Four persons have been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences after five migrants including a child died trying to cross the English Channel on April 23. The National Crime Agency (NCA) said an 18-year-old from Sudan was arrested on the evening of April 24 at Manston migrant processing centre, in Kent, and was now being questioned in custody. Officers also detained a 22-year-old Sudanese man and a 22-year-old man from South Sudan on April 24. They were arrested on suspicion of facilitating illegal immigration and entering the UK illegally. A 19-year-old man from Sudan initially arrested on April 23 has since been released without charge and was now being dealt with by immigration authorities. The 55 surviving boat passengers have already been interviewed and were expected to be spoken to further in the coming days. More than 400 migrants arrived in the UK on the day the group died. The agency and partners from Kent Police, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force were working with French counterparts to investigate the circumstances of the deadly incident on a beach near Wimereu. A dinghy carrying more than 100 people set off from Wimereux at around 6 a.m. but got into difficulty. Three men, a woman and a girl died. 49 people were rescued, but 58 others refused to leave the boat and continued their journey towards the UK, with several other boats later embarking on the crossing. The incident reportedly took place as rival migrant groups all tried to scramble into the boat, causing it to become heavily overcrowded.
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RED JET 6
Red Funnel has been forced to cancel eight of its hi-speed Red Jet sailings on April 25, 2024, due to technical issues. In the early afternoon the coolant pump of the 'Red Jet 6' failed, which resulted in the cancellation of the 12:40 p.m. sailing from Southampton and the departure at 1:15 p.m. from West Cowes. Also the 3:35 p.m., 4:45 p.m. and 5:55 p.m. departures from Southampton and the 4:10 p.m., 5:20 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. sailings from West Cowes have all been pulled. The ship left Southampton again on April 26 at 8.20 a.m. and arrived in Coews at 8.40 a.m.
NEWNEW POLAR BEAR
The 'Newnew Polar Bear' remains the prime suspect in causing damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline between NATO members Finland and Estonia, Finnish investigators said on April 25, 2024. It has been over six months since substantial, human-made damage that caused a major drop in pressure was first detected in the Balticconnector pipeline in Finnish economic waters on Oct. 8. Finland and Estonia's gas system operators were forced to shut it down, disconnecting a crucial link between the Nordic and Baltic gas markets for several months. The pipeline, which runs across the Gulf of Finland between the Finnish town of Inkoo and the Estonian port of Paldiski, was reopened this week after multimillion-euro repair work. The National Bureau of Investigation, a branch of the Finnish police, said that it still believed that an anchor of the 'Newnew Polar Bear', which was en route to St. Petersburg, Russia, was dislodged and caused the damage detected in Balticconnector. The investigation has progressed, and there has been cooperation with the Chinese authorities probing the case. The Finnish investigators haven't said whether they believed the damage allegedly caused by the Chinese vessel was done intentionally or whether it was caused by incompetent seafaring. The Finnish maritime authorities said at the time of the incident they failed to establish radio contact with the captain of the 'Newnew Polar Bear' despite several attempts.
X-PRESS PEARL
A judge has ruled that a claim against the London P&I Club over the sinking of the 'X Press Pearl' off the coast of Sri Lanka must be heard in the UK. The protection and indemnity club successfully argued that the case brought by cargo interests in Sri Lanka should be halted and arbitration brought to London. The judgment followed the trial of this action, which was held on April 12. Approved Judgement: https://jusmundi.com/en/document/pdf/decision/en-the-london-steam-ship-owners-mutual-insurance-association-ltd-v-trico-maritime-l-d-p-thisari-senanayake-s-d-k-prasanna-t-m-j-n-m-tennakoon-and-t-n-aluthwaththa-judgment-of-the-high-court-of-justice-of-england-and-wales-2024-ewhc-884-tuesday-23rd-april-2024
KM BUKIT RAYA
The KM 'Bukit Raya' caught fire at the mouth of the Kapuas River, Jungkat District, Mempawah Regency, West Kalimantan on April 25, 2024. Smoke could be seen billowing from one of the rooms on the top deck of the ferry. The plan was for the ship to enter the Kapuas River and dock at Pontianak's Dwikora Harbor. The fire has been successfully extinguished. There was no information on the cause of the fire. A joint team of firefighters and Basarnas Pontianak have headed to the ship. Reports with photos and video: https://regional.kompas.com/read/2024/04/25/ 154550978/km-bukit-raya-burn-when-entering-muara-jungkat-kalbar-pelni-already-started#. https://www.viva.co.id/berita/nasional/1708638-km-bukit-raya-terbakar-di-muara-sungai-kapuas-penumpang-panik-berjibaku-padamkan-api https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r5evRUIwIU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikOKvmgrz20