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The 'De Gallant, sank off the coast of the Bahamas on May 21, 2024. after it was caught in a stormy supercell. The BEAmer investigation citesdunpredictable weather and the lack of modern maneuvering systems as factors leading to the loss of the vessel and two crew members. According to the BEAmer report published on March 11, 2025, the 'De Gallant' was impacted by strong winds of up to 70 knots while traveling at low speed, loaded with 22 tons of cargo. The crew consisted of four professional sailors and four passengers. Due to thunderstorms on the leeward side, the captain was supposed to prepare the halyard and the clinfoc halyard to be able to perform a quick jib maneuver in an emergency. The formation of the thunderstorm supercell had not been accurately predicted by the weather models. At 3:15 a.m., the first drops of rain fell, and five minutes later, a violent gust tilted the sailing ship 90 degrees, causing water to enter the engine room. The second, even stronger gust completely filled the engine room and condemned the ship to sink stern-first in less than ten minutes. The captain reacted immediately, gave the order to abandon ship, and activated the emergency radio beacons. The rafts were inflated using the hydrostatic buoyancy required by the Merchant Navy. Without this equipment, the crew's chances of survival would have been very slim. Six people managed to reach the rafts, one of which was upside down, but two crew members, likely entangled in the ropes or sails, failed to surface. The six shipwrecked survivors were rescued by helicopter by the U.S. Coast Guard several hours after the sinking. The parallel search efforts failed to locate the two missing sailors. The report, which was not approved by the ship's owner, highlighted how difficult it is to maneuver an old cargo sailing ship without modern tools. Unlike other modernized traditional ships, the 'De Gallant' had neither winches nor furling systems, making maneuvers lengthy and arduous, especially with a small crew. Furthermore, the deck drainage devices were undersized, further increasing the sailboat's instability in gusts. BEAmer recommended modernizing commercial schooners with the installation of remote control systems and improved safety precautions. It also emphasized that cargo sailing ships must be equipped with a sufficient and experienced crew to withstand extreme weather events.

On March 12, 2025, four Dutch crew members of the Van Oord dredger 'Vox Maxima' (IMO: 9454096), that caused a major oil spill off the coast of Singapore on June 14, 2024, have admitted to failing to perform their duties properly before a Singaporean judge. Richard Ouwehand, 49, Martin Hans Sinke, 48, Eric Peijpers, 56, and Merijn Heidema, 26, pleaded guilty to one charge each under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 for their role in the oil spill. They had worked on the dredger, which was disabled due an engine failure and allided with the 'Marine Honour', causing a breach, and a large amount of fuel oil then leaked from the bunker ship. The oil spread to a beach park and a nature reserve in southern Singapore, among other places in the largest oil spill in Singapore in the past ten years. According to the prosecutor Regina Lim , the clean-up took two months. One of the crew members on trial was the captain of the dredger and another was the first mate. The other two crew members were engineers. The prosecutor has demanded fines of between 20,000 and 50,000 Singapore dollars, which is the equivalent of approximately 14,000 to 34,000 euros. On the morning of June 14, the circuit breaker of the outgoing feeder of the high-voltage switchboards to the step-down transformer on the starboard side of the 'Vox Maxima' was opened to allow for maintenance works. The circuit breaker controlled the flow of electrical power from the main generator to the step-down transformer on the starboard side, and when it was in an open state, no electrical power would be supplied to the equipment connected to the low-voltage switchboards. Prior to taking over the engineering watch at noon, Peijpers and Heidema did not check the status of the circuit breakers, which would affect the distribution of electrical power on the vessel. By law, they are required to be satisfied with the condition and mode of operation of the various main and auxiliary systems, including the electrical power distribution system, before taking over the engineering watch. During their watch, Peijpers and Heidema prepared the 'Vox Maxima' for her departure from the Western Anchorage to ST Engineering Marine’s Tuas shipyard. Just after noon, Peijpers and Heidema were notified by the officers from the preceding engineering watch and the officers on the bridge for the afternoon watch that the main engines had to be ready for the voyage by 1.30 p.m. The two men then stopped the auxiliary generator and started the main generators, which comprised the starboard generator and a second main generator on the port side. As the circuit breaker on the starboard side was open, no electrical power from the starboard generator could be supplied to the equipment connected to the low-voltage switchboards, and they were thus powered by the port generator. While on the way to Tuas shipyard, two of the 'Vox Maxima'’s hydraulic pumps that drew power from the low-voltage switchboards were started as part of the planned operations, increasing the load at a circuit breaker on the port side. This circuit breaker tripped as it was overloaded when the second hydraulic pump was started, leading to a loss of electrical power for all low-voltage equipment, including rudders and controllable pitch propellers. Upon the loss of steering control, both Ouwehand and Sinke were responsible for, among other things, engaging emergency steering, but they failed to do so. During this time, the 'Vox Maxima' approached the 'Super Hero', which managed to alter its course and speed to avoid a collision. A minute later, the dredger hit the starboard side of the 'Marine Honour', which suffered damage to at least six water ballast tanks, 10 cargo oil tanks and the slop port tank as a result. The 'Marine Honour' is still undergoing repairs of the damage in Singapore, and the cost of repairs is estimated to exceed $6.6 million. The prosecution is seeking fines of between $20,000 and $30,000 each for Ouwehand and Sinke, and fines of between $40,000 and $50,000 each for Heidema and Peijpers. For the offence, each of them can be fined up to $50,000, jailed for up to two years, or both. They are scheduled to be sentenced on April 2.

The probabilioty that the 'Guang Rong' will be declared a 'wreck' by the shipowner is becoming increasingly concrete. The costs of removal would amount to over 1,5 million euros. A recovery would not be economically viable. The Municipality would then be forced to dialogue no longer with the owners, but with the insurance company, called upon to resolve the problem of disposing of the ship. On the morning of March 7, rumors took this decision by the shipowner for granted, but the mayor of Massa, Francesco Persiani, could not yet confirm this information. The emptying of the starboard side tank inside the sludge room was completed on the evening of March 6. The operations to empty the diesel and oil tanks of the wheel loader and the crane, also inside the sludge room, have also been completed. The latter will was sucked up on the morning of March 8. On March 7, a pontoon was positioned on the starboard side of the ship and after having secured the area, the operations to remove the oil drums located between the cargo and the coaming will begin. The operations to unload the material in drums onto the barge moored to the starboard side of the 'Guang Rong' have also started. The lateral cranes of the lifeboats and free fall have been cleaned, the recovered oils will be conveyed to the sludge room and sucked up by Canal jet. Reports with photos and video: https://www.lanazione.it/massa-carrara/cronaca/guang-rong-relitto-vhzu2vmn https://www.iltirreno.it/massa/cronaca/2025/03/08/news/marina-di-massa-la-guang-rong-rischia-di-diventare-un-relitto-1.100672988 https://www.noitv.it/2025/03/guang-rong-il-giallo-del-relitto-e-i-timori-per-lestate-651578/

On March 12, 2025, four Dutch crew members of the Van Oord dredger 'Vox Maxima', that caused a major oil spill off the coast of Singapore on June 14, 2024, have admitted to failing to perform their duties properly before a Singaporean judge. Richard Ouwehand, 49, Martin Hans Sinke, 48, Eric Peijpers, 56, and Merijn Heidema, 26, pleaded guilty to one charge each under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 for their role in the oil spill. They had worked on the dredger, which was disabled due an engine failure and allided with the bunker tanker 'Marine Honour' (IMO: 9422811), causing a breach, and a large amount of fuel oil then leaked from the bunker ship. The oil spread to a beach park and a nature reserve in southern Singapore, among other places in the largest oil spill in Singapore in the past ten years. According to the prosecutor Regina Lim , the clean-up took two months. One of the crew members on trial was the captain of the dredger and another was the first mate. The other two crew members were engineers. The prosecutor has demanded fines of between 20,000 and 50,000 Singapore dollars, which is the equivalent of approximately 14,000 to 34,000 euros. On the morning of June 14, the circuit breaker of the outgoing feeder of the high-voltage switchboards to the step-down transformer on the starboard side of the 'Vox Maxima' was opened to allow for maintenance works. The circuit breaker controlled the flow of electrical power from the main generator to the step-down transformer on the starboard side, and when it was in an open state, no electrical power would be supplied to the equipment connected to the low-voltage switchboards. Prior to taking over the engineering watch at noon, Peijpers and Heidema did not check the status of the circuit breakers, which would affect the distribution of electrical power on the vessel. By law, they are required to be satisfied with the condition and mode of operation of the various main and auxiliary systems, including the electrical power distribution system, before taking over the engineering watch. During their watch, Peijpers and Heidema prepared the 'Vox Maxima' for her departure from the Western Anchorage to ST Engineering Marine’s Tuas shipyard. Just after noon, Peijpers and Heidema were notified by the officers from the preceding engineering watch and the officers on the bridge for the afternoon watch that the main engines had to be ready for the voyage by 1.30 p.m. The two men then stopped the auxiliary generator and started the main generators, which comprised the starboard generator and a second main generator on the port side. As the circuit breaker on the starboard side was open, no electrical power from the starboard generator could be supplied to the equipment connected to the low-voltage switchboards, and they were thus powered by the port generator. While on the way to Tuas shipyard, two of the 'Vox Maxima'’s hydraulic pumps that drew power from the low-voltage switchboards were started as part of the planned operations, increasing the load at a circuit breaker on the port side. This circuit breaker tripped as it was overloaded when the second hydraulic pump was started, leading to a loss of electrical power for all low-voltage equipment, including rudders and controllable pitch propellers. Upon the loss of steering control, both Ouwehand and Sinke were responsible for, among other things, engaging emergency steering, but they failed to do so. During this time, the 'Vox Maxima' approached the 'Super Hero', which managed to alter its course and speed to avoid a collision. A minute later, the dredger hit the starboard side of the 'Marine Honour', which suffered damage to at least six water ballast tanks, 10 cargo oil tanks and the slop port tank as a result. The 'Marine Honour' is still undergoing repairs of the damage in Singapore, and the cost of repairs is estimated to exceed $6.6 million. The prosecution is seeking fines of between $20,000 and $30,000 each for Ouwehand and Sinke, and fines of between $40,000 and $50,000 each for Heidema and Peijpers. For the offence, each of them can be fined up to $50,000, jailed for up to two years, or both. They are scheduled to be sentenced on April 2.

The 'Daniel Tarr' and the Coast Guard Station South Padre Island boat crews, in coordination with Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi Command Center watch standers and Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi aircrews, detected and interdicted a total of 16 Mexican fishermen engaged in illegal fishing north of the Maritime Boundary Line (MBL) in the Gulf of Mexico on the night of March 12, 2025. After interdicting four lanchas, the Coast Guard crews took the fishermen into custody, brought them ashore, and transferred them to U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel for processing. Coast Guard personnel also seized an approximate total of 2,500 pounds of red snapper, along with fishing gear and equipment found on board the vessels. Two of the lanchas were also seized, while two were marked and left adrift due to flooding and instability. Report with video: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/4117490/coast-guard-detains-16-mexican-fishermen-seizes-2500-pounds-of-illegally-poache/