From Notable Incidents:

Sometimes the victims (ship and crew) of a maritime incident garner less attention than their rescuer. Such was arguably the case when the diminutive ro-ro cargo ship Two Brothers capsized 30nm north of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. Initial reports suggest that the vessel was overladen. First on the scene was the 133,596 gt cruise ship Carnival Vista which altered course to intercept the cargo ship’s drifting life raft and rescued six of the twelve strong crew. The remaining crew members were spotted clinging to wreckage and rescued by a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter.

From Container Fleets:

X-Press Feeders’ intend their new 1,200 TEU Eco Maestro (above) to utilise bio-methanol for her entire maiden voyage from Shanghai to Rotterdam in early 2024. Like others in the sector the key challenge facing the Singapore-based feeder operator is the availability (or lack of) methanol fuel in certain parts of the world. Eco Maestro will be followed by sister Eco Marin, which is also fitting out, and a dozen more ships in the class which are being built at Sumec’s Yangzhou New Dayang Shipbuilding Company yard.

From Bulk & Tanker News:

Denmark’s J. Lauritzen has announced that three 81,200dwt Kamsarmax bulk carriers it has ordered at Japan’s Tsuneishi Shipbuilding are to have MAN B&W 7G50ME-C9.6 LGIM dual-fuel methanol engines. Thought to be among the first bulk carriers capable of running on methanol, the ships have been ordered in co-operation with global food company, Cargill, which will employ the vessels for a minimum period of seven years. The ships will be fully owned by Lauritzen NexGen Shipping which is understood to be the Danish group’s platform for investments in zero-carbon emission ships and future-proof assets.

From Cruise News:

Aroya Cruises,’ the new Arabian cruise line operated by Cruise Saudi, unveiled the renderings for the first cruise ship in its fleet, the 150,695gt/2017-built Manara (above), which was the former World Dream. The 335m-long ship was undergoing an extensive refurbishment in Bremerhaven with cruises commencing from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 2024.

Villa Vie Residences announced a ship purchase agreement in December 2023. The ship linked with the company is Fred Olsen Cruises’ 24,344gt/1993-built Braemar, which Fred Olsen has no further plans for and has been laid up at Rosyth (above) since shortly after the Covid pandemic began in March 2020 and sales-listed since 2022. At the time of writing, Villa Vie hoped to take possession of the vessel in late February. The ship would then relocate to Germany for an 8-week internal refit and a 2-week dry docking.

From Ferry News:

Condor Ferries’ 6,307gt/2010-built Condor Liberation returned to Poole from overhaul at Falmouth on 14th December and in 2024 the vessel will again operate a weekends only Portsmouth-Cherbourg service for Brittany Ferries, from 24th May to 2nd June and from 12th July to 1st September with the return leg going to Poole. Following a 22.65% increase in port fees 2023-24, and similar in Guernsey, Condor Ferries announced in December an increase in their freight rates by 19% from January 2024. Such an increase by the ports could not be absorbed by the company but the announcement also coincided with the news that Condor Ferries was working to resolve the problems while assuring the travelling public that the issue would have no impact on its services.

Scandlines’ new zero direct emissions ferry, the 14,021gt/2024-built Futura (above) was launched on 25th November at the Cemre shipyard ahead of her deployment on the Fehmarn Belt in 2024. The Puttgarden-Rødby newbuild is 147.40m long with a beam of 25.40m, a design draught of 5.30m and has capacity for 66 freight units (1,200 lane metres) and 140 passengers.

• This is just a selection of news from the March 2024 issue, out now!

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