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The crew members of the 'Solong' and the 'Stena Immaculat'e have been repatriated as the investigation into the incident continues. The HM Coastguard gave its last daily update on the morning of March 20, while a government minister traveled to the area to thank the brave first responders and civilian crews that saved the seafarers as the vessels were engulfed in flames. TheTransport Minister Mike Kane visited Grimsby Docks meeting with personnel from HM Coastguard as well as the teams from offshore wind operator RWE and Windcat which provides the crew transfer services from the port. He praised the actions of the commercial crews and thanked everyone for their efforts which saved the crews. Kane highlighted that the 'Windcat 33', contracted by RWE to assist with the transport of its technicians to RWE's Humber Gateway offshore wind farm, was first on the scene. The crew transfer vessel had completed taking technicians out to the wind farm and was 12 minutes away when the Mayday calls were issued. The crew of the 'Solong' was in a lifeboat when the vessel arrived, took them aboard, and brought them ashore. A second vessel repeated the same process rescuing the crew of the 'Stena Immaculate', which had also abandoned the tanker aboard its lifeboat. The 36 seafarers were triaged at Grimsby Dock. They were treated on scene and one person who had been injured declined further medical assistance. The UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch was conducting interviews and gathering information as part of its investigation into the incident. Report with photos: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/crews-from-solong-and-stena-immaculate-return-home-as-salvage-continues

On March 20, 2025, the 'Kolin 2' ran aground in front of the Kepez Port in the Çanakkale Strait. The ship was successfully refloated and berthed with tug assistance, before being examined by a diver team under the coordination of the Çanakkale Ship Traffic Services Center. Report with video: https://x.com/i/status/1902736220720890016

On March 20, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed that the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed following the 'Dali' allided with it, had a risk level nearly 30 times above the acceptable threshold for critical bridges. The agency has identified 68 bridges across 19 states that require immediate vulnerability assessments, including the Golden Gate Bridge, Chesapeake Bay Bridge, Verrazano Narrows Bridge, and Greater New Orleans Bridge, among others. These bridges, all designed before current safety guidelines were established, were lacking current vulnerability assessments for allision risks. The NTSB recommended that 30 bridge owners should evaluate their structures against American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’ (AASHTO) acceptable risk levels. The Maryland Transportation Authority (MTDA) failed to conduct a recommended vulnerability assessment, developed in response to the 1980 Sunshine Skyway Bridge disaster in Tampa, Florida, which would have revealed concerning findings about the Key Bridge’s condition. Had they ran the calculation on the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the MDTA would’ve been aware that the bridge was almost 30 times greater than the risk threshold AASHTO sets for critical essential Bridges. 30 times greater- Not only did the MDTA fail to conduct the vulnerability assessment on the Key Bridge, but also did not provide, nor were they able to provide, the NTSB with the data needed to conduct the assessment, including the characteristics of vessel traffic passing under the bridge, vessel transit speeds, vessel loading characteristics, waterway and navigable channel geometry, water depth, environmental conditions, bridge geometry, pier protection systems, and ultimate lateral capacity of the bridge piers. In total, the NTSB has issued four urgent safety recommendations to select bridge owners, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the US Coast Guard, and the US Army Corps of Engineers to safeguard bridges from vessel strikes, part of an interim accident report released today. Recent findings from the NTSB also have uncovered critical details about the 'Dali'’s power failure. Preliminary investigations revealed that electrical breakers HR1 and LR1 unexpectedly tripped when the vessel was approximately three ship lengths from the bridge, resulting in a total blackout. NTSB investigators discovered an interruption in the control circuit for HR1’s undervoltage release system. The investigation has also brought to light that the 'Dali' suffered two separate power blackouts the day before the incident. The first occurred when a crew member accidentally blocked the generator’s exhaust gas stack, while the second was attributed to insufficient fuel pressure. The NTSB’s recommendations extend beyond individual bridge assessments. The agency was calling for an interdisciplinary team comprising the Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide guidance on risk evaluation and reduction strategies. Since 1994, the Federal Highway Administration has required new bridges to be designed with consideration for vessel collision risks. However, the Key Bridge, constructed before these requirements, fell outside these modern safety standards. The NTSB’s investigation into the accident was continuing. The NTSB interim report can be found here: https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MIR2510.pdf

After the allision of the 'Meri' with the Kiel-Holtenau high bridges on Nov 30, 2022, at 4:35 a.m., the State Office for Road Construction and Transport (LBV) in Kiel is still awaiting settlement of the costs for repairing the bridges. The state of Schleswig-Holstein has advanced more than nine million euros for the almost year-long work following the accident. The issue of funding remains open. Efforts to obtain reimbursement of the costs incurred from those responsible for the damage are ongoing. Due to the amount of the claim and the complexity of the case, it is assumed that efforts to reimburse costs will take further time. Whether and to what extent claims can be enforced will have to be determined by further negotiations. The freighter was operating on behalf of the crane manufacturer Liebherr to transport a mobile harbor crane from Rostock to Esbjerg. The Federal Bureau of Maritime Accident Investigation in Hamburg found in its report in June 2024 that misunderstandings and confusion led to the accident. For example, the Finnish captain had been given a wrong data sheet for the mobile harbour crane on the deck of the "Meri". In fact, the Esbjerg contract had already been changed months before delivery. Instead of the initially ordered LHM600 58M crane, the successor model, the LHM 600 Evo6, was placed on the deck of the "Meri." The four-meter-higher structure went unnoticed. The captain had been given the data sheet for the originally ordered crane. In the lock, the laser height measurement also failed. No payments have yet been made to the state of Schleswig-Holstein and the federal government. The state-owned company also clarifies, however, that the claims for damages will be asserted in any case. This will have no consequences for the operation of the ship: The "Meri" is permitted to sail through the Kiel Canal and does not face any penalties.

On the morning of March 21, the 'Guardamar Urania' rescued 19 migrants of North African origin, among them two women and three minors, from a cayuco about five nautical miles south of Pasito Blanco. At 4:15 a.m. local time, the disembarkation began in Arguineguin. The rescue operation was oordinated by the CCS Tenerife of Salvamento Marítimo. Report with photo: https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/1902985764851343854