A fire broke out aboard new passenger ship Aida Nova (IMO 9781865) in Groningen’s Eemshaven early on October 24th. Several fire brigades from the region were called; it was soon established that the fire was confined to one of the ship’s cabins and was quickly brought under control. The ship had entered port on October 9th for completion. It was unknown whether this would mean a delay in delivery, but a planned six-day trial has been cancelled. The captain was quoted as suspecting arson as the cause. There had been about 3,000 people working on the ship, most of whom usually spend the night on board. However, because of the fire, Meyer Yard has decided that no one would be sleeping on board. Hotel accommodation for all of them was eventually found. Aida Nova is the first fully LNG-powered cruise ship in the world. 2018-built, Italy-flagged, 183,200 gt Aida Nova is owned by Costa Crociere SpA of Genoa, Italy, and managed by Aida Cruises of Rostock, Germany. It is entered with UK Club )Area Group Americas G7) on behalf of AIDA Cruises German branch of Costa Crociere SpA.
The removal of the wreckage of tanker Shine Luck (IMO 9047128) was completed on October 19th. The relevant authorities intended to carry out a follow-up inspection in the area to check the marine water quality and that all parts of the wreck had been cleaned up. No oil spill was detected throughout the removal operations. The tanker had run aground off Kaohsiung port due to bad weather on June 14th and became partially submerged. The bow section was refloated and towed to Kaohsiung. Shine Luck was one of three vessels that broke off their moorings at Dingpo Feng, Taiwan during the storm. 1992-built, Panama-flagged, 3,274 gt Shine Luck is owned and managed by Sino Marine Ltd of Hong Kong.
Tanker Filyoz (IMO 9407213) got outside the fairway during the afternoon of October 21st Rio Uruguay while sailing, loaded with fuel, towards Concepción del Uruguay from La Plata. The ship was unable to refloat under her own power, so tugs were called from Buenos Aires. 2010-built, Filyoz-flagged, 4,034 gt Filyoz is owned by Filyoz Shipping Ltd care of manager Bahia Grande of Buenos Aires. It is entered with American Club on behalf of Filyoz Shipping.
The Maritime Prefect of the Mediterranean has authorized container ship CSL Virginia (IMO 9289568), hit side-on by cross-Med ferry Ulysse (IMO 9142459) earlier this month, to leave her anchorage off Corsica. The ship lifted anchor on October 24th and headed to Constanta under the responsibility of its owner, following the complete pumping out of the fuel still inside the damaged hold and the double hull. A certificate of seaworthiness was obtained. The ship was escorted by a French tug until it left French territorial waters. French services reportedly were still cleaning the beaches of the Var, which had been affected by pollution from hydrocarbons. About 530 cubic metres of fuel was claimed to have spilt. Total man-hours spent on the clean-up has been estimated at approaching 100,000, with 500 people, 34 French and Italian ships and 11 French and Italian aircraft involved 2005-built, Cyprus-flagged, 54,592 gt CSL Virginia is owned by Duraven Shipping Co Ltd care of manager Cyprus Sea Lines Co of Athens, Greece. It is entered with Britannia P&I Club on behalf of Duraven Shipping Co Ltd.
1997-built, Tunisia-flagged, 17,907 gt Ulysse is owned and managed by Cotunav of Tunis, Tunisia. It is entered with UK P&I Club (Group London L3) on behalf of Cie Tunisienne de Navigation SA (COTUNAV).
Wreck removal operations for cargo ship Bereket (IMO 8721284), which sank while laid up in the Marmara Sea at Ahirkapi Anchorage in January 2017, began earlier this month and are expected to complete in November. 1984-built, 2,980 gt Bereket is owned by Cakil Denizcilik care of manager Umar Denizcilk Ve Orman of Istanbul, Turkey.