Mississippi this week is 33% higher than a year ago. Low water disrupted operations. Shippers have been loading less cargo per barge so vessels sit higher on the water. 

The U.S. Coast Guard has closed a section of the Lower Mississippi River for dredging. The US Army Corps of Engineers has been dredging near Stack Island to make water levels deeper. Dredging continues with the goal of reopening the waterway Friday with restrictions. 

Low water has brought some southern sections of the Mississippi River to a standstill. In the past week, Coast Guard reported eight groundings due to low water levels. Ingram Barge Company says low water disrupted its operations.

The impending shipments and costs are rising. It doesn’t help that the corn and soybean harvests are lagging behind last year’s pace. Thousands of bushels will be stranded unless space can be found on trains. Near-freezing temperatures forecast for later this week show that the end of the season is quickly approaching. Barge carriers are working quickly to complete ordered supplies. 

The largest US steelmaker, Nucor Corp., has no immediate plans to ship metal onto barges. The Mississippi River is home to more than 2,000 stranded vessels as a result of the river’s drying up. The transportation issues on the Rhine River this summer are similar to how the Mississippi is drying up. Rivers dried up due to the drought, which had a particularly negative impact on Western Europe. 

Compared to rail and truck, barge transportation is less expensive and less harmful to the environment. Delays have increased the risk that coal shipments to power plants won’t arrive at their destinations.

The Mississippi River reopens near Stack Island, Mississippi, and near Memphis, Tennessee. Low water levels had halted commercial shipments of commodities. This is the latest supply chain snarl that came in the middle of the autumn harvest. US food inflation is already at its highest level in four decades. USDA says 976,255 tonnes of corn, soybeans, and wheat were inspected for export at the Mississippi River Gulf Coast in the week ended Oct. 6. 

That is the lowest for the first week of October in at least nine years and down 22% from the previous five-year average. Traders expect a slow start for exports in the fourth quarter when a third or more of the year’s exports are typically loaded and shipped.

Also Read: Ukraine Grain Backlog Prompts the UN to Call for Expedited Ship Checks

The top UN official overseeing the exports from Ukraine has asked Russia and other countries to stop conducting “full-blown” evaluations of every departing vessel in order to reduce the backlog as almost 100 grain-laden tankers are approaching the horizon of Istanbul.

Since a sea passage from the war-torn country opened up in July, Ukraine has exported over 6.8 million tons of grains and other food products, or roughly one-third of its storage. According to the UN, the safe passage agreement that Kyiv and Moscow signed eased a global food crisis. However, when additional shippers joined, the small number of teams tasked with inspecting the cargo and crew members as they passed through Turkish seas began to lag behind, leaving the numerous tankers moored in the Marmara Sea.

The UN Coordinator in charge of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Amir Abdulla, noted that he had suggested more expedient and focused inspections of the ships coming from Ukrainian ports. Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and the UN, which served as brokers, are debating a potential extension and enlargement of the agreement through its deadline of November 19th.

Change will be necessary, and it is hoped that improved terms may be worked out for conducting (inspections) as part of dialogues. At the Istanbul-based four-party Joint Coordination Centre (JCC), Abdulla informed Reuters.

A Reuters study found that as of Monday, a whopping 97 departing vessels carrying almost 2.1 million tons of cargo were awaiting their inspections, with one reportedly delayed for 35 days. According to the JCC, there were 120 backlog items last week, including ones going back empty to Ukraine.

Abdulla stated that while there must be a check, it need not be a thorough inspection and that they have proposed perhaps spot checks or maritime inspections.

According to the Reuters study, the delays worsened starting in mid-September, with inspection-specific wait times tripling to over ten days by September 21. After that date, around 70% of ships left Ukraine while awaiting inspections.

Requests for comment regarding modifying inspections were met with a refusal from Russia and the defense ministry of the Kremlin. Mykola Solskyi, the Ukrainian agriculture minister, told Reuters last week that the Istanbul-based officials had not sufficiently explained why the tests had “slowed” down in the preceding two weeks.

According to Abdulla, the backlog is caused by rising export volumes and a lack of preparation on some vessels, including a lack of the necessary test tools, paperwork, and fumigation. He is attempting to get permission from Turkey, Russia, and Ukraine to increase the size of the four-party inspection teams to eight.

According to JCC, it carried out 500+ inspections at a regular pace of 10–11 a day in September and October. The updated total increased from four in August. However, a lack of onboard preparedness suggests that on roughly 50 occasions, inspectors were asked to come back again.

Russia has harshly criticized the grain agreement, complained that its shipments are still being hampered, and it might reject a prolongation. The UN is working to prolong it for another year and broaden it to cover Russia’s exports of fertilizers (like ammonia) through Ukraine, which were a key component of the original and first agreement.

Although not personally participating in the negotiations to prolong the agreement, Abdulla stated that he anticipates the addition of Russian ammonia shipments and noted Ukraine may try to widen the route east to the Mykolaiv port. A detailed evaluation of the inspection process will be required once ammonia shipments start. They are now in the early phases of discussing it.

Also Read: Jailed Seafarer Back Home From China with MUI’s Help

Mr. Subodh Sahu, Third officer, had been under detention in Ningbo Jail, China, since 20th April 2019. Due to Covid 19 and long legal procedures in China, the case could not conclude as fast as anticipated.

The Maritime Union of India (MUI) was contacted by Sabu’s family. Under the direction of its General Secretary, Capt. Tushar Pradhan, MUI took a compassionate stance and contacted the Ministry of External Affairs, the Directorate General of Shipping, and all other pertinent government agencies to request their assistance in hastening the resolution of the matter and ensuring Sabu’s quick return home.

Over the past three years, MUI has maintained constant contact with the seafarer’s family and provided all possible assistance. Early in August, when Capt. Pradhan became the new General Secretary, MUl pursued the case with the Indian Embassy in Shanghai with renewed vigor.

On September 30, 2022, the officer finally returned to India after completing all legal and travel obligations.

Below is a picture of Mr. Subodh Sabu with the MUI members.

Also Read: US Sanctions Firms Transferring Oil to Ships in North Korea

Following North Korea’s most recent missile launches this week, the US slapped fresh sanctions on Friday. These targeted a fuel supply chain that Washington claimed supports Pyongyang’s military and weapons programs. The United States Treasury Department said in a statement that the action on Friday was taken in an effort to hold North Korea responsible for ship-to-ship transfers that violate United Nations sanctions on the country.

Two Singapore-registered companies and a Marshall Islands-registered company were the targets of the action. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, using the initials of North Korea’s official name, said in a separate statement that by designating these entities and people, “the United States is sending a clear message that we will continue to take actions against those who support the development and sustainment of the DPRK’s military and weapons arsenal.”

A request for comment was not immediately answered by the North Korean mission to the UN in New York. The penalties were imposed after North Korea launched an intermediate-range missile over Japan on Tuesday, which led to joint missile drills by the United States and South Korea.

In reaction to the return of a U.S. aircraft carrier to the area and a U.N. Security Council meeting in response to the North’s recent launches, North Korea also launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the ocean on Thursday, one of which was aimed towards Japan. These launches marked North Korea’s sixth ballistic missile test in the previous 12 days.

North Korea’s highly sophisticated missile and nuclear weapons programs have not been curbed by decades of U.S.-led sanctions, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has shown no interest in resuming the unsuccessful diplomatic course he took with former U.S. President Donald Trump.

On Wednesday, the US charged China and Russia with supporting Kim by shielding Pyongyang from efforts to tighten sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council over its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs.

The Treasury said it targeted Marshall Islands-registered company New Eastern Shipping Co Ltd., which Treasury said also has addresses in China and Singapore, as well as Kwek Kee Seng, headquartered in Singapore, Chen Shih Huan, based in Taiwan, and Kwek Kee Seng, based in Singapore.

They were charged with involvement in the ownership or management of a ship that took part in many shipments of refined petroleum to North Korea. The ship, according to Washington, engaged in “deceptive shipping tactics,” including ship-to-ship swaps with North Korean ships and at least one direct delivery.

Observers of UN sanctions have discovered that North Korea has regularly gotten around prohibitions on the transport of commodities like coal and oil, frequently by transferring from ship to ship at sea.

Anfasar Trading (S) Pte. Ltd. and Swanseas Port Services Pte. Ltd., both with Singaporean registrations and connections to Kwek, were also identified, according to Treasury.

A request for comment regarding the fines against the businesses or Kwek was not immediately answered by Swanseas Port Services or Anfasar Trading. New Eastern Shipping could not be reached for comment by Reuters right away.

Also Read: For $1 Billion, Hapag-Llyod acquires SAAM’s terminal and logistics operations

Hapag-Lloyd, a major German shipping company, has committed $1 billion to buying the port and logistics operations of Chilean company SM SAAM as part of its expansion into the burgeoning Americas market. The port business, logistics services, and real estate assets of SAAM Ports and SAAM Logistics will now be completely under Hapag-control. Lloyd’s The deal excludes the tugboat services and airport logistics businesses of SM SAAM.

The deal will increase Hapag-foothold Lloyd’s in Latin America by giving it a share in 10 terminals across six nations. Hapag-newest Lloyd’s division will function independently.

“Latin America is one of our strongest regions, and investing in terminal infrastructure is a crucial part of our strategic agenda. The terminal operations and allied logistics services of SM SAAM will enable us to grow our business while creating a strong and appealing terminal portfolio,” according to Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen.

A terminal operator, logistics provider, and towage service provider with operations throughout several American nations is SM SAAM. The company’s terminal business consists of 10 terminals in six countries throughout North, Central, and South America, with a combined container throughput of about 3.5 million TEU in 2021 and 4,000 workers. In addition to the terminal company, complementary logistics services are provided at five locations around Chile by over 300 people.

SM SAAM, which anticipates a $400 million net profit from the transaction, claimed that the acquisition is a reward for its six decades of industry experience. The money will enable it to take advantage of chances for the majority of its profitable tugboat, port, and air freight logistics operations, which still exist.

SAAM General Manager Macario Valdés remarked, “This deal will allow us to continue marketing the tugboat industry, in which SAAM is already the third player internationally thanks to the strategy we have implemented since 2019.” The fifth-largest ocean carrier in the world, Hapag-Lloyd, has steadily increased its presence in the terminal industry in recent years.

The company has bought an interest in Wilhelmshaven’s JadeWeserPort and is investing in the development of Terminal 2 at the Egyptian port of Damietta. It is also in the process of acquiring a minority stake in the Italian Spinelli Group. Additionally, Hapag-Lloyd owns an interest in the Hamburg Altenwerder terminal and the Tangier, Morocco, port’s Terminal TC3.

The business, like all major container operators, had a strong first half of the year, doubling sales year over year to $16.5 billion. Significantly higher freight charges and a stronger US dollar were blamed for the enormous rise.

Also Read: Russia Claims That State-Sponsored Terrorism has Harmed Nord Stream

October 03, 2022

According to the TASS news agency, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated on Sunday that it was theoretically feasible to repair the Nord Stream gas pipelines’ damaged offshore infrastructure. A significant drop in gas pressure allowed for the detection of a total of four leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea close to Denmark and Sweden last week.

“Such incidents have never happened. Although there are technical ways to rebuild the infrastructure, doing so takes time and the right resources. I have no doubt that the necessary options will be discovered,” Novak said.

Denmark’s Energy Agency reported on Sunday that Nord Stream AG had informed it that stable pressure had been reached in Nord Stream 1, formerly the main supply route for Russian gas to Europe, indicating the last leaks had stopped. Nord Stream 1 was once the largest single supply route for Russian gas to Europe.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which had stored some gas despite never becoming operational, was no longer releasing it, according to Nord Stream AG on Saturday. States of the European Union assert that they think sabotage was to blame for the damage, although they and other Western governments have refrained from making a formal accusation. The White House has refuted the assertion made by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday that the United States and its allies were at fault.

The United States, Ukraine, and Poland had opposed the Nord Stream pipelines, according to Novak, as reported by TASS. He continued by saying that people who opposed the project had a stake in seeing the pipes shut down.

Although the Nord Stream 1 pipeline was already closed, it is now difficult to restore it. After being constructed in September 2021, the new Nord Stream 2 pipeline was not yet in use.

Also Read: Aframax tanker and containership crashed the Malacca strait

September 28, 2022

Nearly halfway between Malacca City and Singapore, in the Malacca Strait, the Aframax tanker ZEPHYR I collided with the container ship GSL GRANIA at around 0430 LT (UTC +8) on September 27.

It is believed that both vessels, tanker and container ship, were loaded and sailing in the same easterly direction. Both ships received significant damage as a result of the tanker striking the container ship’s stern.

Both ships were anchored as a result of the collision and were still anchored as of 2250 LT.

Check the images below.

Also Read: Florida Prepares for Hurricane ‘Ian’

September 27, 2022

In Florida, people rushed to secure their houses with sandbags and get emergency supplies on Monday as Hurricane Ian barreled into the state with strong winds, heavy rainfall, and a strong storm surge.

After delaying the highly anticipated trip for the third time, Ian’s route toward Florida caused NASA to roll its massive Artemis 1 moon rocket off its Cape Canaveral launchpad.

As of Monday afternoon, Ian was a Category 1 hurricane and was projected to strengthen before reaching landfall in Cuba by nightfall. After Ian departed Cuba, forecasters predicted that the storm might make landfall early on Friday morning north of Tampa Bay or move northwest toward Florida’s Panhandle.

At a press conference, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said, “This is a truly massive storm. It has the ability to cover both sides of the state.”

Due to climate change, storms have been wetter, windier, and more powerful in Florida in recent years. There is evidence that storms are moving more slowly as a result of climate change, which allows them to dump more water in one location.

There were warning signs all around Florida, a state with 21 million residents. Crews cut palm palms in Titusville, a 43,000-person city on the Atlantic coast, using chainsaws. Where the business usually has distilled water on hand, empty cardboard boxes were all that was left in a supermarket store in St. Petersburg, across the state on the Gulf Coast. Cans of soup, crackers, and toilet paper were still available.

Diane Zambito, 64, of Ybor City, a historic district in Tampa, said she often isn’t alarmed by hurricanes that affect the state.

She said, “But this one’s different,” as her husband fastened plywood over the windows of their house on Monday afternoon. “I’m scared about this one. If you have any sense, it’s too massive not to be frightened. To stop water from entering the house, the couple intended to scoop sand into sacks and stack them in front of the doorways.

Many Floridians were ready for flooding that would swamp streets and houses, including the Zambitos. Forecasters caution that a hurricane-force storm could cause power disruptions, damage, or even demolish homes and businesses in the upcoming days.

A total of 5,000 members of the National Guard have been activated by the governor. And another 2,000 are on their way from Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina. Other states nearby have troops on standby.

#HappeningNow USCG Sector St Pete set Port Condition YANKEE for #HurricaneIan, closing the port to inbound traffic. A flight survey of #Tampabay area ports was also completed. Follow @NWSTampaBay for storm updates. Port conditions in Tampa Bay at https://t.co/lNWbbov5Oh pic.twitter.com/3REDjSpKYx

— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) September 26, 2022

Teri Johnston, the mayor of Key West, said that her island community would be among those in the United States if Hurricane Ian strikes first.

Johnston claimed that while inhabitants stored up on enough food and water to last a week, homes and holiday rentals nailed up storm shutters or boards over windows. She added: “A coconut may become a 30-pound missile in a storm. The city has even taken down the coconuts from the coconut trees that are in some neighborhoods.”

Before storm squalls begin to batter the city on Monday night, city cars were moved to higher ground, and citizens living on boats were advised to seek cover on land. A 4-foot (1.2-meter) storm surge that may force seawater over the shore and into the streets was anticipated by forecasters.

“I’ll be the one to give the order for an evacuation,” Johnston said. If the storm moves east, we’ll take it into consideration.

On Monday morning, the storm was roughly 100 miles (160 km) southwest of Grand Cayman and had sustained winds of 80 mph (128 km per hour). Two installations in the Gulf of Mexico had their oil production stopped by BP Plc.

Forecasters predict that Ian might become a Category 3 hurricane after it crosses the Gulf of Mexico. But it will likely lose strength once it is parked off Tampa on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Thursday. The storm’s course is less certain after that.

However, according to Bob Oravec, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, between 6 and 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) of rain were anticipated to inundate both Florida’s Gulf and Atlantic coasts on Thursday.

Ian follows Hurricane Fiona, a devastating Category 4 storm. It tore across Puerto Rico last week and left the majority of the U.S. territory without electricity or drinkable water. After that, Fiona plowed past the Turks and Caicos Islands, avoided Bermuda, and crashed into Canada’s Atlantic coast, where it might take months to repair crucial infrastructure.

Also Read: Warning for Shipping After Major Gas Leak From Nord Stream 2 Pipeline

Authorities in Denmark have discovered a leak from the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline off the coast of the island of Bornholm and have advised vessels to avoid the area. The pressure in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines both decreased significantly overnight for unidentified causes. Authorities in Germany, which is where both lines’ receiving terminals are located, are looking into the incident as a potential intentional act.

“We can’t fathom a situation that isn’t a targeted attack,” a source familiar with the German government’s worries told Tagesspiegel given that both lines had been cut. The evidence is overwhelming against coincidence.

According to Denmark’s marine authorities, pressure in the Nord Stream 2 pipe dropped from 105 bars to 7 bars overnight. A sizable bubble field was seen close to the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm. The government established a five-nautical-mile safety zone surrounding the leak. A warning is issued that it is “hazardous for marine traffic.”

In order to be inaugurated, Nord Stream 2 was finished last year and loaded with gas. However, it was never put into use since the German government canceled its operating license in February as Russia prepared to attack Ukraine, keeping it indefinitely in limbo. Since then, it has been pressurized but not in use.

The building of the undersea pipeline was fiercely opposed by the United States, Poland, and Ukraine out of concern that it would give the Kremlin a mechanism to ensure that gas deliveries to Germany would continue even if Russia attacked Ukraine, which houses Russia’s terrestrial westbound gas pipelines.

Despite these reservations, the Biden administration decided to let the completion of the project without imposing charges on its developers, as did the German government under former Chancellor Angela Merkel. Approximately 30 days after the final weld, the Russian military started assembling its soldiers for the invasion of Ukraine.

In violation of long-term agreements and disrupting six decades of uninterrupted energy trade, Russian state gas corporation Gazprom has gradually reduced supply to the German market since the invasion began.

Due to purported (and contested) technical issues, Gazprom has completely shut down Nord Stream 1 since early September. In the West, this action was largely seen as revenge for the German support of Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, has suggested that gas shipments might resume if Germany simply changes its mind and allows Nord Stream 2 to begin operating. That politically unpopular option may be even less likely than previously as a result of Nord Stream 2’s current gas spill into the Baltic.

September 25, 2022

For 1.7 billion euros, the Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri will build up to four additional cruise ships for the cruise line Viking.

The orders are affixed to six contract options from March 2018 that are still in effect. The third and fourth ships have now received firm orders.

The contracts for the fifth and sixth ships, which are subject to funding, have also been signed by the firms.

Delivery dates are set for 2026, 2027, and two 2028 deliveries.

The six contract options come after Viking had since 2012 ordered 10 vessels from Fincantierie.

According to Fincantieri, the new ships will also use hydrogen fuel cells, “creating a new benchmark” for the cruise sector.

With the signing of these most recent contracts, Fincantieri and Viking will have collaborated on 18 vessels, including two expedition vessels that were specifically built by the subsidiary Vard.

The latest order, according to Fincantieri, “confirms the recovery of the cruise sector, which is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2023,” the company said in a statement.

Also Read: Small Fire on Tacoma’s TOTE LNG-Converted “Midnight Sun”

September 24, 2022

On Thursday night, a small fire started on the TOTE Maritime ship Midnight Sun, which was berthed at the Port of Tacoma. However, the crew of the ship promptly put out the fire before the fire department could reach.

One of the two Orca-class ships that TOTE intends to convert to LNG fuel is the 2003-built M/V Midnight Sun. Midnight Sun will undergo LNG commissioning this month with the U.S. Coast Guard, according to a trade notice update published in August on Tote Maritime’s website. “The final phase in transferring the vessel to operate on LNG” is the LNG commissioning.

In the image below, you can see the green LNG fuel tank, which is one of two installed on the vessel. It’s important to note that the image below is misleading because it’s simple to mistake the lights for flames.

TOTE’s Midnight Sun on #fire at the port of #Tacoma tonight.
Several Tacoma Fire Engines responded.
TOTE is supposed to load volatile, dangerous, 600 TIMES condensed #methane for fuel soon.
Good luck everyone??
Photo courtesy @n8vdailynetwork pic.twitter.com/lCsmX9RRvl

— Redefine Tacoma ??? Protect-Conserve-Restore (@Redefine_Tacoma) September 23, 2022

According to a Port of Tacoma representative, the fire broke out in front of the house on Thursday night around 7:30 p.m. and was put out before the fire department could arrive. They departed shortly after.

The fire, according to a TOTE representative, was “minor” and included vendor equipment on the front deck. Personnel casualties or damage to the ship were not recorded. The Tacoma Fire Department was informed, they arrived, but they soon left. No cargo is carried aboard either.

Midnight Sun typically operates between Tacoma, WA and Anchorage, AK.

The statement from TOTE Maritime is as below:

“On Thursday evening a small fire began on the front deck of the carrier ship Midnight Sun at the Port of Tacoma and was quickly extinguished by the crew after it was detected. No personal injuries or damage to the ship occurred. The Tacoma Fire Department arrived on the scene, assessed the situation and, departed.”

Also Read: Electrical Problems Cause Steering Loss and $6 Million in Damages

September 22, 2022

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, an electrical failure resulted in a bulk carrier losing control and colliding with a barge close to New Orleans last year, causing an estimated $6 million in damages.

On July 12, 2021, the bulk ship Jalma Topic, which was traveling upriver on the Lower Mississippi River, lost direction and collided with a stationary barge that was being used as an office. There were no reported injuries.

The rudder got locked at port 10 degrees during the cruise. The report claims that when the pilot saw the rudder wasn’t working, he took quick and decisive action to make sure the occupants of the office barge were alerted to the problem and made an effort to slow down the ship as much as possible.

The barge’s hull and superstructure both incurred damage. The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems were harmed, along with the electrical, plumbing, and communication connections to the coast. Additionally damaged or destroyed were the mooring system, all gangways, and surrounding catwalks to the barges.

A technician who was working on the NTSB investigation discovered that the loss of steering was brought on by the failure of a solid-state relay on the functioning steering control system servo control board. The investigation also revealed that YDK Technologies, the maker of steering control systems, had issued an important notice and caution sticker to ships with PT500 autopilot systems in December 2014 in response to the incident on the Jalma Topic.

However, the vessel’s captain said that it wasn’t until after the contact that they learned of the 2014 warning and caution sticker from YDK Technologies. The failure of an electrical solid-state relay on the servo control board of the operating control system to the steering gear was identified by the NTSB as the most likely reason for the Jalma Topic’s collision with the office barge. The lack of precise protocols available to the bridge team to handle a loss of the steering control system also played a role.

The assessment stated that “steering control system failures can result in detrimental outcomes. Companies should analyze and spot probable steering system problems and provide bridge and engine teams with quick response techniques that are easily accessible. Teams from the bridge and engine should practice these processes using realistic scenarios to keep their competency.”

Also Read: Cargo Ship Capsizes near the Pier in the Port of Iskenderun