News

According to the British Coast Guard, the 'Ruby' was ordered to dump a small amount of its contaminated cargo of ammonium nitrate into the sea. The ship spent 30 hours circling an area 20 kilometers from the port of Great Yarmouth,, before returning to the terminal again. The Coast Guard's plan is now for the rest of the ship's cargo to be transferred to the handysize bulk carrier, 'Zimrida' in the coming days.

On Nov 14, 2024, at 3.06 a.m., the 'Saga Fjord' was boarded by 7-8 perpetrators, armed with gun like objects, about 4.3 nautical miles northwest of Pulau Cula, in pos. 1° 28.6' N 103° 38.36 E . The pirates stole engine spares and unsecured items.

On Nov 13, 2024, at 12.12 a.m., the 'Metro Ionian' was boarded by an unknown number of perpetrators about 3.6 nautical miles northwest of Pulau Cula in pos. 1° 2.6' N 103° 39.1 E . The intruders stole engine spares and escaped. No inuries were reported.

On Nov 17, the 'Life Support' arrived at the port of Ancona with 49 rescued migrants on board, including six women and six unaccompanied minors from Syria, Egypt, and Bangladesh. The rescue took place on Nov 12 in international waters within the Maltese SAR area in the Central Mediterranean. The migrants had departed from Al-Zawiya, Libya, aboard a small, overcrowded fiberglass boat that was ill-equipped for a Mediterranean crossing and lacked adequate safety measures. It was the first time that the authorities assigned the ship the port of Ancona, but overall it was the fifth time that it was sent to the northern Atlantic, which means long navigation away from the SAR area, therefore a long absence from the operational area.

The seven meter long f/v 'Josele Primero' with one crew member on board suffered an engine failure in front of the Parador de Mazagón. The skipper requested towing assistance via VHF. The CCS Huelva of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the 'Salvamar Alkaid', which took the vessel in tow and safely pulled it to the marina of Mazagón.

The Government of Trinidad and Tobago continues to seek the identity of the owners of the ‘Solo Creed’ , one of the vessels responsible for the oil spill disaster in Tobago. On Oct 24, Finance Minister Colm Imbert reported to the Senate that the ‘Solo Creed’ had been arrested by officials in Angola. In the Parliament on Nov 18, Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh asked Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley whether the government was able to ascertain the vessel’s owner or anyone associated with it. Rowley noted that unfortunately, the vessels and those associated with it were operating illegally and took several steps to hide their identity, including the falsifying of relevant documents.The Energy Minister Stuart Young would have held a meeting with the International Oil Pollution Compensation (IOPC) officials in London two weeks ago to discuss further assistance in identifying those who were responsible for the oil spill. The IOPC was also working with the government to finalise the compensation that’s expected. In order to benefit from the compensation however the government has to show that it took all of the appropriate steps to find the owners.

Suspected attacks by Yemen’s Houthi terrorists targeted the 'Anadolu S', which was navigating the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden en route from Alexandria to Qasim, though no injuries or damage were reported, authorities confirmed on Nov 18, 2024. According to the Joint Maritime Information Center, a multinational task force led by the US, the bulk carrier was first contacted via VHF radio by an individual claiming to represent Yemeni authorities, who demanded the vessel change course. The vessel did not comply with the order and continued its transit. Later, the ship’s captain observed a missile landing near the vessel in the southern Red Sea, close to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on the night of Nov 17, 2024, approximately 30 miles west of the city of Mocha. A second incident followed on Nov 18, with another missile landing near the vessel about 70 miles southeast of Aden in the Gulf of Aden. The vessel and crew were safe and proceeding to the next port of call with an ETA as of Nov 23.

The captain of the 'Shtandart' hopes that the ship will be granted an exemption from the Russian sanctions, which will make it welcome in European ports again. The ship has been sailing outside Russia for almost three years. The captain does not want to return, but is not allowed to visit European ports. The wait is now on for the European Court, where an appeal against the sanctions has been filed. Since the sanctions against Russia, the ship is no longer welcome. Captain Vladimir Martoes is half Russian, half Ukrainian and has been living in Europe for 10 years. He previously stated that he is a fierce opponent of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He does not want to return to Russia with the ship, for fear that it will be seized and he himself will be arrested for his criticism of the regime. France currently tolerates the ship as long as it is at anchor and not moored in a port. It is currently in a bay near Bordeaux. The ship also sails with paying guests, which provides income. The volunteer crew members are all European and can go ashore with rubber dinghies to stock up on provisions. Bunkering with drinking water is a lot more difficult. This is done in ports where the ship is allowed to call occasionally, such as La Rochelle. The captain hopes for a permanent mooring, so that he can build up a life somewhere. The Zaans Erfgoed Association already approached the municipality of Zaanstad to arrange a permanent mooring for the 'Shtandart' in Zaandam, but was refused. The hope now is that the ship will soon fall under an exception clause: Russian ships with a humanitarian mission are welcome in European ports. The crew already set up a project for medical aid and aid to children in Ukraine, but Brussels did not see this as a humanitarian mission. The captain has objected to this, but no decision has been made yet.. Sailing under a different flag is not an option, because a Russian ship that changes flag at this time will not escape sanctions.

On Nov 14, 2024, at 3.46 a.m., the 'Dara' was boarded by one perpetrator, armed with a gun like object, about 4.2 nautical miles northwest of Pulau Cula, in pos. 1° 2.73' N 103° 38.8 E . Nothing was reported stolen.

On the afternoon of Nov 19, the 'Salvamar Adhara' has rescued 74 people from a cayuco, which had been located by the SAR helicopter Helimer 201. The castaways were taken to the port of La Restinga. Report with photo: https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/1858937702865162282

The 'Aita Mari' has rescued 53 people on Nov 19, most of them young men and many of them minors, from a boat that had been adrift for three days in the Mediterranean Sea. The rescue took place after receiving an alert at 5.29 a.m., which was sent by AlrmPhone via email. The lack of response from the emergency coordination centres forced the 'Aita Mari' to proceed with the rescue. The ship was 15 nautical miles south of the boat at the time of receiving the alarm and headed for the area. The castaways, mostly from Eritrea, Ethiopia and South Sudan, showed signs of dehydration, dizziness, exhaustion and in some cases bronchitis due to prolonged exposure to the cold. The medical crew on board the 'Aita Mari' carries out the supervision tasks of the most serious cases. The port of disembarkation has been assigned to Catania with an ETA as of 5:00 p.m., and where the crew hoped to take shelter for the next few days due to the forecast of a strong storm in the area.

The C-Lion1 submarine cable between Finland and Germany was cut in the early hours of Nov 18, 2024. This was announced by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Liikenne- ja viestintävirasto, Traficom). The president and CEO of the operator Cinia Group, Ari-Jussi Knaapila, stated that such damage does not occur without external influences,. To determine the cause, a repair ship must be on site. The departure of the 'Cable Vigilance' of the OMS Group Sdn is already being prepared in Calais. Such cable repairs usually take between five and 15 days. The German data center operator Hetzner Online has connected its data center park in Finland via the C-Lion1 and is a co-investor in the submarine cable project. The Sea Lion cable, which consists of eight pairs of fiber optic cables, was manufactured by the Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks (ASN) in Calais. The cable is 1,170 kilometers long and weighs 3,355 tons. It was delivered in Finland by the cable-laying ship 'Ile de Brehat'. The laying of the Cinia-C-Lion1 submarine cable began on Oct 12, 2015 in Helsinki and was successfully completed after three months when it reached its destination in Rostock. On Nov 18 at around 10 a.m. LT, the 218-kilometer-long BCS East-West submarine cable between Sventoji in Lithuania and the Swedish island of Gotland also failed, according to the Lithuanian landline and mobile operator Telia Lietuva, which belongs to the Swedish Telia Company. The country is connected to the Internet via three cables from Telia Lietuva. This limits the transmission capacity. The damaged cable is quite old and there have already been several disruptions. However, no cases of sabotage have been registered so far. The operator of the BCS East-West is the Swedish company Arelion, a Tier 1 network provider. This case is serious because the cables cross between Lithuania and Sweden and between Germany and Finland n an area of ​​just 10 square meters. Since both have been damaged, it is clear that this was not an accidental setting of a ship's anchor, but that something more serious could be going on. The German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius assumed it was sabotage and obvious that it was a hybrid action, before consultations of the EU defense ministers. He does not assume that the fiber optic cables were accidentally damaged by dropped anchors. Rather, it is "a clear sign that something is going on here."

The upcoming cruise of the 'Fridtjof Nansen', which was scheduled to start in Ushuaia on Nov. 18 2024,, had to be cancelled due to  technical issue which occurred on Nov 16, while the ship was transiting the Drake Passage. The ship continued its scheduled voyage safely and arrived in Ushuaia on Nov. 18. All passengers and crew were safe and accounted for,, and the incident has not affected the safety or integrity of the vessel. Technicians started working to resolve the issue, with additional support enroute. Passengers are set to return home on Nov. 19 on two charter flights to Buenos Aires. As a result, the upcoming cruise of the ship had to be cancelled. HX teams have been working through the weekend of Nov 16/17 to arrange onward travel for both embarking and disembarking passengers, including flights and accommodations.

The 'Pride of America', sailing around Hawaii on a cruise which embarked on Nov 16, 2024, had to cut short an overnight call on Maui that was supposed to take place from Nov 17-18, due to a problem with the fresh water line at the Kahului Pier. The passengers were supposed to have until 6 p.m. LT on Nov 18 to explore Maui. But because the cruise ship was not able to bunker fresh water in port, all guests back had to be back onboard by 8:00 a.m. on the Nov 18 instead instead ofthe] scheduled evening departure to produce fresh water. The 7-night itinerary, which the Norwegian Cruise Line ship has been operating on repeat out of Honolulu, Hawaii, calls for stops at Hilo, Hawaii; Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Island; and Nawiliwili (Kauai), Hawaii; as well as the overnight visit to Kahului (Maui), Hawaii.

On Nov 17, 2024, at 3.50 a.m., the 'Dokos' was subject of a failed boarding attempt by 2-3 perpetrators, about 5.7 nautical miles northwest of Pulau Cula, in pos. 1° 3.5' N 103° 37.1 E . Nothing was reported stolen.

On Nov 14, 2024, at 2.45 a.m., the 'Nus' was boarded by five perpetrators, armed with metal rods, about 4.2 nautical miles northwest of Pulau Cula, in pos. 1° 2.73' N 103° 38 E . Nothing was reported stolen.

The 'Atina', which sank in the waters off the Saline beach in Olbia following a fire that broke out at the stern on Aug 10, was unloaded on the morning of Nov 19 at the Asi dock in the Porto Torres industrial port, after the wreck was recovered on Nov 3 by the Resolve Marine from the seabed using the barge 'Conquest MB1'. On Nov 16, the wreck started the voyage on the deck of the 'Conquest MB1', which was towed by the tug 'Cala Azzurra', from the Cocciani industrial dock to the port of Porto Torres. On Nov 17, it moored at the Asi Riva dock. After the yacht has been unloaded, using the newly employed travel lift, it will be transferred to an adjacent shipyard area, at Sardinia Nautic Assistance, the company that takes care of the subsequent refitting or eventual demolition activities. In the meantime, the seabed reclamation activities at the sinking site continued, carried out by the divers of the Olbia Coast Guard. Report with photo: https://www.unionesarda.it/en/sardinia/from-olbia-to-porto-torres-operations-to-unload-the-wreck-of-the-super-yacht-atina-have-begun-fcz7vze5

The "Yi Peng 3", en route from Ust Luga in Russia to Port Said, was considered to be behind the damage to the C-Lion1 submarine cable between Finland and Germany, which was severed in the early hours of Nov 18, 2024. C-Lion1 runs for more than 1,170 kilometers from Helsinki to Rostock. Data shows that the ship was sailing over the area in question at about the same time as the damage occurred and partially made course corrections. The ship stopped for almost 90 minutes on the morning of Nov 18 south of Öland, drifted and made two circles. It is unclear whether the freighter also dropped its anchor and it dragged along the seabed. The Danish Navy reacted to the incident on the afternoon. First, the frigate "Niels Juel" was sent to the "Yi Peng 3". During the night of Nov 18, the Danish naval command also sent the patrol boat "Rota" to the scene. It took over the escort of the "Yi Ping 3", which was en route from Ust Luga and through the Kadet Trench to the Great Belt. On the morning of Nov 19, the frigate "HDMS Hvidbjörnen" took over the task near the island Langeland. The Danish ship followed the freighter, which had set course for the Kattegat, at a slow speed. There were no abnormalities with the "Yi Peng 3" when it passed through the Kadet Trench and Fehmarnbelt. If the "Yi Peng 3" caused the damage with its anchor, this should be proven, but it will leave the Baltic Sea on the morning of Nov 20 at the latest and enter the North Sea near Skagen. The investigators would then only hope to carry out an investigation on board after the ship returns to an EU port. On Nov 17 at around 10 a.m. LT the 218-kilometer-long BCS East-West submarine cable between Sventoji in Lithuania and the Swedish island of Gotland also failed, according to the Lithuanian landline and mobile operator Telia Lietuva, which belongs to the Swedish Telia Company. The country is connected to the Internet via three cables from Telia Lietuva. This limits the transmission capacity. The Swedish authorities are now investigating possible sabotage. The crime is currently classified as sabotage, but this could still change, the police said. The Swedish Coastguard and the army have recorded shipping traffic that corresponds to the damage to the two cables in the Baltic Sea. The Sea Lion submarine cable, which consists of eight pairs of fiber optic cables, was manufactured by the Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks (ASN) in Calais, France. The cable is 1,170 kilometers long and weighs 3,355 tons. It was delivered in Finland from the cable-laying ship 'Ile de Brehat'. Report with photo: https://omni.se/satellitdata-visar-kinesiskt-fartyg-pa-bada-platserna/a/mPVKx4

The' SDM Taicang' suffered an alleged control system blackout on Nov 11, 2024, so that the vessel lost control off the port of Gresik. The ship allided with two tankers that were anchored nearby, damaging one of them at port side, when it hit with the starboard side bow. There were no reported injuries. The ship left the port again on Nov 12 at 9.20 p.m. UTC, and dropped anchor off the port (Lat. -6.8324 Lng.112.7732). On Nov 17 it weighed anchor, headed to Singapore with an ETA as of Nov 20.

Images have emerged of damage inside the 'Explorer of the Seas' after bad weather rocked the vessel on the night of Nov 7, while the ship was en route from Barcelona to Miami, near Tenerife. An unexpected wind gust had caused the ship to experience sudden movements, resulting in glass bottles smashing, shop products falling from shelvesm clothing items, accessories and other memorabilia had been flung off the shelves, with display stands toppled. A show at the cruise ship’s theatre was halted, and the passengers, who then left the theatre, saw chaos throughout one of the ship’s main concourse areas. Some glass panels that were part of the ship’s decorative features had also shattered onto the floor and other furniture pieces had fallen over due to the movement. The ship’s captain said that winds had jumped from 46 miles per hour to 86 miles per hour. After the weather had battered the 'Explorer of the Seas', passengers were asked to return to their cabins for an accountability check, which lasted for around an hour. The ship had to make a call at Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, on Nov 9 due to injuries sustained by one of the passengers who needed medical care, and finally arrived in Miami on Nov 17. Report with photos: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/photos-show-destruction-onboard-royal-095912209.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEbaq1BLdEAtprXW-gqIbAXUuMFP76cm7bG2w2PwsdUYAksut7PsUMEP8_Gk1uiz7G5tDcKs0gFXvaEwkBVoVlf0bzR2dr7j8WsK5bmaufijvpCfOyC6wBNTdRJBCHHrY_3JqWvD5ZEHMb0bFqm8QXSYUaPYiTp2tf3AYKPYMH8q