| NEW YEAR COUNTDOWN CELEBRATION Hong Kong |
| REVISED SANITARY DUES Turkey |
| PORT OPERATIONS RESUMED Dammam, Saudi Arabia |
| PORT REOPENED Jubail, Saudi Arabia |
| REVISED STRUCTURE FOR TUG DUES AND CHARGES Novorossiysk, Russia |
| TEMPORARY SAFETY ZONE TO BE ESTABLISHED Lower Mississippi River, United States |
| New Year Countdown Celebration |
| Wednesday, December 27, 2017, Hong Kong |
| The New Year Countdown Celebration which consists of a fireworks and pyrotechnic display will take place around midnight on the New Year’s Eve, 31 December 2017 and last for about 10 minutes.
The fireworks will be discharged from 4 barges and 13 pontoons anchored off the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), and from a barge and 2 pontoons anchored off Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) respectively. The pyrotechnics will be discharged from the roof top of 5 buildings on Hong Kong Island. Two Closed Areas, encompassing the craft anchored off HKCEC and TST to stage the aforesaid waterborne fireworks display, will be established with the following details: Closed Area 1 (i) The area is formed by four straight lines joining the following positions (WGS 84 Datum) between 1300 hours on 31 December 2017 and about 0500 hours on 1 January 2018: (ii) The 4 barges and 13 pontoons for discharging fireworks will be anchored at the following positions (WGS 84 Datum): Closed Area 2 (iii) The area is formed by four straight lines joining the following positions (WGS 84 Datum) between 2300 hours on 31 December 2017 and 0100 hours on 1 January 2018: (iv) The 2 barges and 2 pontoons for discharging fireworks will be anchored at the following positions (WGS 84 Datum): The pontoons and barges staying inside the Closed Areas are connected by wire ropes illuminated by LED lights. The Closed Areas will be closed to all marine traffic except craft directly involved in the fireworks display. A Restricted Area will be established in the Central Harbour from 2300 hours on 31 December 2017 to about 0100 hours on 1 January 2018 with the following details: (i) The Eastern Cordon Line (ECL) of the Restricted Area is a straight line joining the south extremity of MTR Hung Hom Freight Terminal Pier and the breakwater at Kellett Island, Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. The Western Cordon Line (WCL) of the Restricted Area is a straight line joining the southwest extremity of the Ocean Terminal and the Central Government Pier. (ii) No vessel will be allowed to enter or remain within the Restricted Area except craft directly involved in the fireworks display, government launches and vessels with special permission from the Director of Marine. To prevent speeding and minimize head-on encounters of vessels after the fireworks and pyrotechnic display, the WCL and ECL of the Restricted Area will be lifted at stagger time, i.e. the WCL will be lifted at about 0100 hours on 1 January 2018 and the ECL will be lifted later depending on the traffic condition in the Central Harbour. It is anticipated that the Restricted Area will be completely lifted at about 0115 hours on 1 January 2018. To facilitate the landside crowd control, all the public landing steps at Kowloon Public Pier will be closed from 2200 hours on 31 December 2017 to about 0100 hours on 1 January 2018. Special marine traffic control measures for the New Year Countdown Celebration will be executed. (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. 180 of 2017 |
| Revised sanitary dues |
| Wednesday, December 27, 2017, Turkey |
| According to Turkish Border and Coastal Health Management, sanitary dues have been revised for vessels calling at Turkish ports for 2018.
The applied coefficient number for 2017 per NRT was 0,93TL. Beginning from 1 January 2018, this will change to 1,00TL per NRT. The simple formula for the sanitary dues for the vessels’ port calls is as follows: Vessels arriving from foreign countries pay free vessel sanitary due assessed per each net ton in the first Turkish port they call after free pratique procedure. Each vessel coming from foreign countries pays payable free vessel sanitary due amount to the relevant account not later than three working days from the date of entry to first Turkish port following issue of free pratique. For information about operations at Turkish ports contact GAC Turkey at shipping.turkey@gac.com |
| Port operations resumed |
| Wednesday, December 27, 2017, Dammam, Saudi Arabia |
| Dammam Port Marine Operations resumed at 07.20 hours local time today (27 December) after being closed since yesterday morning due to strong winds.
For information about operations at Dammam contact GAC Saudi Arabia at dammam@gac.com |
| Port reopened |
| Wednesday, December 27, 2017, Jubail, Saudi Arabia |
| Following its closure yesterday morning (26 December) due to high winds, Jubail port was reopened for berthing and sailing at 19.00 hours local time last night.
For information about operations at Jubail, contact GAC Saudi Arabia at jubail@gac.com |
| Revised structure for tug dues and charges |
| Wednesday, December 27, 2017, Novorossiysk, Russia |
| The Fleet of Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port (NCSP) is planning to change the structure of their charges and offer a flat rate for all services lumpsum.
This includes: tugs assistance for mooring, unmooring, shifting, booms installations, fire guard service etc. All nigh-time and holiday surcharges for tugs will be cancelled. All ships/agents will be obliged to use only the tugs of NCSP as all costs will already be included in the flat rate. Information about the rates is still pending, but us expected to be clarified within the next 1-2 weeks. For information about operations at Novorossiysk, contact GAC Russia at russia@gac.com |
| Temporary Safety Zone to be established |
| Wednesday, December 27, 2017, Lower Mississippi River, United States |
| The U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port New Orleans, under the authority of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act, will establish a safety zone on the Lower Mississippi River, Above Head of Passes, from MM 93.5 to MM 95.5, in the vicinity of Algiers Point in New Orleans, LA.
This safety zone is needed to protect persons and vessels from the potential safety hazards associated with a fireworks display. This rule is effective on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2017 from 11:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. on January 1, 2018. All vessels are prohibited from entering this safety zone unless they have been granted permission by the Captain of the Port New Orleans or designated representative. For this Safety Zone, the designated representative will be Vessel Traffic Center Lower Mississippi River. Only vessels participating in the fireworks display and pre-designated vessels are permitted within the safety zone after 11:30 p.m. A U.S. Coast Guard vessel will be on scene for the duration of the event and may be contacted on VHF-FM Channel 16 in the event of an emergency. (For information about operations in the United States, contact GAC North America at usa@gac.com) Source: United States Coast Guard Sector New Orleans Marine Safety Information Bulletin Volume XVII Issue: 090 dated 26 December 2017 |
