Shipping Ministry News

The Greek-flagged bulk cargo vessel Sea Champion arrived in the southern Yemeni port of Aden on Tuesday after being attacked in the Red Sea in what appeared to have been a mistaken missile strike by Houthi militia, shipping and military sources said.Shipping risks are escalating due to repeated drone and missile strikes in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait by the Iran-aligned Houthis since November. U.S. and British forces have responded with several strikes on Houthi facilities but have so far failed to halt the attacks.The Sea Champion…

Yemen's Houthi militants said on Monday they had attacked another cargo vessel in the Gulf of Aden which was at risk of sinking, raising the stakes in their campaign to disrupt global shipping in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza war.The Iran-aligned Houthis have made repeated drone and missile strikes since November in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait, drawing U.S. and British bombing against them.Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement that the Rubymar's crew was safe but that the ship was badly damaged and at risk of sinking.

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Tuesday they had fired missiles at two vessels in the Red Sea, causing damage to the ships.The Houthis have been targeting commercial vessels with drones and missiles in the Red Sea since mid-November, in what they describe as acts of solidarity with Palestinians against Israel in the Gaza war.The group's military spokesman said it had fired naval missiles at the Star Nasia and Morning Tide, identifying the Marshall Islands and Barbados-flagged ships…

Disruptions to Red Sea shipping caused by Houthi attacks will push up prices of consumer goods, an executive from port and freight operator DP World said on Tuesday as a missile struck another vessel in the region.The Iran-allied Houthi militia has threatened to expand its attacks to include U.S. ships in response to American and British strikes on its sites in Yemen.Attacks by the Houthis on ships in the region since November have impacted companies and alarmed major powers - an escalation of Israel's more than three-month-old war with Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza.

Greece said on Thursday it would send a naval frigate to the Red Sea to protect shipping after attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi group.On Wednesday, the Greek Shipping Ministry advised commercial ships sailing in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to avoid Yemeni waters.

Greece has advised commercial vessels sailing in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to avoid Yemeni waters, keep only the necessary crew on the bridge and follow alerts issued by maritime authorities to avoid attacks in the area.Greek ship-owners control about 20% of the world's commercial vessels in terms of carrying capacity.A shipping ministry advisory was issued on Saturday, as recent attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthi militant group on vessels have forced leading shipping companies to reroute via the cape of Good Hope to avoid the Suez Canal…

India's shipping ministry will follow foreign ministry advice when deciding whether to allow a ship carrying Russian oil that has been placed under U.S. sanctions to berth at an Indian port, the country's shipping regulator said.The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on three maritime companies and three vessels owned by them for shipping Russian oil sold above a price cap imposed by the Group of Seven nations, as Washington seeks to close loopholes in the mechanism designed…

Survivors of a boat disaster that likely killed hundreds of migrants near Greece have given accounts of traffickers in North Africa cramming them into a clapped-out fishing trawler. They recounted hellish conditions above and below deck, with no food or water.Some also said the tragic end, when it came, was precipitated by the actions of the Greek coastguard. They have told judicial authorities of a doomed attempt to tow the overloaded trawler that caused the vessel to capsize…

India has set a deadline of 2035 to establish green hydrogen bunkering and refuelling facilities at major ports in the drive to cut its carbon footprint, the shipping ministry said in guidelines issued on Wednesday.One of the world's biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, India aims to cut emissions to net zero by 2070, and the shipping minister said three of its ports would initially have bunker facilities for green hydrogen and ammonia."Our target is to cover all 12 major parts with a green hydrogen bunkering facility by 2035," Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal told Reuters.The initial por

Greece issued a series of warnings to shipowners to avoid sailing close to Iranian waters days before Tehran seized two tankers amid heightening tensions in the region, according to documents and industry sources.Iran seized a second oil tanker in a week on Wednesday in Gulf waters, the U.S.

Iran has released two Greek-flagged tankers that it seized in the Gulf in May, the Greek shipping ministry said on Wednesday.Iran detained the tankers in response to the confiscation of oil by the United States from an Iranian-flagged tanker off the Greek coast, fuelling bilateral tensions amid a broader deterioration in relations between Iran and the West."The final agreement was reached today in Tehran," the ministry said in a statement, confirming an earlier Reuters reportof a deal.Ship tracking data showed the vessels, Delta Poseidon and Prudent Warrior, were under way from Iran.The Prudent Warrior's destination was listed as the United Arab Emirates port of Khor Fakkan and the Delta Poseidon as the UAE port of Fujairah, according to the data.Merchant shipping remains prey to hazards i

The first crew member from one of the two Greek tankers seized by Iranian authorities in May arrived safely in Athens on Tuesday, Greek officials said.Iran has agreed to release the crews of the MT Prudent Warrior and Delta Poseidon, which it seized in May in response to the confiscation of oil by the United States from an Iranian-flagged tanker in Greece."The second captain of Delta Poseidon has arrived home, in Athens," a shipping ministry official told Reuters.The crew member is the first to return home from the total of about 48 seafarers - Greeks, Filipinos and a Cypriot - who are expected to be gradually released and replaced in the coming days, a second Greek official told Reuters.The months-long diplomatic impasse has strained relations between Athens and Tehran as tensions grow be

The United States has confiscated an Iranian oil cargo held on a Russian-operated ship near Greece and will send the cargo to the United States aboard another vessel, three sources familiar with the matter said.Greek authorities last month impounded the Iranian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, near the coast of the southern island of Evia due to EU sanctions.They said the ship was impounded as part of EU sanctions on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. However…

Greece has impounded a Russian oil tanker off the island of Evia, the Greek coastguard said on Tuesday, as part of European Union sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.Earlier this month, the EU banned Russian-flagged vessels from the 27-nation bloc's ports, with some exemptions, as it adopted new sweeping sanctions against Russia for what the Kremlin describes as a "special military operation".The 115,500-deadweight tonnage Russian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, was seized near Karystos on the southern coast of Evia, which lies just off the Greek mainland near Athens.The Russian embassy in Athens…

Eight people were abducted and one person injured during an armed raid overnight on a Greek-registered tanker anchored off Cameroon, Greek authorities said on Tuesday.Greece's shipping ministry said the Happy Lady tanker was two nautical miles off the port of Limboh in Cameroon when it was stormed by individuals who were armed.Five Greeks, two people from the Philippines and a Ukrainian were kidnapped and a Greek national injured, the ministry said in a statement.The tanker has a crew of 28.(Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Catherine Evans)

A Turkish-flagged cargo ship carrying 382 mostly Afghan migrants docked safely at a Greek island's port early on Sunday, two days after losing power in the Aegean Sea and sending out a distress signal.Six people among what was the country's biggest single influx of migrants in years were detained after the vessel, the Murat 729, was towed into Kos port by a Greek coast guard ship, the migration ministry said.The other arrivals were taken to a reception centre on the island. Their stay at the center…

Singapore's PSA International and Indian container freight operators have warned the Indian government that its order to waive container storage charges during the coronavirus lockdown could lead to port congestion, letters seen by Reuters showed.India's Ministry of Shipping asked ports to allow free storage of containers as part of relief measures to ease pressure on companies hit by logistics restrictions because of India's nationwide lockdown.PSA's local unit in a letter to the government on April 24 said importers might not remove their containers from ports due to free storage…

Greece has trimmed an investment plan by Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) to boost operations at one of Europe's largest harbours, rejecting proposals for a new container terminal.PPA, majority owned by China's COSCO Shipping , had submitted to Greece's shipping ministry an 800-million-euro plan, which included a new cruise ship terminal, a mall and four hotels in the port.PPA had also proposed to build a fourth container terminal that would boost Piraeus' total throughput to 10 million…

Greece will deliver 50 tons of animal feed to the Togo-flagged ElBeik, which has been stuck at sea for nearly three months in the Mediterranean carrying hundreds of cattle rejected by their buyers amid fears of disease, government sources said on Tuesday.The vessel is expected to sail for Spain once the food transfer is completed in the late evening, an agriculture ministry official told Reuters.Spain’s government could not confirm it was expecting the return of the Elbeik, which left the Spanish port of Tarragona in December carrying nearly 1,800 cattle for sale in Turkey.Turkish authorities rejected the animals and another shipment of 800 Spanish cattle aboard the Lebanon-flagged Karim Allah over concerns they had bovine bluetongue virus, turning the vessels into international pariahs.

Greece said on Tuesday it had had no request for an oil tanker at the centre of a row between Iran and the U.S. to dock at one of its ports, as Washington warned Greece against helping the vessel.The Adrian Darya 1 - formerly the Grace 1 - left Gibraltar on Aug 18. Ship tracking data on Tuesday showed the vessel was heading to the Greek port of Kalamata on the southern coast of the Peloponnese, and was scheduled to arrive on Aug. 26."The vessel is cruising at low speed and there is still no formal announcement that it will arrive at Kalamata," a Greek shipping ministry spokesman said.Reporting By Michele Kambas and George Georgiopoulos

Indian Minister of State for Shipping, Mansukh Mandaviya laid the foundation stone for development of an additional Liquid Cargo Jetty at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Mumbai.According to a government announcement, the facility will be built at a cost of over INR 309 crore (USD 43 million), the project will cater to the increased demand for handling liquid cargo like edible oil, LPG, molasses and other chemicals.Mandaviya said, “The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid focus on port-led development. Keeping this in view, India’s ports are being developed and modernized in line with global best practices.”“There is an increased domestic and industrial demand for liquid commodities like LPG etc in the country, with PM’s plans to reach gas stoves to every home.

Greece was searching for migrants who went missing after their sailing boat sank off the island of Crete, its shipping ministry said on Thursday.A nearby vessel spotted the boat after it sent a distress signal and reported it started sinking some 60 nautical miles southeast off Crete, it said.Some 36 migrants have been rescued so far, while a helicopter, two coast guard vessels and other boats sailing in the area were part of an ongoing search and rescue operation in high winds.The migrants said that a total of 45 people were on board the sailboat…

Over 15 countries have called for a special meeting with the UN’s shipping agency to discuss the safety of ships and their crews sailing through the Black Sea and Sea of Azov after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and growing dangers to vessels.Many shipping firms have suspended sailings to affected Black Sea ports and other terminals in Ukraine. Insurance premiums for voyages have soared since Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, an action Moscow calls a “special operation”.An Estonian-owned cargo ship sank on Thursday off Ukraine’s major Black Sea port of Odessa…