Merchant Vessel Loses Power in Somali Waters
A merchant vessel was towed to safety after losing power in heavy seas off the coast of Somalia.On July 19, the EU's counter-piracy forces EU NAVFOR ATALANTA received a request for assistance from the Somali Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation after the Tanzania-registered merchant ship Anatolian suffered a complete propulsion and power plant failure, and was without food or fresh water. At the same time, ATALANTA assets were granted permission to enter Somali territorial waters.For about a week…
Statoil Makes Final Investment Decision on Shah Deniz Stage 2
Statoil ASA has together with partners in the Shah Deniz consortium in Azerbaijan made a final investment decision for the Stage 2 development of the Shah Deniz gas field, in the Caspian Sea, offshore Azerbaijan. Statoil also enters an agreement to divest a 10% share of its 25.5% holdings in Shah Deniz and the South Caucasus Pipeline. The BP operated Shah Deniz consortium announces the final investment decision for the Stage 2 development of the Shah Deniz gas field, in the Caspian Sea, offshore Azerbaijan. This decision triggers plans to expand the South Caucasus Pipeline (SCPX) through Azerbaijan and Georgia, to construct the Trans Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) across Turkey and to construct the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) across Greece, Albania and into Italy.
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Setting sail again, a newly built replica of the Jeanie Johnston, the Irish emigrant ship that rescued thousands from the Great Famine, will voyage from Ireland to North America and visit cities this summer and fall throughout the U.S. The eight-month tour, with stopovers in 23 U.S. and Canadian cities, is expected to arrive mid-June in Washington, D.C. and will be greeted by President Bill Clinton. The ship will then join more than 200 tall ships, 500 U.S. and foreign naval vessels and 50 to 70 thousand spectator crafts from all over the world in New York Harbor's OpSail 2000 Parade of Sail, the largest maritime event in world history.
Plans Laid For Aircraft Carrier Bosphorus Transit
Turkish shipping experts will meet soon to discuss how to safely sail a giant aircraft carrier without engines through the Bosphorus that bisects the country's biggest city, Anatolian news agency said. It said the panel had already met once and denied passage through the straits to the 300-m (1,000-ft.) Varyag, a decommissioned aircraft carrier, citing security concerns for the city of Istanbul. The Varyag has been idling in the Black Sea since July. Passage through the Bosphorus, the narrow, busy and winding waterway that links the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and the world's oceans, is not normally restricted for commercial ships in peacetime under the 1936 Montreux treaty.
Ships Collide In Busy Bosphorus Straits
A Turkish-flagged cargo ship sank on Sunday after colliding head-on with another vessel in the Bosphorus straits, the coast guard said. The stricken Kaptan Cavit's seven member crew was rescued after a collision with another Turkish-flagged cargo ship, the Nadya, at the Black Sea end of the straits early on Sunday, a coast guard spokesman in Istanbul said. The 1,175 dwt Kaptan Cavit had been en route to Bulgaria with 1,100 tons of wheat. The 914 dwt Nadya was carrying 480 tons of slag to the Turkish town of Izmit, the state-run Anatolian news agency said. The coast guard spokesman said the Nadya had suffered serious damage to its prow but did not appear to be in immediate danger of sinking. Investigators were still trying to determine what had caused the vessels to collide, he said.
Turkish Shipbuilding Sees Upward Trend
According to The New Anatolian there are over 60 shipyards in Turkey at the moment and this number will reach 125 by the year 2008, the Turkish Shipbuilders' Association (GISBIR). The Turkish shipbuilding industry has been going on an upward trend in recent years and it will continue until 2015. He said Turkey is ranked the fifth in terms of orders behind South Korea, China, Japan and Germany, noting that Turkey will soon outsell Germany which focuses on high-tech ships such as warships, research ships and platforms. The reports said imports make 60 percent of building costs in Turkish shipbuilding industry and stated that they have been seeking investment opportunities in technology to reduce imports in shipbuilding.
