Commercial cargo vessels are calling at Benghazi harbour, with supplies being delivered to local residents and the opposition movement. Naval facilities at Tripoli harbour have been bombed, while there are several commercial vessels in the harbour they have not been hit. The US is reportedly blockading vessels in regime-controlled harbours, threatening them with attack if they move out to sea. It is not currently clear whether or not this refers to military vessels or all vessel types.

The highly unusual cargo, manufactured by Joy Mining Machinery of Worcester, UK, was handled by the award-winning Teesport operator and logistics firm, PD Ports, and loaded onto the 30,000dwt, multi-purpose heavy lift vessel Rickmers Jakarta  on its “Round-the-World Pearl String Service”. The mining equipment, destined for long-wall and room and pillar mine operations, is designed to extract high volumes of underground coal and other bedded materials. The machines are used in pairs to create one large arch, which then cut away at the coalface whilst supporting the weight of the roof of the mine tunnel.

David Greaves, UK representative for Rickmers-Linie, said: “Teesport was selected from a range of possible UK ports as the most appropriate for the shipment of this specialist and valuable cargo. We needed a deep sea port with no locks, a skilled and readily available labour supply and good undercover storage, so PD Ports was the obvious choice.” Due to the extreme weather encountered in the UK, PD Teesport provided undercover storage for all 182 pieces in its dockside warehouse at Tees Dock in the weeks prior to shipment. The 5,000 tonnes cargo was successfully loaded by PD Teesport stevedores in only two days using specialised lifting equipment designed and manufactured by PD in conjunction with advice from Joy Mining. This enabled the cargo to be loaded speedily and damage free to the shippers’ specifications.

David Varey, General Manager, Conservancy and Port Development at PD Teesport, said: “We were very happy to work with Joy Mining and Rickmers-Linie in providing the specialist handling equipment and quick vessel turnaround required for this project. Rickmers-Linie is looking to build on this successful operation with further calls to Teesport in the near future.”

Tsunami warnings, rising oil prices, the continuing situation in Libya, Yemen and Bahrain and a constant stream of discharging tankers at all ports has caused major bunkering delays at Panama. Delays are reported to be most severe at Balboa where, in some extreme cases, vessels have had to wait five days or more for a bunkering barge. Although delays in Cristobal are not quite as severe, a wait of up to two days has been reported there too.

Operations at Bahrain International Airport and movements on the Bahrain/Saudi Arabia causeway have also returned to normal.