Royal Navy Command, Thailand, responded after being informed about ghost ship found some 70 nm southeast of Koh Samui island, Gilf of Siam, on Jan 5 or 7, exact date unclear. Abandoned cargo ship of some 80 meters length was adrift, with aft tilt and portside list. She was abandoned for quite some time, from the looks of her. No signs or traces which could help in solving her mystery were found, except Chinese name, which when published, was obviously misspelled, reading as FIN SHUL YUEN 2. Navy boarded the ship, salvage under way, because she can’t be left drifting in waters of Gulf of Siam, in close proximity to traffic lanes, oil rigs and resort areas.

Source: fleetmon

Heidmar said pooling is an efficient means of consolidation, granting the scale and flexibility necessary to meet the needs of growing customers. The deal will bring the number of vessels operated by Heidmar to 60 across crude, product and chemical tankers, ranging in size from 10,000 dwt to VLCCs.

“I am extremely pleased to announce today the joint venture with Capital and the relaunching of the Heidmar brand. The unique and transparent trading platform of Heidmar that has enjoyed an excellent reputation in the market for decades and the exceptional performance of our pools have been key drivers in attracting quality tanker owners like Capital,” said Pankaj Khanna, CEO of Heidmar.

Source: seatrade-maritime

States in the Gulf of Guinea region must take responsibility and step-up prosecution efforts when pirates are apprehended by international navies, said BIMCO today.

The statement came following the release of three suspected Nigerian pirates who had been held in custody on board the Danish frigate Esbern Snare.

The Danish frigate has been part of an international anti-piracy effort in the Gulf of Guinea to deter pirates since the end of October 2021.

On November 24, special forces from the frigate were involved in a firefight with gunmen in a skiff full of piracy equipment in the waters south of Nigeria.

THE SUSPECTS

Four suspects, including the three who have now been released, were detained on board the frigate. After Denmark failed to find a country in the region to take them, the three were put to sea on Thursday in a small dinghy with enough food and fuel for them to reach shore safely.

They had been charged under Danish law with attempted manslaughter by firing at Danish personnel. They were released after Danish Minister of Justice Nick Hækkerup decided that the indictments should be dropped.

“We have no interest in getting the persons in question to Denmark, where they would have to serve a possible sentence, and where we also risk that they would not subsequently be able to be deported,” said Hækkerup. “Therefore, I have quite exceptionally made the decision to order the prosecution to notify three of the four suspected pirates of a waiver. This means that the three suspected pirates have been set free. They have no connection to Denmark, and the crime they have been charged with has been committed far from Denmark. They simply do not belong here. And that’s why I think it’s the right thing to do.”

The fourth detained suspect had been admitted to a hospital in Ghana as a result of injuries sustained in the confrontation with Danish personnel. Now he has apparently been flown to Denmark after Ghana refused to keep him and the Armed Forces determined that, for health and safety reasons, he could not be released at sea. He was expected to appear before a Danish court today.

BIMCO CALLS ON REGIONAL STATES TO ACT

“The presence of international navies is a very important step in the right direction to keep seafarers safe but establishing a sustainable security situation in the Gulf of Guinea cannot happen without full support of the region,” says BIMCO Secretary General and CEO, David Loosley. “Bringing suspected pirates to justice is best done by regional coastal states. We have seen suspected pirates brought to justice in the region before. International collaboration between regional jurisdictions and non-regional military forces holds a tremendous potential that cannot be missed,”

BIMCO notes that in July 2021, it was reported that a Togolese court had convicted nine men of piracy following an attack on a tanker in May 2019. One of the pirates was sentenced to 15 years in prison while six were each sentenced to 12 years in prison

Since the arrival of international navies with robust mandates, the number of pirate attacks and kidnapped seafarers in the region has dropped significantly. In the fourth quarter of 2020 an estimated 23 attacks were made against merchant ships trading in the Gulf of Guinea while 50 seafarers were kidnapped. By fourth quarter 2021 the numbers had dropped to seven attacks and 20 kidnappings.

The Gulf of Guinea coastal states are increasingly focusing on maritime security and several initiatives are underway. There are however still challenges. As an example, Nigeria’s Deep Blue initiative is still not deployed on active antipiracy operations.

Source: marinelog

Conoship International Projects (CIP) of Groningen, The Netherlands, announced it has developed the design for a 3,600 dwt general cargo vessel, suitable for sea-river operations. Each vessel will measure 289 feet in length and have a hold capacity of over 180,000 cubic feet.

The construction of this first series of six cargo vessels is planned for spring 2022, while the entire series is expected to be delivered in 2023. The diesel-electric powered cargo vessels will be built at Fosen Yard Emden, Germany.

“We are very proud that this ultra-fuel-efficient cargo vessel is developed according to our philosophy to build in series in the North of Europe,” says Maarten Sickler, Director of Conoship International Projects. “This vessel can be considered the new standard for low-air draught sea-river coasters.”

The project was initiated by Conoship based on extensive market research and working with potential customers and the shipyard that will build the vessels. CIP also actively brokered between finance houses, owners, and shipyards.

In addition to an efficient diesel-electric propulsion system, the vessels are designed with an enlarged propeller in combination with optimized hull lines and a unique stern arrangement. Conoship reports that the design will produce enhanced fuel efficiency and meets phase 3 requirements for the EEDI calculation.

To further improve its performance, the design is also ready for wind-assisted propulsion. The concept includes two rigid foils that would be fitted in the forward area of the ship. The foils would reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by about 10 percent, depending on the sailing route.

Additional elements of the design address future changes in the shipping business. For example, a switch of future fuel types such as liquid hydrogen or ammonia is facilitated by the design arrangement. Conoship notes that the requirements of the future fuels have been taken into account from the beginning of the conceptual design process.

“We are delighted with the order,” says Carsten Stellamanns, managing director of Fosen Yard Emden. “The order is intended to become a flagship project and attract other similar projects to the region.” (Artist rendering image from Conoship)

Source: maritimemag

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Source: maritime-news

China News Service, Wuhan, January 8 (Chen Libo) The Yangtze River Maritime Safety Administration announced on the 7th that in 2021, the number of accidents, the number of dead (missing), the number of sunken ships, and the economic loss will drop by 29.6% and 36% respectively in 2021. %, 45.5%, and 48.6%, and the “four indicators” of accidents decreased year-on-year. Among them, the number of d

China News Service, Wuhan, January 8 (Chen Libo) The Yangtze River Maritime Safety Administration announced on the 7th that in 2021, the number of accidents, the number of dead (missing), the number of sunken ships, and the economic loss will drop by 29.6% and 36% respectively in 2021. %, 45.5%, and 48.6%, and the “four indicators” of accidents decreased year-on-year. Among them, the number of deaths and missing persons was the second lowest in history, and the remaining three indicators were the lowest in history. The water safety situation achieved another good result.

The relevant person in charge of the Yangtze River Maritime Safety Administration introduced on the 7th that the bureau is responsible for the safety supervision and communication guarantee of the waters nearly 2,700 kilometers away from Yibin, Sichuan, Jiangsu, and Liuhekou, the main line of the Yangtze River. There are more than 65,000 ships sailing, and there are more than 220 drinking water sources. The area under the jurisdiction is highly ecologically related, highly related to people’s livelihood, highly related to development, high safety risks, and complex water navigation environment.

The picture shows Changjiang Maritime Law Enforcement implementing “no punishment” or “no punishment for the first violation” for 24 types of minor violations. Photo courtesy of Changjiang Maritime Safety Administration

In order to effectively ensure the water traffic safety of the Yangtze River trunk line, in 2021, the Yangtze River Maritime Safety Administration will put into use the most advanced 60-meter comprehensive emergency command vessel “Maritime 01” in the country, transform and upgrade the Yangtze River trunk water search and rescue coordination center, and organize the establishment of the Yangtze River Shipping Meteorological Service Alliance.

At the same time, emergency rescue and on-duty duty were strengthened. A total of 1,443 safety warnings were issued throughout the year, and 230 navigation bans were implemented; 66 water search and rescue operations were carried out, and 75 ships and 584 personnel were successfully rescued, with a success rate of 97.2% of life rescue.

In order to ensure the safety and smoothness of water traffic on the Yangtze River, the Yangtze River Maritime Safety Administration has opened up a “green channel” for the transportation of key materials for the national economy and people’s livelihood and import and export of foreign trade materials, ensuring the safe transportation of 670 million tons of coal, 110 million tons of oil and natural gas, and 90 million tons of food.

In particular, the pilots of the Yangtze River fought on the front line of ensuring smooth flow, protecting people’s livelihood, and preventing the epidemic. Throughout the year, they led a total of 61,400 Chinese and foreign ships with a cargo volume of 463 million tons in and out, and led 32,000 ships from countries and regions with high epidemic risk. Second, it has made important contributions to ensuring the smooth flow of domestic and international dual circulation.

The picture shows the Yangtze River Pilot Center’s efforts to ensure the smooth transportation of civilian materials and ships. Photo courtesy of the Yangtze River Maritime Safety Administration

At the same time, the three-year special rectification of water traffic safety production was carried out in depth. The Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River trunk line, the Sichuan section and the Three Gorges Reservoir area, Yichang, Jiujiang and Wuhu sections realized the dynamic clearing of “three no” ships; thoroughly implemented the “Yangtze River Protection Law” , adopted the “four no and two straight” methods to inspect pollution-related enterprises, docks, and ships, investigated and dealt with 2,539 pollution-related violations throughout the year, took 226 detention or restricted berthing measures, and cooperated with local governments to dismantle more than 7,000 fishing boats in the Yangtze River. In the section from Yueyang to Yibin, the “onboard storage and onshore delivery” of ship pollutants has been promoted. More than 11,000 ships have implemented zero discharge of water pollutants, and vigorously promoted the construction of the beautiful Yangtze River.

In addition, the bureau also carried out in-depth activities of “I do practical things for the masses”, built and put into use 148 maritime self-service stations and realized 24-hour service; fully implemented “one-stop service” and “full-course online service”, and the average settlement time for government affairs was shortened. 30%; 375 cases of “no penalty” and “no penalty for the first violation” were implemented for minor violations, and a 24-hour smart hotline for maritime government consultation was opened, which comprehensively improved the level of maritime services.

Source: tellerreport

Dubai ports giant DP World is set to build an inland port in Jammu and Kashmir as part of plans by the emirate to invest in the Indian territory, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said on Thursday.

The Centre last year said Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), would invest in infrastructure and other projects in the disputed region claimed by India and Pakistan but ruled in parts by both.

Sinha, who is in Dubai this week to promote investment, said DP World would soon visit the 250 acre site earmarked for the inland port facility.

“We will finalise it shortly,” he told Reuters, describing the project as a “firm commitment” by state-owned DP World.

A DP World spokesperson said the company had a “productive meeting” with Sinha on Thursday and that it was preparing a proposal for the project.

The announcement last October that Dubai would invest in the region was the first by any foreign government since Kashmir’s autonomy was revoked in 2019 and the Muslim-majority state was divided into two territories directly ruled by New Delhi.

Emirati newspaper Khaleej Times reported this week that Dubai developer Emaar Properties would build a mall in Srinagar, the main city in Jammu and Kashmir.

Lulu Group, an UAE-headquartered company headed by an Indian billionaire, also plans to set up a food processing hub there.

But investment in the heavily militarised Jammu and Kashmir is fraught with risk. There are frequent attacks by militants, while the Indian government has at times faced international criticism for widespread crackdowns there by security forces.

“As far militancy is concerned, we are dealing with it … and I can assure it will be dealt (with) fully” said Sinha, who insisted the region was a safe place for foreign investment.

Source: marasinews

An extraordinarily undiplomatic communique from the EU has been circulated to International Whaling Commission members. It calls upon the Faroese Government to immediately provide the same strict cetacean protection as the EU Member States. But the EU has neither a legal right nor a moral responsibility to tell the Faroe Islands, a decidedly non-EU autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, to stop hunting dolphins and whales.

But when it comes to appeasing the animal rights lobby, the EU, it seems, feels unburdened by protocols that otherwise compel it to respect other nations’ cultures and legal systems. The EU is waving its big stick at the Faroe Islands because last year’s one-day grind at Skalabotnur beach on the island of Ejsturoi corralled a record 1,423 white-sided dolphins.

The scale of this spectacular event, with its transparent but humane and regulated killing of wriggling mammals, sparked outrage among squeamish animal rights activists. So, what’s new? Certainly not the accusation in the communique that the Faroe Islanders were observed using “cruelty” and “torture” in last year’s grind. As the EU statement itself acknowledges:

“Even before this particular grind, grinds have been considered gruesome and unethical by parts of the civil society [they mean unaccountable NGOs] and by most of EU Member States.”

We should be thankful to the EU for forewarning us that no amount of regulatory measures short of prohibition will suffice. But saying this does not mean that we shouldn’t be concerned about what happened in the grind on September 12, 2021.

Source: bairdmaritime

In September 2020, the stranding of the Bangladesh-flagged ship Maa, which ran aground in Visakhapatnam, India, was turned into an opportunity and turned into a touristic spot.

Source: news2sea

By Brendan Murray (Bloomberg) The Port of New York and New Jersey is working to clear a small but rare bottleneck of container ships anchored off the coast of Long Island as Covid-19 cases among dockworkers collide with a pandemic-fueled surge in cargo volumes.

“We have seen a spike in the number of labor going out into quarantine,” Port Authority Director Sam Ruda said in an interview this week. The average wait at anchorage for container carriers was 4.75 days in the final week of 2021, compared with an average of 1.6 days for all of last year.

Jim McNamara, a spokesman for the International Longshoremen’s Association, said in an email that the number of its members unavailable to work because of Covid is running about 350 a day. Still, he called the impact “slight” because some crews are returning from quarantine or illness and others are available from cruise-ship terminals.

The New York area’s port terminals, the busiest on the East Coast, have largely avoided backlogs like those gripping the twin gateways of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, where scores of vessels are still running into delays of more than three weeks to offload.

Ruda credited the waterfront workforce and other stakeholders that run 24-7 operations for keeping short the anchorage waits for New York. But some factors have converged to require the queue: omicron’s spread across the region, year-end holiday time off for workers, and an increase in charter vessels needing one-time berth space.

Add those issues to what was already a busy 2021 and a backlog was unavoidable. The port has been running at full capacity for almost two years, handling almost 27% more volume in November 2021 than it did in November 2019.

“We’ve essentially had five years of cargo growth in the space of 18, 20 months or so,” Ruda said.

The number of containers per ship visit is also notable. From January through October last year, the New York-New Jersey terminals greeted 298 vessels capable of carrying 10,000 to 15,000 20-foot containers, up from 55 four years earlier, when a $1.7 billion project to raise the Bayonne Bridge to accommodate those bigger vessels was completed.

Ruda said the port started 2022 with 12 to 13 ships at anchor and by the middle of this week, the tally was down to nine. By mid-afternoon Friday — as a snowstorm interrupted operations — the port listed 11 ships at anchor.

“On an order of magnitude, it does seem quite small, but it does have our attention,” he said.

Source: gcaptain