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Safe Port News

26 Feb 2024

Houthis Keep Up Pressure with Near Miss on US-flagged Tanker

FILE PHOTO: Torm Thor (Photo: Torm)

Yemen's Houthis fired a missile that likely targeted the Torm Thor in the Gulf of Aden on Feb. 24 but missed the U.S.-flagged oil tanker, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Monday, as the Iran-aligned militia steps up attacks on ships.Shipping risks have escalated due to repeated Houthi drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait since November in support of Palestinians in Gaza. U.S. and British forces have responded with several strikes on Houthi…

27 Mar 2023

Pertamina Confirms Deaths and Missing Crew Member in Oil Tanker Fire

Credit: Pertamina

Two crew members have died and one is missing after a fire broke out on an oil tanker carrying fuel to terminals on the Indonesian islands of Bali and Lombok, the state energy company Pertamina said in a statement late on Sunday.The chartered vessel, MT Kristin, had 17 crew on board and was carrying 5,900 kilolitres of fuel when the fire started at 2:50 p.m. local time (0650 GMT) on Sunday. Pertamina said so far no oil spills had been detected after the fire, though a 300-meter (984.25 ft) oil boom had been set up around the ship.

08 Jan 2023

Italy Rejects NGO Ship's Request for Closer Safe Port

The Italian government has rejected a request from a ship run by Doctors Without Borders non-governmental organisation (NGO) to assign a safe port closer to the place where it rescued 73 migrants, an NGO official said on Sunday.Italy's interior ministry did not comment on the issue.The dispute is part of a broader tug-of-war between Italy's right-wing government and NGOs over where to disembark migrants saved in the Mediterranean sea.On Saturday Doctor Without Borders' ship Geo Barents received permission from Rome to dock to Ancona port, which is in central Italy and on the country's east coast, far away from Sicily where NGO boats…

07 Oct 2022

Molten Salt Reactors: Maritime’s Nuclear Option

Multipurpose: an illustration of Ulstein International’s nuclear-powered Thor showing its ship-to-ship resupply boom and passenger transfer, and below a close-up of a replenishment operation. Image courtesy Ulstein International

A race is being run by nuclear scientists and ship designers. The prize? “Decarbonization’s” holy grail — believed to be a “small” thorium-fueled, molten-salt rector’s unlimited power to propel sea trade. At the same time, a recently revived discussion among leading marine-nuclear thinkers revolves now around how to put an ultra-modern, as-yet non-existent marine reactor aboard a modern commercial vessel. As with nuclear power generally, shipborne reactors produce national discussion first, then discovery.

05 Nov 2021

NGO Rescue Ship with 800 Migrants Aboard Asks Italy for Safe Port

SEA-EYE 4 - File Photo: Sea Eye 4

German rescue charity Sea-Eye said on Thursday it had asked Italy for a safe port to disembark some 800 migrants it rescued from boats in distress in the central Mediterranean.The charity vessel SEA-EYE 4 Took onboard another 400 people from a wooden boat on Wednesday night in a seventh rescue operation since it set sail in mid-October, bringing the total to around 800, Sea-Eye said in a statement.It said Rise Above, another rescue ship operated by NGO Mission Lifeline, reached the split-level wooden boat first…

15 Feb 2021

Subsea Defense: Navy Deepens Commitment to Underwater Vehicles

Senior Chief Mineman Abraham Garcia (left) and Aerographer's Mate 1st Class Joshua Gaskill, members of the Knifefish Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) test team, man tending lines during crane operations as part of an operational test conducted by members from Operational Test and Evaluation Force (OPTEVFOR). Knifefish is a medium-class mine countermeasure UUV designed for deployment off the Littoral Combat Ship. OPTEVFOR is the Navy’s sole test and evaluation organization for surface, air, and un

The U.S. Navy uses unmanned and robotic underwater vehicles for a multitude of functions, including environmental sensing, mine hunting, and salvage. The Navy plans to evolve an unmanned systems operating concept that is platform agnostic and capable of operating in highly complex contested environments with minimal operator interaction.The most recent edition of the Navy’s Unmanned Systems (UxS) Roadmap was issued in 2018, and a new version is expected in the near future. The 2018 document states that UxS will operate in every domain…

13 Jan 2021

Maritime Security: Neo-colonialism in the Gulf of Guinea

© Lucia / Adobe Stock

Is neo-colonialism in the Gulf of Guinea the answer to West Africa’s maritime crime crisis?In October 2020, China’s transport ministry established an ad hoc workgroup to lay down precautionary measures for ships and seafarers passing through high piracy risk West African waters.The move came as China told its vessels to up vigilance and implement a series of precautionary measures to ensure the security of ocea-going vessels and seafarers amid rising attacks and a surge in kidnaps in the Gulf of Guinea.Plans outlined by Wu Chungeng…

27 Oct 2020

The Real Life of Seafarers Like Those on ‘Hijacked’ Tanker Nave Andromeda

The suspected hijacking of the oil tanker Nave Andromeda off the coast of the Isle of Wight has captivated the press. While the heroic efforts of members of the Special Boat Service in resolving the situation have been highlighted, little public attention has been paid to the seafarers working onboard the tanker who were caught up in the incident.At around 10 a.m. on October 25 the captain of the Nave Andromeda set off a security alert reporting that seven stowaways onboard had turned violent and were threatening the crew after the crew attempted to detain the stowaways in a cabin. The vessel was several miles off the coast of the Isle of Wight…

31 Aug 2020

Italy Sends Help to Banksy's Overcrowded Migrant Rescue Vessel

The Italian coastguard sent help on Saturday to a rescue boat funded by British street artist Banksy after the vessel issued urgent calls for assistance, saying it was stranded in the Mediterranean and overloaded with migrants.The coastguard said a patrol boat dispatched from the southern Italian island of Lampedusa had taken on board 49 of "those considered most vulnerable" among the 219 migrants picked up by the ship since Thursday off the coast of Libya.Named after a French feminist anarchist, the Louise Michel started operating last week. Despite the help from Italy, it has still not found a safe port for the rest of the mainly African migrants on board.The 49 people who were transferred off the ship include 32 women and 13 children…

15 Jul 2020

Crew Kidnappings Soar in West Africa

Crew kidnappings and violent attacks on vessels in the oil-rich West Africa region have soared in 2020, with 77 seafarers taken hostage or kidnapped for ransom since January, according to the ICC International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) latest piracy report.The Gulf of Guinea off West Africa is increasingly dangerous for commercial shipping, accounting for just over 90% of maritime kidnappings worldwide. Meanwhile, ship hijackings are at their lowest since 1993, the report said.“Violence against crews is a growing risk in a workforce already under immense pressure,” says IMB Director Michael Howlett. “In the Gulf of Guinea attackers armed with knives and guns now target crews on every type of vessel.

27 May 2020

Migrants Stuck on Cargo Ship Debark in Libya

© Mariusz / Adobe Stock

At least 90 migrants who were returned to Libya after being rescued at sea while attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe were disembarking in Misrata on Wednesday after spending two nights on board, the U.N.

01 May 2020

Malta Refuses to Let Migrant Ship Dock

© nomadkate / Adobe Stock

Malta plans to keep 57 rescued migrants aboard a private ship anchored just outside territorial waters until the European Union finds a way to rehouse them, Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Friday.The migrants were plucked from a dinghy earlier this week inside Malta’s search and rescue zone by a commercial fishing vessel that had been chartered by the Maltese government to intercept possible asylum seekers.The group were subsequently transferred to a launch normally used for tourist harbour cruises…

09 Apr 2020

WMU Calls On Communities To Protect Seafarers’ Rights

© Igor Kardasov / Adobe Stock

As the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) apex institution for maritime and ocean education, the World Maritime University (WMU) adds its voice to widespread concerns over the serious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health, wellbeing, and safety of seafarers.As countries around the world retreat to fight the pandemic, travel restrictions and financial losses are hitting shipping and other ocean-related industries hard. At sea, maritime workers are bearing the…

25 Nov 2019

Spanish Rescue Ship Stranded off Italy

The leader of a Spanish rescue mission said on Sunday that Italian authorities had refused to grant port access to its Open Arms ship, leaving the vessel stranded in rough conditions in the Mediterranean with more than 70 African migrants on board.The 73 migrants were picked up from a packed rubber dinghy drifting about 50 miles off Libya on Wednesday night.Italy has allowed the ship to enter its national waters to shelter from a storm but has refused to let the vessel dock, the charity said.Open Arms Mission Chief Ricardo Gatti, who is onboad the ship, said the organization has requested to land in Italy and Malta but has been denied permission.

25 Sep 2019

29 Firms May Invest in Chabahar Port

29 companies have applied for investment in the Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar, Iran,  in the first six months of this year.Behrouz Aghaei, Director General of ports and maritime of Sistan and Baluchestan, said that Chabahar Port, as the country's largest oceanic port with a strategic location and access to international free water, has a special place in Iranian trade exchanges with other countries in the region.Chabahar Port as a gateway to trade with IORA, CIS, Afghanistan and Central Asia, and due to its proximity to the Oman and Indian Ocean ports is the best transit route for regional countries in terms of sea, land and security…

04 Sep 2019

Trelleborg, DHI Pact on Port Enhancement

Swedish global engineering group Trelleborg AB said that its marine and infrastructure operation has announced that it is to collaborate with Danish water environment specialist, DHI, enabling marine consultants and port owners to more realistically simulate vessel movements in ports and increase port efficiency.AutoMoor, Trelleborg’s rope-free automated mooring system which uses smart technologies to enable a faster berthing process and improve safety within the port environment, will be integrated into DHI’s MIKE 21 Mooring Analysis Software (MIKE 21 MA) over a five-year period.The integration will give port operators the ability to…

13 Aug 2019

UNHCR Urges Europe to Allow Immigrants to Dock

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has sent an appeal to the European governments to allow 507 people recently rescued from the Mediterranean and now stranded at sea to leave the vessels.Many are reportedly survivors of appalling abuses in Libya and are from refugee-producing countries. They are in need of humanitarian assistance and some have already expressed an intention to seek international protection.“This is a race against time,” said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Central Mediterranean. “Storms are coming and conditions are only going to get worse. To leave people who have fled war and violence in Libya on the high seas in this weather would be to inflict suffering upon suffering.

20 Jun 2019

UN Asks EU to Include Migrants Sea-Watch

The UN refugee organization UNHCR on Thursday (World Refugee Day) called on European countries to include the migrants currently trapped on the rescue vessel Sea-Watch 3.The 43 migrants, including three unaccompanied minors, urgently need a "safe haven", according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) .UNHCR urged European States to call forth their principles of humanity and compassion, and to allow the group to disembark. Ten refugees and migrants were previously evacuated to Lampedusa last weekend on medical grounds.“Europe played an intrinsic role in creating the legal architecture that underpins modern day international refugee law,” said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR Special Envoy of the Central Mediterranean.

30 Jan 2019

Stranded Migrants to Leave Rescue Ship - Italian PM

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said 47 migrants who have been blocked at sea off Sicily for 11 days on a rescue ship will be allowed to come ashore on Wednesday, ending the latest migrant standoff."In a few hours, they will begin to disembark," Conte told reporters in Milan. The migrants have been on the vessel since they were rescued off the Libyan coast.Italy's populist government, which took office last year, has closed its ports to humanitarian vessels in a bid to force European Union partners to take a share of those rescued in the Mediterranean.The Dutch-flagged Sea-Watch 3, which is run by a German humanitarian group, has been moored off the coast of Sicily as it waits for a safe port.

02 Aug 2019

Spanish NGO Boat Seeks Safe Haven for Med Migrants

A Spanish charity rescue boat sought safe port on Friday after Italy rejected its request to disembark 124 people saved from two migrant rafts in the Mediterranean, the organisation said.Non-governmental organisation (NGO) rescue boats have largely disappeared from the Mediterranean over the last year as governments have tightened controls. Charity ships that have rescued migrants have faced lengthy standoffs in their attempt to disembark those onboard.Barcelona-based NGO Open Arms rescued 55 people from a sinking raft on Thursday, among them two babies, and a further 69 people from another boat during Thursday night, the organisation said on Twitter.Two heavily pregnant women were among those rescued from the second raft…

02 Aug 2019

Spanish NGO Boat Seeks Safe Port for 124 People

A Spanish charity rescue boat sought safe port on Friday after Italy rejected its request to disembark 124 people saved from two migrant rafts in the Mediterranean, the organisation said.Non-governmental organisation (NGO) rescue boats have largely disappeared from the Mediterranean over the last year as governments have tightened controls. Charity ships that have rescued migrants have faced lengthy standoffs in their attempt to disembark those onboard.Barcelona-based NGO Open Arms rescued 55 people from a sinking raft on Thursday, among them two babies, and a further 69 people from another boat during Thursday night, the organisation said on Twitter.Two heavily pregnant women were among those rescued from the second raft…

03 Apr 2019

Monjasa Boosts Bunker Volumes by 17%

Global bunker company Monjasa Group boosted sales volume in 2028 reaching 4.1 million metric tonnes of marine fuels, up 17% over its previous year figure of 3.5mt.Despite a continuously challenged maritime shipping industry, 2018 was a good year for the Monjasa. Coupled with the entry of new banking partners and closer relations with oil majors, the Monjasa Group improved its business fundamentals during the year, reporting a positive net result of USD 5mln.Coupled with a higher average Brent oil price of USD 71 per barrel, total revenue increased to USD 2.1bn and the Monjasa Group reported a net result of USD 5m., which is in line with expectations.The Annual Report displays a high solvency ratio of 29% and consolidated group equity of USD 121m.Anders Østergaard…

02 Apr 2019

Libya Not a Safe Port: IOM

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) clarified that it follows the UN position indicating that Libya cannot yet be considered a safe port."IOM in Libya is present at the disembarkation points to deliver primary assistance to migrants that have been rescued at sea. However, following their disembarkation, migrants are transferred to detention centres under the responsibility of the Libyan Directorate for Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM) over which the Organization has no authority or oversight," it said in a statement.The detention of men, women and children is arbitrary, it said. The unacceptable and inhumane conditions in these detention centres are well documented…