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43 people got sick in a gastrointestinal illness outbreak on the 'Silver Ray'. Among the 681 guests onboard, 38 reported being ill during the current voyage, along with five crew members, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Their main symptoms were diarrhea and abdominal cramps. The health agency listed the causative agent as unknown. The 'Silver Ray' had departed from Callao on Jan. 4, 2025, and is scheduled to arrive at Port Everglades on Jan 20. Silversea enacted heightened sanitation protocols and isolated sick guests and crew, among other measures.

The 'Doña Josefina', en route from Quintero, suffered a propulsion loss on Jan 14, 2025, and dropped anchor at the height of the Club de Yates de Recreo, commune of Viña del Mar, in the Valparaíso Bay. The incident, however, caused the resignation of part of the crew of the ship. The damage triggered the need to move the trawler 'Unionsur' away from the area with the intention of avoiding a possible collision. The ship had arrived on the Chilean coast as a new acquisition of Marval to replace the tanker Don 'Pancho', which is used to supply ships arriving in the area and is about to complete 20 years of service.

The central Government has claimed that it has not prepared any official document on the accident of the 'Shang De Wu Yi Shan'in the waters of Galicia. In a resolution recently signed by the director general of the Merchant Navy, Gustavo Santana Hernández, after a request under the Transparency Law, the Executive pointed out that "there was no record of the preparation of any official report on the incident. The response from the head of the Merchant Navy also added that "all actions of the maritime administrations and operators involved (ship captain, consignee) took place by telephone, radio or email." The remains of the two large cranes which fell overboard remained at the bottom of the sea. One of them is 80 miles from Cape Ortegal, and at a depth of 4,700 meters, and the other is about two miles west of the outer port of Ferrol. In the latter case, they are at a shallower depth, which can pose a risk to the fishing boats that fish in the area, as their nets could get caught in the remains of the cranes. On Dec 6, shortly before 11:00 p.m., when the 'Shang De Wu Yi Shan' was sailing off the coast of the province of La Coruña, the cranes broke off for reasons that have not yet been disclosed. The damaged ship remained stationary in the port as of Jan 16, 2025. Report with photo: https://www.eldebate.com/espana/galicia/20250116/informes-accidente-carguero-chino-perdio-dos-gruas-frente-galicia_261249.html

The 'RS125-Det Norske Veritas' will back in operation at the station at Ballstad in Lofoten in May 2025, after an accident outside Stamsund in Jan 26, 2024. The demanding rescue operation at Einebærøya led to extensive damage to the lifeboat, and a fisherman lost his life in the incident. Local businesses, emergency services and employees of the NSSR worked for 12 days to save the lifeboat. 6,000 liters of water per minute were pumped out to keep it afloat. It could then be lifted up and transported to the GOT shipyard in Mandal, where it was once built and is now being repaired and upgraded. The Det Norske Veritas (DNV) foundation has donated NOK 35 million to the NSSR, and part of the money has been set aside for upgrading the "Det Norske Veritas" to the 2024 standard. The "Det Norske Veritas" has been in operational service since 2003, and has assisted 7,051 people and 2,200 vessels. 15 lives have been saved. Reports with photos: https://kommunikasjon.ntb.no/pressemelding/18384012/rs-125-det-norske-veritas-snart-tilbake-i-beredskap https://www.fiskeribladet.no/samfunn/fikk-store-skader-etter-dramatisk-aksjon-snart-er-redningsskoyta-klar-for-beredskap-igjen/2-1-1764673 https://www.lofotposten.no/na-er-det-klart-nar-skoyta-er-tilbake/s/5-29-1143543

Denmark is under pressure to board the 'Jazz', which is believed to be part of Moscow’s shadow fleet, and had suffered an engine failure. It is not known whether the Danish Maritime Authority has inspected the ship, but it reportedly has full authority to do so. The tanker has 50,000 tons of oil on board and is anchored off Skagen after having been disabled several times in the past two weeks, starting on Dec 29 and lasting until Jan 12, when it was adrift for a few hours. The ship was above submarine cables in the Baltic Sea during all engine stops. The ship, however, left the anchorage on Jan 16 at 8.30 a.m. en route to Tunisia.

Beached at Aliaga 15.01.25

On the night of Jan 14, 2025, numerous departures of migrant boats were reported to the CROSS Gris-Nez at the coast of Pas-de-Calais. In the middle of the night, the CROSS engaged the 'Abeille Normandie' to locate a migrant boat in the area of ​​the La Huchette beach, between Gravelines and Calais. At the same time, the migrant aid association "Utopia 56" reported to the CROSS Gris-N that several people from this boat had fallen into the water. The 'Abeille Normandie' launched its semi-rigid to make contact with the boat and assess the situation but, noticing no people in the water, began monitoring the boat. After several hours, the CROSS Gris-Nez received calls from migrants asking for assistance. Noting that these were indeed aboard the boat near the 'Abeille Normandie', the crew picked up all 58 migrants on the boat and dropped them off at the quay in Boulogne-sur-Mer on the early morning of Jan 15, where they were taken care of by the shore-based rescue services. At the same time, another boat departure was reported at the coast of Malo-les-Bains to the CROSS, which deployed the 'Ridens' to ensure close surveillance. After a few hours, some of the people on board the precarious boat asked the 'Ridens' for assistance, which then picked up 41 people, while the rest of the migrants continued on their way. Given the risks of falling overboard or of injuries incurred by people in the event of a forced intervention by French rescue resources, the decision was made to let them continue their journey, while ensuring that their crossing was monitored. The CROSS Gris-Nez then engaged the customs patrol boat 'DFP1-Jacques Oudart Fourmentin' to relieve the 'RidensÄ' in monitoring the boat and allow the vessel to drop off the migrants, who had requested assistance, in Calais, where they were taken care of by shore -based rescue services. In total, under the responsibility of the Maritime Prefecture, 99 people were rescued.

The 'Carnival Freedom', which lost her funnel in fires in May 2022 and in March 2024, just months after receiving her replacement funnel, has been sailing with a modified straight funnel that is fully functional, but lacks the visual and architectural interest of Carnival Cruise Line’s signature whale tail, as disrupting the ship’s scheduled deployment is not an option. To give her a whale tail funnel would mean canceling two possibly three cruises while that work is done,. When the 'Carnival Freedom‘s whale tail first caught fire in May 2022, the starboard wing of the structure was completely destroyed. The incident happened while the ship was docked in Grand Turk, and guests were transferred to the 'Carnival Conquest' to return to Port Canaveral. The 'Carnival Freedom' then went into an emergency dry dock in Freeport for assessment and repair, at which time the portside wing of the funnel was also removed. The ship returned to service on June 11, 2022 with a modified straight funnel. It wasn’t until the ship’s scheduled dry dock in Cadiz in Oct 2023 that the whale tail funnel was fully restored. A lightning strike hit the brand new funnel in March 2023, causing a fire on the portside wing. Once again, the ship would set forth with a modified straight funnel, which she has sported ever since. While Carnival Cruise Line has not confirmed exactly when the 'Carnival Freedom' will once again receive a new whale tail, it may happen during her planned dry dock in Oct 2026. The ship is scheduled for a 14-night, one-way transatlantic crossing from Port Canaveral to Barcelona, departing on Aug18, 2026. Barcelona is the closest embarkation/debarkation port to the shipyard in Cadiz, 560 miles away. The next voyage for the ship is not until Oct 9, 2026 when she will offer an 8-night Mediterranean itinerary from Barcelona. Following that, a westbound 13-night transatlantic cruise will return the ship to Port Canaveral to resume her Bahamas and Eastern Caribbean itineraries.

The frigates ‘Victoria’ and ‘Blas de Lezo’, as well as the patrol vessel ‘Tornado’, have been monitoring Russian ships in recent weeks during their transit in the Alboran Sea, the Gulf of Cadiz and the Atlantic coast. These maritime security tasks are carried out within the framework of the operations of presence, surveillance and deterrence (OPVD). Specifically, the ‘Tornado’ monitored the submarine ‘Novorossiysk’ in its way from the Eastern Mediterranean to northern Europe. During the fulfillment of its mission, the Spanish ship located the Russian naval unit south of the Balearic Islands. Since then, it maintained close monitoring until the submarine reached the Portuguese area of ​​responsibility. Subsequently, the frigate ‘Victoria’ went out to sea with the task of locating and monitoring the frigate ‘Golovko’ during its stay in the Alboran Sea, where it was escorting the Russian merchant ship ‘Lady Maria’. During the operation, it also sighted the Russian tanker ‘Altay’ transiting from the Eastern Mediterranean, which acts as a supply ship for Russian units in the vicinity of the Algerian bay of Oran. Finally, in front of the maritime border with Portugal, the frigate ‘Blas de Lezo’ located and monitored the Russian submarine ‘Novorossiysk’ in its transit towards the north. After fulfilling its mission, the frigate transferred the responsibility of monitoring to a French vessel. After finishing the monitoring of these Russian units, the ‘Victoria’ and ‘Blas de Lezo’ returned to their home ports in Rota and Ferrol, respectively. Meanwhile, the ‘Tornado’ continued with its maritime surveillance duties in ​​the Strait of Gibraltar and the Alboran Sea. Report with photo: https://diariodeavisos.elespanol.com/2025/01/un-barco-canario-intercepta-un-submarino-ruso-en-aguas-de-espana/

After the grounding of the 'Ocean Valiant', no leaks have been detected so far, and the incident has not caused any casualties. The authorities were currently assessing the material damage. Tunisia, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, would contact the country of origin of the tug 'SPM Neel Paratab 180' to request the necessary assistance to recover the platform. A working meeting was held on Jan 15 at the Presidency of the Government, where it was decided to call on the company responsible for the towing to carry out this operation. A plan is underway to transport the platform to Aliaga, its original destination before the incident, which occurred due to the breakage of the towing wire between the tug and the platform. The Minister of Transport has ordered an investigation, and divers went to the grounding site on Jan 16 to carry out additional checks. In addition, Tunisian rescue teams intervened on Jan 12 to assist the crew of the tug and secure the platform. The rig was formerly owned by the New York-listed offshore drilling contractor Diamond Offshore which was bought by Noble in 2024. Before the acquisition was closed, the compay sold the 50-year-old semisub rig 'Ocean Monarch' for scrap and announced that the same would be done with the 'Ocean Valiant' which hasn’t had a contract since 2020. Reports with photos: https://realites.com.tn/fr/bizerte-plateforme-petroliere-echouee-aucune-pollution-detectee-jusqua-present/ https://www.leconomistemaghrebin.com/2025/01/16/retour-circonstances-lechouement-plateforme-petroliere-a-bizerte/ https://splash247.com/semisub-drilling-rig-runs-aground-off-tunisia/

The 'Sirius', actually transiting off the Norwegian coast en route from Murmansk to Port Said, poses a serious environmental threat, warns the Norwegian Shipowners' Association. Ther tanker from Putin's shadow fleet may be in poor condition and uninsured. At least five other ships from Putin's shadow fleet have passed North Cape in the past month. The ship has changed its name several times and has been registered in several countries since it was built in 2009. The cargo reported to the Vardø Maritime Traffic Center is diesel. The ship is owned by the Russian state-owned shipping company Sovcomflot, which is under sanctions from the West. This is stated in the EU's sanctions list from December. The ship is now registered in Gabon, but was previously called "SCF Surgut" and registered in Barbados. Five ships from the shadow fleet were in the Barents Sea east of Finnmark in the last weeks of 2024, among them the gas tankers "North Way", "North Mountain", "North Sky" and "North Air". All are registered in Bermuda, and all are under sanctions from the US. In addition, the Sovcomflot-owned "Christophe de Margerie" was east of Novaya Zemlya. The latest AIS transmissions of these ships are two to eight weeks old. A total of 79 ships are now on the EU blacklist. Over 60 of Sovcomflot's ships are blacklisted by the USA.

On the afternoon of Jan 15, 2025, the 'Hannah Luisa', en route from Antwerp to Hengelo, allided with the railway bridge of ProRail on the IJssel near Zutphen. An antenna broke off, but there was no damage to the bridge. Train traffic between Arnhem and Zutphen, however, was disrupted for some time, while ProRail and the municipality carried out an inspection of the bridge, after which the traffic was resumed. A few hundred meters earlier, the ship already had allided with the piles along the quay. Video: https://www.dumpert.nl/item/100112807_bdbd650f

On the night of Jan 14, 2025, numerous departures of migrant boats were reported to the CROSS Gris-Nez at the coast of Pas-de-Calais. In the middle of the night, the CROSS engaged the 'Abeille Normandie' to locate a migrant boat in the area of ​​the La Huchette beach, between Gravelines and Calais. At the same time, the migrant aid association "Utopia 56" reported to the CROSS Gris-N that several people from this boat had fallen into the water. The 'Abeille Normandie' launched its semi-rigid to make contact with the boat and assess the situation but, noticing no people in the water, began monitoring the boat. After several hours, the CROSS Gris-Nez received calls from migrants asking for assistance. Noting that these were indeed aboard the boat near the 'Abeille Normandie', the crew picked up all 58 migrants on the boat and dropped them off at the quay in Boulogne-sur-Mer on the early morning of Jan 15, where they were taken care of by the shore-based rescue services. At the same time, another boat departure was reported at the coast of Malo-les-Bains to the CROSS, which deployed the 'Ridens' to ensure close surveillance. After a few hours, some of the people on board the precarious boat asked the 'Ridens' for assistance, which then picked up 41 people, while the rest of the migrants continued on their way. Given the risks of falling overboard or of injuries incurred by people in the event of a forced intervention by French rescue resources, the decision was made to let them continue their journey, while ensuring that their crossing was monitored. The CROSS Gris-Nez then engaged the 'DFP1-Jacques Oudart Fourmentin' to relieve the 'RidensÄ' in monitoring the boat and allow the vessel to drop off the migrants, who had requested assistance, in Calais, where they were taken care of by shore -based rescue services. In total, under the responsibility of the Maritime Prefecture, 99 people were rescued.

The 'Argyll Flyer', serving on the route Gourock-Dunoon, suffered an issue with the port side main engine, which required further investigations. As a consequence, the scheduled departure from Gourock at 5 p.m. and from Dunoon at 5:30 p.m. had to be cancelled, while the ship remained sidelined in Gourock. After the issue was resolved, the ferry resumed its service at 6:15 p.m. departing Gourock.

Three months after a series of engine problems started to impact multiple itineraries aboard the 'Regal Princess', the Princess Cruise has decided to send the vessel into an unscheduled dry dock in April 2025, a move that will shorten her transatlantic repositioning cruise. Guests booked to sail aboard the shup on a 24-night Night Western Europe & British Isles Grand Adventure cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Southampton were alerted to the change. The cruise ship is set to depart the Florida port on April 4 and arrive at Southampton four days earlier than planned, on April 24, rather than on April 28, which means that several port calls will be missed. The ship was slated to call at Kirkwall, Scotland, on April 24, Invergordon, Scotland, on April 25 and Edinburgh on April 26. The itinerary will retain port calls to four the ports of Falmouth, Cobh, Dun Laoghaire, and Belfast. Princess Cruises assured that the ship is fully certified for service by all applicable authorities and remains fully operational for all scheduled voyages through late April that will proceed as planned. Besides the British Isles ports, the ship is scheduled to call at Ponta Delgada, Azores; Brest, France; Amsterdam; Zeebrugge Belgium; Dublin; and Glasgow, Scotland.

The 'Varamo' must be towed from Puerto Deseado, whiere it had arrived en route from Ushuaia on Jan 4, 2025, due to the breakdown of the reduction gear. It had the mission of transporting fishing and mining cargo. It is expected that around 95 containers that were on board will be unloaded, while awaiting the arrival of a tug to move it to the city of Montevideo or another port in the region but in Brazilian territory. In addition, the shipping company must have another ship to relieve the 'Varamo' in Puerto Deseado. There are many goods to move, in addition to the prompt income of the jiggers. Report with photo: https://laopinionaustral.com.ar/politica-y-economia/el-varamo-se-averio-y-debe-ser-remolcado-desde-puerto-deseado-498181.html

On Jan 14 the "Tromp", which is currently the flagship of NATO Task Force 1, was waiting at the exit of the Kadetrinne off Rügen, while carrying out maritime surveillance for the NATO, to monitor the Russian submarine "Novorossiysk", which had previously been stationed in Tartus, on its way into the Baltic sea, one month after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, with the evacuation of Russian forces from Syria progressing. The "Kilo" class submarine has returned to the Baltic Sea after a trip of 4200 nautical miles. The "Novorossiysk" is the last submarine of the Black Sea Fleet to be withdrawn from the Mediterranean. The submarine, with the registration B261, has only been in service with the Russian Navy for ten years. It can be armed with torpedoes and cruise missiles. On its way to the Baltic Sea, the "Novorossiysk" was escorted by the frigate "Boikiy" of the Baltic Fleet. What will happen to the boat now is unclear. In the Baltic Sea, it will probably be attached to the Baltic Fleet together with its sister boat "Krasnodar". The "Krasnodar", like the "Novorossiysk", was in the Mediterranean when Russia's attack on Ukraine began on Feb 24, 2022. Both submarines were unable to return to the Black Sea through the Bosporus, as Turkey generally prohibits foreign warships from passing through during a war in the Black Sea. The "Novorossiysk" had left Tartus in early December and was sighted in the Strait of Gibraltar on Jan2. It then surfaced along the coast of Portugal and headed north, shadowed by the Spanish and Portuguese navies. The boat then sailed through the English Channel and the North Sea at a speed of eight to ten knots. Units of the British and Dutch navies had pursued the convoy. On Jan 13, the "Novorossiysk" turned into the Baltic Sea near Skagen and passed the Great Belt and Fehmarn Belt on Jan 14. The "Novorossiysk" is the second Russian submarine that NATO units shadowed in Danish waters and the Fehmarn Belt in January. On Jan 9, the submarine "Mozhaisk" returned to the Baltic Sea after a detour to the Kattegat. The return of material from Syria will continue in the coming months. The landing ship "Aleksandr Shabalin" is also in use. Together with two cargo ships, the Russian army's extensive military goods are to be evacuated from the port of Tartus. Until the fall of the Assad regime, Tartus was the only Russian naval base in the Mediterranean. As a replacement, Russia is now trying to get a port on the North African coast in Libya or Algeria. As an alternative, the Russian Navy has been given an anchorage not far from the Algerian port of Oran, where the naval tanker “Yelyna” has been cruising for weeks. The evacuation of Russian units from the Mediterranean is interpreted by military experts as a sign of Russia's weakness, as it is losing its important naval capabilities in the region. Now the Russian units still operating in the Mediterranean must be supplied from the Baltic Sea.

The 'Pontica' was subjected to a Port State Control in the port of Uddevalla after its arrival en route from Barranquilla on Jan 5, 2025. No fewer than 40 deficiencies were discovered during the inspections. The ship must now ensure that the deficiencies are rectified. The Swedish Transport Agency will then carry out a new inspection before it can be allowed to leave Uddevalla again. It remained stationary as of Jan 16. Report with photo: https://www.sjofartstidningen.se/tva-fartyg-halls-kvar-i-uddevalla/

Beached at Aliaga 15.01.25

On the night of Jan 14, 2025, numerous departures of migrant boats were reported to the CROSS Gris-Nez at the coast of Pas-de-Calais. In the middle of the night, the CROSS engaged the 'Abeille Normandie' to locate a migrant boat in the area of ​​the La Huchette beach, between Gravelines and Calais. At the same time, the migrant aid association "Utopia 56" reported to the CROSS Gris-N that several people from this boat had fallen into the water. The 'Abeille Normandie' launched its semi-rigid to make contact with the boat and assess the situation but, noticing no people in the water, began monitoring the boat. After several hours, the CROSS Gris-Nez received calls from migrants asking for assistance. Noting that these were indeed aboard the boat near the 'Abeille Normandie', the crew picked up all 58 migrants on the boat and dropped them off at the quay in Boulogne-sur-Mer on the early morning of Jan 15, where they were taken care of by the shore-based rescue services. At the same time, another boat departure was reported at the coast of Malo-les-Bains to the CROSS, which deployed the 'Ridens' to ensure close surveillance. After a few hours, some of the people on board the precarious boat asked the 'Ridens' for assistance, which then picked up 41 people, while the rest of the migrants continued on their way. Given the risks of falling overboard or of injuries incurred by people in the event of a forced intervention by French rescue resources, the decision was made to let them continue their journey, while ensuring that their crossing was monitored. The CROSS Gris-Nez then engaged the customs patrol boat 'DFP1-Jacques Oudart Fourmentin' to relieve the 'RidensÄ' in monitoring the boat and allow the vessel to drop off the migrants, who had requested assistance, in Calais, where they were taken care of by shore -based rescue services. In total, under the responsibility of the Maritime Prefecture, 99 people were rescued.