News

The 'De Zonnebloem' remained stationary in Wesel as of March 31 after the collision with the 'Servia' on MArch 28 at 3 a.m., en route from Düsseldorf to Arnhem. None of the 69 disabled passengers, 65 volunteers and 15 crew members on board was injured, but the ship suffered considerable damage. In addition to the large hole in the foreship, cabinets come off the wall and there was a lot of rubbish on the floor. But the situation was under control quite quickly, and the crew acted well. Together with the volunteers, they cleaned up well and everyone was quickly back to normal. The ship, which has been fully adapted to offer people with a physical disability a pleasant holiday, was due to return to Arnhem on the morning of March 29. People who were coming to pick up a family member were asked to come to Wesel. The organisation Valys, which transports people with a disability, also picked up passengers in Wesel. The next departure was due to take place on March 31. Passengers will be rebooked by De Zonnebloem to another date. The ship will remain in Wesel until it is allowed to sail further by the authorities, so when it is safe enough to continue sailing. It is now up to the operator to find a shipyard for permanent repairs. Report with photo: https://www.gld.nl/nieuws/8290792/flinke-schade-aan-schip-na-aanvaring

The Greek shipping company Creta Cargo Lines has purchased the 'Urd' for its connections between Piraeus and Crete, from the shipping company SeaLines, is expected in Greek waters. The ship will be delivered to the new owners on March 31, 2025, and will then be transferred to Greece, where it will undergo maintenance before entering service.

The "Ramonde" in its current state represents an environmental hazard, as there are still around 8.000 liters of diesel fuel in the tanks of the destroyed yacht and a significant amount of oil in the ship's engines. The firefighting operation on the luxury yacht "Ramonda", which caught fire on March 27 at around 6 p.m. in the Portonovi marina in Kumbor, ended on the night of March 29, when the wreck towed from Kumbor to the Adriatic 42 shipyard in Bijela. The wreck has been secured along the operational shore and surrounded by a an oil boom to prevent the spread of any spills of oil, petroleum, and other harmful substances from what remained of the hull. On March 30 the navigation safety inspector Captain Grujica Dudić issued a decision prohibiting any attempt to remove the wrec to dry land or cut it up, until the Maritime Safety and Port Management Administration (UPSUL), the Kotor Harbour Master's Office and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs have issued a statement on the matter in accordance with the jurisdiction of these bodies. Given that the structural integrity of the rest of the hull of the "Ramonde" has been greatly damaged and weakened by the destruction by fire, any attempt to remove the ship to shore using the travel lift at the Adriatic 42 shipyard could literally disintegrate the wreck, leading to fuel and oil spills and an ecological disaster. Therefore, the Navigation Safety Inspectorate requests that all necessary measures be taken beforehand to pump out the fuel from the wreck, that is, that UPSUL, the Port Authority and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs adopt adequate solutions within their jurisdiction on how to further deal with the remains of the luxury yacht, which, until a few days ago, was worth around 10 million euros. The yacht is owned by the company "Millennium Team" doo from Belgrade. The police are investigating the causes of the fire on the yacht in the elite Portonovi marina, and the actions of its crew were also under scrutiny, because there were no crew members on board at the time the fire broke out. On the other hand, the action of extinguishing the fire and attempting to rescue the yacht itself showed a series of shortcomings and poor coordination between parts of the national chain for interventions in cases of emergencies at sea, starting from the untimely notification of UPSUL, through the failure to appear on site while the yacht was being rescued by the director of that Administration and the port captain in Kotor, the lack of a clear and unambiguous chain of command for the action of rescuing endangered property at sea by the commander on site, the lukewarm and inadequate reaction of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, the absence of any reaction and action by the National Committee for Search and Rescue at Sea, to the transfer of the greatest burden of the extinguishing action and responsibility for it to the Herceg Novi Municipal Protection and Rescue Service, which is neither adequately equipped nor trained for such complicated interventions of extinguishing fires on ships. Reports with photos: https://en.vijesti.me/news-b/society/752163/remains-of-a-destroyed-yacht-towed-to-white--dry-docking-or-cutting-prohibited-until-the-authorities-make-a-statement https://en.vijesti.me/news-b/society/752110/The-yacht-was-flown-under-the-flag-of-a-Caribbean-country--the-ship-that-burned-down-was-registered-to-a-company-linked-to-the-regime-in-Serbia.?utm_source=vijesti&utm_medium=article_related&utm_campaign=article_intext_related

11 years after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, the latest underwater search campaign, launched at the end of March 2025 by the American company Ocean Infinity, has been suspended. The 'Armada 7806', tasked with exploring the seabed in the southern Indian Ocean, is now heading to the port of Singapore with an ETA as of April 4. This suspension does not signal the end of operations: a new phase could begin in October, after the southern hemisphere winter, with increased resources. The final green light from the Malaysian government was given on March 20, 2025. The contract with Ocean Infinity, which was already involved in the 2018 search, provides for a payment of $70 million solely in the event of the discovery of the wreck of the Boeing 777. The exploration area covers 15,000 km², more than 2,000 km from the Australian coast, in a particularly hostile region marked by powerful currents and unpredictable weather. The choice of this area was based on new analyses, notably those of Captain Patrick Blelly and aeronautics expert Jean-Luc Marchand. Their study, presented in 2023, suggested that the plane may have intentionally flown south until its last satellite signal. These conclusions have allowed the search to be refocused on a previously unexplored area. Flight MH370, which departed from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing, disappeared from civilian radar screens on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board—including 153 Chinese, 43 Malaysians, four French, as well as Australian, Indian, American, and Dutch passengers. Only a few pieces of debris, washed up on the shores of the Indian Ocean, have been formally identified as belonging to the aircraft. The main wreckage and the black boxes remain missing. For experts, recovering the flight recorders would provide access to the final moments in the cabin as decisive elements in finally shedding light on the circumstances of the disappearance. While the mission has been suspended, it has not been abandoned. Ocean Infinity has not yet released the results obtained, but a resumption of the search is planned for the fall of 2025. This time, a larger vessel and more favourable weather could allow the exploration to continue under better conditions.

Early on March 29, the 'Jairan', the second of two sanctioned Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) ships, carrying sodium perchlorate from China, was spotted at Bandar Abbas Anchorage in pos. 56.3515 N 26.9960 E, midway between the islands of Qeshm and Hormoz. The vessel appeared to still have containers on deck, and was likely to be awaiting a berth at which to unload within the Bandar Abbas commercial port. The ship is unlikely to move from the Bandar Abbas anchorage until after the Eid festival, which has just started and marks the end of the month of Ramadan in Iran. The Iranian authorities appeared to have taken no particular security measures to safeguard the 'Jairan', which had sailed from Shanghai without port calls and with its AIS identification system switched on, nor did the vessel appear to have an escort whilst awaiting a berth. Once ashore, the sodium perchlorate is likely to be shipped by rail to Tehran, and thence to a processing facility to be converted into ammonium perchlorate. The recent imported cargoes on both the 'Jairan' and the container m/v 'Golbon' (IMO: 9283033) would be sufficient to fuel approximately 250 medium range Khybar-Shikan and Fattah missiles, or shorter range Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar missiles, or their Houthi equivalents.

On March 27, 2025, at 10.30 p.m. the 'Frederik' suffered an engine failure due to a problem with the ship's electronic during the eastbound transit of the Kiel Canal en route from Hamburg to Klaipeda. It veered off course and blocked the waterway short before the switch Fischerhütte. The canal was barred for shipping in this area for a frew hours. The tugs 'Fairplay 54' (IMO: 9021112) and 'Fairplay-57' (IMO: 9036246) were deployed from Brunsbüttel to assist the ship and removed it from the waterway. On March 28 at 10 a.m. UTC it was held stationary in pos. 54° 09' N 009° 21' E, while the crew of the container ship tried to fix the damage on the night of March 28. After these attempts failed, the ship was waiting for the tugs 'OSK Rendsburg' (IMO: 9755567) and 'Stein' (IMO: 9241243) in order to take it in tow to Kiel for further investigations into the damage and permanent repairs.

The 'Stena Immaculate' is set to be towed to Newcastle after the cargo has been removed. Crowley, which manages the tanker, stated the remaining barrels of jet fuel on board would be transferred to the tanker 'Fure Vyl' (IMO: 9983956), and it would be towed to Newcastle in early April, and said: "Salvage crews are continuing to complete their assessments and preparing for cargo lightering operations. During the weekend of March 29-30, operations will commence at sea to transfer the remaining 202,485 barrels of Jet-A1 cargo from the 'Stena Immaculate' to the tanker 'Fure Vyl', which is anchored nearby. This lightering operation is a standard and routing maritime practice that follows established safety protocols." The jet fuel will then be taken to its original destination of Killingholme. As of March 30, the 'Fure Vyl' was stationary at the anchorage of the 'Stena Immaculate' in pos. 53° 44' N 000° 25' E. The offshore tug 'Brage Viking' (IMO: 9475791) remained nearby. Crowley continues to work with the authorities investigating the crash and remains committed to the salvage efforts. The captain of the 'Solong', Vladimir Motin, 59, from St Petersburg, Russia, appeared at the Old Bailey charged with gross negligence manslaughter and was remanded in custody. He is due to stand trial in Jan 2026. Report with photos: https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2025-03-28/oil-tanker-involved-in-north-sea-crash-to-be-towed-to-newcastle?fbclid=IwY2xjawJWm3VleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHUMdzJQxeq7uDy08NwKqVzmvz7VJVPDJiJiHRMK-cT2fWXNNrurgoysLqg_aem_4UIBqL2ci6v7OHrThqwKTQ

Following the recent scrapping of the ferry "Moby Dada," the "Moby Zaza" has also been decommissioned from the Moby Lines fleet. It has been sold to Atlantis Maritime, a company based in the Marshall Islands. Its fate is currently unknown. The ferry had served for the Italian company Moby since Dec 2015, and was chartered by Balearia during the 2022 tender.

On March 26, Bruce English, the senior response officer of the Marine Environmental and Hazards Response section of the Canadian Coast Guard, led a media ride-along to the'MSC Baltic 'III' near Lark Harbour on the calmest day since the Feb. 15 storm. Coming ashore just about anywhere else in the area, where most cliffs plunge deep into the sea, would likely have sunk the ship in short order. The accessibility of Cedar Cove by land is also a stroke of good fortune for the salvage effort. The restriction zone for two nautical miles around the ship, the Canadian Coast Guard had established after the grounding, has since been reduced to one nautical mile, but it still restricts hikers from walking out to the Cedar Cove beach via a trailhead located a short distance away in Little Port. Little Port is being used by the Coast Guard and salvage team crews, although the Coast Guard has installed a temporary floating dock for its small vessels in Lark Harbour. The plan is for the contractors hired by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), to fix up an all-terrain vehicle trail that leads from Lark Harbour to Cedar Cove. That project will include extending the road out into the water to the bow of the ship so heavy trucks can help offload the roughly 1,600 metric tonnes of hydrocarbons, such as heavy fuels, oils, lubricants and other materials, safely and more consistently from the ship. The main priority at the moment is still the removal of the potential pollutants from the ship. Mobile generators and boilers began the process of heating the heaviest oils on March 25. It could take up to two days before the first batch of oil has been warmed enough to begin flowing into frac tanks that have also been loaded onto the deck of the ship. Following the removal of all potential pollutants, the salvage crew will focus on removing all of the freight aboard the 'MSC Baltic III'. There had been around 470 containers aboard the ship, but half of them were empty. Three containers, all of which were empty at the time, were ripped open by the brute force of the waves generated by the Feb. 15 tempest. Eight containers of polymer beads have already been removed by the salvage company. Once all the cargo has been removed, the crews will determine how best to remove the ship itself from its precarious position. Report with photos and video: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/view-from-the-sea-closer-look-at-cargo-ship-that-ran-aground-in-a-lucky-spot-in-nl/ar-AA1BLwkU?ocid=BingNewsVerp&apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1

Three Chinese crew members of the 'Megxin 1' were initally missing in Ghanaian waters and believed to have been kidnapped after a suspected pirate attack” on March 27, 2025, at 5.53 p.m. the West African nation’s military said in a statement on March 29. Seven armed people had boarded the ship and fired warning shots shortly before 6 p.m.LT. They stayed on board for about three hours while some crew members hid. The pirates gathered the crew on deck and confiscated their mobile phones. Initially it was believed that the ship’s captain, chief mate and chief engineer were missing. The fishing vessel later docked in the Tema Fishing Harbour. However, all crew members are now safe. The Chinese foreign ministry confirmed the safety and the embassy’s quick response to the incident. The Chinese Embassy in Ghana quickly initiated emergency protocols and engaged closely with local authorities to ensure the safety of all crew members. Ghana’s navy was investigating the pirate attack. The authorities have alerted neighbouring countries through the ECOWAS Multinational Maritime Coordination Centre (MMCC) as part of efforts to track the attackers.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported a fire aboard the cargo vessel 'Castphill XV' on the early morning of March 30. 2025,while the vessel was sailing in waters northwest of Limbones Island, Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines. At approximately 4:27 a.m. LT, the BRP 'Boracay' rescued seven crew members, including the captain, who had suffered minor injuries. Later, five more crew members were rescued by the Coast Guard Sub-Station (CGSS) Maragondon. Upon the arrival at Pier 15 in the South Harbor, Manila, the 'Boracay 'handed over the rescued crew members to the Coast Guard Medical Dispensary for further evaluation. The PCG has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the fire. Report with photos: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/twelve-rescued-from-burning-cargo-ship-in-manila-bay

On March 27, 2025, the, Indian port authorities denied entry to the 'Andaman Skies', which had loaded 767,000 barrels at Murmansk on Feb. 24, and had been due to discharge at Vadinar on March 30. They were citing inadequate documentation and new scrutiny on Russian oil carriers. The tanker lacked certification from a recognized entity, highlighting India's tightened regulation amid U.S. sanctions on Russia. Indian refiners have thus been constrained in buying Russian oil. The ship was loaded with about 10000 tons of Varandey crude oil, to be received by the Indian Oil Corporation. The ship was carrying certification by Dakar Class, which is not recognized by the Indian shipping authorities. At present, the vessel remained in the Arabian Sea between Oman and India, still fully laden, and it appeared to have stopped sailing. The ship’s registered is the Durbeen Navigation Ltd.

The tanker 'Stena Immaculate' (IMO: 9693018), which had been in allision with the container m/v 'Solong' (IMO: 9322554) on March 10, 2025, is set to be towed to Newcastle after the cargo has been removed. Crowley, which manages the tanker, stated the remaining barrels of jet fuel on board would be transferred to the 'Fure Vyl', and it would be towed to Newcastle in early April, and said: "Salvage crews are continuing to complete their assessments and preparing for cargo lightering operations. During the weekend of March 29-30, operations will commence at sea to transfer the remaining 202,485 barrels of Jet-A1 cargo from the 'Stena Immaculate' to the 'Fure Vyl', which is anchored nearby. This lightering operation is a standard and routing maritime practice that follows established safety protocols." The jet fuel will then be taken to its original destination of Killingholme. As of March 30, the 'Fure Vyl' was stationary at the anchorage of the 'Stena Immaculate' in pos. 53° 44' N 000° 25' E. The offshore tug 'Brage Viking' (IMO: 9475791) remained nearby. Crowley continues to work with the authorities investigating the crash and remains committed to the salvage efforts. The captain of the 'Solong', Vladimir Motin, 59, from St Petersburg, Russia, appeared at the Old Bailey charged with gross negligence manslaughter and was remanded in custody. He is due to stand trial in Jan 2026. Report with photos: https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2025-03-28/oil-tanker-involved-in-north-sea-crash-to-be-towed-to-newcastle?fbclid=IwY2xjawJWm3VleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHUMdzJQxeq7uDy08NwKqVzmvz7VJVPDJiJiHRMK-cT2fWXNNrurgoysLqg_aem_4UIBqL2ci6v7OHrThqwKTQ

On March 29, 2025, at around 5 p.m. the crew of the 'Warber', en route from Rouen to Södertalje, remarked a sailing boat drifting upside down about 250 meters from the Laboe Naval Memorial on the Kiel Fjord, but was unable to assist due to its own draft. The 45-year-old skipper from Kiel was unable to right his dinghy under his own power and was already suffering from hypothermia. Zhe crew of the cargo ship alerted the MRCC of the DGzRS in Bremen, which mobilized the lifeboat 'Jürgen Horst', stationed in Kiel-Schilksee. The volunteer crew was on a patrol. Within six minutes, the rescuers, speeding up to 38 knots, were on the scene and rescued the man from the water, which had a temperature of six degrees Celsius. Initial medical treatment revealed a body temperature of only 34.7 degrees Celsius. The rescuers brought the hypothermic sailor to Laboe. There, they handed him over to the land rescue service, which had been called in the meantime.

On March 30, 2025, the 'Arnold Edward' was disabled off the port of Yarmouth, NS, and requested assistance. The Canadian Coast Guard vessel CCGS 'Sambro' (MMSI: 316001601)) was deployed to assist and pulled the fishing vessel back into port, where it was safely moored in alongside tow.

Chinese and Russian authorities were actively advancing salvage efforts for the 'An Yang 2', which remained hard aground since Feb 9 near Nevelsk, on Russia's Sakhalin Island. A Chinese task force recently arrived in the Sakhalin Oblast to consult with local Russian government officials and rescue agencies to coordinate the ship's salvage operation. Both sides have signed a letter of intent regarding the oil removal, with further efforts underway to draft the next phase of the salvage plan. Staff from the Chinese consulate boarded the vessel after it ran aground to visit the crew. As of now, all 20 crew members remained in good health, maintaining smooth communication with the outside world and having sufficient supplies of food and drinking water. The vessel was carrying approximately 50 tons of diesel and 700 tons of heavy fuel oil. No pollution has been detected in the surrounding waters following the incident. Report with photos: http://en.people.cn/n3/2025/0331/c90000-20296198.html

After a four-week technical stop in Brest, the 'Abeille Bourbon' will have a new name. It is expected to be called 'VB Abeille BretagneÄ. On March 28 at noon, the tug left the Quay Malbert in Brest to enter dock No. 1. Under the care of Piriou Naval Services Brest, the vessel will undergo a four-week technical maintenance. The work program includes standard inspections of the propulsion engine couplings, inspections of two generator sets, and maintenance work on the two cranes. The tug will also undergo, for the first time since its commissioning, a complete repainting of the superstructures. Routine maintenance and inspections will be carried out as part of the Bureau Veritas classification. During its technical layup, the 'Abeille Bourbon' will be replaced by the 'Abeille Horizon', which has just undergone a maintenance period.

The 'Fugro Mercator' has been successful refloated at the north coast of island of Elba. On March 28 the company Fugro said that the vessel was safely towed back to the port of Portoferraio and was placed at the shiplift of the Esaom Cesa shipyard to be taken out of the water for repairs. The grounding on March 22 had caused no injuries and no damage to the environment. An investigation was ongoing to determine what caused the vessel to run aground. The 'Fugro Mercator' had been performing survey work for the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) as part of the Italian government’s Marine Ecosystem Restoration (MER) Project under the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which aims to restore marine habitats, update the national system for observing marine and coastal ecosystems, as well as map marine habitats across Italian waters. Furgo is working alongside Italian partners Poliservizi Srl and Prisma. In addition to the surveys, two seabed tsunami early-warning stations in the Sardinian Channel and the South Ionian Sea will be included. Fugro was working with the Italian government to ensure the survey work goes uninterrupted after the grounding incident. In this regard, Fugro has committed to dispatch another survey vessel, the 'Fugro Helmert', which will sail to the Mediterranean to pick up the project and will minimize the overall impact of the incident. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHKPPGcTkV8

The 'Mascato Tres' went adrift due to a mechanical problem, 15 nautical miles west of the Cíes Islands and requested towing assistance on March 28, 2025 The CCS Vigo of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the SAR vessel 'María Pita' (IMO: 9429118). The offshore tug took the vessel in tow to to the port of Vigo, where it was safely berthed at 3 p.m. UTC. After the trouble was fixed, the fishing ship left the port again on March 30 at 11.15 p.m. towards the fishing grounds.

The 'Stena Immaculate' is set to be towed to Newcastle after the cargo has been removed. Crowley, which manages the tanker, stated the remaining barrels of jet fuel on board would be transferred to the tanker 'Fure Vyl' (IMO: 9983956), and it would be towed to Newcastle in early April, and said: "Salvage crews are continuing to complete their assessments and preparing for cargo lightering operations. During the weekend of March 29-30, operations will commence at sea to transfer the remaining 202,485 barrels of Jet-A1 cargo from the 'Stena Immaculate' to the tanker 'Fure Vyl', which is anchored nearby. This lightering operation is a standard and routing maritime practice that follows established safety protocols." The jet fuel will then be taken to its original destination of Killingholme. As of March 30, the 'Fure Vyl' was stationary at the anchorage of the 'Stena Immaculate' in pos. 53° 44' N 000° 25' E. The offshore tug 'Brage Viking' (IMO: 9475791) remained nearby. Crowley continues to work with the authorities investigating the crash and remains committed to the salvage efforts. The captain of the 'Solong', Vladimir Motin, 59, from St Petersburg, Russia, appeared at the Old Bailey charged with gross negligence manslaughter and was remanded in custody. He is due to stand trial in Jan 2026. Report with photos: https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/2025-03-28/oil-tanker-involved-in-north-sea-crash-to-be-towed-to-newcastle?fbclid=IwY2xjawJWm3VleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHUMdzJQxeq7uDy08NwKqVzmvz7VJVPDJiJiHRMK-cT2fWXNNrurgoysLqg_aem_4UIBqL2ci6v7OHrThqwKTQ