1. Cruise ship CELEBRITY XPEDITION refloated after soft grounding. Cruise ship CELEBRITY XPEDITION with 46 passengers on board ran aground on a sandbar in Punta Vicente Roca, northern Isabela Island, Galapagos Archipelago, at around 2330 UTC Nov 5. Understood grounding was “soft”, reportedly all passengers and some crew were evacuated, though timeline doesn’t fit. The ship was refloated some 30 minutes later according to track, with assistance of service boats. Cruise ship moved to Punta Espinosa, northern Fernandino island, and was acnhored there for inspection. No damages found so far. Understood passengers crew remain on board or already returned, information is confusing. http://maritimebulletin.net/2019/11/06/cruise-ship-celebrity-xpedition-refloated-after-soft-grounding/
2. US freighter grounding, Colombia.
General cargo ship OCEAN GLOBE ran aground in Magdalena river, Columbia, shortly after unmooring at Barranquilla port, at around 1430 UTC Nov 5. Laden ship was refloated some 4 hours later with the help of 4 tugs. OCEAN GLOBE was taken to outer anchorage and anchored, as of 0500 UTC Nov 6 she was still at anchor. She’s en route from Barranquilla to Valletta Malta, ETA Nov 21. No reports on damages, probably none. http://maritimebulletin.net/2019/11/06/us-freighter-grounding-colombia/
3. Inland container ship breached in collision in Netherlands, water ingress
Inland container ship MSC MAAS collided with inland tanker LAZIO in the evening Nov 5 on river Noord near Alblasserdam, western Netherlands, and was breached in the collision, with ensuing water ingress. The ship was taken to berth and offloaded, so that the breach surfaced, and water ingress stopped. Tanker was in ballast and understood, sustained slight damages. As of morning Nov 6, MSC MAAS remained in the same position. http://maritimebulletin.net/2019/11/06/inland-container-ship-breached-in-collision-in-netherlands-water-ingress/
4. “Shame on you, pirates”, said shipping “elite”. I notified several of my friends, seamen on board of ships, on recent piracy attacks in Gulf of Guinea. Their reaction was unanimous – we’re protected only when there’s a private armed guards team on board, there’s no other guaranteed way to defend us from thugs and kidnappers. But not any team, with that. In Greek Aframax ELKA ARISTOTLE attack, there was guards team on board, but it didn’t help. For all I know, it was a local team, not the team, provided by international private security agency, manned by hardcore vets of elite special forces, like Russian Spetsnaz or UK’s SAS (being on active service in pre-diversity era), or US SEALS. Hence total failure – the team didn’t thwart the attack, one of the team was wounded, pirates board the ship and kidnapped crew members. http://maritimebulletin.net/2019/11/05/shame-on-you-pirates-said-shipping-elite/
5. Cargo ship and tanker collided in Jeju Strait
General cargo ship TENG SHENG collided with Chinese 3,000-ton tanker at around 2000 Seoul time Nov 4 in Jeju Strait, Korea, some 4 nm SE of Soan-do island. According to Korean officials, it was more a contact than collision, both ships sustaining minor damages, and resuming their voyages after Maritime Police inspection. TENG SHENG is en route from China to Busan, Chinese tanker wasn’t identified. http://maritimebulletin.net/2019/11/05/cargo-ship-and-tanker-collided-in-jeju-strait/
6. Oil spill in Bremen. General cargo ship ACTIVE leaked fuel at night Nov 4 at Lindenhof, Bremen, says local media. The ship arrived at Bremen on Nov 1. Fire brigade was called in, the ship was fenced off with booms. No information on leak cause or how much fuel was spilled, it was said only, that the leak is “big”, covering some 80×300 meters area in port basin. All photos, though of poor quality, at https://www.nonstopnews.de/galerie/31362
http://maritimebulletin.net/2019/11/05/oil-spill-in-bremen/
7. Purify Fuel Awarded Fuel-Additive Patent in Time for IMO 2020. With IMO 2020 just around the corner, Purify Fuel is excited to announce it has been awarded a patent for its fuel-additive — created specifically to lower levels of sulfur in oils making it IMO 2020 compliant. What does this mean for shippers? Purify Fuel customers will save money by purchasing this (newly) patented fuel additive, therefore not having to push the extra cost to consumers — and better yet, it’s better for the environment AND the engines. https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/purify-fuel-awarded-fuel-additive-patent-in-time-for-imo-2020/
8. Scramble for propane marks Mother Nature’s latest challenge for U.S. farmers. Months after historic floods ravaged the U.S. Midwest, farmers scrambling to harvest their crops face a new headache: finding fuel to dry their soaked grains. Normally, farmers use propane as fuel for grain dryers to reduce moisture levels in corn crops to ready for sale or to safely store the grain. https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/scramble-for-propane-marks-mother-natures-latest-challenge-for-u-s-farmers/
9. Corn recovers from near four-week low, soybeans struggle. Chicago corn futures ticked higher for the first time in five sessions on Wednesday, helped by bargain buying, although gains were limited as dry weather is expected to boost the U.S. harvest. Soybeans were little changed, while wheat rose for a second straight session. The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board Of Trade was up 0.4% at $3.83-1/4 a bushel by 0348 GMT, having dropped to an Oct. 11 low of $3.80-1/2 a bushel in the previous session. https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/corn-recovers-from-near-four-week-low-soybeans-struggle/
10. Seafarers Fear Being Blamed For IMO 2020 Non-Compliance
Seafarers fear they will take the blame for breaches of IMO 2020 once the regulation comes into force at the start of next year.
The latest Seafarers Happiness Index survey while seeing an overall improvement in the index to 7.28 in the third quarter compared 6.85 in the previous three months highlighted concerns from ship’s crews about being blamed for non-compliance. https://www.shippingtribune.com/news/shipping/Seafarers+fear+being+blamed+for+IMO+2020+non-compliance
