The U.S. Navy said it thwarted an Iranian attempt to capture one if its unmanned surface vessels (USV) in the Arabian Gulf.
While transiting international waters around 11 p.m. (local time), Aug. 29, U.S. 5th Fleet observed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) support ship Shahid Baziar towing a Saildrone Explorer USV in an attempt to detain it. U.S. Navy patrol coastal ship USS Thunderbolt (PC 12) was operating nearby and immediately responded. U.S. 5th Fleet also launched an MH-60S Sea Hawk from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 26, based in Bahrain.
The actions taken by U.S. naval forces in response resulted in the IRGCN vessel disconnecting the towing line to the USV and departing the area approximately four hours later. The U.S. Navy resumed operations without further incident.
“IRGCN’s actions were flagrant, unwarranted and inconsistent with the behavior of a professional maritime force,” said Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces. “U.S. naval forces remain vigilant and will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows while promoting rules-based international order throughout the region.”
The Saildrone Explorer USV the IRGCN attempted to confiscate is U.S. government property and equipped with sensors, radars and cameras for navigation and data collection, the Navy said. This technology is available commercially and does not store sensitive or classified information, it added..
U.S. 5th Fleet operates a network of manned and unmanned systems in accordance with international law. The integration of unmanned systems and artificial intelligence into fleet operations enhances maritime vigilance for U.S. forces and international partners in waters across the Middle East.
A ship carrying wheat from Ukraine to the drought-stricken Horn of Africa docked on Tuesday, the United Nations said, the first to make the journey since the Russian invasion six months ago.
The vessel Brave Commander is carrying 23,000 tonnes of grain and will soon be followed by another carrying 7,000 tonnes.
The total shipment, which will be unloaded in Djibouti and transported to Ethiopia, is enough to feed 1.5 million people for a month.
That barely begins to alleviate the problems of Eastern Africa, where the United Nations’ World Food Programme says extreme weather, surging food prices and conflict mean 82 million people need food aid across nine countries – Burundi, Djiouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
“This shipment, the first of many we hope, will allow WFP to deliver this grain to 1.53 million people in Ethiopia and cover their needs for a month. It’s a start but we must continue to keep the food flowing to save lives across the region,” said Michael Dunford, the WFP director for Eastern Africa.
Officials hope the successful voyage will inspire private companies to begin shipping grain from Ukraine to Eastern Africa, where rising global food prices and difficulties raising donor funding have forced the United Nations to cut rations for refugees and displaced people.
Among them are 150,000 Eritrean refugees sheltering in Ethiopia, many of whom have been repeatedly displaced by conflict in the north, whose rations were cut in June to half the recommended amount of food.
“It’s not enough food. People are hungry,” said one Eritrean refugee in Alem-Wach Camp in northern Ethiopia.
“They explained to us the reasons, because of war in Ukraine,” said the man, who declined to give his name. “But it is especially hard because it is so cold now… the situation is so difficult.”
While the shipment will help people displaced by conflict, none of it will be sold commercially, meaning it will not lower food prices for ordinary Ethiopians.
Russia and Ukraine usually supply 90% of wheat imported in East Africa.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict sent fertiliser and food prices soaring as Russia blockaded Ukrainian ports. Energy prices have also surged following Western sanctions on Russia, a major energy exporter.
Last month, the United Nations and Turkey brokered a deal between Moscow and Kyiv to unblock three Black Sea ports, making it possible to send hundreds of thousands of tonnes of Ukrainian grain to buyers.
Ukraine is strengthening the humanitarian part of the grain initiative, officials said. On Tuesday, the bulk carrier Karteria departed, carrying 37,500 tonnes of wheat for Yemen, where 16 million people are hungry.
The first-ever container vessel on the first-ever China-Scotland direct sea shipping channel has embarked on a journey back to China. It is carrying Scottish items back to the Chinese market, underscoring the earlier success of the new shipping channel in boosting trade between Scotland and China irrespective of global headwinds.
The route connects Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang Province of East China and Dongguan Port in Guangdong Province of South China — two significant export hubs — with the UK’s Greenock and Liverpool.
The service is expected to reduce the shipping time by one-third of that of more conventional lines, Peel Ports Group, which operates Greenock Ocean Terminal, reported to the Global Times on Monday.
The new channel aims to reduce the journey time to nearly 33 days by eliminating unscheduled port congestions and delays in Rotterdam. The track will be operated by six vessels of approximately 1,600 containers each month.
Image for representation purpose only
Per the details offered by Peel Ports, the vessel arrived at Greenock port on Saturday and docked for almost 12 hours. It finished loading and unloading goods before they returned to the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port.
Items carried by ship to China included beer, paper, candy, gin, oil, gas, shortbread, water, machinery, and over one million whisky bottles, Peel Ports said.
Chinese products unloaded from the first vessel included packaging materials, textiles, furniture, fitness equipment, beauty supplies, Christmas decorations, bathroom appliances, toys, and footwear.
Jim McSporran, Clydeport Peel Ports’ director, mentioned that it’s great to welcome the vital service to the Greenock Ocean Terminal.
McSporran mentioned that they believe that the collaboration will be a positive development for customers and businesses and boost the wider supply chain. We look forward to working with our partners on the service in the coming months.
It was known that China Xpress (Ningbo-Greenock channel) was a service much needed by several sectors, yet the level of immediate interest is amazing. The direct trading link to China cuts through the immensely frustrating transhipment delays. This acts as a massive boost for Scotland-based businesses and can help consumers in these trying times, commented David Milne, the MD of KC Group Shipping, one of the new shipping route operators.
Meanwhile, several Chinese freight bookers have been closely monitoring the new shipping channel amid massive European port congestions.
The new route will be thoroughly inspected. We may try if can keep the present journey time and frequency. So far, there are no bookings for the route as shipments are covered between Germany and China, a Yiwu-based logistics agent reported to the Global Times.
The agent observed that Germany’s maritime ports were suffering from congestion, which increased the sea shipping costs and extended the time to almost 40 to 50 days.
The introduction of the new route reflects that it’s in line with the fundamental interests of firms and that it’s not possible for some Britain-based politicians to intervene in the operations of the economic market, or decouple from China on trade, the deputy chairman with the Expert Committee of the China Association of International Trade, Li Yong, informed the Global Times on Monday.
Li mentioned that the UK sought a trading position in Europe after Brexit. Opening the new direct logistics route will help British ports boost their importance. It is also an ideal solution that firms came up with during massive congestion at the major European ports.
Milne also called for the support of Scottish exporters and importers to safeguard the long-term future of the new service, as it has been a massive success for KC Group Shipping, but this is just one of the first of several journeys.
A massive rescue operation was underway off the coast of Sweden on Monday. Swedish maritime authorities reported that a car ferry with almost 300 individuals on board caught on fire.
Jonas Franzen, the spokesman associated with Swedish Maritime Administration, told AFP that there was a fire on the car’s deck. He added that seven vessels and three helicopters were immediately dispatched, and an evacuation of the vessel had started.
There were no immediate reports of injuries, and the cause of the fire was not yet known.
Image for representation purpose only
Another spokeswoman named Lisa Mjorning informed AFP that the fire was in control.
The vessel, the Stena Scandica, was located off the island of Gotska Sandon on Sweden’s southeastern coast.
It is official: the former 47,000-ton Horizon is being scrapped in Turkey’s Aliaga.
After two years of languishing in Greece, the vessel departed from Elefsis Bay for the scrap yard last week.
Out of service since 2020, the 1990 vessel will be dismantled with some other classic cruise vessels at the Turkish recycling facility.
During the procedure, the vessel’s fixtures, systems, building materials, and engines will be removed and sold off for reusing or repurposing.
The Horizon first debuted in 1990 as Celebrity Cruises’ first new build. Meyer Weft constructed it; the vessel was designed primarily for offering exclusive cruising in North America.
After debuting in the New York-Bermuda route, the 1,450-guest vessel reportedly served the upscale brand in multiple destinations, including Alaska, Canada, and the Caribbean.
Before quitting the firm’s fleet, the Horizon became the first Celebrity vessel homeported in Norfolk and Philadelphia.
Credits: meyerwerft.de
Transferred to Island Cruises in 2005, the ship became the Island Star.
Collaboration between First Choice Holidays and Royal Caribbean focused on the UK family market in the summers while targeting Brazil’s younger audiences, especially in winter.
The vessel was transferred three years later to the final operator, Pullmantur Cruceros. The latter is also a Royal Caribbean brand; the Spanish firm used the ship for itineraries in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Europe.
During its career with Pullmantur that spanned 12 years, the Horizon sailed for Croisières De France – the firm’s French brand.
With the ongoing pandemic bringing the cruise fleet to an unforeseen stop in 2020, the Horizon sailed its last cruise in 2020 (March).
A few weeks later, the ship was used to repatriate the crew members of Pullmantur before reaching Greece’s Elefsis Bay – where it stayed for the last two years.
In 2020 (July), after Pullmantur reportedly filed for insolvency, the vessel was returned to the Royal Caribbean Group with fleet mates Sovereign and Monarch, which were beached for scrapping immediately.
Bulk carrier OS 35 collided with LNG tanker ADAM LNG on Aug 29, understood at around 2000 UTC, while leaving anchorage off Gibraltar Point. ADAM LNG was anchored at the time of collision, and didn’t suffer serious damages. Bulk carrier sustained hull breach somewhere in fore asection, she developed heavy fore tilt and slight stb list, water ingress couldn’t be put under control, so the ship wastaken to the other side of the peninsula and grounded at Catalan Bay, to avoid sinking. Both ships called Gibraltar most probably, for bunkering and/or supplies, OS #% was leaving bound for, reportedly, Netherlands.as of 0530 UTC Aug 30, OS 35 AIS was on, bulk carrier being in the same position with all 24 on board, while ADAM LNG remained at anchor.
Container News container-news.com reported containers fall in Taipei Port, Taiwan, on Aug 27, during offloading of container ship EVER FOREVER. Accident is believed to be caused by crane operator mishandling of the crane. EVER FOREVER arrived from USA, she left Taipei on Aug 29, on Aug 30 she already arrived at port of destination, Xiamen China.
Sperry Marine has partnered with Egersund, Norway-headquartered NAVTOR to launch Sperry Marine Navigation Charts and Voyage Planning.
Designed to optimize vessel safety and efficiency, the service provides an integrated e-navigation solution that reduces administration associated with chart updates and route planning and improves cyber security.
The service—the latest addition to the SperrySphere platform—leverages NAVTOR’s award-winning service, designed to reduce fuel costs, support compliance with environmental regulations and reduce workload for navigators by providing all critical voyage information in one integrated application.
The system analyzes the planned route and compares navigation data with the vessel’s water and air draft and other specifications to ensure full safety from berth to berth.
With databases and permits automatically distributed and updated seamlessly, the huge number of administration hours and the risk of human error during manual planning can be reduced.
The ENC chart service simplifies workflow for fleet managers and navigators and provides full control and accessibility over charts with Navtor’s NavTracker chart management and ordering tool. This enables shipowners to take advantage of a range of data subscription models, including PAYS (pay-as-you-sail), to meet each vessel’s specific needs.
The PAYS model enables shipowners to more accurately manage their purchases costs with no need to pay for unused charts.
Cyber security protocols are enforced by Sperry Marine’s Secure Maritime Gateway which uses multiple firewalls and a “demilitarized zone” as a staging post between front and back of bridge to ensure there is no direct connection between the navigation systems and the ship’s main IT network.
“We believe e-navigation is the future of shipping because we truly understand the problems of wasted time, unnecessary workload and lack of integration when using paper charts and manual voyage planning,” said NAVTOR managing director Tor Svanes. “This partnership with Sperry Marine will deliver an integrated solution, ensuring customers unlock the full potential of e-Navigation in a smart, safe and simple way.”
The Charts and Voyage Planning module is deployed and managed through the SperrySphere smart navigation platform. This is a one-stop-shop back-of-bridge digital platform which manages delivery of a wide variety of safety and voyage optimisation applications and a roadmap including remote support and diagnostics of navigation equipment.
“NAVTOR and Sperry Marine are global leaders in digital navigation solutions and by combining our expertise we can ensure that charts and routes can be securely and automatically updated using the Secure Maritime Gateway,” said James Collett, managing director, Sperry Marine. “We not only aim to improve the vessel’s cyber security performance; the SperrySphere will be the platform we use to deliver, smarter, safer digitally-enabled navigation to our customers.”
German shipbuilder Flensburger Schiffbau Gesellschaft (FSG) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Canada’s Oceanex Inc. that will see the two companies develop a highly efficient climate neutral ConRo (container RO/RO) vessel.
Oceanex Inc. provides intermodal transportation services to the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and the new ConRo design will be critical to its future vessel replacement planning for its current three-ship fleet.
The MoU was signed during a high level German trade mission to Canada in which FSG managing director Philipp Maracke participated at the invitation of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. It was co-signed by Maracke and Oceanex executive chairman Captain Sid Hynes in the presence of the German Federal Minister Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Dr. Robert Habeck and Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson.
Together, the partners intend to investigate the utilization of alternative fuels, such as ammonia, methanol, synthetic and biofuels as well as hydrogen, and the technologies based on them in relation to Oceanex’s Atlantic Canada operational area. The central approach of FSG is a comprehensive life-cycle analysis that links long-term economic and ecological perspectives already in the planning stage.
“As a shipyard, we have ambitious goals to become a major pillar of the energy transition. FSG has already positioned itself as an innovation leader for low-emission ship designs in the past,” says Maracke. “Building on our references and expertise, we want to be a driver when it comes to energy transition in shipping.”
“Our customers rely on Oceanex to provide competitive, reliable, and sustainable transportation services,” says Hynes. “Doing so with environmental leadership is top of mind, so building our fleet of vessels to ensure we’re leveraging the latest technologies and the most environmentally friendly fuel sources is critical for Oceanex. Partnering with FSG will allow us to do just that.”
Norwegian fertilizer manufacturer Yara has signed the world’s first cross-border CO2 transport and storage deal with Northern Lights, the Norwegian offshore carbon storage project. Both entities are based in Norway, but the transport will be cross-border, delivering liquefied CO2 by ship from a Yara plant in the Netherlands to the Northern Lights injection facility.
From early 2025, 800,000 tonnes of pure CO2 will be captured at the Yara Sluiskil plant in the Netherlands, then compressed, liquefied and transported to the Northern Lights well off the coast of Øygarden.
Northern Lights hopes that the first-of-a-kind contract will set a standard for other industrial emitters in Europe who want to look at offshore CO2 storage.
“Yara is our first commercial customer, filling our available capacity in Northern Lights. With this we are establishing a market for transport and storage of CO2. From early 2025 we will be shipping the first tonnes of CO2 from the Netherlands to Norway. This will demonstrate that CCS is a climate tool for Europe,” said Børre Jacobsen, the managing director of Northern Lights.
Northern Lights is the transport and storage part of Norway’s Longship project, which is 80 percent funded by the Norwegian government. As part of the funding agreement, Northern Lights has to develop a commercial business model and offer its service to the rest of Europe. The company is a JV, owned equally by Equinor, Shell and TotalEnergies.
Yara produces two million tonnes of ammonia per year, making it one of the largest manufacturers in the world. Conventional ammonia is a carbon-intensive product made with natural gas, and Yara’s plant in Heroya is one of the largest point-source emitters in Norway; the company is planning an electrification project to transition to the plant to a zero-emissions future, eliminating about 800,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
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