An investigation has begun in the UK after an MSC boxship was found to be listing in dock in Liverpool. The Swiss shipowner told TradeWinds that the discovery of the problem with the 4,392-teu MSC Matilde (built 1999) was made early on Friday morning. “As a precaution, to ensure the safety of the captain and crew, they were disembarked from the vessel,” it added. “There were no reports of injuries,…

A proposed revision to an international convention that would force shipowners to remove or seal coatings containing cybutryne has been delayed after an objection by Japan. A draft amendment to the International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-Fouling Systems on Ships had been tabled for approval at last week’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) meeting at the IMO, following a submission by the European Commission. Under the amendment, newbuildings…

California Maritime Academy’s training ship was damaged Tuesday after a crashing into a crane in Barbados. The 12,500-gt Golden Bear (built 1989) was under pilot control when approaching a dock in Bridgetown when the crane hit a mast carrying the ship’s light range. A spokesperson for the academy confirmed initial repairs had already begun and, if further repairs are approved by the US Coast Guard, will continue its scheduled itinerary….

With the amount of available capital still limited, shipping companies will prioritise investments in environmental technologies over cyber security, according to a leading maritime lawyer. In a panel discussion during the Sea: The Future conference, Norton Rose Fulbright’s head of transport law Harry Theochari said vessel owners and operators would put cyber security on the back burner with new environmental regulations coming into force. The two-year grace period for the…

Big changes are expected under Luxembourg law that will allow its flag to become a more influential player in registering tonnage from other European Union nations. The leaders of the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR) have high hopes for those developments’ impact on its venture into the small European country, but they are less certain that national flags pose any long-term threat to the primacy of open registries,…

Expectations were running high last week that a key IMO environmental meeting on reducing greenhouse gas emissions would make progress on limiting vessel speeds in shipping. All eyes were on events at the Marine Environmental Protection Committee (MEPC), with an audience of traditionally conservative shipowners being joined by extreme environmentalist group Extinction Rebellion. Slow-steaming gives rise to unlikely NGO-owner alliance Read more Slow-steaming on back burner as IMO targets cuts…

The Grimaldi Group said a major blaze on a ro-ro car carrier off the coast of Spain is likely to have been caused by batteries in two new cars onboard, fuelling concerns over the risks posed by cargoes of hybrid and electric vehicles. The 3,320-lane-metre Grande Europa (built 1998) caught fire 40 kilometres (25 miles) off Palma de Majorca on 13 May with 1,843 vehicles onboard. The flames were quickly…

The US says that the alleged threat from Iran has receded in the wake of attacks on four tankers off the port of Fujairah. “We’ve put on hold the potential for attacks on Americans,” acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told reporters in Washington on Tuesday. “There haven’t been any attacks on Americans. I would consider that a goal. That doesn’t mean that the threats that we had previously identified…

Masked robbers accosted a crew member after boarding an LNG carrier in Peru’s Callao anchorage in an attempted pre-dawn raid last week. According to maritime security consultancy Gray Page, as many as five individuals boarded the ship on 15 May by climbing the ship’s hawse pipe. They then seized the seafarer, who had been making rounds, pushing him and stealing his radio before fleeing as the alarm sounded. Gray Page…

A Hapag Lloyd containership ravaged by fire in January has finally arrived at its intended destination – the Canadian port of Halifax. AIS data shows the 7,150-teu Yantian Express (built 2002) anchored in Bedford Basin ahead of discharge operations, which are due to start on Tuesday. The vessel had departed Freeport in the Bahamas on 15 May 2019, where the ship has been held after salvage operations were completed in…