The Shanghai maritime authorities have organized boats and ships to take shelter from the approaching Typhoon Hinnamnor, the 11th of this year, as China on Saturday raised its emergency response for flood and typhoon control to level Ⅳ.

So far, a total of 796 ships have been evacuated from the Yangtze River estuary and the waters off Shanghai’s Yangshan Port.

Among them, more than 200 ships have been evacuated from the waters off the Yangshan Port.

The staff of the Yangshan Port Maritime Safety Administration have taken various measures to inspect all ships in the waters under its jurisdiction through vessel traffic services (VTS) system, electronic cruise system and on-site inspection, and urged relevant enterprises, units and ships to take precautionary measures against the typhoon as soon as possible.

The waters of the southwest coast of Shanghai’s Chongming Island and the waters of the Hengsha channel have long served as shelter areas for ships in Shanghai Port. Due to the impact of Typhoon Hinnamnor, more than 260 ships have been anchored and taken shelter in those areas.

The staff of the Chongming Maritime Safety Administration has ramped up patrol efforts to spot potential safety hazards in a timely manner, in order to prevent dragging of anchors, breakage of mooring chains and other secondary disasters.

The Shanghai maritime authorities have stepped up emergency response efforts, and deployed two professional rescue ships, 104 tugboats, 25 salvage ships and 38 cleaning ships to the related key areas to deal with the approaching typhoon.

Source: CCTV

With the brand new ship of the Italian Navy Thaon di Revel, “a concentrate of avant-garde Italian technology”.

A special VTC meeting was held in these days between the Information Fusion Center of the Singapore Navy and the Force Headquarter of Agenor – the maritime operation born from the European initiative called EMASoH (European-led Maritime Awareness in the Strait of Hormuz ), in connection with the latest ship delivered to the Italian Navy, the Thaon di Revel, of the brand new Ppa class (multipurpose offshore patrol vessel).

The event was opened by a speech by the Ambassador of Italy in Singapore, Mario Vattani. “This program – explained Vattani – has not only a strategic significance, it is also a concrete signal of the will of Italy, together with the other European partners, to be more present from now on in this region, in line with the Strategy European for the Indo-Pacific in which Italy has played an important role, thanks to the work done in recent years by the Farnesina ”.

The topic – very topical in light of the growing threats to maritime navigation – is the opportunity to improve collaboration at a trans-regional level, and establish standard operating procedures for sharing information on civil shipping, in order to extend maritime knowledge to the entire region. Indo-Pacific, and therefore the safety of the seas.

“It is a pleasure to note – underlined Ambassador Vattani – that the European multinational staff of Operation Agenor will embark for the next 4 months, aboard our ultra-modern multipurpose offshore vessel, a concentrate of cutting-edge technology, which shows the very high capabilities of our defense industries (in particular Fincantieri, Leonardo and Electronics), well known in South East Asia and throughout the world ”.

The Commander of Task Force 474, Rear Admiral Stefano Costantino (Commander of the Tactical Force of Operation AGENOR, assigned for the first time to Italy) has in turn promoted cooperation at the multilateral level in sectors of common interest with Singapore thanks to the involvement of ‘Defense Attaché of the Embassy in Singapore, Commander Armando Simi.

“The Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Malacca are apparently distant bottlenecks, but they are united by crucial factors that strongly unite them – said Admiral Costantino – and highlight the importance and vulnerability of maritime communication lines, on which 90% of world goods travel today, vital for the European and national processing industries so hungry for raw materials and energy ”. Hence the importance of collaborating with other stakeholders, such as the IFC of Singapore to help ensure freedom of navigation and safe passage.

Source: https://www.italianpost.news/italy-singapore-connection-on-maritime-safety/

MANILA, Philippines — The Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) has suspended the passenger ship safety certificate (PSSC) of M/V Asia Philippines, the ferry that caught fire as it approached the Batangas International Port on Friday.

Marina regional director Emmanuel Carpio, in his letter addressed to Starlite Ferries Inc. dated August 26, said that based on the guidelines and the law, a ship’s passenger safety certificate should be suspended when “the ship has been involved in maritime casualties and incidents … that may put into question the integrity of its hull and its integral parts.”

Carpio cited the provisions of Republic Act No. 9295 or the Domestic Shipping Development Act of 2004 and the Marina Administrative Order No. 11-19 and Marina Memorandum Circular No. 152.

“In view thereof, the Passenger Ship Safety Certificate of MV ASIA PHILIPPINES is hereby SUSPENDED until further notice from this Authority,” Carpio said in his letter.

Carpio added that the ferry will be subjected to thorough safety inspection by Marina inspectors and surveyors.

Starlite Shipping’s M/V Asia Philippines, a roll-on-roll-off (Ro-Ro) ferry, was preparing to dock at the Batangas International Port when it caught fire on Friday evening. It was carrying 82 passengers and crew.

The Philippine Coast Guard said the ferry came from Calapan City in Oriental Mindoro and was about one nautical mile from the Batangas International Port when it caught fire.

The 49 passengers and 38 crew members of the vessel were all rescued. One passenger was reported hurt.

Source: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1654198/marina-suspends-safety-certificate-of-ferry-that-caught-fire-in-batangas/amp

Washington State Ferries (WSF) is embarking on an ambitious initiative to transition to a hybrid electric ferry system. This transition will improve local air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions 76% by 2040.

To shift the largest ferry system in the United States to hybrid electric, WSF is working on three key elements of the electrification system – building new hybrid electric vessels, converting existing vessels to hybrid electric, and electrifying the terminals.

WSF is currently developing the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the construction of five new hybrid electric Olympic Class (HEOC) vessels. These new vessels, along with plans for 11 additional new vessels and six converted vessels, are required to be built in Washington in accordance with state law.

To encourage collaboration among existing and future Washington maritime firms, WSF will co-host an Industry Day with Maritime Blue on October 6, 2022, in downtown Seattle from 9 AM to noon in advance of the release of the RFP.

Matt von Ruden, WSF’s Electrification Program System Administrator commented, “The development of this RFP, and future selection of a shipbuilder for these five new vessels, is an exciting milestone not only for our electrification efforts, but for the maritime industry as a whole. We look forward to working with new partners to support the development of a greener maritime industry here in Washington state.”

To learn more about the electrification program and the upcoming Industry Day, visit WSF’s electrification webpage or watch our video below.

Source: https://gcaptain.com/washington-state-ferries-journey-to-hybrid-electric/

On Monday 22 August 2022 an incident occurred where a section of the quayside gave way causing two workers to fall into the sea and a crane to tilt to the side. Following the incident, one of the workers was rescued but the other worker was missing and Keppel worked with the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and Police Coast Guard on search operations.

On Wednesday morning 24 August the body of the missing subcontract worker who fell into the sea following the incident on Monday was found, a Keppel Shipyard spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added: “We would like to express our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased and are rendering our full assistance to them. Keppel Shipyard values the safety and life of every worker and we deeply regret this tragic incident. We are working closely with the authorities to conduct thorough investigations and review.”

Migrant Workers’ Center (MWC), a non-government organisation dealing with employment practices and the well-being of migrant workers in Singapore, in a social media post on Tuesday shared its concerns over “yet another workplace accident”, adding it is a worrying trend.

“We are in the process of establishing contact with the worker’s employer, Kumarann Marine, to offer guidance and provide support to the injured workers,” the organisation added.

It is understood that a nearby vessel is SBM Offshore’s FPSO Prosperity, which is currently being prepared at the shipyard for operations on an ExxonMobil-operated project off Guyana.

As reported by Singapore’s The Straits Times on Wednesday, with Monday’s incident, at least two workplace accidents have taken place at the Keppel shipyard in Tuas this year.

Source: https://www.offshore-energy.biz/investigation-underway-after-fatal-accident-at-keppel-yard/

A CONMAN who pretended to be a cruise ship’s captain to sell bogus luxury holidays at exotic locations to friends, family members, and other acquaintances has finally been jailed.

A serial fraudster named Jody Oliver, formerly of Barbourne Road, duped victims of £320,000 by providing them unbelievable rates for non-existent cruise trips. Among those scammed were individuals who’ve lost savings believing they booked holidays that happen only once in a lifetime.

The “Walter Mitty” swindler went to an extraordinary extent to maintain the ruse and even dressed up as a P&O captain to deceive them.

Oliver was steadily living a dual private life and divided the time between his wife and boyfriend, who was based in Newport over the weekends.

Andrew Davies, who was prosecuting, mentioned that Oliver was at the centre of a web of lies and deceit. He didn’t care about who he hurt or wanted to swindle and lied to those he even professed to love.

The defendant used various names and job descriptions to source money and mainly lived a life he could not afford. He was living two different fantasy lives. Now, neither of these was sustainable with legitimate incomes.

Oliver told his boyfriend, Mr Burgess, that he was a successful high-flying businessman employed at Jaguar Land Rover. Burgess did not know that the defendant was married with three children.

After Oliver lied about having been “headhunted” by P&O owner Carnival, he started working on creating an alter ego named Captain Jonathan Flynn Oliver.

Centred on the Alma Inn pub based in Newport, where he frequently socialized, he started offering free cruises to circle, mentioning that these were perks his job offered before selling them at bargain rates.

By this time, Oliver was much over his head in debt and had already lost over £130,000 from gambling within 12 months and had taken out crippling high-interest loans to stay afloat. New sources mention that the simple ploy the defendant deployed was to provide luxurious cruises to some exotic locations at a fraction of the rate obtained from legitimate agents.

He created an aura of a cruise vessel’s captain by dressing up as a ship captain when he met people to discuss potential cruises.

The holidays were cancelled due to overseas security problems or cruise vessel issues.

It has been reported that Oliver was a seasoned con artist.

In 2004, the defendant reportedly gained notoriety after conning Colin McRae, the former world-champion rally driver, into believing that Coca-Cola would offer him a £3 million sponsorship deal.

The former special police constable was also convicted of another VAT scam about three years ago.

Oliver admitted six counts of fraud. The offences were reportedly committed between 2018 (February) and 2019 (January). Matthew Buckland, who was mitigating, said that he could offer an apology note on behalf of Oliver and that he had pleaded guilty.

Oliver was reportedly imprisoned for six years and might encounter proceeds of crime hearing as relevant authorities would be checking if money can be seized from him to compensate the victims.

References: Worcester News, South Wales Argus

Five people were successfully ejected and two lost their lives in an unforeseen boat collision in the Texas Gulf near Freeport on 6 August, per the US Coast Guard. The boat reportedly collided head-on, officials mentioned.

The fatal crash took place around 9:15 p.m. when an individual who was operating a 22-foot boat ended up colliding with a 24-foot vessel between Mile Markers 382 and 384 in the waters of Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Officials mentioned that the boater and three guests were going northbound when they rammed into the 24-foot vessel that was headed southbound.

Per the Coast Guard, three passengers were reportedly ejected from the 22-foot boat, as were the two individuals, a husband, and his wife, on the 24-foot vessel. Two passengers from the 22-foot boat could get to the other vessel and they climbed aboard.

Sometime around midnight, the Gulf Coast Rescue Squad members were able to locate the other boater who was thrown from the pleasure craft, a non-responsive male. The Coast Guard crew took aboard the person’s body and brought the two deceased individuals and other survivors to Surfside Marina based in Freeport. Emergency medical services staff examined the survivors and extended care to the two men who suffered minor injuries, per the Coast Guard.

Although the case did not quite end the way they had desired, with all boaters unharmed and safe, they are thankful that the team’s hard work with agency and commercial partners helped assist the survivors quickly, Jeremy Borja the Chief Warrant Officer 3, command duty officer associated with Sector Houston-Galveston, mentioned. He added that they offer heartfelt sympathies to the family of the two boaters who were unable to make it and wish them healing in the wake of the tragedy.

Both the vessels are aground and anchored close to Mile Marker 382. Personnel of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are conducting a thorough of this incident.

References: Click2Houston, Houston Chronicle

Washington State Ferries said one of its vessels suffered “significant damage” as the result of a “hard landing” at the Fauntleroy terminal in Seattle on Thursday.

The Cathlamet, which was traveling from Vashon Island to West Seattle during a 7:55 a.m. sailing, reportedly struck an offshore dolphin (pilings, not the aquatic mammal) before alliding with the dock.

Photos shared to social media show considerable damage to Cathlamet’s port bow above the waterline. No injuries or pollution were reported, though several cars on board the ferry have been damaged. All but two cars were able to exit the ferry, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard said it is working with Washington State Ferries to investigate the cause of the incident.

Meanwhile, the Fauntleroy terminal is closed until further notice. “The dock structure will be examined and if it’s determined to be usable, we’ll restore service there,” Washington State Ferries said.

The state ferry operator said it is working with Kitsap Transit and King County Metro to coordinate passenger-only services while its Fauntleroy service is affected.

Cathlamet is a 328-foot Issaquah class ferry with capacity for 1,200 passengers and 124 vehicles. It was built by Marine Power and Equipment in Seattle in 1981.

(Photo: U.S. Cost Guard)

(Photo: Washington State Ferries)

Source: https://www.marinelink.com/news/ferry-damaged-hard-landing-seattle-498376