Emergency services were called onboard the 'Spirit of British Columbia' to provide medical attention to multiple passengers on a ferry from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen on March 22, 2025. Six passengers became ill in a stairwell and required medical attention. The BC Emergency Health Services (EHS) and RCMP responded and assisted the six. Two of the passengers were transported to hospital and the others received care onboard. The vessel docked in Swartz Bay and was cleared and cleaned and has since resumed service. The 1 p.m. Swartz Bay sailing to Tsawwassen was delayed by 55 minutes as a consequence. Passengers had to expect a delay with the 3:00 p.m. departing Tsawwassen, the 5:00 p.m. departing Swartz Bay, as well as the 7:00 p.m. departing Tsawwassen too.
News
SUPERFAST III
On the afternoon of March 21, 2025, the Port Authority of Patras was informed by the Captain of the 'Superfast III'', that while the ship was on a scheduled route to the ports of Igoumenitsa and Ancona, a 52-year-old Greek passenger required immediate medical attention. The ship returned to the port of Patras, where the patient was safely disembarked. He was then transported by an ambulance to the General University Hospital “Panagia ii Voithia”.
JAIRAN
The 'Jairan', loaded with sodium perchlorate in Liuheng, was an estimated two days’ sailing from its destination Bandar Abbas on March 26, 2025, with an ETA as of March 27. On March 23 the vessel was sailing at a speed of 12-13 knots west of Mumbai and had about 850 nautical miles to go. The ship was the second of two sanctioned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) units that berthed in Shanghai in January to load the chemical, which is the main precursor for ammonium perchlorate, used by most Iranian medium range solid-fuel ballistic missiles. The same material has been intercepted en route from Iran to Houthi forces in Yemen, where it is used to fuel the Palestine-2 missiles which have in recent days been fired at Israel. The Palestine-2 is a derivative of the Iranian Fateh-110 missile. The three IRGC Navy intelligence collection vessels 'Saviz', 'Artenos' and 'Sheba' should be able to provide maritime threat information coverage for the 'Jairan' shortly.
JAOHAR RANIM
The "Jaohar Ranim' was detained in Kocaeli on March 17, 2025, with 25 deficiencies, eleven of which being regarded as seriously and grounds for a detention: 1) Life saving Appliances - Lifeboats Inoperative 2) Life saving Appliances - Inflatable liferafts Not properly stowed 3) Fire safety - Fire pump and its pipes Inoperative 4) Fire safety - Remote Means of control Inoperative 5) Fire safety - Fire detection and alarm system Not properly maintained 6) Fire safety - Fire doors/openings in fire resisting division Not as required 7) Safety of navigation - Nautilcak publications Expired 8)) Safety of navigation - Records of drills and steering gear tests Lack of information 9) Emergency system - Emergency lighting, batteries and switches Inoperative 10) Water/Weathertight - Doors Not properly maintained 11) Propulsion and auxiliary machinery - Auxiliary machinery Not as required The vessel was released again on March 23 and proceeded to Istanbul Anchorage. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063576908591
ARNE
The 'Arne', which had raised the suspicions of German authorities in February, has now been tracked twice by Ireland’s Defense Forces. The Irish Naval Service and Air Corps were put on alert as the ship was thought to possibly be acting suspiciously near undersea cables on March 20. The ship docked in the port of Aughinish on the southwest coast near Limerick en route from Sagunto, where it had sailed on March 15. The Air Corps tracked the vessel in part due to a previous incident off the northeast coast of Ireland. It was identified as suspicious after the German authorities reported stopping it on Feb 24 in Kiel, missing its port side anchor. After an investigation, the German authorities had permitted the vessel to continue its voyage. The Irish authorities then detected the same ship off the northeast coast and the Air Corps was sent to investigate. A surveillance airplane filmed the vessel dropping its anchor. The Irish Defense Force contacted the ship ordering it to stop its anchoring and back away from the sensitive area with the cables. On March 25 the ship left Foynes en route to the Russian port of St. Petersburg with an ETA as of March 31.