News

A passenger of the 'Carnival Luminosa', a man in his 70s, had to be urgently airlifted by a helicopter and was rushed to the Bundaberg Hospital. He had suffered health problems which required medical care on a higher level, while the cruise ship was sailing off the Queensland coast on April 2, 2025, at around 1 p.m. The vessel was on the final day of the cruise into the Port of Brisbane.

The owners of the 'Solong' have filed a legal claim against the owners of the 'Stena Immaculate'. Court records indicated that the legal claim was filed at the Admiralty Court on April 3 by the owners and demise charterers of the container ship against "the owners and demise charterers" of the tanker. It follows a separate legal claim filed against the owners of the' Solong', the Ernst Russ - on March 31 by the co-owners of the 'Stena Immaculate', Stena Bulk and Crowley. A spokesperson for Ernst Russ said: "As part of the legal proceedings arising from the collision between the Solong and Stena Immaculate, the owners of the Solong have filed a claim in the Admiralty Court in London. This is usual process for large maritime casualties and represents another step in working toward the conclusion of this tragic incident. Meanwhile, Ernst Russ continues to offer all necessary assistance in support of the ongoing investigations." After the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) released the interim report into the incident, which found that the vessels did not have "dedicated lookouts" in what were "patchy conditions", Crowley, the operator of the 'Stena Immaculate', said the tanker was "in compliance with applicable watch-standing safety regulations and company policies for an anchored vessel. We are confident the forthcoming comprehensive investigation report will clarify the facts and circumstances of the incident, demonstrating that Crowley exercised appropriate vigilance."

Shandong BaoMa Fisheries Group has shelved plans to build a port in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo that could accommodate 500 Chinese vessels, amid legal complications and strong opposition from local residents and environmental organisations. The US$200 million project, which included a free trade zone, shipyard and fish processing and freezing plants, on a private 28-hectare site in Punta Yeguas, a mostly rural area with a public park, required a change in the legal designation of the land.

This is the 22nd marine port in Yilport Holding’s portfolio, and its first terminal in Italy. The company, ranked 12th among international container terminal operators by Drewry, targets to be ranked among the top 10 by 2025. Chairman Robert Yuksel Yildirim made the following remarks at the signing ceremony: “We have a strong presence in the Mediterranean. We are in Malta and operate seven ports between Spain and Portugal. Being able to enter Italy and work here in Taranto is like filling in the missing piece of a puzzle that we are building globally. The infrastructure was there but there was no one to take care of it. Our intention is to create another success story in Taranto. From today until the end of this year, we will be fixing cranes to ramp up business, visiting potential customers, and promote the container terminal. The project also aims to cooperate with local operators to improve cargo and ro-ro traffic.”

The 'Discovery Princess' broke free from its moorings due to high winds while was berthed at San Francisco's Pier 27 on April 1, 2025, at around 5 p.m., when winds reached up to 29 mph, The blustery conditions also caused the platform connecting the ship to the dock to break free. The strong winds caused three stern cables to snap, leading the vessel to drift toward Pier 23. In response, the crew released a thicker stern line to reduce the ship's angle against the wind and activated the engines to maneuver it back to the berth. All passengers and crew remained safe, with no reported injuries. The ship had arrived in San Francisco on the morning of March 31 during its seven-day round trip from Los Angeles. It departed the San Francisco port at its scheduled time of 10 p.m.

The owners of the 'Solong' have filed a legal claim against the owners of the 'Stena Immaculate'. Court records indicated that the legal claim was filed at the Admiralty Court on April 3 by the owners and demise charterers of the container ship against "the owners and demise charterers" of the tanker. It follows a separate legal claim filed against the owners of the' Solong', the Ernst Russ - on March 31 by the co-owners of the 'Stena Immaculate', Stena Bulk and Crowley. A spokesperson for Ernst Russ said: "As part of the legal proceedings arising from the collision between the Solong and Stena Immaculate, the owners of the Solong have filed a claim in the Admiralty Court in London. This is usual process for large maritime casualties and represents another step in working toward the conclusion of this tragic incident. Meanwhile, Ernst Russ continues to offer all necessary assistance in support of the ongoing investigations." After the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) released the interim report into the incident, which found that the vessels did not have "dedicated lookouts" in what were "patchy conditions", Crowley, the operator of the 'Stena Immaculate', said the tanker was "in compliance with applicable watch-standing safety regulations and company policies for an anchored vessel. We are confident the forthcoming comprehensive investigation report will clarify the facts and circumstances of the incident, demonstrating that Crowley exercised appropriate vigilance."

Mumbai Port’s decision to raise the draft level to 10.3 metres and 11 metres to dock vessels at BPX and BPS respectively, subject to low tides being over 60 cm has been welcomed by maritime fraternity. This has avoided the waiting period for the vessels arriving with deep drafts till the tide is favorable for berthing. At times, such vessels had to arrange for discharging the import cargo for reducing the draft in stream and only subsequently berth at BPX/BPS.

PSA International Pte Ltd (PSA) has completed the acquisition of Halterm Container Terminal (“Halterm”) in the Port of Halifax, Canada, from Macquarie Infrastructure Partners,a fund managed by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, following formal approval by the relevant regulatory authorities. Halterm is the only container terminal in Eastern Canada that can serve mega container vessels.

DFDS has brought in the 'Cote D'Albatre' as a replacement vessel on the Jersey-Portsmouth route, The ferry setting sail from Portsmouth on the morning of April 3 and was due to arrive in the island at 8 p.m. before making the return journey at 10 p.m. The new operator has apologised for having to cancel the night service to the UK on April 2 while it moved the contingency ships into position. The 'Stena Vinga' has been swapped on to the St Malo route while the 'Tarifa Jet' was awaitings clearance to begin sailings. It was due to make its maiden crossing to Jersey on March 28, but additional work was required following its inspection by the MCA. The fast ferry was now expected to enter service next week. DFDS took over running Jersey's sea links from Condor Ferries. The Danish firm has a 20 year contract.

The 'Doña Diana', with 58 workers on board, both from Pemex and from companies such as Evya, Veggies, and Fijisan, among others, who were headed to different platforms, caught fire in the engine room, resulting in the loss of one engine, on April 2, 2025, at 3 p.m, off Isla del Carmen. The fire was brought under control by the crewm and no injuries were reported. The ship returned to Isla del Carmen for investigations and repairs.

The Port of Salalah, Oman’s major regional gateway port and transshipment hub on the Arabian Sea, set another record in productivity with a delivering 412.97 Port Moves per Hour (PMPH) on vessel Cap San Tainaro handling 3,820 moves in a port stay of 9.25 hours. This is the highest productivity delivered by any port in the region till date.

The Croatian government said it would help a troubled shipyard owned by Uljanik, the country’s largest shipbuilder, resume production. The government, which owns a 25% stake in Uljanik, said in March that it would not back a proposed restructuring plan for the group due to the financial burden it would place on the state. However, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that the government was willing to support 3.Maj, which is located in the northern Adriatic port of Rijeka and is one of the group’s two shipyards, because it did not have as big a debt burden. “Unlike Uljanik, the 3.Maj is not an overly indebted company and there is an interest in the construction of new ships,” Plenkovic told a televised press conference after a government meeting. He said the government expected 3.Maj to draft a plan for its future operations.