Product tanker ABESKUN ran aground on 158 kilometer mark of Volga Caspian Sea Canal at around 1600 Moscow time Nov 21. Tanker, reportedly with cargo of crude, is en route from offshore oil field to Astrakhan port, Volga. No reports on damages, no leaks. Tug TARPAN understood to be already on site as of 1640 UTC, Canal traffic probably hampered.

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Cargo ship ran into embankment in Sehestedt area, Kiel Canal, at around 0300 UTC Nov 21, while transiting Canal in western direction. The ship was able to detach from embankment and continue transit under own power, she reached Brunsbuettel and was berthed in Canal, most probably for inspection and investigation, she’s said to be damaged. The ship’s wasn’t identified, understood it’s general cargo ship RIX ZENITH, en route from Denmark to Ijmuiden Netherlands. As of 1700 UTC she was in the same position.

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https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2021/36205/general-cargo-ship-ran-embankment-kiel-canal/

Ferry VILLA SAN GIOVANNI suffered fire on board, understood in engine room, on Nov 22 in Messina Strait, while crossing the Strait on her scheduled trip between VILLA SAN GIOVANNI mainland Italy, and Messina, Sicily. Crew reportedly, managed to extinguished fire, disabled ferry was towed to Villa San Giovanny. Passengers were evacuated, no injures reported.

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Two ships are presently under the quarantine in Kiel port: general cargo ship BBC MAINE since Nov 9, and tanker IRENE DP sice Nov 16. BBC MAINE arrived from Hamina Finland to transit Kiel Canal with destination Hamburg, IRENE DP arrived from Gdansk Poland. Both ships had covid cases on board. Circumstances and details remain unknown, they’re not given, missed totally. It’s just said, that “there was at least one case”. Case of what? Positive tests or real sickness, how many sailors affected, how about vaccination status? Were the cases so-called “breakthrough cases”, or genuine? Nothing. The strange absence of news on quarantines, sickness and deaths among crews, is rather suspicious. Is it calm before the storm?

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/2021/36197/two-ships-under-quarantine-kiel/

General cargo ship ATASOYLAR suffered engine failure while transiting Dardanelles, in the afternoon Nov 22. The ship was assisted by tugs and taken to Karanlik Anchorage, western Dardanelles. As of 0340 UTC Nov 23, she was still at anchor. ATASOYLAR is en route from Kherson Ukraine to Izmir Turkey.

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

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PUBLISHED NOV 22, 2021 6:20 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

On Monday, the crew of the Coast Guard cutter Hamilton delivered more than 26,000 pounds of cocaine worth about $500 million onto a pier at Port Everglades, Florida. It marks the largest single delivery of seized narcotics the ship has made in years.

The drugs were interdicted in international waters of the Eastern Pacific off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America, including contraband seized and recovered during eight interdictions by three American and Canadian ships – the Hamilton, the cutter Vigilant, and the Royal Canadian Navy’s HMCS Harry DeWolf. 

“It has been a dynamic two and half months for this ship with some very difficult law enforcement cases. But at the core of these capabilities is a true culture of trust and respect for each other which enabled the safe apprehension of 14 suspected traffickers,” said Capt. Matthew Brown, commanding officer of Hamilton.

Courtesy USCG

Hamilton’s crew intercept a low-profile smuggling vessel, Oct. 23 (USCG)

Hamilton’s crew interdict another low-profile vessel, Nov. 15 (USCG)

The Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Customs and Border Protection, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement all work with international partners in U.S. counter-drug operations. During at-sea interdictions, a suspect vessel is tracked and monitored by Joint Interagency Task Force-South in Key West, Florida. The interdictions, including the actual boardings, are carried out by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Though the 26,000-pound haul is a significant volume by any measure, Hamilton has delivered even bigger drug cargoes before: in December 2016, her crew offloaded more than twice as much cocaine (53,000 pounds, valued at $715 million) to a pier in nearby Miami.

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https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/photos-uscg-offloads-26-000-pounds-of-cocaine-in-port-everglades

PUBLISHED NOV 22, 2021 7:34 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

The Dublin Port Company is planning the long-term expansion of the port to meet the country’s future needs, including the construction of the largest container terminal in Ireland. When the project is completed in 2040, they will have invested a further $450 million in addition to current and previous projects adding another 20 percent to the port’s capacity.

“There is very little spare capacity for future growth of unitized trade in Dublin Port or in any other port in the country,” explains Eamonn O’Reilly, Dublin Port’s Chief Executive. “We are developing Dublin Port based on Masterplan 2040 at an overall estimated cost of €1.6 billion over the 30 years from 2010 to 2040.  Port infrastructure is very expensive and, by the end of this year, we will have invested €500m in the 11 years since 2010.  Over the next five years, we will invest a further €450m.  We aim to begin to build the €400m 3FM Project in 2026 and to complete it between 2030 and 2035. “

One of the key elements of the master plan is the creation of an entirely new container terminal with the capacity to handle 612,000 TEU annually. The new container terminal will have the capacity for more than twice the number of containers handled in all the other Irish ports in 2020. The plan also calls for the redevelopment of the existing container terminal to create a new Ro-Ro freight terminal with the capacity to handle 288,000 freight trailers annually. A new 1,000-foot plus turning basin would also be created at the port.

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https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/dublin-ports-plans-expansion-with-ireland-s-largest-container-terminal

PUBLISHED NOV 22, 2021 7:13 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

The U.S. Navy has activated a longstanding partnership with the Oxnard Harbor District (OHD), allowing the commercial port to use Navy property at Port Hueneme to handle containerized freight. The agreement is aimed at taking pressure off the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which are struggling to accommodate soaring U.S. consumer demand for goods from Asia.

“Naval Base Ventura County recently welcomed a large cargo vessel,” said Daniel J. Herrera, assistant program director for port operations at the base. “Ports of America already off-loaded a large number of forty-foot containers into lot 22 onboard [the base], which is merchandise expected to have direct impact with helping to support holiday supply demands.”

A longtime agreement between Naval Base Ventura County and OHD allows the base to support commercial logistics when the harbor district needs more space. The agreement allows commercial use of the base’s Wharf 3, including about 21 acres of land, two warehouses, and up to 10 acres of industrial land located nearby.

The agreement was activated in November to help reduce shipping congestion and help out with the national supply chain crisis. The objective is to attract smaller boxships into the port to unload some or all of their containers – and to give the commercial Port of Hueneme more space to take on more traffic of its own.

“We are grateful to the base for securing real estate to help stage the backlog of containers, enabling us to take on more cargo, avoid congestion here at POH and get important commodities to market, including electronics, furniture, apparel and our traditional agricultural and automobile products,” said Kristin Decas, POH Director and Chief Executive Officer.

“The Navy recognizes the importance of being good neighbors with our local communities, and makes every effort to provide support when current operational requirements allow,” said Capt. Robert Kimnach III, commanding officer of NBVC. “The joint use agreement between Naval Base Ventura County and the Oxnard Harbor District is in direct support of reducing port congestion and the national supply-chain shortage and demonstrates one example of the positive, long-term partnership between the Navy and the local community.”

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https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/u-s-navy-base-at-port-hueneme-lends-space-for-christmas-cargoes

PUBLISHED NOV 21, 2021 10:18 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

When the Norwegian production company Fantefilm searched the internet to find the coolest underwater robot in the world, they discovered to their surprise that it was being manufactured in Norway. The robot has thus become the first to land a movie role in the film North Sea, which is premiering now.

Kristin Ytterstad Pettersen, professor of engineering cybernetics and one of the key researchers at the Centre for Autonomous Marine Operations and Systems,  AMOS, has been studying snake robotics for a number of years. Pål Liljebäck took his doctorate in snake robotics with Pettersen as his supervisor. Based on their research, they started the company Eelume (pronounced ‘ee-loom’) in 2015 as a spin-off from NTNU.

No one could have imagined then that Eelume would land a heroic role in Norway’s largest film production seven years later.

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https://www.maritime-executive.com/editorials/video-eelume-s-snake-robot-takes-heroic-role-in-a-blockbuster-movie