News

A merchant vessel was towed to safety after losing power in heavy seas off the coast of Somalia.

On July 19, the EU’s counter-piracy forces EU NAVFOR ATALANTA received a request for assistance from the Somali Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation after the Tanzania-registered merchant ship Anatolian suffered a complete propulsion and power plant failure, and was without food or fresh water. At the same time, ATALANTA assets were granted permission to enter Somali territorial waters.

For about a week, the Anatolian was dead in water in heavy seas in the Gulf of Aden, north of Puntland coast. Earlier, a commercial tugboat refused to assist due to adverse weather conditions and the heavy sea state. Attempts by the crew and a navy ship to repair the engine and electricity system failed and in the meantime, ATALANTA unit ESPS Numancia and another international naval unit provided food and drinking water to the Anatolian crew.

On July 21, once sea conditions improved, the Spanish frigate Numancia started to tow the stricken ro-ro-ship to the Somali port of Bosasso, maintaining permanent communication with the Federal and local Somali authorities.

The Numancia and Anatolian arrived to Bosasso on the morning of July 22, and the ATALANTA ship made a smooth transfer of responsibilities to the local port authorities.

Source: https://www.marinelink.com/news/merchant-vessel-loses-power-somali-waters-498293

A cruise major has reportedly circumvented a ban on its vessels entering the Venice lagoon by shuttling visitors into the city center on smaller motor boats.

Owned by Norwegian Cruise, Norwegian Gem is a vessel that is almost 300 meters long. It was anchored off Venice Lido on Saturday morning. Soon afterward, it launched multiple motor boats, which dropped off almost 1,500 passengers in St Mark’s Square before collecting them again during the evening.

The move, authorized by the port authority of Venice, is part of an experiment after the Italian government banned ships that weighed over 25,000 tonnes from docking at the UNESCO world heritage site last year.

It followed several years of protests that pitted ecologists and environmentalists, who viewed the vessels as causing harm to Venice’s fragile lagoon, against all those worried that it might impact an economy that relies on tourism.

Most cruise firms have since then rerouted to ports located in Ravenna or Trieste, from where guests who wish to take a tour of Venice can hop on a bus and enjoy a ride for nearly two hours. Only a handful is using Marghera, an industrial area close by, which was repurposed for cruise vessels as a temporary move.

Norwegian Gem was reportedly transiting through Venice when it reportedly dropped off its passengers for the day on boats provided by the port authority of Venice.

Venice’s governors did not have any influence regarding the matter. However, Simone Venturini, the tourism councilor, has warned against “hit-and-run” tourism. He further hoped that the Norwegian Gem tactic would not set a precedent. It is not the kind of tourism desired for the city; he informed the local press.

Italy prevented huge ships from accessing the Giudecca canal and entering Venice’s historic center in July last year. The 25,000-tonne limit indicates that only small freight vessels and passenger ferries can navigate the channel.

The decision followed years of protests against cruise vessels and a warning from UNESCO that Venice was at a high risk of being placed on the endangered list of world heritage unless the ship was banned permanently.

The Italian government, at the same time, issued a call for bids to construct a terminal outside the Venice lagoon to accommodate vessels that weigh over 40,000 tonnes.

Francesco Galietti, the director of Italy’s unit for Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), reported that the ban left the maritime industry “in limbo.”

Suppose the experiment in Norwegian becomes the norm. In that case, it is unclear if cruise passengers must pay a landing fee that the Venice leaders will implement from 16 January next year.

The charge is aimed at day-trippers, who will have to go online and book the day they plan to visit Venice, paying between €3 and €10 per person, based on how busy the city is that day.

Transgressors risk fines as high as €300 if they’ve stopped and cannot show proof that they had booked and successfully paid with a QR code.
Nearly 80% of tourists in Venice come for just one day.

In 2019, the last full year of tourism before the Covid-19 pandemic, 19 million day-trippers had paid a visit to Venice and provided a fraction of the revenue.

References: The Guardian, News Magus

Ukraine hoped the UN-brokered contract would ease global food shortage as the war-torn nation planned to restart shipping grains from the Black Sea ports this week.

Moscow brushed aside the rising concerns that the deal could again be derailed owing to a Russian missile strike that hit Ukraine’s Odesa port on Saturday, mentioning that it targeted only the military infrastructure. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President, denounced the latest attack as “barbarism,” which reflects how Moscow can’t be trusted.

A worldwide wheat shortage and rising energy prices in Europe are some of the most far-reaching impacts of Russia’s war against Ukraine, threatening millions in the poorer countries with hunger and resulting in fears of overheating supplies in the coming winter.

Officials from Ukraine, the UN, Russia, and Turkey agreed on Friday there would be no attacks on any ship sailing via the Black Sea to Bosphorus Strait in Turkey and on to markets. They are preparing for a joint monitoring center.

A senior government official from Ukraine reported that he was hoping that the first grain shipment from Ukraine, a supplier major, would be possible this week, with the shipments from other ports spoken of in the deal in about two weeks.

In the next 24 hours, we’ll be prepared to resume exports from Ukraine’s ports. The port of Chornomorsk, then there will be Odesa, and then the port of Pivdeny, the deputy infrastructure minister Yuriy Vaskov reported at a news conference.

As the war lasted six months, Ukraine’s military was informed about the Russian shelling in the eastern Ukrainian region overnight. It said that Moscow continued to prepare to launch an assault on Bakhmut in Donbas, which Russia targets on seizing on behalf of its separatist proxies.

Ukraine said its forces had used U.S-supplied HIMARS rocket systems to destroy 50 ammunition depots in Russia from when they received the weapons around last month. Russia did not immediately comment, but its Defense Ministry said its forces had destroyed an ammunition depot for HIMARS systems.

Grain Export

Russia’s Black Sea fleet has prevented grain exports from Ukraine since Moscow’s February 24 invasion. A UN official referred to Friday’s deal as a “de facto ceasefire” for facilities and ships covered in the agreement.

Moscow denies responsibility for the food crisis, blaming the sanctions for hampering the food and fertilizer business and Ukraine for mining approaches to its ports.

Ukraine’s military mentioned that two Kalibr missiles fired from Russia’s warships on Saturday hit a pumping station at Ukraine’s Odesa port as well, as the country’s air defense forces shot down two others. They did not hit the grain storage area or result in significant damages.

Russia said the strikes hit a weapons store based in Odesa and a Ukrainian warship. They were fired with precision missiles.

They are unrelated to the infrastructure used for grain export. And it should not – and will not severely impact – the beginning of shipments, Dmitry Peskov – a Kremlin spokesman, mentioned on Monday.

Peskov signaled that Russia’s European natural gas exports restarted at reduced volumes last week. However, the volume could also soon increase.

Diplomats from the EU that have joined the US in imposing sanctions on Russia but continued to purchase its gas were prepared to discuss targets on Monday for member states to cut down on gas use. Russia has cut down its supplies to Europe and has blamed the sanctions.

Global wheat prices increased sharply on Monday owing to uncertainties regarding the grain agreement, clearing most of the falls observed on Friday when traders were anticipating a relaxation of supply shortages.

Referendums

As well as Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, Russian forces have set sights on southern Ukraine, where they have already occupied two areas north of the Black Sea peninsula dubbed Crimea, which it annexed from Ukraine back in 2014.

Russia’s news agency RIA reported that the two regions, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, may also conduct referendums in September 2022 on joining Russia, mentioning Vladimir Rogov. He is a member of the Russian-appointed Zaporizhzhia’s provincial government.

The Ukrainian military updated regarding progress in what is referred to as a counter-offensive in Kherson, mentioning that its forces moved within the firing range of Russia’s targets. Reuters could not verify the reports independently.

Britain informed that the Russian commanders keep facing a dilemma – whether to bolster defenses at Kherson and areas close by or resource offensive toward the east.

Moscow charged about 92 members of the armed forces of Ukraine with crimes against humanity. It also proposed an international tribunal to tackle the examination, Alexander Bastrykin, who leads Russia’s investigative committee, reported.

The declaration comes after the US and more than 40 other countries agreed on July 14 to coordinate examinations into the suspected war crimes in Ukraine, especially concerning alleged actions by forces of Russia and its proxies.

Putin refers to the war as a special military operation aimed at demilitarizing Ukraine. Kyiv and the West refer to the war as a baseless pretext for land grab.

References: News 18, Aljazeera

The 18-strong coalition said it has committed $18m in cash and in-kind services to “establish an assurance framework for ensuring the supply chain integrity of current and future green marine fuels.”

From August 1, a 12–18-month pilot scheme will use BunkerTrace tools to track fuels all the way from production to propulsion, using molecular verification tests at multiple points along the supply chain to validate the authenticity of sustainable biofuels. The pilot will involve 12 vessels bunkering at three ports across three continents.

“Hence, the pilot will address traceability of drop-in biofuels from production, distribution, transportation, storage, and bunkering to shipboard application, providing end-to-end supply chain transparency,” said the coalition.

The framework created by the pilot aims to increase supply chain transparency for current drop-in biofuels with a view to extending the programme to future biofuels when they reach significant market volumes.

By addressing concerns in the market about the integrity of the biofuel supply chain, the consortium hopes to lower barriers to adoption of biofuels and increase market uptake of the greener and more expensive fuels.

“Designed through the lens of the shipowner, piloting will start with fuel blends involving existing biofuels, such as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) blended with either very low sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), high-sulphur fuel oil

(HSFO) or marine gas oil (MGO) in blends up to 30% biofuels (B30),” said the coalition.

The ship owners, charterers and operators in the pilot represent around 2,300 vessels across containerships, tankers and bulkers, transporting around 8.4m teu or 80.6m dwt globally.

Unni Einemo, Director of the International Bunker Industry Association (IBIA) said: “A variety of biofuels and biofuel blends have already been successfully tested, but this comprehensive pilot can help address remaining uncertainties about how these fuels work in practice by getting extensive end-user operational experiences with products involving FAME and HVO, and hopefully also crude algae oil.

“The tracing element in this pilot is also really exciting. Biofuels have the potential to help the existing fleet meet IMO’s GHG reduction targets by taking lifecycle emissions into account, but one of the challenges will be certification of product origin as the sustainability of biofuels can vary significantly depending on production pathways. Biofuels can be blends coming from feedstock with different sustainability profiles, so it will be interesting to see if the DNA tracing will show mainly single-source origin products or biofuels of multiple origins. This could give us some really useful insights into the complexities of documenting the full supply chain of fuels, which will become increasingly important.”

GCMD called for crude algae oil (CAO) producers to join the project and use the trial as an assessment of third-generation CAO as a marine fuel.

The industry coalition behind the pilot and project comprises: Anglo American, Astomos Energy Corporation, Boston Consulting Group, BHP Singapore Pte Limited, BunkerTrace Limited, Chevron Corporation, CMA CGM S.A., Eastern Pacific Shipping Pte. Ltd., Hapag-Lloyd AG, MAN Energy Solutions SE, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, Ocean Network Express Pte. Ltd., Pacific International Lines (Pte) Ltd., Saybolt (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Stena Bulk AB, Swire Bulk Pte. Ltd., VG (Viswa Group), and VPS.

Source: https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/sustainability-green-technology/18m-project-build-drop-biofuel-assurance-framework

Fire erupted in cargo hold of general cargo ship NOVA berthed at Eemshaven, Netherlands, in the afternoon Jul 26. The ship loaded with wind turbines parts, to get to the hotspot inside cargo hold firefighters had to remove or relocate cargo on deck and in hold. Fire is said to be under control or extinguished, it started in one of the containers in hold bottom.

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

The new infrastructure at the Southeast Asian will be able to operate container ships of 7,500 teu with an increased handling speed and a productivity, and ambitions to become a regional transhipment hub, connecting Timor’s economy with the region.

The Bolloré Group won the 30-year concession to build and operate the future deep-sea port of Dili, as a public-private partnership, the first in East Timor. It selected China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) for the construction of the port of Tibar west of Dili, capital of East Timor.

A recent mission from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) headed by its Secretary, and some thirty members of this organisation, visited the future port of Timor Leste located in the Tibar Bay, as Timor Leste has applied for ratification to the Asean, the institution that politically and economically unites about ten Southeast Asian states.

“Asean membership of Timor Leste would be extremely beneficial for all Timorese. The port that will be officially commissioned before the end of this year is an asset to achieve this goal” said Raphaël Ribero, chairman of Timor Port

“This new port with its international standards and new handling equipment of the latest generation, will enable the country to attract new businesses, participate in the diversification of the country’s economy and join the ranks of the great modern ports of the region. Because of its draught and its facilities, the Asean countries will be able to benefit from high quality services, particularly about the Oil & Gas business ” said Laurent Palayer, CEO of Timor Port.

Recently Timor Port, a subsidiary of Bolloré Ports, has received new handling equipment to boost its container terminal capacity. The order included two tugs, two Ship-to-shore (STS) gantries, and four rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes as part of the Tibar Bay deep seaport concession.

The new machines are equipped with a control system, and a new-generation power supply system that reduces CO2 emissions and energy consumption. The new equipment is part of the Green Terminal certification process designed to reduce the carbon footprint of operations.

The SGD107m facility based the Technology Centre for Offshore and Marine, Singapore (TCOMS) offers a depth of 50 metres in the centre pit making it one of the deepest in the world. The centre pit allows for ultra-deepwater simulations.

The ocean basin facility is equipped with wave and current generation systems, a towing carriage and a movable floor to simulate challenging ocean environments that offshore platforms, ships and underwater systems operate in. There are similar facilities in Denmark, Norway, Australia, and the UK.

Frederick Chew, CEO of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) said: “The commissioning of the state-of-the-art ocean basin facility is a significant milestone for TCOMS. Based at NUS (National University of Singapore), TCOMS will create fresh opportunities for high impact engineering research and initiatives in areas beyond the Marine & Offshore Engineering sector, such as protection against coastal flooding brought about by climate change and rising sea levels.

“TCOMS will also develop capabilities to integrate ocean-atmosphere, coastal waves and tidal-current models with engineering solutions to address the vulnerabilities of low-lying coastal areas like Singapore,” he added.

Prof Chan Eng Soon, CEO of TCOMS said, “With its unique combination of physical-numerical modelling and simulation capabilities, TCOMS is also well placed to do its part in nurturing our younger generation with the necessary skillsets and expertise to lead the sector to greater heights. We therefore welcome our stakeholders to use the facility as a platform for knowledge creation, training, upskilling and lifelong learning.”

TCOMS is a joint venture between the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and the National University of Singapore (NUS), supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

Source: https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/sustainability-green-technology/singapore-opens-ocean-basin-simulate-operating-environments

The yard, located on Curacao near the coast of South America is owned by the government and since 2017 has been leased to Damen.

The shipyard recently undertook a $1.1m for the overhaul of the door on one of the yard’s four dry docks, in anticipation of the approval for a broader investment programme.

“This important investment should be the go-ahead for a large-scale renovation programme for the yard. The decision on the investment programme for the yard will be made in a few weeks,” Peter Luiten, General Manager of Damen Shiprepair Curacao told the Curacao media.

According to newspapers, the plans call for a $36m investment. After Damen took over the management of the yard, the company upgraded the facilities with two floating drydocks. The larger of the two measures 229.8m in length able to accommodate tankers, boxships, and other larger vessels. The smaller floating dock measures approximately 100m and is suited for tugs, workboats, and offshore support and anchor handling vessels.

The yard also has two graving docks with the larger able to accommodate vessels up to 209.7m in length and a capacity of 150,000 tonnes. The second graving dock has a capacity for vessels up to approximately 170 m in length and 28,000 tonnes. The yard also offers three mooring and repair quays with a total length of nearly 1,006m.

Curacao has one of the largest oil refineries in the region, but the 330,000-bpd Isla refinery was idled in 2018 during a dispute between its then Venezuelan operator Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and oil company ConocoPhillips. Since the expiration of Isla refinery lease at the end of 2019, the government has looked to attract new operators for the facility.

The re-opening of the refinery would likely be a boost to the business and is likely contributing to the decision to invest in the yard’s facilities

Source: https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/shipyards/damen-plans-investment-curacao-shipyard

233.5m tonnes of cargo moved through the port in the first six months of 2022, up from 231.6m tonnes in the same period in 2021.

“Container transport to and from Russia has come to a halt, and persistent bottlenecks in global container logistics caused cargo to shift from large to smaller container ports. In anticipation of the sanctions on coal and oil, less Russian coal, crude oil, oil products and LNG were imported in recent months. Companies are increasingly importing from other countries,” said the port.

Revenue at the Port Authority increased by 6.3% to €412.2m in the first half, with operating expenses falling by 2.4%.

High energy costs contributed to a 15.1% drop in agribulk and a 20.6% drop in iron ore imports, but also to a 29.7% increase in coal throughput. Other dry bulk also increased by 30.1% as high container freight rates pushed some cargoes from containers to bulk including minerals and fertilisers. Overall, dry bulk volumes rose 4.4% in the first half.

Container throughput dropped 4.4% in teu terms, 8.9% by weight; the result is the combination of losing Russian containerised freight and ongoing container disruption causing delays and incentivising a shift to smaller ports.

The Russia effect was again seen in the liquid bulk segment, where LNG rose by 45.8% as Europe looked for a replacement for Russian pipeline gas; a 4.3% increase in crude oil throughput was mostly due to Russian oil flowing through Rotterdam to India. Overall, liquid bulk was up by 4.6%.

“It was possible to see a shift in the origin of imports of coal, crude oil, oil products and LNG in the second quarter. Companies are sourcing these energy carriers and raw materials less and less from Russia and purchasing them elsewhere in the world,” said the port.

Allard Castelein, CEO Port of Rotterdam Authority: ‘The business community has made a commitment in the last half year to invest € 3 billion in the energy transition. In addition to the vulnerability of the European energy system, nitrogen emissions continue to be a major bottleneck. Several major projects, including the CO2 capture and storage project Porthos, are being delayed or threatened by delays due to uncertainty and restrictions associated with nitrogen emission’.

Port of Rotterdam said it had ambitions in the energy transition and that national and European regulatory policies were becoming clearer, allowing for investment decisions for a major biorefinery and Europe’s largest green-hydrogen plant.

“In addition, companies have made a definitive decision to expand an ammonia import terminal, increase battery recycling capacity, build a hydrogen refuelling station for trucks and implement a shore power project. These investment decisions by the business community add up to a total amount of approx. € 3bn,” said the port.

Nitrogen emissions are proving a hinderance to development decisions as rules in the Netherlands on reducing nitrogen deposition remain unclear, preventing investment in projects which would result in lower nitrogen and carbon emissions.

In its outlook, the port noted an uncertain geopolitical situation, not least of all when it comes to European energy supply amid the war in Ukraine and tensions with Russia.

“Energy prices are high, and this is a major factor in the sharp rise in inflation. A recession may follow. This makes forecasting throughput volumes for the second half of the year very difficult,” said the port.

Source: https://www.seatrade-maritime.com/ports/rotterdam-throughput-inches-despite-russia-losses

A district court in Batam, Indonesia has issued a seven-year jail sentence for the master of the workboat Cramoil Equity for entering Indonesian waters with barrels of hazardous liquid waste.

In mid-June 2021, the Batam Port Authority received a tip that the Belize-flagged Cramoil Equity was carrying hazardous waste without a permit in the waters of Batam. The agency’s patrol team ordered the ship to leave, but it allegedly did not comply.

Two days later, the patrol team found Cramoil Equity still within Indonesian waters. A boarding team found 20 bulk containers of toxic waste on the back deck, each containing about 250 gallons of liquid. Transporting hazardous waste into Indonesian waters without a permit is a violation of the nation’s environmental laws, punishable by up to a maximum of 15 years in prison.

The captain, identified as 48-year-old Indonesian national Chosmus Palandi, was convicted of transporting hazardous waste in June 2022 and sentenced to seven years in jail, plus a fine of $330,000 (or an additional three months in jail). The outcome of the case was announced in July.

The case may expand beyond a penalty for the captain alone. Indonesia’s ministry of the environment is working with the Indonesian embassy in Singapore to try to track down the cargo’s origin. The vessel’s operator, Cramoil Singapore, has previously been cited by Singaporean authorities for alleged discharge of untreated wastewater.

“Firm action against waste smuggling and any act against the environment must be carried out to protect Indonesian waters and environment,” the ministry said in a statement.

Source: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/captain-sentenced-to-seven-years-in-jail-for-hazardous-waste-smuggling

Merchant Vessel Loses Power in Somali Waters

Cruise Passengers Shuttled Into Venice By A Motor Boat To Dodge Big Cruise Vessels Ban

Ukraine Aspires To Ship Grain Again Despite Russia’s Attack On Odesa Port

$18m project to build drop-in biofuel assurance framework

Wind turbines parts ignited in cargo hold of berthed freighter, Netherlands

Timor Port investing in handling capacity

Singapore opens ocean basin to simulate operating environments

Damen plans investment in Curacao Shipyard

Rotterdam throughput inches up despite Russia losses

Captain Sentenced to Seven Years in Jail for Hazardous Waste Smuggling

IMO Maritime Safety Committee Opens 110th Session – Safety, Technology & Seafarer Protection in Focus

IMO’s ECDIS Cybersecurity Mandate: June 2025 Compliance Status & Enforcement

IMO Mandates Monthly Emergency Drills for Passenger Ships: Full Breakdown of New Safety Rules

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