News

On Nov 18, 2024,, at 2 p.m. LT, a fire broke out aboard the accomodation ship 'Orient Princess' (IMO: 6708109) in Tianjin,. Emergency responders quickly arrived at the scene and put out the fire by 3:00 p.m. The blaze was caused by sparks that ignited insulation material during ongoing renovation work on the vessel. The 'Orient Express' was formerly known as cruise ship "Yao Hua." However, due to legal complications,it was seized by authorities in 2003. Another Chinese company subsequently took over the ship and converted it to an accommodation vessel, mooring it permanently in the Haihe Bund Park, Binhai New Area, Tianjin City, as a tourist attraction. Report with photos: https://www.imarinenews.com/16714.html

In connection with the damage to two submarine cables in the Baltic Sea, also the "Fortune Express" was searched for two and a half hours on t Nov 19, 2024, in the Kiel lock to the Kiel Canal, en route from St. Petersburg, Russia, to La Rochelle. The ship entered the lock at 4.40 p.m. UTC. The officials allowed it to continue after the search at around 7.10 p.m. .Apparently this ship had also ben carrying out suspicious maneuvers in the affected sea area at the time in question.

On the afternoon of Nov 20, on the sidelines of a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustam Umerow, the Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen commented on the possible sabotage incidents on submarine cables in the Baltic Sea. He said that the Danish government was taking the threat to critical infrastructure "very, very seriously and are investigating it carefully". He was coordinating closely with the other Nordic states on how to proceed. He confirmed that the Danish Navy had tracked the suspicious "Yi Peng 3" on its way through the Baltic Sea, but he did not want to comment on possible measures against the ship, which was stopped by Danish authorities on the evening of Nov 19 and remained anchored in the Kattegat. It is therefore still unclear what will happen next with the "Yi Peng 3", which is moored just inside Danish territorial waters off the East Jutland coast near Grenå, guarded by Danish military ships since the evening of Nov 20, including the patrol ships "Søløven" and "PNK 225", which had previously shadowed the "Yi Peng 3" on its way through the Baltic Sea together with other patrol ships and a Danish frigate. The damage to the two affected fiber optic cables occurred within less than 24 hours:. The Swedish-Lithuanian data cable was damaged around 50 kilometers from the Baltic Sea island of Gotland on Nov 18 at around 9 a.m., and the Finnish-German cable was damaged east of the island of Öland on Nov 18 at around 3 a.m., according to the operator Cinia. While the cause remained unclear, the operator and German defense minister assumed external influence. Sweden was investigating possible sabotage. Units of the Swedish Coast Guard and Navy have been on site at the damage points south of the island of Öland since Nvo 19. The submarine rescue ship "Belos", equipped with underwater technology, and the mine hunter "Ulvön" with underwater drones were on site. The Swedish Coast Guard patrol ship "Amfitrite" was currently coordinating the measures on site. Meanwhile, according to the Swedish authorities, the Finnish criminal police also began investigating the damage to the cables on Nov 20, concentrating on the damage to the C-Lion1 submarine cable, which runs between Helsinki and Rostock. The German federal police's ship "Bamberg" left its berth in Rostock on the afternoon of Nov 20 and set course for the eastern Baltic Sea. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Nvo 20 that the situation surrounding the freighter was not known. China has always fulfilled its duties as a flag state and requires Chinese ships to strictly adhere to the relevant laws, stressed spokesman Lin Jian in Beijing.

On Nov 20 a precarious boat was located eight nautical miles from Arrecife. The RCC of Salvamento Marítimo on Las Palmas mobilized the 'Salvamar Al Nair', which rescues te 47 sub-Saharan Africans on board. Among them were 42 men, four women and one minor at 7.43 a.m. The migrants were disembarked in Arrecife at 8.20 a.m.

Following a successful salvage operation, the 'Tog Mor' has been sold to HEBO Maritime Service for repurpose. Purchased by Allseas in 1997, the vessel was converted for pipelay and construction activities between 2001 and 2002. Debuting for Allseas on the Interconnector Scotland-Ireland pipeline job, she went on to safely install more than 400 kilometres of nearshore pipeline worldwide. The robust design, impressive tension holding capacity and lifting power made her indispensable on dozens of projects requiring stability and strength in challenging conditions. Built in 1975 as a heavy-duty floating derrick, the 'Tog Mor' was designed with Stülcken masts for the assembly of large sections and modules for offshore production platforms. Her legacy began with the construction of the North Sea’s Maureen platform, and later, she lifted the historic warship 'Mary Rose' from the Solent seabed. HEBO plans to convert the vessel into an offshore construction barge, which will be named 'HEBO-CB 1', aimed at supporting projects in the civil and energy markets. The vessel will feature a 300-tonne crane, an 8-point mooring system, accommodation for 144 personnel, and 1,300 sq m of deck space. HEBO will start the conversion process shortly.