SHIPPING

MAC Projects seals DLRE logistics deal

MAC Holdings Private Limited CEO Andre Fernando exchanging the contract with DLRE Wind Power Private Limited CEO Manjula Perera (right) while head of MAC Projects Rukshan Halpita looks on.

MAC Projects secured their largest project logistics contract in Sri Lanka after rebranding their project logistics division as MAC Projects by sealing the logistics contract of the wind power project developed by Daily Life Renewable Energy Private Limited in Narakkaliya, Norochcholai.

Sealing the deal, MAC Projects become the first service provider to move the longest ever wind blade on Sri Lankan rods with a staggering 135 feet in length. MAC Projects have also invested in special state-of-the-art blade carriers to be engaged for this project.

MAC Projects will be moving a total volume of 22,600 CBM from the Colombo port to the project site travelling 150 kilometers per each trip.

With their latest developments MAC Projects pledges to revive the logistics business for development projects in many ways in order to contribute to country’s growth aspirations.

Indonesian pirate attack thwarted off Malaysia

Malaysian maritime authorities said Tuesday they arrested six Indonesians attempting to rob a ship in the Strait of Malacca, the latest in a surge of piracy attacks in the strategic waterway.

The suspects were spotted by Malaysian patrols early Sunday morning as they tried to board a merchant vessel off southern Johor state near Singapore, Maritime Enforcement Agency chief Admiral Zulkifli Abu Bakar said. “The pirates realised they were spotted and tried to flee on their boat but our patrol vessel gave chase and fired several warning shots before intercepting the pirate ship in Malaysian waters,” he told AFP.

He said the pirates appeared to have come from the nearby Indonesian island of Batam and had gathered in the area intending to rob three ships. An investigation was under way.

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) in June sent an alert to ships traversing the area, warning of a heightened piracy risk following the hijacking of three tugboats and a barge this year.

The global maritime watchdog has said the waterway — wedged between the coast of Sumatra and the Malay peninsula — has seen a surge in reported attacks by armed pirates, with at least 41 incidents since January.

“We are pleased that the Malaysian authorities have arrested these pirates. It shows their commitment and seriousness in dealing with this menace,” Noel Choong, head of the IMB’s Kuala Lumpur-based piracy reporting centre, told AFP.

“Strong enforcement will deter pirates from attacking more ships in the area,” he added.

KUALA LUMPUR, (AFP)

Container ship briefly stuck on Dutch sandbank

Dutch maritime authorities on Monday freed a large container ship which ran aground on a sandbank near the Belgian border, port authorities said.

The ship was stuck on a sandbank after an earlier attempt to pull it loose was unsuccessful, Zeeland Region Safety’s Aart Oosten had told AFP.

A spokeswoman for local authorities in charge of rescue plans, Dianna Deunloo, later told AFP: “The boat is free and being sent to the port of Zeebrugge for an examination”.

The 360-metre MSC Luciana ran onto a sandbank in the Westerschelde, the large sea-channel that connects the port of Antwerp with the North Sea, at around 8:30 am (0630 GMT).

It carried about 7,000 containers of “all kinds of merchandise”, said Deunloo. The Luciana was “towed by other smaller ships and there were no consequences for other ships”, she added.

The ship was on its way from Antwerp to an unknown destination when it ran aground.

THE HAGUE, (AFP)