1. Freighter with coal aground, river Don, Azov sea
General cargo ship SHAMAN loaded with coal ran aground at around 0800 Moscow time Mar 16 in lower river Don near Donskoy village, while en route from Rostov to Koper Slovenia. As of 1830 Moscow time, she seemed to be still aground, though Russian media reported ship to be already refloated. No damages reported. http://www.maritimebulletin.net/2020/03/16/freighter-with-coal-aground-river-don-azov-sea/
2. Tanker full of migrants grounded on Kea island coast, Greece
A small coastal tanker with 190 migrants, mostly young men, and 3 crew on board ran aground on Kea island, Cyclades archipelago, Aegean sea, Greece, on a breakwater or embankment, in the morning Mar 16. Unidentified tanker – most probably, the ship is not listed in any international database – sailed from Canakkale, planning to get to Italy. Stormy weather grounded tanker on Kea coast. http://www.maritimebulletin.net/2020/03/16/tanker-full-of-migrants-grounded-in-kea-island-coast-greece/
3. General cargo ship fire in cargo hold, Yellow sea
General cargo ship reported fire in cargo hold or holds in the morning Mar 16, the ship is berthed in port, Yellow sea. Chemicals mentioned as the cause of fire. Crew and portworkers who were on board evacuated, all are safe. http://www.maritimebulletin.net/2020/03/16/general-cargo-ship-fire-in-cargo-hold-yellow-sea/
4. Tug pushing barges contacted Luling Bridge, Mississippi
Pusher tug COOPERATIVE SPIRIT pushing 29 grain barges contacted Luling Bridge (Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge), Mississippi River, St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, at around 0615 UTC Mar 15, while sailing downstream. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans has closed the Mississippi River between marks MM 115-122. Of 29 barges, 26 have been recovered, 2 sank, 1 missing. Bridge wasn’t damaged. Tug remained under http://www.maritimebulletin.net/2020/03/16/tug-pushing-barges-contacted-luling-bridge-mississippi/
5. Warning of Loss, Carnival Moves to Shore Up Liquidity
Carnival Corp., the largest player in a cruise industry reeling from the effects of the coronavirus, said it expects a loss this fiscal year and is taking steps to improve liquidity.
The efforts include cutting investments and expenses and looking for additional financing, Carnival said in a statement Monday. The company said it provided notice on Friday to borrow about $3 billion for six months under an existing credit facility, fully drawing down the credit line to meet working capital, general corporate and other needs. https://gcaptain.com/warning-of-loss-carnival-moves-to-shore-up-liquidity/
6. Surging Demand to Move Crude Oil Sends Smaller Tanker Rates Soaring
surge in demand to ship the flood of crude oil unleashed by Saudi Arabia and its OPEC peers is sending freight rates surging and forcing buyers to seek out space on smaller tankers after the largest ones have been booked out, shipping sources said.
Freight charges to ship oil in Suezmax tankers, which can hold about 1 million barrels, have in some cased increased ten-fold amid a shortage of very large crude carriers (VLCCs) which are capable of carrying as much as 2 million barrels of oil, the sources said. https://gcaptain.com/surging-demand-to-move-crude-oil-sends-smaller-tanker-rates-soaring/
7. Major Cruise Lines Suspend Voyages After President’s Request
President Donald Trump said the country’s biggest cruise lines will suspend operations for a month at his request, marking the most sweeping response yet by the industry after a series of coronavirus outbreaks at sea. In a tweet late Friday, Trump said the shutdown will include market-share leader Carnival Corp., as well as Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. and MSC Cruises. https://gcaptain.com/major-cruise-lines-suspend-voyages-after-presidents-request/
8. UAE takes action against MSC over failure to adhere to new HSFO carriage ban
The MSC Joanna, a 9,200 teu boxship, has been banned from calling in UAE waters for a year and the ship’s master cannot work on any ships visiting the Middle Eastern nation and faces legal action as the ship becomes one of the first landmark failures to adhere to the new March 1 ban on the carriage high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO). https://splash247.com/uae-takes-action-against-msc-over-failure-to-adhere-to-new-hsfo-carriage-ban/
9. VLCC spillover anticipated in another hectic week of tanker trading
Brokers are watching today to see whether the VLCC spike will cascade down to other tanker segments and if the huge volume of ships taken on subs last week materialise into done deals at record figures. Cleaves Securities described the 728% weekly improvement in VLCCs as “mindboggling” in its latest report. https://splash247.com/vlcc-spillover-anticipated-in-another-hectic-week-of-tanker-trading/
10. Top manager takes aim at unfair coronavirus stance on crew
One of the world’s top shipmanagers has hit out at the unfair treatment of stranded crew thanks to the coronavirus. Thousands of seafarers around the world are having to adjust to longer time away from home as signing on and off ships has become far trickier thanks to the spread of the illness. https://splash247.com/top-manager-takes-aim-at-unfair-coronavirus-stance-on-crew/
