by Nick Ford (Reuters) - A fire in the hold of a bulker ship on Monday briefly closed Australia’s Port Kembla, the second-largest coal export port in New South Wales state, stopping shipping for eight hours. The port was shut soon after the blaze began before dawn on the MV Iron Chieftain as it unloaded dolomite, a mineral used in steelmaking which was destined for BlueScope … [Read more...]
Greek Naval And Turkish Cargo Ship Collide
by Michele Kambas (Reuters) - A Greek gunboat was nudged by a Turkish cargo vessel early on Friday while on patrol for unauthorized migrant crossings in the Aegean Sea, the Greek navy said. The gunboat “Armatolos” was on patrol off the island of Lesbos as part of a NATO operation when the incident occurred at 4 a.m. local time (0100 GMT). The Turkish-flagged vessel … [Read more...]
Cargo Owners Still Waiting For Maersk Honam Containers
By Mike Wackett (TheLoadstar) A month after the blaze that claimed the lives of five seafarers on the 15,262 teu Maersk Honam, cargo owners still have no idea when they will receive their containers. Laden with 7,860 boxes, the ship caught fire on 6 March in the Arabian Sea en route to the Mediterranean, via Suez. According to the casualty website of Maersk-appointed … [Read more...]
Deja Vu All Over Again
By Captain George Livingstone - Some of you may recall another phrase, “Call me Cassandra”. The term, originating in Greek mythology is used when valid warnings or concerns are either dismissed or disbelieved. In the space of just 90 days since my January column “2018 The State of Maritime” where concerns about modern maritime safety were discussed, there have been … [Read more...]
Migrant Rescue Ships In New EU Mission Are Not Obliged To Bring Migrants to Italy
By Steve Scherer (Reuters) - The European Union’s border agency Frontex launched a new Mediterranean operation called Themis on Thursday, removing the obligation of the previous mission to bring rescued migrants only to Italy. Italy has repeatedly lamented a lack of EU solidarity in managing immigration. The previous Frontex operation, called Triton, required all those … [Read more...]