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The German Military Technical Center for Ships and Naval Weapons, Maritime Technology and Research (WTD 71) has completed the explosive tests with the decommissioned "Karlsruhe" in the restricted area of ​​Schönhagen in the Baltic Sea. In total, the explosive tests were carried out in two rounds with with 50 kilograms of explosives and with 175 kilograms. Overall, the tests went according to plan and the measures taken to protect the marine environment also had an effect. The optical monitoring as well as the deterrent measures and the double bubble curtain ensured that the impact on the marine environment could be reduced to a minimum. The former figate was towed back to Kiel, and the evaluation phase is now beginning, in which the large number of measurement data generated by the installed sensors and recording devices will be processed. In addition, the ship was measured using special methods in order to detect possible deformations in the ship's structure. It is hoped that this will provide extensive information on the effects of explosive devices and sea mines, which could be of great relevance for the construction of future naval ships. At the same time, preparations are already underway for further tests in the coming year. Further blasting with the ex "Karlsruhe" on a comparable scale is expected to take place in mid-October 2025. Report with photo: https://www.leinetal24.de/na-pressemitteilungen/ansprengungen-in-der-ostsee-abgeschlossen-wtd-71-zieht-positive-bilanz-zr-93382367.html

After the 'Moliva' has returned to Tirana, the Albanian prosecutor’s office in the port has ordered the suspicious containers to be seized and stored in an environmentally and physically safe place for monitoring on Oct 28, and prevented the ship suspected of transferring a huge amount of hazardous waste from docking at the main port of Tirana. The ship was kept about a kilometer from the port of Durres. The Seattle-based environmental non-governmental organization Basel Action Network (BAN) had reported the ship to authorities in August after an anonymous tip that its 102 containers were suspected of carrying an estimated 2,100 tons of steel industry pollution filter dust. The cargo first left Durres on July 4, on two ships chartered by the shipping company Maersk, bound for Thailand. The NGO also alerted several transit countries and worked with EARTH, a Thai environmental organization, to raise the alarm.

The US Coast Guard medevaced the captain of the 'Triple Andy' 65 nautical miles off Honolulu on Oct 28, 2024. Coast Guard Sector Honolulu command center watchstanders received a phone call at 4:17 p.m. from the fishing vessel, reporting that the 69-year-old man was experiencing shortness of breath and chest pain. The watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon, who recommended a medevac. An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Air Station Barbers Point arrived on scene with the 'Triple Andy' at 8 p.m. The patient was hoisted and transported to The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu. The man was reportedly in stable condition. Report with video: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3949825/coast-guard-medevacs-ailing-captain-from-fishing-vessel-offshore-honolulu/

While fishing for scallops off Ouistreham, the "Star of Jura" was diverted to the port of Le Havre by a maritime affairs patrol boat on Oct 26, 2024. Part of its cargo did not comply with regulations. Of the 16 tons of scallops on board the ship, about one ton should not have been caught, the shells being still too small. French and British fishermen do not have the same fishing instruments: the dredges used by the latter are smaller. They therefore allow more shells to be brought up, but once on board, they must be sorted and the molluscs that are too small must be returned to the water. The maritime affairs administration met on Oct 28 to decide on the future of the cargo. The prosecutor's office in Le Havre has released the master. However, the Seine-Maritime prefecture indicated that an administrative procedure has been initiated. It targets the skipper and the ship's owner.

The 66-year-old Filipino captain of the 'Seaforce' has finally been fined 50,000 Euros for the discharge of around one million liters of scrubber wash water off Fos-Sur-Mer by the court in Marseille. He had claimed that the discharge in March 2023 was carried out without his knowledge, but the court stated that the captain was responsible for ensuring compliance. Initially, the charges against the captain had maximum possible penalty of 4000 Euros, but at a hearing in November 2023, the prosecutor's office reclassified the offense as pollution of the territorial waters with a maximum penalty of 100,000 Euros. The prosecutor's office also dismissed the claim of the captain being unaware of the discharge, stating that it was the captain's responsibility to ensure compliance on board.