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At least 17 individuals lost their lives after a boat believed to be having dozens of migrants from Haiti capsized off the Bahamas while on the way to Florida on Sunday.

A 30-foot boat had almost 60 people. It sank in the waters off the New Providence Island at about 1 a.m. local time, Bahamian officials mentioned during a news briefing.

Relevant authorities detained two Bahamians who were thrown from the boat. They face manslaughter and human smuggling charges, officials reported. They were two of the 25 people that the rescuers discovered were latching onto the sinking boat.

Others on the boat were believed to be Haitian, said Captain Shonedel Pinder, the deputy commander of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force. About 15 continued to be missing as reported on Sunday.

Of the 17 people who died, one was male while 16 were female, reported Aubynette Rolle, the MD of the Bahamas’ Public Hospitals Authority. There was a child around the age of 4 or 5 years.

A rise in the number of Haitian migrants over the recent years has attempted to travel by sea to Florida and Puerto Rico. Immigration lawyers and researchers have to say that the migrants could be fleeing the ongoing economic and political turmoil in Haiti.

A year after the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021, gang violence worsened. Haiti has gone into a freefall that has witnessed the fall of the economy.

Trials to form a coalition government have faltered. Similarly, efforts to hold general elections have also stalled. The ongoing turmoil has led a growing number of individuals to flee Haiti, which comprises more than 11 million in the search for a safer and better life.

Several sinking cases involving migrants have taken place in the Caribbean waters this year, including one in May 2022, in which 11 individuals were declared dead and 38 were rescued from Puerto Rico.

One more incident in January 2022 saw a man being rescued and another being confirmed dead after a boat that had 40 migrants reportedly sank off Florida. The missing were never found.

Governments in the region, including the US, have reported a rise in the number of Haitians detained when attempting to enter other nations.

References: France24, DailyTimes

The U.S. Navy sees its future fleet comprised of more than 350 manned ships and about 150 unmanned ships hoping technology means lower operating costs as it prepares to counter a growing Chinese fleet, according to a Navy report released Tuesday.

The plan for the 2040s and beyond underscored “the need to address long-term competition with China and sustain military advantage against Russia”. It forecasts fleet numbers up slightly from a 2021 Navy long-range shipbuilding plan which had a range of 321 to 372 manned ships and 77 to 140 large unmanned vessels.

Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc and General Dynamics Corp are the largest shipbuilders in the United States with other weapons makers like Boeing Co working on unmanned ships programs.

Today the Navy has 298 ships in its “battle force” which ignores scores of resupply and logistics ships.

The Navy’s proposed fiscal year 2023 budget requested $27.9 billion in shipbuilding funding for eight new ships, including two Virginia class attack submarines, two Arleigh Burke destroyers, and one Constellation frigate.

The U.S. Congress is working to add ships to the Navy’s fleet.

Source: https://www.marinelink.com/news/us-navy-boost-aspirations-unmanned-fleet-498306

The Council of the EU said today that, in an effort to increase EU security of energy supply, member states have reached a political agreement on a voluntary reduction of natural gas demand by 15% this winter. The Council regulation also foresees the possibility to trigger a “Union alert” on security of supply, in which case the gas demand reduction would become mandatory.

“The purpose of the gas demand reduction is to make savings ahead of winter in order to prepare for possible disruptions of gas supplies from Russia that is continuously using energy supplies as a weapon,” says the Council.

As the EU seeks to wean itself from dependency on Russian natural gas, U.S. LNG exporters have been major beneficiaries. Even if the EU succeeds in meeting the goal of a 15% reduction in demand, that is not likely to change.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) says that United States became the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter during the first half of 2022. Most U.S. LNG exports went to the EU and the U.K. during the first five months of this year, accounting for 71%, or 8.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), of the total U.S. LNG exports. The U.S. provided 47% of the 14.8 Bcf/d of Europe’s total LNG imports, followed by Qatar at 15%, Russia at 14%, and four African countries combined at 17%.

That 14% figure for Russia is more significant than it might appear, because Russia accounts for some 40% of German natural gas consumption. Germany’s ability to substitute LNG imports for that Russian gas is hampered by the fact that that it currently has no LNG import terminals. As we reported earlier, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany has been ramping up its plans to deploy floating LNG import terminals (FSRUs). Now, reports S&P Global, four are planned along with two permanent onshore sites, with the FSRUs able to be deployed much more quickly than the onshore facilities. Germany’s economy ministry is hopeful it can begin operations at two FSRUs — one at Wilhelmshaven and one at Brunsbuttel — before the end of 2022

Will U.S. LNG supply be available to meet the demands of those new terminals?

Compared with the second half of 2021, reports EIA, U.S. LNG exports increased by 12% in the first half of 2022, averaging 11.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d). According to EIA estimates, installed U.S. LNG export capacity has expanded by 1.9 Bcf/d nominal (2.1 Bcf/d peak) since November 2021. The capacity additions included a sixth train at the Sabine Pass LNG, 18 new mid-scale liquefaction trains at the Calcasieu Pass LNG, and increased LNG production capacity at Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi LNG facilities. As of July 2022, EIA estimates that U.S. LNG liquefaction capacity averaged 11.4 Bcf/d, with a shorter-term peak capacity of 13.9 Bcf/d.

International natural gas and LNG prices hit record highs in the last quarter of 2021 and first half of 2022. Prices at the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) in the Netherlands have been trading at record highs since October 2021. TTF averaged $30.94 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) during the first half of 2022. LNG spot prices in Asia have also been high, averaging $29.50/MMBtu during the same period.

In June, the United States exported 11% less LNG than the 11.4 Bcf/d average exports during the first five months of 2022, mainly as a result of an unplanned outage at the Freeport LNG export facility. Freeport LNG is expected to resume partial liquefaction operations in early October 2022.

Utilization of the peak capacity at the seven U.S. LNG export facilities averaged 87% during the first half of 2022, mainly before the Freeport LNG outage, which is similar to the utilization on average during 2021.

Source: https://www.marinelog.com/legal-safety/shipping/markets/can-u-s-lng-exports-meet-european-demand/

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

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

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

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

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.

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 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

At Least 17 Migrants Drown In A Boat Accident Off The Bahamas

US Navy Boost Aspirations for Unmanned Fleet

Can U.S. LNG exports meet European demand?

Merchant Vessel Loses Power in Somali Waters

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

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

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

Timor Port investing in handling capacity

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

Damen plans investment in Curacao Shipyard

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