A medical incident occurred on the night of Nov 30, 2024, on board the 'Capricorn First', en route from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Na Chong, in the waters between Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria. The captain of the bulk carrier contacted the Canary Islands Coastguard during the night because a crew member urgently needed medical assistance. The control center then contacted the sea rescue service and requested a helicopter for the evacuation. At the same time, the captain was instructed to approach Gran Canaria. The person was hoisted and flown to the landing pad of the university hospital in Las Palmas, where the helicopter landed on Dec 1 at 1:15 a.m. Paramedics waiting there took the man to the emergency room.
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HOEGH GANNET
On the night of Nov 30, 2024, four Greenpeace activists climbed onto the side of the "Hoegh Gannet" in the port of Brunsbüttel. They protested against the import of liquefied gas at the LNG terminal in the port. The activists hung themselves on the side of the LNG conversion ship. According to Greenpeace, a total of 22 people took part in the demonstration, including on floating islands in front of the LNG terminal. Police and water police were deployed to the scene with several patrol cars and boats. Initially, around 20 people approached in three rubber dinghies. Although the police operation was still ongoing, during the course of the morning of Dec 1, most of the activists ended their protest and were met on land by the police.
KONINGSDAM
The US Coast Guard medically evacuated a 66-year-old woman from the 'Koningsdam' approximately 280 miles south of the U.S. and Mexico maritime boundary on Nov 29, 2024. At 7:12 a.m., Coast Guard watchstanders received a notification from the cruise ship, requesting the medevac for the woman who was experiencing symptoms of a stroke. A Coast Guard Air Station San Diego MH-60 Dolphin helicopter crew and Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento C-27 crew launched to assist. The two aircrews arrived at the 'Koningsdam', where the crew from Air Station Sacramento coordinated communications and the crew from Air Station San Diego hoisted the patient aboard the helicopter. The helicopter transported the patient to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla in San Diego where she was reported to be in stable condition. Report with video: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3981272/coast-guard-medevacs-66-year-old-woman-from-cruise-ship-off-california-coast/
COSTA SMERALDA
The 'Costa Smeralda', while on a 36-day transit from Genoa to Dubai, had to change its route due to a medical emergency on board on Nov 27, 2024, The ship diverted towards the coast of Ghana on the leg from Santa Cruz on Tenerife to Walvis Bay. For over a day, the cruise ship headed towards the city of Accra at high speed. The medical emergency was transferred ashore in front of the port on the night of Nov 28. The patient was now being cared for in a hospital in Ghana. How exactly this delay was to be made up was currently unclear. If a higher speed is not sufficient, one of the next ports may have to be canceled so that the 'Costa Smeralda' gets back on schedule. The ship was originally scheduled to arrive in Walvis Bay on Dec 2, but this was unlikely to be possible given the remaining distance to get there. A call in Cape Town is scheduled to follow on Dec 4, 2024, and the ship is scheduled to be in Port Elizabeth from Dec 6 to 7.
BUENA ALBA
Greenpeace activists have boarded th 'Buene Alba' on Nov 30, 2024, which was scheduled to load propylene in the port of Busan, where negotiations were ongoing for a UN Global Plastics Treaty. The activists from around the world, including Germany, Mexico, and the UK, equipped with protective safety gear, launched from the 'Rainbow Warrior' on RHIBs and set up climb tents on the tanker’s mast. The protest was intended to persuade governments to proceed with the planned cuts in plastic production and resist pressure from the petrochemical and fossil fuel industries, which are lobbying against them. The protestors stayed on board for 12 hours, symbolically halting the process. The protestors were then arrested by the South Korean police. Report with photo: https://maritime-executive.com/article/170-nations-deadlock-on-plastic-pollution-treaty