News

Indonesian rescuers on July 3 temporarily halted a search for 30 people still missing after the 'Tunu Pratama Jaya', carrying at least 65 people, sank near the island of Bali with the loss of actually six lives, due to a visibility problem, according to the East Java rescue agency. 29 people have been rescued so far. The operation was due to resume on the morning of July 4, with more than 160 rescuers including police and military personnel deployed to conduct the search backed by four vessels and several helicopters. The boat was officially carrying 53 passengers and 12 crew members, but there may have been more aboard as listed in the manifest. The ship was rated to carry 67 people and 25 vehicles, according to Indonesia's transport ministry. It tilted three times before finally going down within a few minutes, leaving no time for a coordinated rescue operation, but panicking passengers scrambling for life jackets. Report with photos: https://selangorjournal.my/2025/07/indonesia-suspends-search-for-30-missing-after-ferry-sinks-near-bali/

The 'Life Support' reached the port of Augusta on June 29 at 1 p.m., after retrieving the bodies of two migrants in international waters in the Libyan SAR zone on June 27. The ship's captain Augusto Candido said it was the first time that the Life Support had retrieved bodies instead of rescuing people, and it was a very difficult experience for crew members. The alarm was raised on June 26, by the migrant-rescue vessel 'Sea-Watch' after its aircraft Seabird filmed one of the bodies and saw five others in the waters off Libya. It was supposed that a vessel in distress sank unbeknown or that the case was reported but remained without an answer for too many days, or that Libyan coast guards or other Libyans intercepted it and that some people were thrown into the sea so they wouldn't have to be taken back to Libya, Given the advanced decomposition of the bodies, officials couldn't initially determine their gender. It was presumed that they remained at sea for at least a week, given their condition.

Thr 'Argyll Flyer' remains out of service and under repair at the Garvel Clyde Shipyard in Greenock as of July 3 with exhaust issues thay have plagued the vessel for years. No return to service date for her was actually known. The Dunoon - Gourock service can continued be maintained with just the ferry 'Ali Cat' for the time being.

Rumors circulating initially villainized the 37-year-old father, who jumped behind his daughter from the 'Disney Dream', claiming he lifted his daughter on top of a 3.5ft railing for the sake of a photo have been set straight. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the little girl was not being held by her father in the moments before the fall. The girl was on the railing and fell backwards through a porthole, Sheriff Gregory Tony said on July 2. He noted that the father hadn’t placed the child on the railing but did not specify who did or whether the child climbed on top alone. At some point, the mother raised the alarm and alerted her husband, who didn’t see the incident. He then jumped into the ocean to save his daughter, Moments after the girl plunged into the water, the father kept his daughter alive by treading the water with her for 20 minutes until rescuers arrived with a tender that was launched from the ship. Report with photos: https://www.boredpanda.com/police-speak-out-rumor-dad-who-saved-daughter-after-she-fell-overboard-disney-cruise-ship/

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has published an investigation report into the engine room fire aboard the 'Tarka II' and subsequent sinking on Sep 10, 2024. At 4 p.. the fishing vessel was transiting in the Pacific Ocean about four miles southwest of Tatoosh Island, Washington. AFter the captain discovered the fire in the engine room, the two crew members did not attempt to fight the fire. They abandoned the vessel into a liferaft and were rescued by the US Coast Guard. The vessel later sank with an estimated 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on board. There were no injuries. The vessel was not recovered and considered a total loss, valued at $460,000. The captain had observed smoke emanating from the sides of the exhaust stacks located just aft of the wheelhouse, likely from engine room vents on or near the main exhaust stacks. When he entered the engine room, he noticed white smoke that smelled like engine exhaust, and he believed there was an exhaust leak. After shutting down the generator and main engine, the captain then noticed a small, smoldering fire on the port side of the engine room near the hydraulic tank and hydraulic pump. Shortly after he observed the fire, the smoke turned black, and the flames intensified. The rapid growth of the fire and black smoke indicated a fuel source ignited, and opening of the engine room door introduced additional oxygen to the fire, further intensifying the fire. The hydraulic lines for the davit were not pressurized at the time of the fire. However, the steering system’s hydraulic lines (pipes and hoses) were pressurized. The captain noted that hydraulic lines ran inches from the engine exhaust pipes, which were protected by fiberglass lagging. Investigators were unable to verify the condition or arrangement of the exhaust lagging in the engine room because the vessel sank and there were no photos available of the engine room before the fire. The smoke initially looked and smelled like engine exhaust. It is possible that exhaust pipe heat, or an exhaust leak, either from the main engine or the running no. 1 auxiliary generator, ruptured one of the pressurized hydraulic lines, causing the hydraulic fluid to spray and ignite on a nearby, unprotected hot surface, and spread to nearby combustibles. However, because the Tarka II sank and was not recovered, the exact source of the fire could not be determined. The captain had no indication of the fire before he saw smoke coming from the sides of the vessel’s exhaust stacks. The engine room was equipped with a CCTV camera that displayed on a monitor in the wheelhouse, but it was not in use at the time of the fire. Additionally, there were no smoke or fire detectors installed in the engine room, nor were any required. The two smoke detectors on board were located just outside of the engine room door and in the galley, and they only activated after the captain opened the engine room door to investigate the smoke. It was unknown how long the fire had been burning before the captain noticed smoke; however, had the engine room CCTV system been on or had smoke or fire detectors been installed in the engine room, the captain would have likely been alerted to the fire sooner. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the fire aboard the 'Tarka II' was an unknown source within the engine room. Full report: file:///C:/Users/TEMP.UNI-KIEL/Downloads/NTSB-Fire-aboard-fishing-vessel-Tarka-II-2025_06.pdf