Customs Office News

A cargo ship from Russia earlier detained in Germany on suspicion of breaching sanctions is now free to leave the port of Rostock, the Stralsund main customs office confirmed on Friday without providing any further details.The Atlantic Navigator II carried 251 containers of birch wood destined for the United States, which is subject to EU sanctions against Russia, but not to the US ones, prosecutors have said.The vessel, which is managed by Canada-based CISN and sailing under the Marshall Islands flag, also has enriched uranium for some US clients, exempted from both US and EU sanctions, The O

A cargo ship leaving Russia that made an unscheduled stop at the German port of Rostock is under investigation there for carrying cargo in possible breach of sanctions, German authorities said on Wednesday.The Atlantic Navigator II, managed by Canada-based CSAL and sailing under the Marshall Islands flag, has been detained by German customs. On board are 251 containers of birch wood, which is subject to EU sanctions against Russia, prosecutors said."Investigations are under way against the captain of the freighter on initial suspicion of a violation of the Foreign Trade and Payments Act…

A Russian billionaire is suing French authorities in an effort to win back access to two of his yachts, arguing customs officials did not have the right to immobilize them despite him being on an EU sanctions list, his lawyer said on Thursday.Alexey Kuzmichev, one of the main shareholders of Russia's Alfa-Bank, who was sanctioned by the EU in March for his ties to President Vladimir Putin, appealed the seizure of his ships "La Petite Ourse" and "La Petite Ourse II", held in the Cote D'Azur towns of Antibes and Cannes, respectively."If you own an asset for your personal use, like a yacht, you have the right to make use of it even though it's frozen"…

A luxury yacht linked to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who faces EU sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is sitting in a shipyard in the German port of Hamburg and local authorities said there were no plans to deliver it to its owner.Hamburg authorities denied that they had seized the more-than-500-foot (150 meter) Dilbar superyacht, which boasts a 25-meter swimming pool and is worth nearly $600 million. Forbes had reported on Wednesday that it had been undergoing…

The Port of Amsterdam announced a pilot project deploying a sailing drone that inspects the depth of marginal ships at the locks of IJmuiden, in a bid to gain experience in new technologies in nautical processes.The pilot has been set up with a view to gaining more information and experience regarding sailing drone technology. This development together with autonomously sailing vessels will have a great impact on future nautical processes.The experiment last week (8 to 13 July) took the first steps in examining the impact, the potential of the technology for Port of Amsterdam and the steps Port of Amsterdam has to take to prepare for a more structural deployment in the future.The pilot has been set up in collaboration with Seabed.

Advanced World Transport (AWT), a member of the PKP CARGO Group,  the largest rail freight carrier in Poland and a leading rail freight carrier in the European Union, has completed stage III of The Paskov Terminal modernization in the Czech Republic.A modern intermodal transshipment point in Paskov of 70,000 m2, with the capacity of 4,800 TEU and rail tracks of 3x 270 m and 2x 375 m is situated close to industrial zones and borders with Poland and Slovakia. In the Paskov Terminal AWT offers its customers comprehensive services associated with intermodal transshipment of goods.Strategic position in the heart of Europe allows for easy and fast connection to important European ports and terminals. It is situated close to the highway and it is connected to the national railway network.

On January 9, Damen Shipyards Hardinxveld delivered an ASD Tug 2310 SD (shallow draught), named Papillon, to De Boer Remorquage SARL, a subsidiary company of Dutch Dredging (Baggerbedrijf De Boer) and Iskes Towage & Salvage. Damen has customized the ASD for a 12-year contract with Grand Port Maritime de Guyane in the ports of Cayenne and Kourou in French Guiana. The tug’s primary function will be the assistance of vessels entering and leaving the ports. She can also provide emergency assistance, such as fire-fighting, survey activities and small transports.

South Korean utilities jointly bought a total of 1.5 million tonnes of coal from the United States to arrive from the third quarter, a spokesman at one of the utilities said on Tuesday. The purchase comes as South Korea, the world's fourth-largest coal importer, encourages energy companies and utilities to seek U.S. energy resources under pro-fossil fuel Trump administration in an effort to diversify supply sources. Korea Midland Power Co Ltd (KOMIPO) signed the deal to buy the U.S.-origin coal products on behalf of the five utilities, its spokesman said. The other four utilities are Korea Southern Power Co Ltd (KOSPO), Korea East West Power Co (EWP), Korea Western Power Co Ltd (WP) and Korea South East Co Ltd (KOEN). Korean utilities typically buy coal from Australia and Indonesia.

Mumbai and Nhava Sheva Ship Agents Association (MANSA) has conveyed their disappointment to Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) over the extreme inconvenience faced by vessels calling at the port due to acute shortage of cargo handling workers. MANSA, in a letter addressed to the Chairman of Mumbai Port Trust states, “The Port is not in a position to allot the required number of gangs for ensuring normal rate of operations of discharge / load the vessels. Pointing out the manning levels prescribed by National Tribunal Award, the letter states that had the revised and rationalized Manning Scales been implemented by the Port, the prevailing shortage does not occur.

The deep-river port complex in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau is still struggling to reach its designed capacity, says local media reports. The seven deep-water seaports have been built by the Cai Mep – Thi Vai Port Group in the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau in the past few years at a total cost of VND40 trillion (nearly US$1.8 billion). Statistics from the province's transport department showed that a total of 1.16 million TEUs were handled at Cai Mep-Thi Vai last year, or just 17 percent of its capacity, even after freight growth averaged 20 percent a year, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported on Thursday. Although all its seven ports are designed to handle container ships of up to 85…

The Indonesian Navy has planned to hand over 10 Navy Patrol ships (KAL) to the Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) by the end of this year, reports Jakarta Post. According to Navy chief of staff, Adm. Ade Supandi, said the 10 ships would require alterations before they could be used by Bakamla. “There needs to be some adjustments because they will be used as civilian patrol boats and we must follow several protocols,” Ade said. Some large weapons on the ships would be removed and replaced with those of a smaller caliber. For example, the 37-millimeter cannon on one of the ships would be replaced by a 12.7-millimeter one, which would be more appropriate for Bakamla’s patrol activities, he said.

ICO and AET, the two ro/ro terminals in the port of Antwerp, are now also connected to the e-Desk. The Antwerp Port Community System (APCS) introduced the e-Desk for containers already in 2012, and this year the successful collaboration has been extended to rolling stock. The port of Zeebrugge (ICO and WWL) started the e-Desk for ro/ro in February, and now the Antwerp terminals are following suit. All exports of new and second-hand vehicles and exports or transit of containers can now be declared electronically, so that paper declarations and accompanying documents are no longer necessary. Each player who has four obligatory data items that form part of the export declaration can enter these parameters in the e-Desk.

Cruise ships agree to adopt the strictest measures to reduce air pollution when entering Italy's Venice Lagoon. The agreement, known as “Venice Blue Flag II,” commits cruise lines to operate the main and auxiliary engines of their ships with marine fuel with sulphur content of no more than 0.1% (lower than the EU guidelines, which recently set restrictions at 0.5%) immediately upon passing the Lido harbour entrance and while travelling through the Lagoon’s marine canals. It also…

DCT Gdansk said that on March 5, 2012, it became the first container terminal operator in Poland to receive the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) certification. AEO is an international certificate established in 2008 by the European Commission to secure a smooth international trade flow accepted by Customs worldwide. Companies and institutions involved in the international movement of goods, such as importers, exporters, forwarders, ports, airports, terminal operators, etc. which have earned this certificate benefit from Customs simplifications as a result of being reliable partners.