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Tag: Ship

  • Large Baltimore Bridge collapses after hit by ship

    Large Baltimore Bridge collapses after hit by ship

    Major Francis Scott Key Bridge in the U.S. city of Baltimore near Washington, has collapsed after a ship crashed into it.

    The Maryland Department of Transportation and several U.S. media outlets reported on Tuesday.

    The Baltimore City Fire Department told U.S. broadcaster CBS News that at least seven people were in the river and rescue teams were at the scene to locate the individuals.

    Calls started coming into emergency services at around 1:30 a.m. (0530 GMT), the report said.

    It was unclear how many vehicles were on the bridge at that time, but fire officials said “there was surely a large tractor-trailer’’

  • Buhari welcomes berthing of first Ship at Lekki Deep Sea Port

    President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the Nigerian Ports Authority on the successful berthing of the first ship at Lekki Deep Seaport.

    The vessel, ZHEN HUA 28, delivered three Ship to Shores (STS) and 10 Rubber Tyre Gantries (RTG) cranes that will help in the evacuation of cargoes from vessels to the shore.

    The president expressed his feelings in a statement issued by his spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, on Saturday in Abuja.

    He also congratulated all stakeholders in the maritime sector on the feat.

    Buhari recalled that his approval of four new seaports in the country, including the Lekki Deep Seaport, was hinged on growing the economy.

    According to him, the decision is also aimed at creating massive job opportunities, foreign investment inflows and trade facilitation.

    He commended the staff and management in the nation’s maritime sector who are working round the clock to make the operationalisation of Lekki Deep sea port before the end of the year a reality.

    The president reassured them of his commitment to sustain investments in these new assets.

    According to Buhari, the nation’s maritime and aquatic resources are critical to the livelihoods of Nigerians and the Government will spare no effort in successfully harnessing the potential of the sector.

  • Ship laden with sex toys gets stuck in Suez Canal blockage

    Ship laden with sex toys gets stuck in Suez Canal blockage

    Users of sex toys have expressed their angst over a ship loaded with several pleasure items which got stuck in the ongoing impasse over Ever Given, a mega-container ship stranded in Egypt’s Suez Canal.

    According to Metro UK, the ship carrying about 20 containers full of “dildos, vibrators and male masturbators” is among the over 230 others stuck in the traffic jam as efforts to address the situation linger.

    EDC Retail, a Dutch company, which runs the biggest online sex toy shops in Netherlands and Belgium, estimated that it is currently losing millions over the inability to replenish its stocks.

    Evertine Magerman, the company’s chief executive officer (CEO), told RTV Noord, a Dutch news website, that several of their containers carrying sex toys are held up in the blockage.

    “There are more than twenty containers full of well-running items, such as vibrators, dildos, and male masturbators. A lot of these products were sold for Christmas and Valentine’s Day, for example,” Magerman said.

    “There is now an extra lot on the way to restore stocks. But that is not possible now. It is annoying that such a hitch will continue for a long time before the rhythm in the transport chain is restored.”

    Worries have continued to grow since the blockage of the Suez Canal, the shortest shipping route from Europe to Asia, which occurred on Tuesday, barring the flow of shipping activities.

     

    The 200,000-tonne ship is the length of four football pitches and one of the world’s biggest container vessels, capable of carrying 20,000 containers.

     

  • Authorities rescue 9 sailors from drifting ship

    Authorities rescue 9 sailors from drifting ship

    South Korea on Wednesday said that it has rescued nine people from a drifting ship in waters off the country’s southern resort island of Jeju.

    The ship, which lost communication after a Vietnamese sailor occupied the wheel house.

    Authorities had launched the search operation to locate the 72-ton fishing boat earlier in the day, after the ship-owner reported that it had lost contact with the vessel, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

    Ten people, including five South Korean nationals, were aboard the ship.

    The ministry said a Vietnamese sailor who occupied the wheelhouse was threatening the captain with a weapon when its maritime officials boarded the ship at around 12.30 p.m.

    The sailor was handed over to the Coast Guard for further investigation.

    “We were able to avoid any casualties as the officials were dispatched to the scene promptly and took control of the situation,’’ the ministry said in a statement.

  • Nigeria Customs speak on Lagos-bound arms-laden ship arrested in South Africa

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Friday reacted to reports of a Lagos-bound ship full of illegal arms arrested and detained in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

    Recall that TNG reported on Thursday that LADA, a Russian flagged ship, belonging to St. Petersburg-based operator, Transflot, arrived Port Elizabeth on a voyage from Tulear, Madagascar en route to Lagos.

    The vessel was said to still have 20 containers of improperly documented armoury on board after discharging 14 containers of legitimate cargo.

    The arms and explosives found on the ship are valued at $3.5m (about N1.07bn), according to the report.

    However, reacting in a telephone interview with on Friday, the NCS Public Relations Officer, Mr. Joseph Attah, said the service could not comment on the vessel because it had yet to arrive the country, adding that the agency had no knowledge of the ship or its content.

    He said, “The duty of the Nigeria Customs Service is to prevent any harmful commodity from entering Nigeria. Until the said ship gets here, we cannot say anything about it because we do not have that information.”

    Another Customs source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “We also got the news the way you got it, from the social media and news sources.”

    However, a freight forwarder and Coordinator, Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders, Dr. Osita Chukwu, told one of our correspondents that nobody knew the shipping agent of LADA.

    He said, “The ship will not have a clearing agent until it gets to Nigeria. We don’t even know the shipping agent. It could be transhipment, the owner of the cargo may have been a Nigerian but the ship’s destination may not be Nigeria ultimately.”

    Another official, who confided in our correspondent, said the issue of arms importation was a sensitive one that involved national security, adding that it would be premature to declare anyone wanted.

    Meanwhile, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has praised the South African government for its timely intervention.

    He, however, expressed fears that Nigeria would not be able to arrest or prosecute the perpetrators.

    He said, “I commend the government of South Africa for the arrest of that vessel. That is a country that has regard for the rule of law and you can be sure that those implicated will be prosecuted. I’m calling for a full investigation into the matter. I’m challenging customs to get to the root of the matter and not spare anyone that has been implicated. That is how you curb criminality.”

     

  • South Africa arrests Nigeria-bound ship full of illegal arms

    South Africa arrests Nigeria-bound ship full of illegal arms

    A Russian vessel carrying “dangerous cargo” has been arrested outside the Port of Ngqura in Port Elizabeth, the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) said on Thursday.

    It is suspected that the vessel had been carrying “weapons of mass destruction” and explosives valued at about R50m, according to The Herald.

    “TNPA can confirm that the vessel Lada has been arrested by the [SA Police Service] and is anchored outside the Port of Ngqura. We are aware that the vessel has dangerous cargo on board,” Port of Ngqura manager Tandi Lebakeng said in an emailed reply to News24’s enquiry about the vessel.

    Authorities discovered explosives aboard the vessel on Sunday while conducting operations at the port, according to The Herald.

    The TNPA has revealed that the ship named Lada was en route from Tulear, Madagascar and it was destined for Lagos, Nigeria.

    “TNPA gave permission for the vessel to be detained outside the port – although still within port limits – and we will continue monitoring the vessel,” Lebakeng said.

    The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation’s (Hawks’) spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said that it was a “sensitive” matter.

    “We are not prepared to divulge details pending a thorough assessment by different roleplayers that have been roped in to assist,” said Mulaudzi.

    He said he could not yet reveal who the roleplayers were.

    “No charges have been laid against anyone and as mentioned, we are not obliged to divulge [information] until the finalisation of this process,” he added.

    It has been reported that the vessel was inspected following a tip-off, after it had already offloaded 14 containers at the port.

    The ship had produced all the relevant permits relating to the cargo it offloaded on South African shores. The containers were dispatched by a company named Solar India.

    The Herald suggested that, while the initial drop-off was above board, the tip-off alerted authorities to a further 20 containers which remained stowed away. These containers, in direct contravention of numerous laws, held illegal weapons and explosives.