Royal Navy minesweepers protect Seaspan-Hapag boxship in pirate waters

TWO Royal Navy minesweepers recently went to the aid of a Hapag-Lloyd containership which lost power in the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden while operating on the German liner's Indamex service.

The 4,253-TEU New Delhi Express sent out a distress call to the HMS Middleton and HMS Pembroke informing them that it had suffered an engine failure and was concerned that it would be a sitting target for Somali pirates that are known to be operating in the immediate area, reported London's Containerisation International.

The navy ships, which were returning to the UK after serving their term of duty within EU NAVFOR, readied their weapons and maintained a patrol around the ship for several hours until the Seaspan-owned ship's engines were repaired.

There are still eight ships and more than 250 mariners held hostage by Somali-based pirates. However, proactive measures by EU NAVFOR and the hiring of shipboard armed guards have all but halted hijacking in the area recently, said he report.

India major port quarterly container volume up 3.2pc to 2.62 million TEU

TOTAL container volume through India's major ports increased 3.2 per cent through April to July year on year to 2.62 million TEU, according to the Indian Ports Association (IPA).

Total tonnage fell by five per cent year on year during the same period to 183.7 million tonnes, reported the UK's Port Technology International.

Volumes through Jawaharlal Nehru (Nhava Sheva) port, India biggest container port, remained flat at 1.44 million TEU, while throughput at Chennai was down three per cent to 537,000 TEU.

But Kolkata container volume increased 12 per cent to 202,000 TEU, while Tuticorin throughput was up 1.2 per cent to 157,000 TEU year on year; Cochin fell 10 per cent to 109,000 TEU while Mumbai came in at a flat 19,000 TEU.