| FLOATING OF LOCAL CURRENCY Yemen |
| SHOALING IN SAN JOAQUIN RIVER Stockton, United States |
| TEMPORARY DIVERSION OF TUNG CHUNG BUOYED CHANNEL Hong Kong |
| CLOSURE OF BOSPHORUS Turkish Straits, Turkey |
| Floating of local currency |
| Wednesday, August 16, 2017, Yemen |
| On Monday (14 August), the Central Bank of Yemen issued a circular to all banks in the country instructing them to float the local Yemeni currency of Yemeni Rial “YR” using the market rate instead of fixed Central Bank rate. As a result, the current exchange rate of YR 250 to the one US Dollar is expected to reach more than YR 370 to the one US Dollar.
Meanwhile, according to the latest information, most ports in Yemen remain open, but Mokha, Ras Isa Marine Terminal (FSO Safer) and Balhaf LNG Terminal are closed. For information about operations in Yemen contact GAC Yemen at yemen@gac.com |
| Shoaling in San Joaquin river |
| Wednesday, August 16, 2017, Stockton, United States |
| Recent ACE soundings have identified shoaling to 25.6’ on the San Joaquin river just East of the Antioch bridge. Until further notice, all future movements should be planned according to this new controlling depth.
Due to the significant and sudden nature of the shoaling, the following temporary procedures are in place for vessels presently in the Port of Stockton which are subject to San Francisco Bar Pilots (SFBP) DLO guidelines Transits may be made during hours of darkness provided the vessel completes the transit to Prisoners Point during daylight hours and an escort tug is employed for the transit of the shoal area near the Antioch bridge. All other future movements to/from the Port of Stockton should be planned based on the new controlling depth and existing SFBP guidelines which are available on the SFBP website. (For information about operations in the USA contact GAC USA at usa@gac.com) Source: San Francisco Bar Pilots |
| Temporary diversion of Tung Chung Buoyed Channel |
| Wednesday, August 16, 2017, Hong Kong |
|
From 17 August until 22 September, a section of the buoyed channel between the pairs of buoys TC1 and TC2; TC5 and TC6 will be temporarily diverted eastwards during the following specified periods:
The diverted channel is bounded by straight lines joining the following co-ordinates (WGS 84 Datum), with the name of temporary light marks shown: (A) 22 deg. 18.899’N / 113 deg. 57.854’E (DTC 1) Details of the temporary light marks marking the diverted channel are as follows: I) Lateral light buoys: Name: DTC1 Name: DTC2 II) Lights fixed on piers: Name: DTC3 Name: DTC4 The minimum width and depth of the diverted channel are about 100 metres and 2.5 metres (Chart Datum) respectively. The diverted channel permits vessels with airdraft of not exceeding 18.8 metres to pass through. To facilitate the infill segments installation works which will be carried out by two large floating crane barges at the Tung Chung buoyed channel, a table showing the schedule of the temporary diversion of the Tung Chung buoyed channel is attached to this Notice. Guard boats will be stationed at the turning points of the diverted channel to give necessary guidance to the vessels using this channel. Vessels navigating in the vicinity should proceed with caution and follow the guidance given by the guard boats on scene. (For information about operations in Hong Kong contact GAC Hong Kong at shipping.hongkong@gac.com) Source: Government of the Hong Kong SAR Marine Department Notice No.117 of 2017 |
| Closure of Bosphorus |
| Wednesday, August 16, 2017, Turkish Straits, Turkey |
| Traffic in Bosphorus will be suspended between 08:00 and 20:00 hours tomorrow (17 August), due to the transit of the drilling jack-up vessel M/V Amazone.
For information about operations in the Turkish Straits, contact GAC Istanbul at turkey@gac.com |
