The sinking of the 'Shingle' in Killala Bay as an artificial reef was scheduled to take place on Sep 18 at 3.30 p.m. lThe ship had eft New Ross Harbour on Sep 15 and arrived in the bay on the afternoon Sep 17. The fish carrier was seized by Customs officers at Drogheda Port as part of a €14m tobacco seizure in 2014 and was held by the Revenue Commission. It remained in the dry dock at New Ross ever since. The Killala Bay Ships 2 Reef Ltd. invested up to €35,000 into the project, and they have also received €50,000 in funding from Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) towards it. The ship has since undergone thorough preparations including environmental procedures making it eco-friendly and fit for purpose as an artificial reef. The go-ahead to sink the vessel was given in July whenthe Mayo County Council granted planning permission for the preparation, transportation, positioning and placement of the vessel on the seabed as Ireland’s first artificial reef, Iit is hoped that the project can bring a boost in diving tourism to the west of Ireland as well as promoting local marine ecology. Report with video: https://www.westernpeople.ie/news/watch-smuggling-ship-heads-for-mayo-bay-ahead-of-scheduled-sinking_arid-31927.html
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D S G
On Sep 13, 2024, the Oceanexl FZC company along with the tanker 'D S G' was banned from bunker trading by the UAE Maritime Administration due to multiple offenses, including the violation of federal law and international conventions. The decision to ban the supplier along with the delivery vessel was made following an incident where the tanker had delivered 700 metric tons of High Sulfur Fuel Oil (HSFO) under the pretext of delivering Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) to a vessel that did not have a scrubber. The OceanEXL had deliberately provided misleading information, claiming that the transfer of oil was a ship-to-ship transfer and not a bunkering operation. A formal letter from the senior management of OceanEXL to the Maritime Administration of the UAE stated that they had not issued the Bunker Delivery Note (BDN). During the subsequent investigation, the ship receiving the oil had produced the BDN provided by OceanEXL, proving to be in direct contradiction to the claims of OceanEXL management. The BDN had also been falsified to show that the oil being transferred was VLSFO, whereas the investigation revealed the oil transferred to be HSFO.
CG STRATTON
The USCG 'Stratten (WMSL 752)' located four Russian Federation Navy (RFN) vessels on Sep 15, 2024, about 57 nautical miles northwest of Point Hope, Alaska on a routine patrol in the Chukchi Sea, The RFN vessels were observed while they were transiting southeast along the Russian side of the Maritime Boundary Line (MBL). The crew of the 'Stratton' witnessed the RFN vessels cross the MBL into the U.S. Arctic and moved to observe the vessels. The Russian vessels were assessed to be avoiding sea ice on the Russian side of the MBL and operated in accordance with international rules and customs as they transited approximately 30 miles into the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. The Russian Surface Action Group consisted of a Severodvinsk-class submarine, Dolgorukiy-class submarine, Steregushchiy– class Frigate, and Seliva-class tug. The 'Stratton' was patrolling under Operation Frontier Sentinel, an operation designed to meet presence with presence when strategic competitors operate in and around U.S. waters. Report with photo: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3907798/us-coast-guard-encounters-russian-naval-vessels-near-point-hope-alaska/
MV SANGKO UNO
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has arrested ten crew members of the 'Sangko Uno' who were suspected of working as undocumented crew members aboard the ship at the Navotas port on Sep 16, 2024. Officers discovered five Chinese nationals and one Filipino national working on the dredger without proper documents. Upon questioning, they stated that their documents would be arriving from the company's office on Sep 16, following which they would present them to the officials. The Coast Guard collected other documents for their investigations, including the crew list, the logbook and other relevant records. Along with the Bureau of Immigration they conducted the investigation to verify the legal status of the alleged crewmembers. After cross-examining the documents, the six suspected crew members were arrested aboard the ship. On Sep 17 at around 12:40 a.m. LT the officers conducted a follow-up operation and arrested four more crew members for the same charges. Among the arrested cwas also the captain. They were tanken to the Coast Guard Detention Centre for booking procedures and medical examinations, before filing the appropriate charges.
SUN PRINCESS
On Sep 16 a woman needed to be medevaced from the 'Sun Princess' due to medical problems, while the ship was sailing four nautical miles from Cartagena. The CCS Cartagena of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the SAR boat 'Salvamar Draco', which embarked the patient and transported her to the port of Cartagena, where an ambulance was waiting for further transport to hospital.