Heritage Site News

Ukraine wants to begin work to make its Danube shipping canal deeper as early as this year to expand its alternative routes to export grain, Deputy Minister of Renovation and Infrastructure Yuriy Vaskov said on Tuesday.Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia last year, has already increased the depth of its southwestern Bystre Canal on the Danube River to 6.5 meters from 3.9 meters with the aim of increasing food exports from its river ports.The push for alternative export routes has taken on urgency during the war after Russia blocked Ukraine's traditional export route via the Black Sea and only

Romania said on Monday it was concerned by signs that neighboring Ukraine was dredging a canal that sliced through a shared, ecologically sensitive coastal region, and asked if it could check the site.Ukraine has been transporting grain on the Bystroe canal as it develops alternative routes for its exports while access to its Black Sea ports is limited by Russia's invasion.Romania has said it is concerned that any works on the waterway through the shared Danube Delta area could…

For 21 years, Fort Prinzenstein's caretaker James Ocloo Akorli has watched the Gulf of Guinea's tempestuous waters eat away at both his livelihood and his heritage.The 18th century Danish citadel, set along Ghana's palm-fringed coastline, was once the last stop for captured Africans before they were forced onto slave ships bound for the Americas.Today, three-quarters of the UNESCO World Heritage site has been swallowed by the sea."There have been mornings after a storm when I have come to find large parts of the fort have just disappeared…

For many, the ocean is life. It provides transportation, work, commerce, food, recreation—tales as old as time and shared by people across the globe. These stories are lived day to day, passed down between generations, and shared with the public through various media. Maritime museums assume responsibility to share these histories while honoring the communities shaped ocean exploration and commerce. In a decade where ocean health and climatic events have become a primary focus…

The technology group Wärtsilä and Wasaline, the Finnish–Swedish ferry operator, have signed a 10-year Optimized Maintenance agreement covering the company’s new ferry, the Aurora Botnia. The agreement was signed in June 2021, but became effective in September.Built at the RMC shipyard in Finland, the Aurora Botnia ranks among the most environmentally-friendly RoPax ferries in the world. The ship’s propulsion is based on a hybrid solution featuring the highly efficient Wärtsilä 31DF dual-fuel engine and batteries.

Italy on Tuesday banned cruise liners from Venice lagoon to defend its ecosystem and heritage, moving to end years of hesitation and putting the demands of residents and culture bodies above those of the tourist industry.The government decided to act after the United Nations culture organization UNESCO threatened to put Italy on a blacklist for not banning liners from the World Heritage site, cabinet sources said.The ban will take effect from Aug. 1, barring ships weighing more than 25…

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index gained on Friday, and notched a weekly rise, on stronger rates across all vessel segments.The Baltic dry index, which tracks rates for capesize, panamax and supramax vessels, rose by 50 points, or 4.3%, at 1,211, its highest since Nov. 30. The index rose 1.2% for the week.The capesize index gained 114 points, or 8.6%, at 1,434, a one-week high.But the index fell 5.7% this week, its worst in about a month.Average daily earnings for capesizes…

Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards has signed a contract to build nine passenger vessels for Dutch ferry joint venture Aqualiner-Swets.The nine vessels will be used to provide the public transportation service between Rotterdam and the Drecht cities on behalf of the Province of South Holland and the region from 2022.Of the nine vessels, six are hybrid and carbon fiber Waterbuses which will serve the fast ferry Intercity routes primarily between Sliedrecht, Dordrecht, Rotterdam and the World Heritage site Kinderdijk.

On October 13, 2020, Damen Shipyards Group and Winander Leisure Limited signed the Protocol of Delivery and Acceptance for the official handover of MV Swift, a vessel to be operated by Windermere Lake Cruises Limited. The project has been a unique one, with Damen building the vessel inland on location at Windermere in the Lake District National Park in the U.K.Over the past 40 years, Damen has delivered more than 1,000 of vessels via the Damen Technical Cooperation (DTC). DTC makes possible the building of Damen vessels, anywhere in the world, at non-Damen locations.

The first of two new 70-meter liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled RoPax ferries for Dutch operator Rederij Doeksen has completed sea trials in the Netherlands.The BMT-designed Willem Barentsz, and sister vessel Willem de Vlamingh, were built by Strategic Marine Shipyard in Vietnam while final outfitting and commissioning were completed by Rederij Doeksen.With an operating area within the Wadden Sea, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the main focus for Rederij Doeksen led by its managing director Paul Melles was on reducing the environmental impact of the vessel operation.

Dutch shipbuilding giant Damen Shipyards Group N.V. has cut the first steel for a 34-metre long Day Cruise Vessel for Windermere Lake Cruises, located in England’s Lake District National Park.Damen and Windermere Lake Cruises have planned the vessel construction process in close consultation with local authorities and residents to minimise the impact on this protected and environmentally sensitive area, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Windermere Lake Cruises currently runs a fleet of sixteen lake cruising vessels: three traditional ‘steamers’ – each with a capacity of more than 350 passengers – as well as other traditional and modern launches.The fleet operates all year round…

While merriam-webster.com is succinct in its definition of ‘autonomous’, ask 10 people in the maritime sector what ‘autonomous’ vessel means to them and the responses vary widely. Achieving autonomous, unmanned operations is not high, today, on the agenda of many (if any) shipowners. What does command their attention? Building ships that are increasingly ‘smart,’ with integrated, connected systems that take on additional decision-making processes while helping to reduce crew size (and cost)…

Norwegian Cruise Line's ship Norwegian Sun has returned to call Port Canaveral its homeport for another year. Also returning are the popular all-inclusive cruises to Cuba.Starting today (April 15), the Norwegian Sun, which in 2018 became the first homeported cruise ship to sail from Port Canaveral to Cuba, will offer four-, five- and seven-day cruises to Havana, Cuba, with select sailings also calling to Key West during its four-day cruises.Ports of call during the Sun’s five- and seven-day voyages include Key West, Nassau, Bahamas, or Norwegian’s private island beach at Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas. “We are excited that the Norwegian Sun is returning for another season of cruises to Cuba,” Port CEO Capt. John Murray stated.

Ice-class passenger ferry Suomenlinna II was remotely piloted through test area near Helsinki harbor, proving that human oversight of vessels from anywhere is achievable with today’s technologies.With this historic trial in the Finnish capital’s port last week, ABB and Helsinki City Transport took the next step in autonomous shipping. In the remote trial, the world’s first for an existing passenger ferry, ABB successfully tested the enhancement of ship operations with technologies…

A French cruise company and ship’s Master have been fined $70,000 and $30,000 respectively for endangering human life and entering a prohibited zone following a grounding incident in the remote New Zealand Subantarctic islands.French company Compagnie du Ponant and Captain Regis Daumesnil, a French citizen, were sentenced Tuesday in the Wellington District Court after pleading guilty to charges following the January 2017 grounding of the cruise ship L’Austral on an uncharted rock at the Snares Islands.Both Maritime NZ and the Department of Conservation (DOC) brought charges against Captain Daumesnil, with DOC also prosecuting the company.

Kenyan islanders have built a boat made entirely of recycled plastic collected during clean-ups of the ocean to highlight the growing menace of plastic waste that ends up in the sea.Last year, the Kenyan government imposed the world’s toughest law against plastic bags, with offenders - including producers, retailers, and ordinary Kenyans - risking imprisonment for up to four years or fines of $40,000, in a bid to reduce plastic pollution.Many bags drift into the ocean, strangling turtles, suffocating seabirds and filling the stomachs of dolphins and whales.The construction of the boat has been

Activists hailed a Kenyan court for ordering that almost 5,000 fishermen at a 14th century World Heritage Site receive millions in compensation for the loss of traditional fishing rights due to the construction of a major port.The fishermen in Lamu, the oldest Swahili settlement in East Africa, won 1.76 billion shillings ($18 million) in compensation this week from a court in the nearby town of Malindi, which also said their rights to culture and information had been violated."We were happy with the judgment…

Seabourn Cruise Line's newest ultra-luxury vessel, Seabourn Ovation, achieved another important maritime milestone with the completion of its final round of sea trials in the Mediterranean off the coast of Italy. Seabourn Ovation departed the Fincantieri shipyard on March 14 for four days at sea, where a team of officers and engineers tested the ship's technical and mechanical systems. Seabourn Ovation returned to the shipyard in Genoa on March 18, and staff and workers are putting the final touches on the ship. The delivery ceremony of the ship is on schedule to take place on April 27, 2018. "We're now weeks away from delivery, and I'm very pleased with the progress and preparedness of the ship now that sea trials are complete," said Richard Meadows, president of Seabourn.

A huge fire destroyed most of a Dutch colonial heritage site dating back to the 17th century, including a maritime museum, in the north of the capital Jakarta on Tuesday. Television images showed flames ripping through the red-tiled roof of the whitewashed rectangular buildings. No casualties were reported. “Most of the building...was on fire,” the city fire department said on its website. “The Bahari Museum is being cooled down,” it said on its official Twitter account. The buildings…

The first two preproduction units of the new mobile MTU gas engine from Rolls-Royce have completed performance tests and were accepted by the customer at the beginning of December. MTU delivered the first two of a total of four 16-cylinder Series 4000 gas engines, each with an output of 1,492 kW, for two new catamarans. From 2018, the two aluminum vessels will operate ferry services on the Dutch Wadden Sea. They are currently being built by Strategic Marine’s shipyard in Vietnam for the Dutch shipping company Doeksen.

As ferry operators search for efficiency to reduce pollutants and operating costs, the importance of design, quality construction, and efficient propulsion become ever more important. Such is clearly the case with the Netherlands-based ferry operator Rederij Doeksen, whose two BMT Nigel Gee designed ferries are currently under construction at Strategic Marine’s Vietnam yard for operations between Harlingen on the mainland and the islands of Terschelling and Vlieland. in the Netherlands’ Wadden Sea.

A rescue team freed the grounded freighter "Glory Amsterdam" from a sandbar near the North Sea island of Langeoog and ruled out an oil leak, German authorities said on Thursday. Two large towing ships pulled the freighter to deep water and 16,000 tons of ballast water were pumped out of it, said Simone Starke, spokeswoman for Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies. Environmental and fishery groups warned of dire consequences to the Wadden Sea, a UNESCO World Heritage site, if the ship began leaking 1,800 tonnes of heavy oil and 140 tonnes of marine diesel on board but there was no damage to the hull, authorities said. "No leaking was found during the towing process. An oil monitoring plane will accompany the barges towards Wilhelmshaven," said Starke.

It may take until Friday to free the grounded freighter "Glory Amsterdam" from a sand bar near the North Sea island of Langeoog, German authorities said on Wednesday, but no holes or cracks are evident in the ship's hull to trigger an oil leak. Shallow waters off the island had forced officials to revise initial plans to dislodge the 225-metre (742-foot) freighter, which ran aground during a storm that killed at least six people in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. Environmental and fishery groups have warned of dire environmental consequences to the Wadden Sea…