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The laden ' Unity' has broken down in the stormy Bay of Biscay off France on Jan 23, 2025. The aframax tanker had departed from Primorsk on Jan 16 with Russian oil bound for Mangalore. The ship ran into difficulties overnight off the west coast of France, losing its propulsion during extremely stormy conditions in the Atlantic. On Jan 24 the ship turned around, and on Jan 27 it dropped anchor off the French coast in pos. 49° 49' N 000° 56' W. The tanker is owned by Moscow-headquartered Argo Tanker Group, who acquired the ship in September 2024.

After the 'Ombo' was damaged during a storm on the evening of Jan 24, the ferry remaine stationary at the Bekhus Quay in Stavanger for repairs as of Jan 28 and will be out of service for at least a week. The battery ferry 'Hella' (IMO: 9871268), which normally operates on the Hella-Vangsnes-Dragsvik route in Sogn, has taken over as a replacement on the route Judaberg-Stavanger. On the morning of Jan 27, one departure from Judaberg was also canceled due to technical challenges, and in addition, the departures from Judaberg at 07.50 a.m. and Fogn at 08.05 a.m. were canceled due to the need for charging. Moire departures may be affected by the ferry's charging needs.

On Jan 27, 2025, at around 11.40 p.m. UTC the 'ASL Bauhinia' with an all Chinese-crew on board caught fire and went adrift in the southern Red Sea about 122 nautical miles northwest of Hodeidah (Lat. 16.5100 Lng. 40.9150) on a northbound voyage en route from Jebel Ali towards the Suez Canal, according to the Diaplous Maritime Services, a security consultancy which stated that the ship was posing a navigational hazard to other vessels in the area. It was unknown if the ship was attacked or if the blaze started by other reasons.

The Bulgarian Embassy in Stockholm is in contact with the relevant Swedish authorities and is actively following the development of the 'Vezhen' case. This was announced by the BTA Foreign Ministry on the occasion of the information from the Swedish Prosecutor's Office about the detention of the "Vezhen" in the Baltic Sea and the initiation of a preliminary investigation into suspected sabotage. "It is possible that the" Vezhen "caused the damage to the cable, but I personally do not assume that this was sabotage on the part of our crew," said the Executive Director of the shipping company "Navigation Maritime Bulgare", Captain Alexandar Kaltchev. He explained that on the evening of Jan 25, the ship was sailing in extremely bad weather with southwest winds of more than 25 meters per second. On the morning, when the wind died down, the crew inspected the ship for damage and found that the port side anchor was damaged and had apparently been dragged along the seabed. Kalchev stressed that even if the ship caused the damage to the data cable, it was not intentional or "sabotage". The 'Vezhen', through a complicated arrangement with several subsidiaries, is de facto owned by Hai Kuo Shipping 2015B, which in turn is owned by ICBC Leasing, a state-owned Chinese company linked to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China: The ship had left the Russian port of Ust-Luga, which is the same port which the 'Yi Peng 3' had departed from before the Chinese ship destroyed two cables in the Baltic Sea in mid-November 2024. Report with photo: https://www.msn.com/sv-se/nyheter/inrikes/ankaret-skadat-%C3%A4garen-nekar-till-sabotage/ar-AA1xVHOA

The 'Maersk Saltoro', which had set sail on Dec 27 from the main port of San Antonio in Chile with more than 1,300 containers full of cherries and an ETA at Nansha as of Jan 20, remained NUC in the the waters of Micronesia as of Jan 28. about 1,200 kilometers northeast of New Guinea, after suffering a technical failure in its main engine, which forced it to stop while the necessary repairs were being carried out. The Maersk company assured that it was in contact with the owners of the ship and the affected clients to report on the progress of the work and the next stages of the trip. The delay could lead to million-dollar losses for those involved in the export chain and also raised questions about legal responsibilities and possible compensation. The expert lawyer and founder of Legal Export, Rafael Durán, stressed that it must be analyzed whether the technical problem can be classified as a fortuitous event that exonerates the shipping company from any fault. To do so, certain criteria must be met: that the event is external, unforeseeable and irresistible. In addition, it is essential to check whether the ship had all the necessary certifications and preventive maintenance to guarantee its navigability. In the event that any negligence is proven, those affected could request relevant documentation from the shipping company, as permitted by Chilean maritime legislation. Exporters should also record any physical or commercial damage suffered by the cargo and submit protest notes within the time stipulated by law. The possibility that the shipping company declares “general average” to distribute the repair costs among the owners of the cargo is an additional concern. This scenario would imply unforeseen expenses for the owners of the containers. Given this uncertainty, exporters are advised to act with diligence, minimize potential damage and document all efforts made to protect their interests.