Tag: Egypt

Emma Maersk faced leakage in Suez Canal earlier this month - situation is under control Emma Maersk, one of the world's biggest container ships, in Port Said after suffering damage near the Suez Canal (Photo Credit: Maersk Line)On 1 February 2013, Emma Maersk, Maersk Line's largest container vessel, experienced ingress of water into the engine room. The vessel had just commenced its southbound transit through the Suez Canal en route to Asia. The captain decided to terminate the planned voyage and go alongside the nearby Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT).According to Captain Marius Gardastovu, there was never any real danger or panic at any point. "Of course it is a shocking experience when you look back and consider what could have happened," he says. "But given the circumstances, everything was handled as well as possible because of a close-knit crew who knew exactly what to do."She was loaded with containers equivalent to 13,537 TEU of which 6,425 were full. The first step was to identify the cargo onboard. Cargo lists were shared with local Maersk Line customer service agents who have since reached out to all its customers with cargo onboard with the relevant information.Alternate routingsAlternative arrangements for the cargo ...

Company confirms that there is no risk of danger The biggest container vessel at the Port of Arhus. Photo by Rafik Fethallah / Maersk websitePalle Laursen, Head of Ship Management for Maersk Line, shares the latest update on the Emma Maersk incident that took place in the Suez Canal Friday evening. He explains that the investigation is still ongoing, and that repairs will take time.Initial inspections by divers show that the water ingress was caused by damage to one of the stern thrusters. Thrusters are used for improving the vessels manoeuvrability and consist of a shaft tunnel fitted with a propeller delivering sideways thrust. It is now known that several propeller blades have broken off and there is severe damage to the propeller mounting, resulting in a crack in the forward stern thruster tunnel which caused the ingress of water.The water flooded the engine room which consequently led to the loss of main engine power, and Emma Maersk was towed to the quay at Suez Canal Container Terminal.No risk of dangerWhile it is still unclear what caused the damage, Palle rules out any human error by the crew. "The crew handled the situation very well and did exactly what they ...

Emma Maersk faces leakage in Suez Canal

State of emergency in Egypt

Most Port Operations Continuing in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez

Egypt, the world's biggest wheat importer, said on Sunday it was looking to use Georgia's Poti port for shipments of Kazakh wheat once the port is upgraded to receive Panamax ships carrying shipments of 55-60,000 tonnes.Nomani Nomani, vice chairman of the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), told Reuters that the upgrade at Poti port should took place within a year according to Georgian officials."Once the port is ready to receive Panamax ships, GASC will approve this port as one of the seaports for shipments of Kazakh wheat," Nomani said.Nomani and Egyptian maritime officials visited Georgia late last month to discuss wheat shipments to Egypt through Poti port.Nomani added that Poti port would be equipped within two months to receive handysize ships carrying shipments of around 24-30,000 tonne shipments for the private sector.Egypt consumes around 14 million tonnes of wheat annually and imports around half of that amount.Since the start of the 2011/12 fiscal year last July, GASC's purchases have been dominated by Black Sea origin wheat.GASC has bought 3.24 million tonnes of Russian wheat, 360,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat, 180,000 tonnes of Romanian wheat, 60,000 tonnes of Russian, Ukrainian or Kazakh wheat at the seller's option and 60,000 tonnes ...

Egypt's National Security Service has foiled a planned attack against a foreign vessel Egypt's National Security Service has foiled a planned attack against a foreign vessel in the Suez Canal. The service's officers detained two suspects - residents of the Ismailia Governorate, the MENA news agency reported on Wednesday.One of them planned to organize an attack on a vessel passing through the canal from a land plot he owned on the coast, says the report cited by RIA Novosti.No details of the preparation for the attack were immediately available. The agency said the suspects intended to "inflict damage upon the state's economy."The Suez Canal linking the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea is a key source of funding for Egypt's budget. The North African country receives some EUR 5 B annually on average in levies for the passage of vessels.Despite political instability in Egypt since the Hosni Mubarak regime was deposed in February 2011, the canal has operated normally. Some 50 ships pass through the canal daily.Source: Novinite

On vessels within Egyptian waters The West of England P&I Club has been advised by Eldib Pandi, Alexandria of a further change in the requirements governing the carriage of weapons, ammunition and armed guards on vessels within Egyptian waters.Following a recent Egyptian Ministry of Defence conference to discuss this issue, agents are now required to make a declaration 48 hours prior to arrival in the case of vessels which are due to call at Egyptian ports or transit the Suez Canal and have weapons, ammunition or armed guards on board. The agents are required to provide the Port Police, Military Intelligence, Coast Guard and Customs with a copy of the declaration. Also the Suez Canal Authority or the Port Authority, as applicable. The declaration shall include the following information:Details of the weapons / ammunition on board including the number of weapons, their calibre and serial numbers as well as the quantity of ammunitionThe nationalities of security personnel (armed guards)Confirmation that the weapons and ammunition will be placed in a sealed boxIf a vessel does not have weapons, ammunition and armed guards on board, the agent may require the Master to sign and stamp a form or statement to this effect.The ...

Updates by West of England P&I Club The West of England P&I Club has recently been advised by Egyptian Marine Insurance Consultations and Services (EMICS), Alexandria of a further change in the regulatory requirements governing the carriage of weapons, ammunition and armed guards on vessels within Egyptian waters.A free translation of the new requirements is reproduced below for guidance:The Egyptian Government forbids the presence of any weapons / armed guards on board commercial vessels as per the rules and regulations of the International Maritime Organisation.In the case of the presence of weapons on board commercial vessels calling at Egyptian ports, Masters shall lock the weapons in a safe compartment and issue a certificate regarding these weapons and deliver it to the pilot in the waiting area. The certificate shall include a confirmation from the Master that weapons will be delivered to Port Police Forces once berthed to be locked ashore after being inspected by the Port Police Forces and will be returned to the vessel before departing the port.If the above regulations are not adopted, the vessel will not be permitted to enter the port.In the case of vessels transiting the Suez Canal, the Port Police Forces will receive the ...

Egypt declares the carriage of arms and ammunition on board ships in territorial waters illegal The Egyptian authorities have recently declared the carriage of arms and ammunition on board ships in Egyptian territorial waters to be illegal.Our Egyptian correspondents, Eldib Pandi, have advised that the Egyptian authorities had allowed ships to enter Egyptian ports with arms on-board. This was on the basis that the ship's local agents would make a declaration to the port authority before the ship's arrival providing them with:the name of the ship the ship's ETA at the port the period of her stay in the port a list of the security personnel the number of pieces and the type of arms on-board.The port police officers had to board the ship upon her arrival to:put the arms in a locker and seal it obtain a written confirmation from the ship's master that such arms would not be used during the period of the ship's stay in the port appoint a police officer to stay on board the ship and watch the bonded store during the ship's stay in the port.The police officers would then break the seal when the ship was ready to sail. If the ship ...