Valparaiso News

A federal appeals court on Tuesday revived a lawsuit against Royal Caribbean Cruises by the parents of an 18-month-old girl who died after slipping through her grandfather’s hands and falling through an open cruise ship window.The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta restored two negligence claims over the July 2019 death of Chloe Wiegand, who had been in a children’s play area aboard the ship Freedom of the Seas, which was docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico.Her grandfather Salvatore Anello testified that he picked Chloe up and put her feet on the windowsill…

AAL Shipping has added further vessels to its owned multipurpose cargo vessel (MPV) fleet. This month saw the delivery of the 2010 AAL Gunsan (ex-BBC America) and her sister vessel, the 2009 AAL Geelong (ex-BBC Valparaiso) – the latter taken a few months ago. These are the last of four 25,800 deadweight (DWT) multipurpose heavy lift sister vessels (classified by AAL as G-class) secured through an acquisition transaction penned back in 2021 by AAL / Schoeller Holdings Group.During the summer…

SAAM Towage received a new tug in Valparaiso, the Mataquito II, which passed its seaworthiness testing in Turkey, supervised by the crew that will operate it.SAAM Towage Technical Manager Pablo Cáceres explained that “this tug allows safe and effective control of the maneuver in complex operations where it is necessary to assist ships at a speed of up to 10 knots, thanks to its installed capacity and electro-hydraulic control system of the forward winch.The Mataquito II measures 29 meters wide and 13 meters in beam, and is certified with Escort and Fire-Fighting 1 class notation.

Britannia P&I and its Exclusive Correspondent in the US, B Americas P&I, announce the recruitment of Marcela Pizzaro. She joined B Americas P&I on 3 January 2022.Pizzaro worked for many years at one of the major international container lines, where she was Director of Corporate Insurance Risk Management with oversight and responsibility for the company’s risk, insurance and claims in North America. Prior to this, she was Vice President of Shipping Legal Affairs for a shipowner based in Chile.

After a 30-day voyage from Altinova, Turkey, SAAM Towage's newest tug SAAM Palenque has arrived in Colón, Panama, where the company provides towage services on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.SAAM Towage Country Manager in Panama, Matia de Luiggi said, “We have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of this new tug, which will be an important reinforcement for our fleet. A compact vessel with advanced fire-fighting systems, it has all the technical specs for safely, efficiently serving…

Passengers aboard the cruise ship Zaandam are being quarantined after 42 people on board exhibited "influenza-like symptoms", the ship's operator Holland America Line said.As of Sunday morning, 13 passengers and 29 crew reported to the ship’s medical center, but it is unknown whether these are coronavirus cases as there is no COVID-19 testing available on board.Holland America Line said it asked passengers to self-quarantine "out of an abundance of caution", and crew who are not required for vessel operations are also being quarantined.

Sanmar Shipyards delivered BOGACAY XXXI, a 2018 built RAmparts 2400-SX Class ASD Tug to SAAM’s Towage fleet in Panama. She is re-named as “SAAM Valparaiso”. Principal dimensions are 24.4 x 11.25m. SAAM Valparaiso can achieve 70 tonnes of bollard pull courtesy of its 2 x CAT 3516C engines, which develop 4200 kW coupled to a pair of Kongsberg (ex Rolls-Royce) US 255 FP thrusters. SAAM Valparaiso has been docked at Sanmar’s own floating dock and painted to SAAM Towage fleet colors…

German cargo container shipping line, Hapag-Lloyd AG, officially opened its headquarter for the new region.CEO Rolf Habben Jansen presented the keys of the office complex in Genoa (Italy) to the new Senior Managing Director Juan Pablo Richards.During the opening event, Habben Jansen explained the motivation to create a new region: “After our merger with UASC in 2017 the Mediterranean region has gained more importance for us. That's why we are eager to bolster our competitive position in this attractive and growing market and exploit further opportunities.”The new region was created by splitting the former Region Europe into northern and southern parts.

Mr. Cernak was AAPA’s immediate past Chairman and its 2019 Cruise Award recipient.Port Everglades Chief Executive and Director Steven M. Cernak passed away over the weekend, following a long, valiant battle with cancer. He was the immediate past Chairman of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) and immediate past Chairman of the Florida Ports Council.Upon learning of Mr. Cernak’s passing, AAPA President and CEO Kurt Nagle said: “Today we mourn the loss of one of the greatest champions of the port industry…

Dubai-based port operator DP World says it will buy a 71.3 percent stake in Chile's Puertos y Logistica SA, taking control of two key port terminals in the South American state.According to a filing on Nasdaq Dubai, where the state-owned port operator is listed, the group bought the 71.3% stake from Minera Valparaiso and other shareholders associated with Chilean conglomerate, the Matte Group.The statement quoted DP World Group chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem as saying the deal allows his firm now to serve customers at five key points in South America."Under the tender process DP World will offer [US$502mn] in consideration for 100% equity ownership. As of 30 September 2018, Pulogsa had net financial debt of $226m.

Griffon Hoverwork will launch  its new 995ED model at  Exponaval in Valparaiso, Chile.“Griffon is hugely excited to unveil the highly innovative 995ED which is specially designed for search and rescue, coastguard and surveying work complementing Griffon’s range of marine grade aluminium hovercraft,” said sales and marketing director Nick MacLeod-Ash. “The 995ED, at eight meters (m) length and 30 knots speed at full ‘all up weight’, is the first hovercraft to achieve certification…

Friedman is Port of Cleveland's President & CEO. At its 2018 Spring Conference on March 20, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA)—the unified and recognized voice of seaports in the Americas—elected William D. Friedman, president and chief executive officer for Northeast Ohio’s Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, to serve as the association’s chairman of the board for the 2018-19 activity year that begins in October. Mr. Friedman is slated to be installed as chairman for a one-year term on the final day of AAPA’s 2018 Annual Convention, set for Oct. 7-10, in Valparaiso, Chile. He will assume the AAPA chairmanship from Steve Cernak, chief executive and port director for Broward County, Fla.’s Port Everglades, who began his one-year term on Oct. 4, 2017.

The Panama Canal commemorated the one-year anniversary of the inauguration of its Expanded Canal, one of the most significant milestones in the history of the 102-year old waterway and a defining moment for the people of Panama and the global maritime industry. In its first year of operations, the Expanded Panama Canal has continually set records and surpassed expectations, resulting in redrawn global trade routes and positive world-wide impact, as the Canal looks to further position Panama as the logistics hub of the Americas. During the one-year anniversary, the vessels that transited the Expanded Canal received commemorative plaques. Albert III: A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vessel, chartered by Petredec Services Limited.

HANSA HEAVY LIFT has transported the first-ever ship-to-shore (STS) cranes via the Northern Sea Route (NSR), relocating them from the port of St Petersburg to the port of Vostochny, spanning both the European and Far East regions of Russia. HHL Valparaiso is the first vessel to sail open hatch through the Northern Sea Route, which is covered by thick ice for most of the year and has a limited window of about two months open to cargo voyages. This allowed the two cranes, each weighing 820 metric tonnes and measuring 61 meters in height and 92 metres in width…

The Panama Canal welcomed the largest capacity vessel to-date to transit the Expanded Locks—Hapag-Lloyd's Valparaiso Express, a 10,589 TEU Neopanamax containership built specifically to take advantage of the greater capacity offered by the Expanded Panama Canal. Today’s passage ushers in a new era of mega-ships that are now able to transit the Expanded Canal since it’s inauguration on June 26 of this year. The new locks, which are 70 feet wider and 18 feet deeper than those in the original Canal, are able to accommodate Neopanamax vessels carrying up to 13,000 to 14,000 TEUS.

Cohort plc company SEA will start work in December on upgrading the Combat Systems Highway (CSH) infrastructure on the Chilean Navy’s three former Royal Navy Type 23 frigates. The upgrade on the Chilean frigates Almirante Cochrane, Almirante Condell and Almirante Lynch follows a similar obsolescence upgrade carried out on the RN’s 13 Type 23 ships. SEA has a support contract covering the CSH for RN frigates and also supports CSHs for various defence Primes. CSH manages data exchange messages, which are a vital and integral feature of the ship’s Combat System, enabling valuable operational assets such as the Combat Management System, surveillance, weapon and sonar systems to communicate in a reliable and deterministic manner.

CMA CGM debuts its new service EUROSAL XL there by offering the best service offer which directly connects the West Coast of South America and Northern Europe. The new EUROSAL XL is a result of the fusion of the Group’s services EUROSAL1 and EUROSAL2. It is the best offer on the market thanks to its vast coverage of ports on the West Coast of South America and the shortest transit times on the market to Northern Europe. As an example, Chile is connected with Rotterdam in only 25 days from Valparaiso. - A new stop at Buenaventura in Colombia, which supports the export of bananas and pineapples to Northern Europe. From Buenaventura, customers…

The  ocean carrier APL has announced three additional ports of call for the weekly Asia Latin America Service (ALX). Including Callao, Da Chan Bay and Valparaiso, the expanded ALX service will offer a more comprehensive coverage across Asia, Manzanillo in Mexico, and South America west coast. “Export manufacturers from Asia, in particular those from the Pearl River Delta can expect to exploit a larger market coverage in the Americas via the direct service of ALX from Asia to South America west coast. As the service facilitates access to Central America via Manzanillo in Mexico where transshipment options are available, the extended port calls to Callao in Peru as well as Valparaiso in Chile will enable route to these Latin America markets…

From Brazil to China and then back to Brazil, five pipe racks and three modules weighing a total of 1,871.51 metric tons and measuring 24,075 m³ will be transported by heavy lift shipping specialist HANSA HEAVY LIFT for a new floating production storage and offloading unit (FPSO) to eventually operate off the coast of Brazil. With the heaviest piece weighing 730 metric tons, the cargo was loaded onto the HHL Valparaiso at the ports of Itajaí and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil before being transported to Qingdao…

In early June, after a traditional blessing ceremony held in Valparaiso, Chile where SAAM S.A. is based, the company officially puts two more new Robert Allan Ltd. designed RAstar 3200 class tugs Yunco and Huairavo tugs into operation. Representatives of local authorities, the Chilean Navy, key customers, suppliers, executives and staff of SAAM attended the ceremony. SAAM identified these tugs as the ‘most powerful’ harbour tugs in the entire West Coast of South America. The two tugs arrived in Chile after a 60 day crossing of the Pacific from China where they were constructed by Bonny Fair Development Limited. Equipped with winches for escort service, the two tugs will provide a full range of ship-handling service to the LNG terminal in the Bay of Quintero.

SAAM S.A., a  towage company with operations across South, Central and North America, has taken delivery of two ASD Tugs 2411 from the Damen Shipyards Group. These compact yet powerful vessels deliver over 70 tonnes of bollard pull and are exceptionally manoeuvrable and reliable. The order was placed just three months ago, following a visit by SAAM representatives to Damen Song Thu Shipyard in Vietnam where the vessels were already in build for stock. Their decision to go ahead with the purchase was based on Damen’s ability to combine high build and service quality…

The new, expanded Panama Canal is set to open soon. Hapag-Lloyd is preparing for the event by optimizing its fleet. Here, we show you what these new ships will look like. The new Panama Canal will usher in a new era in shipping between South America and Europe. Starting soon, huge vessels of the post-Panamax class – capable of carrying up to 14,000 20-foot standard containers (TEU) – will be able to navigate this important trade route. Until now, the upper limit has been just a bit below 5,000 TEU.

Dan-Bunkering, has signed a partnership with Australian Bunkers for physical supplies in Buenaventura, Colombia, that will develop and strength its physical presence in Latin America. Dan-Bunkering will handle all sales and will provide risk management while Australian Bunkers, who has been present in the area of Buenaventura since 1998, will handle the sourcing, blending, supply and storage of the products. The Dan-Bunkering offices in Valparaiso, Chile, and Montevideo, Uruguay…