News

The blaze aboard the 'Lowlands Diamond' at Aberdeen’s South Harbour was extinguished on the early afternoon Jan 30. Charred cargo from the vessel's cargo hold was piled up on the quayside, ringed by shipping containers. Heaps of burnt cargo were being removed on the afternoon, three days after firefighters first attempted to tackle the complex fire. Multiple fire crews were called to the scene, with specialist marine firefighters also deployed. The fire did not pose any wider threat, and the ship’s crews was safe and well. The ship itself was in no immediate danger either. ThePort of Aberdeen has been supporting the fire service as they tackled the fire at the Dunnottar Quay. There has been no disruption to operations at South Harbour by the fire. Report with photos: https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen-aberdeenshire/6682987/burnt-cargo-removed-after-south-harbour-fire/

Repairs of the fire damage aboard the 'Stord' in Leirvik have completed. The ship received its passenger certificate back on Jan 25 and sailed from the shipyard on Jan 26 en route to Kaupangen, where it arrived on Jan 27. On Jan 31 at 9 a.m. it left the port again in order to resume its scheduled sailings between Lavik and Oppedal.

The Bulgarian National Security Agency (SANS) has no evidence that there were agents of foreign services or criminals among the Bulgarian crew members of the "Vezhen". This was stated by SANS Director Plamen Tonchev at a hearing on the subject in parliament on Jan 30. Tonchev pointed out that there was no indication in the data of Bulgarian partner services that the incident with the damaged underwater fiber optic cable was sabotage. He added that in addition to a cable used by Latvia, a cable from a non-NATO country was also severed in the same area. "Bulgaria is in no way considered by our partners and allies to be an accomplice in sabotage or sabotage activities, which we all condemn and which we act against as partners and allies," said the Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev in parliament. He called for the case of the "Vezhen" not to be politically escalated. The State Agency for National Security was said to be in contact with Bulgaria's partners in NATO and the Swedish and Latvian services looking into the incident. Tonchev explained that there was no negative information about the eight Bulgarian crew members and the ship's management, which is entirely Bulgarian. Swedish port state control officers had inspected the 'Vezhen' but a comprehensive report and conclusions from the inspection were not available yet. The second mate, the third mate, the chief engineer and the boatswain got off the ship on Jan 28 and were questioned by police. In addition, the captain and the chief mate were questioned aboard the ship.

Current photos were showing a large-scale fire in the foreship area of ​​the "ASL Bauhinia" on the starboard side. Dangerous goods were suspected to be a potential source of the fire, or the often non-compliance with the legally prescribed separation regulations for dangerous goods of different dangerous goods classes. The box carrier, which is classified Class NK and sails for the shipping company ASL (Asean Seas Lines),, was en route from Jebel Ali with a general course for the Suez Canal when the fire broke out. The port of destination was to be Aqaba. Attacks on the freighter by the Houthi rebels operating from Yemen has been ruled out. With the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, they had declared that they would refrain from new attacks on shipping in the Red Sea until further notice.

The 'Kvaløy', serving on the route Småge–Orta–Finnøy–Sandøy–Ona, suffered technical problems on Jan 30, 2025, which lead to trouble for the Utasundsroute. All departures had to be cancelled by the operator Torghatten Nord until 9:15 p.m. After the issues were resolved, the ferry returned to normal operation with a crossing from Sandøya to Ona.