Batumi News

A Turkish-flagged general cargo ship that was sailing on Thursday in the Black Sea en route to Ukraine's Izmail port did not sustain damage from an explosion, Turkey's maritime authority and the ship's captain told Reuters on Friday."An explosion occurred 15-20 meters behind the Kafkametler ship en route to Izmail port from Batumi port while it was cruising off the coast of Romania/Sulina (port)," the authority said.The ship continued sailing to its destination to deliver its cargo following checks, and there was no evidence that the explosion was caused by a mine, it added.Maritime sources told Reuters on Thursday that the vessel had hit a sea mine and sustained minor damage…

Several tankers loaded with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) have been unable to cross under Russia's Crimea bridge due to security restrictions, traders said on Friday, prompting suppliers to use other routes out of Russia.The 12-mile (19 km) road and rail bridge, which was personally opened by President Vladimir Putin in 2018, was bombed in October in an attack Russia said was carried out by Ukraine. The bridge spans the Kerch Strait linking the Black Sea with the smaller Azov sea. Kyiv never claimed responsibility for the bombing of the bridge on the morning of Oct. 8, a day after Putin's 70th birthday. Russia's Federal Security Service said the attack was organized by Ukrainian military intelligence.

Russia warned Britain on Thursday that it would bomb British naval vessels in the Black Sea if there were any further provocative actions by the British navy off the coast of Russia-annexed Crimea.Russia summoned the British ambassador in Moscow for a formal diplomatic scolding after the warship breached what the Kremlin says are its territorial waters but which Britain and most of the world say belong to Ukraine.Britain said Russia was giving an inaccurate account of the incident.

The maritime single window enables all information required by public authorities in connection with the arrival, stay and departure of ships, people and cargo, to be submitted electronically via a single portal, without duplication.This system is recommended by IMO's Facilitation (FAL) Convention, to make cross border trade simpler.Officials from various port and shipping stakeholders involved in the stay and departure of ships in the ports of Georgia have had the opportunity to discuss and learn more about the maritime single window and electronic data exchange, during a National Seminar on Facilitation of Maritime Traffic (24-26 September)…

The Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO) will launch a test voyage of a feeder vessel along the Black Sea container route Batumi-Constanta by September 20.The vessel will sail every 10 days (3 times a month). If cargo volumes increase, the growth in the number of vessels and the regularity of sailings on the line is also expected.Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, hosted  general meeting of an association of legal entities – the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor International Association.Rauf Valiyev, chairman of the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO), as well as representatives of railway and sea transport companies from Georgia…

Oil and oil-related shipments from Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi dropped 24 percent in the first four months of 2019 from a year earlier, an official at a KazMunaiGas-operated terminal at the port said on Wednesday.Shipments of crude oil and refined oil products from Batumi have fallen in recent years, partly because Azerbaijan prefers to send its oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline or via its own terminal at the Georgian port of Kulevi, rather than from Batumi, which is operated by a Kazakh company.There were no shipments of crude oil, naphtha, jet fuel or vacuum gasoil from Batumi in January-April, the official, who did not want to be identified…

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) began its north-bound transit of the Dardanelles Strait, en route to the Black Sea Feb. 19 to conduct maritime security operations and enhance regional maritime stability, combined readiness, and naval capability with our NATO allies and partners in the region.The ship last visited the Black Sea in January 2019, during which it visited Batumi, Georgia and conducted an exercise with two Georgian Coast Guard ships. During its time in port the ship's crew was warmly received by their Georgian hosts and were greeted on the pier with an arrival ceremony that included a traditional Georgian dance."Each visit here affords us the unique opportunity to work with our regional maritime partners," said Cmdr.

Philippines-based port operator International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) has inaugurated the newly-expanded Batumi International Container Terminal (BICT) in Georgia.The expansion encompasses both the waterside and landside areas of the multipurpose terminal, intended to optimize the processing of existing cargo flows and install additional capacity to accommodate new business.Marking the importance of the occasion, the inauguration was attended by Giorgi Kobulia, Georgian Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development; Tornike Rizhvadze, Chairman of the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara; senior executives from Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)–the terminal’s principal container customer–and Hans-Ole Madsen…

Oil and oil-related shipments from Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi fell 51.2 percent in 2018 from a year earlier, an official at a KazMunaiGas-operated terminal at the port said on Thursday.Some crude oil was re-routed to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium last year, the official added, while some fuel oil was sent to the port of Taman in Russia and Georgia's other Black Sea port of Kulevi.The fall in shipments is partly because Azerbaijan prefers to send its oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline or via its own terminal in Kulevi, rather than from

International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s work to promote better understanding of - and steps to reduce - emissions in ports has reached Georgia, at a workshop for regional participants from Georgia, Ukraine and Turkey.The event, in Batumi (10-12 September) focused on how to undertake emissions inventories and calculate emissions, including  GHGs and air pollutants. Participants were also introduced to strategies to address emissions from different sources – such as from seagoing vessels, cargo handling equipment and trucks.The workshop benefited from a training package, specially developed under the strategic partnership between the…

Identifying organisms and microbes in ballast water, as well as monitoring port marine life where ballast water may be released, are key for countries preparing to enforce International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s Ballast Water Management Convention. The treaty entered into force globally on 8 September 2017 and aims to counter the threat to marine ecosystems by potentially invasive species transported in ships' ballast water. A regional workshop in Batumi, Georgia (3-5 July) concluded yesterday after it provided participants from nine countries with theoretical and practical training in compliance, monitoring and enforcement of the Convention.

Oil and oil-related shipments from Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi fell 53.7 percent between January and March from a year earlier, an official at the KazMunaiGas-operated terminal said on Wednesday. The official said some volumes of crude oil had been rerouted to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium this year, while some fuel oil had been sent to the port of Taman in Russia and Georgia's other Black Sea port of Kulevi. About ten Batumi terminal…

Oil and related shipments from Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi in January were down 34 percent from a year earlier, an official at the terminal, operated by Kazakh KazMunaiGas , said on Thursday. The official gave no reason for the fall, but state company KazMunaiGas continued to reroute some shipments to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline this year. January shipments of crude oil and refined oil products from Batumi totalled 108,464 million tonnes, down from 164,218 tonnes a year earlier and 221,210 tonnes in December, said the official, who asked not to be identified.

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) made its first port call in Batumi International Container Terminal (BICT) in Batumi, Georgia, marking the launch of Gioia-Ukraine & Georgia feeder service, says International Container Terminal Services, Inc.(ICTSI). “M/V Max Carrier made its first call to Batumi International Container Terminal (BICT) in Batumi, Georgia, marking the launch of the Mediterranean Shipping Company’s (MSC) Gioia -- Ukraine & Georgia feeder service,” ICTSI said in a statement. The new service features fast connections between the Port of Batumi and the ports in Gioia Tauro, Italy; Burgas, Bulgaria; and Ilichevsk and Odessa in Ukraine. BICT is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of ICTS49, and Batumi Sea Port Ltd. (BSP). The port operator, controlled by billionaire Enrique K.

Three new guides that will support States to effectively implement IMO-adopted mandatory energy-efficiency measures for shipping have been rolled out during a training under the Global Environment Facility (GEF)-United Nations Development Program (UNDP)-International Maritime Organization (IMO) GloMEEP Project, paving the way for further work in climate change mitigation by the maritime sector. The GloMEEP training was held from 12 to 14 September in Batumi, Georgia, which is one of the Lead Pilot Countries of the Project. The GloMEEP Project is part of IMO’s continued work to support developing countries to prevent air pollution and address greenhouse gas emissions from ships.

Practical guidance on how to develop, adopt and update national maritime transport policy was the focus for a one-day seminar in Batumi, Georgia (14 September), aimed at senior maritime transport officials from the littoral States of the Black and Caspian Seas and Moldova. The seminar forms part of an on-going pilot project being rolled out by International Maritime Organization (IMO) on na-tional maritime transport policy development. A series of workshops and seminars have been held worldwide, to trial a maritime transport policy training package which is being developed by IMO and the World Maritime University (WMU) in order to provide training to interested IMO Member States in the development…

International Maritime Organization (IMO) is continuing its work to support developing countries to prevent air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from ships with a global training exercise held in Batumi, Georgia (12-14 September). Participants are being trained to use three new draft guides, specifically developed under IMO’s GloMEEP project in collaboration with IMArEST, which cover i) rapid assessment for determining the country maritime energy efficiency and emissions status, ii) maritime energy efficiency strategy development, and iii) incorporation of MARPOL Annex VI into national law. Thirty-seven participants from all 10 GloMEEP lead pilot countries* are taking part in the exercise, which will lay the foundation for further work in the countries going forward.

This morning, four NATO ships assigned to Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group TWO (SNMCMG2) arrived in Batumi, Georgia for a scheduled visit in an effort to enhance cooperative activities and strengthen relations with the partner nation. The fifth member of the Group, ITS GAETA (Italy), will arrive later in the visit. Under the command of Captain Ramazan Kesgin, Turkish Navy, the Group includes the flagship TCG CEZAYIRLI GAZI HASAN PASA (Turkey) and the mine counter-measures vessels TCG EDREMIT (Turkey), ESPS TAMBRE (Spain), ITS GAETA and ROS SLT. ALEXANDRU AXENTE (Romania).

The first national workshop under the Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships GloMEEP), Project, which aims to support increased uptake and implementation of energy-efficiency measures for shipping, has been held in Georgia. Georgia is one of the Lead Pilot Countries for the project, which aims to build understanding and knowledge of technical and operational energy-efficiency measures to lead maritime transport into a low-carbon future. The national workshop in Batumi, Georgia (15-17 December), focused on raising awareness of Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), in particular the energy-efficiency regulations in chapter 4.

A U.S.-Georgian consortium has been awarded a $2.5 billion contract to build and develop a deep-sea port in Anaklia on Georgia's Black Sea coast, as the tiny ex-Soviet republic sets eyes on lucrative cargo transit from Asia to Europe. The Anaklia Development Consortium is a joint venture of Georgia's TBC Holding LLC and Conti International LLC, a U.S.-based developer of infrastructure and capital projects, Georgia's Economy and Sustainable Development Ministry said in a statement on Monday. The consortium, selected in a tender, aims to start the construction of the port by the end of 2016 and finish it in three years. The port will have the capacity to berth container ships of the 10,000 TEU type and to process up to 100 million tonnes of cargo per year by 2025.

A Georgian court has taken control of the Black Sea oil terminal at Batumi after a legal case brought by shipping operators, a port official said on Monday. The terminal is still operating but since Saturday has been under the control of the court which is dictating certain conditions about contracts, which plaintiffs said had been often changed by the owner-operator, Kazakh state energy company KazMunaiGas . Reuters was unable to reach KazMunaiGas for comment. "Yes, the property has been seized ... The terminal is working with some minor disruptions, but there is a risk that shipments may decline due to the situation," Batumi terminal Deputy Director Georgy Kiladze told Reuters. "There is no force majeure ... The terminal continues its work," he added.

On November 27, 2014, President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili and President of Latvia Andris Berzins visited Batumi State Maritime Academy (BSMA) opened the renovated simulation center. The Full Mission Offshore simulator, which has become the extension of the existing simulation complex, has been developed and installed by the Transas Marine. The full mission Transas offshore simulator with 270 degrees visualization is based on the Transas NTPRO 5000 software and will be used for training in dynamic positioning operations.

Crude oil and refined oil product shipments from Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi fell 22.7 percent in 2014 from a year earlier, a senior official at the terminal said on Monday. Bad weather in Kazakhstan, where the oil is produced, lower-than-expected output from the Kashagan oilfield at the beginning of the year and re-routing part of oil shipments to the Baku-Tbilisi Ceyhan pipeline contributed to the decline, said the official, who declined to be identified. The Batumi terminal, operated by Kazakh state energy company KazMunaiGas , shipped 4.355 million tonnes of oil and oil products last year, down from 5.634 million tonnes in 2013. Shipments in December were 441,675 tonnes, down from 457,033 tonnes in December 2013, but up from 423,940 tonnes in November.