The Club's correspondents have advised that all Syrian ports – Lattakia, Tartous and Banias – are operating normally and under safe conditions, as the Syrian Coast remains calm so far.
For your information, vegetable oils, such as palm oil, and oil products (mineral oils) consigned to private sector companies are discharged at Tartous or Lattakia Ports directly at the quay into tank trucks.
However, Banias Port is designated to receive fuel oil and other oil products consigned to the state-owned Mahrokat Company. Tankers would normally berth on buoys about 2 miles offshore. The cargo is then discharged into the shore tanks via a pipeline.
This report outlines an example of an accident caused by dragging anchor and an examination of possible ways to prevent a ship from dragging its anchors.
In this short article, the Club takes a look back one of the most notorious historical incident in maritime history, the sinking of Titanic; this casualty gives us the opportunity to examine the reported facts, to reflect and understand human error and avoid those mistakes from being repeated that others have made.
The UK P&I Club recently held a webinar on the maintenance and proper use of mooring ropes; the webinar received an overwhelming response with attendees from more than 50 countries worldwide.
