News

On the afternoon of April 11, 2025, the Corfu Port Authority was informed that the'MSC Sinfonia', which was moored in the new port of Corfu with 2193 passengers and 730 crew members on board, had sufferd a failure of the starboard side propeller of the propulsion-steering system. The Corfu Central Port Authority initially prohibited the departure of thecruise ship. Upon the presentation of a seaworthiness certificate from the monitoring classification society, it was permitted to depart for a single voyage, accompanied by the tug 'Megalochari XIV' (IMO: 9199452), to the port of Bari, where it arrived late on April 13, and not at 8:00 a.m. as originally planned. On the way from Corfu to Bari, the ship sailed at only four knots at times, thus not reaching the necessary cruising speed to arrive at the port on time. MSC Cruises has canceled its Eastern Mediterranean cruise, which was scheduled to begin on April 12 in Bari, less than 24 hours before departure. Guests with different embarkation and disembarkation ports, were also affected by the cancellations. Guests affected by the cancellations will receive a full refund of their travel costs and a travel credit for a future MSC cruise equal to the price they paid. Meanwhile, technicians were working diligently to resolve the issues. How long this will take was not yet known, as it depended on the severity of the technical issues. The ship remained stationary in Bari as of April 14

The 'Loch Frisa' has suffered an issue with the drencher system. As a consequence, the vesselwas unable to carry any dangerous goods until April 30. Affected bookings were to be contacted directly by the ports. Any customers wishing to travel via Lochaline - Fishnish are required to call Craignure Port (01680 340258 option 2) or Tobermory Port (01688 327089 option 2) directly.

In the midday hours of April 13, 2025, the Halki Port Authority was informed that the'Blue Star Chios', during its arrival at the port of Halki, experienced a malfunction in the electric automatic folding system of the central ramp. Theferry safely moored at the port and disembarked 86 passengers from the starboard side stern ramp, while after manual folding of the central ramp, 21 cars were disembarked. The Halki Port Station of the Central Port Authority of Rhodes initially banned the ship from sailing. Upon presentation of a seaworthiness certificate from the monitoring classification society, the ship was permitted tcontinue its approved route with destination to the ports of Diafani Karpathos - Pigadia Karpathos - Kasos - Sitia - Heraklion - Anafi - Thira - Piraeus.

En route from Altinova to Yalova the 'Karadeniz Orhan Ali Khan' ran aground in pos. 40° 40' N 029° 19' E at the Yalova Anchorage on April 10, 2025, at around 10 p.m. UTC. The emergency tug 'Nen Hatun' (IMO: 9675004) and the tug 'Şark' (MMSI: 271043518) responded along with the lifeboat 'Kıyı Emniyeti 3', a diver team and salvage experts. The ship refloated with the rissing water level of April 11. The "Karadeniz Powership Orhan Ali Khan" belongs to the electricity-producing fleet of the Turkish energy company Karpowership and is considered to be among the largest ships in the world of that kind. Report with photo and video: https://www.denizhaber.com/kps-orhan-ali-khan-yalovada-karaya-oturdu/124315 https://x.com/i/status/1910570382660149363

The 'Ilse of Cumbrae', serving on the route Largs-Cumbrae, suffered an issue with its hydraulic pump, affecting a vessel's ramp, on the morning of April 12 , The vessel got unavailable for service with the option of operating single-ended if required. Investigations were started. As part of the repairs, the vessel was required to transit to Cumbrae. The 'Loch Shira' was operating as normal on the route meanwhile. On April 13, the repairs have been completed, and the vessel returned to service service.