PUBLISHED AUG 3, 2021 7:05 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

The IMO’s Legal Committee has reported an alarming uptick in the number of seafarer abandonment cases since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year. Between January 2020 and this April, the ILO/IMO joint database on abandonment recorded 111 new cases. 85 of these  cases in 2020 and the balance of 26 cases occurred in the first quarter of 2021. Only 46 have been resolved since, and 27 more have been reported since April.

The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) reported a slightly lower number, with 53 vessels and about 850 seafarers affected in 2020. Going by the IMO’s 85-vessel count for the year, more than 1,300 seafarers were affected.

The committee noted two positive outcomes in high-profile cases. The crew of the bulker Ula, who staged a hunger strike in February to protest their continued captivity in the harbor at Shuaiba, Kuwait, have been repatriated. One crewmember had been on board for more than two years, and all had been on the ship for more than one year. However, their wages have not yet been paid.

Advocates have also won freedom and repatriation for the master of the Kenan Mete, who was effectively held hostage in a hotel in Egypt after a court declared him the “judicial guard” of the vessel. The owner had abandoned the ship and her 25 crewmembers, and the captain was the last person left. After intervention by the ITF, Egyptian officials allowed him to fly home.

In response to the ongoing crew change crisis and the rising number of abandonment cases, the Legal Committee established a working group to draft practical guidelines, including a proposed outline to cover the legal framework, responsibilities and procedures for port and flag state authorities.  The committee also discussed a proposal to establish a a Seafarers Emergency Mutual Fund to support crewmembers impacted by abandonment.

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https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/imo-warns-of-rising-number-of-seafarer-abandonment-cases

PUBLISHED AUG 3, 2021 7:10 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

For the second time in a month, an NGO undertaking rescue missions for migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean is calling for help as the deck of its vessel is again packed with individuals it has rescued in the past few days. SOS Mediterranee said that it urgently needs to disembark 553 survivors who are experiencing high heat and unsafe conditions on the deck of its vessel. Last month Italy provided a safe port for the vessel which had 572 survivors aboard after it warned that it was running out of food and water.

Earlier today, the Ocean Viking, a 2,600 dwt tug chartered by the NGO for its rescue missions requested urgent assistance. The Italian coastguard responded to the call and took aboard a pregnant woman and her partner after it was determined that the woman required immediate medical attention. The NGO thanked the Italians while noting the vessel remains packed with the other survivors.

Yesterday, the NGO Seawatch issued at least three additional mayday distress calls. They reported that at least three boats had been spotted and were believed to be in danger. In addition, three dinghies were believed to be in immediate danger.

The Ocean Viking’s current mission began on July 24 when the vessel departed Sicily to resume its search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean. The vessel had been in Sicily since July 9 when the Italian authorities responded to the prior urgent call for assistance. The vessel was permitted to dock in Augusta and offload 573 individuals that had been rescued in the first five days of July. After a two-day operation to land the refugees, the crew of the Ocean Viking underwent a 10-day quarantine.

After two unsuccessful searches, the Ocean Viking completed four rescues all on July 31 bringing aboard a total of 196 people. Later that same night, they undertook one of their largest rescues working in coordination with Seawatch and Resqship. A total of 449 survivors were taken from a large wooden boat that was taking on water and loaded aboard the Ocean Viking and SeaWatch3. On August 1, an additional 106 people were rescued from another wood boat that was also in distress.

The situation aboard the Ocean Viking was reported to be deteriorating as the vessel crammed with refugees has encountered increasing swells and stifling heat. Medical Team Leader Francisca issued a report saying, “Many are suffering from seasickness today. Some have fainted on our deck due to the heat and the ordeal they lived through. Some obtained injuries during the crossing, many suffer from body pain. We continue to assess, treat and monitor patients, but all survivors need to disembark in a place of safety as soon as possible.”

SOS Mediterranee and the Ocean Viking are once again requesting from the maritime authorities a place of safety to land the individuals that have been rescued in the past few days. The International Federation of the Red Cross joined with the NGO launching a campaign for support in mid-July, but the organizations continue to say that the international authorities need to agree to and support an organized rescue operation in the Mediterranean.

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https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/rescue-vessel-packed-with-refugees-is-again-appealing-for-help

PUBLISHED AUG 3, 2021 7:49 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

China started production at the world’s first 100,000 dwt deep-water semi-submersible floating production storage and offloading installation. The platform named the Shen Hai Yi Hao was installed at the Lingshui gas field in the South China Sea and it is China’s first self-developed deepwater FPSO. It was built by China’s Offshore Oil Engineering Company with the survey and certification from the China Classification Society (CCS).

“The Shen Hai Yi Hao is a world first and we are enormously proud of all the team who have worked so hard on this complex and demanding project with our partners CNOOC and COOEC,” said CCS President Mo Jianhui. “She is designed to the highest standards so she can operate for 30 years without dry docking for maintenance.  She is capable of withstanding extreme environmental conditions. The maximum displacement is 110,000 tons, equivalent to three medium-sized aircraft carriers.”

Chinese officials said the building of the Shen Hai Yi Hao marks a “giant step forward” in China’s offshore development capability as it extends the exploration depth from the previous record of 300 meters to 1500 meters ultra-deepwater. The platform will be operated by China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), which is China’s largest producer of offshore crude oil and natural gas. CNOOC estimates the Lingshui field’s reserves at about 136 billion cubic meters (BCM) of recoverable gas.

The CNOOC project manager You Xuegang said the project achieved three world firsts. “This is the first FPSO to have condensate oil storage in the four semi-submersible columns with a maximum storage capacity of nearly 20,000 m3; the largest span of the semi-submersible truss-type topside in the world of up to 49.5m and the first wet in-dock semi-stool assembly technology conducted on land. Meanwhile, 13 domestic initiative technologies have been applied practically, and her construction speed has set a new world record among the same type of platforms.”

CCS provided extensive statutory survey, classification, and third-party certification survey services throughout the design, construction, and installation of the platform. CCS began working on the project in February 2017, aiming to provide comprehensive technical services to enable the Shen Hai Yi Hao to begin operations from mid-2021.

“In the past four years, the project team has reviewed more than 24,000 documents, fed back more than 2,000 comments, and provided constant technical support for the project’s long-distance wet tow scheme, risk analysis, and measurement scheme,” said Jianhui. “The project team overcame many unfavorable factors such as working at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the peak period, the team reviewed 2,373 documents in one month, including 878 documents in one week, to ensure the project moved forward smoothly.”

Mr. Jianhui said particular focus was given to the super-large topside assembly and loading scheme, hot spot fatigue calculation for the hull structure, the large bracket-style setting in the NODE area, the safe operation and maintenance of lifeboats close to the flare heat radiation area, and the rescue and escape scheme under high freeboard towing conditions.

The Shen Hai Yi Hao’s topsides are made of 23 deck blocks, 200 oil and gas processing facilities units, and living quarters for up to 120 people. The platform will be anchored to the seabed in water depths of between 1,220 and 1,560 m via 16 anchor piles, while the project also features a polyester mooring system and SCR, as well as a 95-kilometer subsea pipeline.

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https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/china-starts-production-at-world-s-first-100-000-dwt-deepwater-fpso

PUBLISHED AUG 3, 2021 8:25 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

Much of the focus during the current surge in shipping volumes has been on the growth in import volumes at the ports in North America and Europe. Most of the volume is originating at Chinese ports and now Chinese officials gave a readout on the growth in cargo volumes during the first half of 2021.

China’s Ministry of Transport reports that cargo and container throughput volumes at China’s ports showed strong growth in the first half of the year. This comes despite disruptions in the supply chain including the blockage of the Suez Canal for six days in March after the Ever Given became stuck and the nearly month-long struggle at the southern ports and primarily Yantian due to a cluster of COVID-19 that impacted port operations.

In the first six months, China’s ports handled 7.64 billion tons of cargo, up more than 13 percent over 2020. However, with exports severely impacted in the early part of 2020 as the virus forced lockdowns in China and around the globe, most of the growth came versus 2019. Sun Wenjian, spokesperson of the ministry reported that 2021’s volumes were just under 14 percent ahead of 2019.

The country’s container throughput at its export ports rose 15 percent year-on-year to 140 million TEU in 2021. This represented just under nine percent growth from the same period in 2019, Sun said.

Responding to the current pressures in the supply chain, Chinese officials said that the country is striving to increase shipping space and container supply to accommodate the increased demand. To ease container shortage and rapid increase of freight rates in the international shipping market, China reports that it has worked to substantially increase the shipping space by working with the major liner companies. The capacity on North America and Europe routes from China they reported surged by 55 percent and 30 percent respectively from the same period last year.

Chinese ministries have also coordinated with container manufacturers to increase output. Currently, the monthly production capacity has reached a record high of more than 500,000 TEUs. In June 2021, the shortage of empty containers in China’s major ports stood at 1.4 percent, down 12.2 percentage points from the beginning of the year, Sun said.

Concerns however being raised as China begins to experience a new surge in COVID-19 cases. The outbreak around Yantian in June caused utilization to fall to as low as 40 percent with portions of the port suspending operations as they worked to contain the spread of the virus among port employees. With the number of virus cases growing in other parts of China, there is a fear that it could again impact the manufacturing areas or spread to other ports.

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https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/chinese-ports-report-growth-in-cargo-and-container-volumes-in-2021

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Crowley scores $638M contract to acquire ships for MARAD

The giant containership Ever Given has reached its planned destination in Rotterdam almost four months after it got stuck in the Suez Canal.

The 20,000 TEU containership has resumed its voyage to Rotterdam after receiving the official approval to depart the canal from the Suez Canal Authority (SCA).

The boxship arrived at Rotterdam’s container terminal on Thursday at 5 a.m. (local time). It moored at the Amazonehaven port basin at Maasvlakte.

The ship is expected to stay in Rotterdam until early August to unload the containers at the ECT Delta Terminal. It has 18,000 containers on board.

Once the unloading process is finished, it will continue its voyage to Felixstowe, England and the damage to the hull will be examined in Dunkirk.

“It is a special morning,” said Hans Nagtegaal, container director at the Port of Rotterdam Authority to local media.

“We have all seen her in the Suez Canal and that was world news. On the other hand, this is ‘business as usual’ for us. This type of ship arrives daily in Rotterdam.”

The Panama-flagged boxship got grounded on 23 March, blocking the waterway for days and causing a massive gridlock for the global trade.

Ever Given was freed six days later following a salvage operation that involved a flotilla of tug boats and dredging vessels.

After being dislodged, it was held by the SCA under court order while the authority sought compensation from the vessel’s Japanese owner Shoei Kisen and its insurers.

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VIDEO: Ever Given arrives in Rotterdam ending months-long saga

LPG tanker GAS YODLA suffered engine breakdown in the evening Jul 23 in Arabian sea some 50 nm from a cluster of oil platforms operating at oil fields off Mumbai, India. The started to drift towards platforms. Offshore tugs were called, the ship was taken on tow on Jul 24, understood to be towed to Mumbai. As of 0325 UTC Jul 25, she seemed to be under tow of offshore tug, with another tug and ICG ship escorting. Tanker is en route from Mongla Bangladesh to Khor Fakkan UAE.

New FleetMon Vessel Safety Risk Reports Available: https://www.fleetmon.com/services/vessel-risk-rating/

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https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2021/34633/ukrainian-lpg-tanker-disabled-under-tow-arabian-se/

Tug lost towed barge SINGA BESAR 2801 (Penang) in rough weather on understood, Jul 22. Barge was washed ashore on the beach of Mon State, Myanmar, southeast of Yangon, Andaman sea. Barge is loaded with 456 concrete poles or pillars, destined for Yangon. Tug which lost the barge is probably, Malaysian tug NAUTILLUS (IMO 9376567, flag Malaysia). She made similar trip or trips to Yangon from Malaysia earlier this year, with the same barge.
New FleetMon Vessel Safety Risk Reports Available: https://www.fleetmon.com/services/vessel-risk-rating/

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https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2021/34637/barge-concrete-poles-hard-aground-myanmar-andaman-/

Offshore support vessel SHENG PING 001, engaged in offshore wind turbines installation, developed heavy list in the morning Jul 25 in South China sea E of Hong Kong, in Guangdong Province waters. There were more than 70 people on board. Understood majority are rescued, several remain missing, said to fall overboard. As of 1340 UTC Jul 25, ship’s status unclear, she may be still afloat.

New FleetMon Vessel Safety Risk Reports Available: https://www.fleetmon.com/services/vessel-risk-rating/

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https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2021/34645/offshore-support-vessel-heavy-list-most-70-crew-re/

Chinese longliner PINGTAIRONG49 ran aground on a coast of uninhabited atoll Anuanurunga, French Polynesia, South Pacific, reportedly at night Jul 23. Tahiti MRCC was said to send helicopter to evacuate 15 crew.According to ship’s track, she somehow managed to refloat, by own means or with assistance, and sailed away in NE direction.

New FleetMon Vessel Safety Risk Reports Available: https://www.fleetmon.com/services/vessel-risk-rating/

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https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2021/34661/chinese-longliner-grounded-atoll-south-pacific-see/