News

On Feb 6 it was stated that the 'Bayesian' would be recovered after its mast was dismantled. The salvage operation is expected to start around the middle of April from a water depth around 50 meters. The Italian prosecutors and Coastguard selected a project for recovery led by TMC Marine Consultants Ltd. This involves removing the mast of 72 metres lenght from the water, separately from the rest the vessel. Other salvage plans that involved turning the 55.9 metre yacht, weighing 534 tons, nearly 90 degrees on seabed, without dismantling the mast, were rejected due to their complexity. Three crew members are still under investigation by prosecutors in Termini Imerese near Palermo: Captain James Cutfield and ship engineer Tim Parker Eaton. The suspects are suspected of manslaughter, and they may have caused a shipwreck. The investigation would not be complete until the wreck was removed from the water, according to the prosecutors. After the 'Bayesian' is raised and repositioned on the seabed, it will be transported to Palermo, which is about 8.4 nautical mile away, to investigate what caused the accident and to recover any sensitive information on board.

The 'Campbell (WMEC 909)' has returned to its home port in Newport on Feb 4, 2025, following a 63-day multi-mission patrol to the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Ocean. The cutter was deployed in support of Joint Interagency Task Force – South (JIATF-S) to advance the primary mission of interdicting illegal narcotics in known drug trafficking zones. Its crew conducted maritime safety and security missions while working to detect, deter and intercept drug-smuggling vessels. While on patrol, the 'Campbell' interdicted a suspected drug-smuggling operations, involving six panga boats engaged in illicit activity on the high seas. During the pursuit, the 'Campbell’s crew seized approximately 8,061 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated street value of more than $91 million and detained two suspected drug traffickers. The 'Campbell embarked and provided care for two SAR survivors and maintained custody of a total of 49 suspected drug smugglers suspected of engaging in illicit trafficking activities at sea. The crew of the 'Campbell' offloaded the drugs at Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, on Jan 27 and transferred 26 suspected drug smugglers to authorities, who were now facing federal prosecution by the Department of Justice. Between January 2024 and February 2025, the 'Campbell' transferred a total of 87 suspected smugglers to federal law enforcement authorities, resulting from 24 interdictions by U. S. Coast Guard cutters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. During the patrol, the 'Campbell’partnered with numerous additional Coast Guard assets during the deployment by hosting a law enforcement detachment from the Opa Locka, Florida-based Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team – South, and conducted joint patrols and at-sea transfers with Coast Guard Cutters 'Waesche (WMSL 751)', ' James (WMSL 754)' and 'Stone (WMSL 758)'. These units also leveraged international and interagency partners to ensure that U.S. Coast Guard presence resulted in both the interdiction and deterrence of illicit trafficking in the Eastern Pacific. Prior to returning to Newport, the 'Campbell' conducted three days of helicopter to deck landing qualifications at sea with multiple aircrews from the Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron based out of Jacksonville, Florida. Campbell also embarked nearly 60 personnel from other Coast Guard cutters for hands-on shipboard-helicopter operations training in order to improve mission readiness across the cutter fleet. Report with photo: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/4055086/coast-guard-cutter-campbell-returns-home-after-interdicting-91m-in-illicit-narc/

On Feb 3 at 10.29 a.m. a satellite image showed a possible pollution 16 nautical miles northeast of Frederikshavn. The environmenta protectionl vessel 'Mette Miljø' has been deployed to the area to investigate, however, without finding any signs of an oil pollution. The crew observed the presence of foam, which may have come from parts of the 'Musse' after it had burned in the area on Feb 3, or even sea foam. The ship, still smouldering, had been towed into the port of Skagen on Feb 5 by two Skawlink ships. Report with photos: https://thefishingdaily.com/danish-fishing-industry-news/burning-fishing-vessel-drifts-into-swedish-waters-near-skagen/

The 'Evanthia', formerly sailing as 'Santa Margherita', has entered the port of Durban on Feb 2, 2025, at 08:20 a.m., under tow of the The emergency tug 'Umkhuseli '(IMO 9427055), after the ship had suffered propulsion problems 270 nautical miles out in the South Atlantic, which required the assistance of the African Marine Solutions Group’s (AMSOL) standby emergency tug. The 'Evanthia' had sailed from the port of Paranaguá on Jan 4 and encountered technical problems while approaching the Cape of Good Hope. The tow to Durban lasted a total of 10 days. The 'Evanthia' was docked alongside Pier 1 at berth 103. Report with photo: http://africaports.co.za/#9484

On Jan 14, 2025, the ' Ray' was detained in Alexandria with 16 deficiencies, seven of which being regarded as seriously and grounds for a detention: 1) Labour conditions - Wages Non payment of wages 2) Structural conditions - Hull damage impairing seaworthiness Holed 3) Life saving Appliances - Rescue boats Not properly maintained 4) Safety of navigaiton - Radar Inoperative 5) Radio communications - INMARSAT Ship earth station Inoperative 6) Propulsion and auxiliary machinery - Propulsion main engine Not as required 7) Propulsion and auxiliary machinery - Auxiliary machinery Not as required The vessel was released again on Feb 4 and are remained stationary in Alexandria for the time being. The last detentions were on July 15, 2024, in Tuapse with 11 deficiencies for four days and on Jan 11, 2024, in Elevsis with 19 deficiencies for 12 days. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063576908591

On Jan 14, 2025, the 'Isartal' was detained in Chalkis with 13 deficiencies, five of which being regarded as seriously and grounds for a detention: 1) Propulsion and auxiliary machinery - Auxiliary machinery Missing 2) Propulsion and auxiliary machinery - Auxiliary machinery Not as required 3) Propulsion and auxiliary machinery - Pumping, piping and discharge arrangements Inoperative 4) Pollution Prevention - Retention of oil onboard Not as required 5) Safety of navigation - Echo sounder Inoperative The vessel was released again on Feb 4 and remained stationary in port. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063576908591

The 'Cellus' had to berth in the outer port of Glückstadt on Jan 17, 2025. The ship was en route from Flushing to Sweden, when strange noises and vibrations were remarked in the engine on Jan 16, and the ship diverted to the emergency port. Vlissingen en rout to Sweden diverted to the port due to vibrations and strange noises. Not one day later the ship reached the port. Investigations showed that the gear rings on the gearbox between the main engine and the propeller had broken. The gear rings were removed and sent to Holland. It will take ten weeks to produce spar parts, the assembly will take another two weeks. Some of the 10 crew members were meanwhile employed elsewhere. The repair will cost about 250,000 euros. The loss of the layover time was estimated to be around 450,000 euros. The ship is used in the cellulose transport. Report with photo: https://www.shz.de/lokales/glueckstadt/artikel/schiff-cellus-musste-glueckstadt-als-nothafen-ansteuern-48314435

After the 'Deala' ran aground on April 16, 2024, at 7.30 p.m. with 15 Egyptian crew members on board, near the port of Raša in southeastern Istria, the African owner has renounced ownership of the wreck, and since then it has been disintegrating approximately 40 meters from the shore and at a water depth between two and five meters. Local residents and biologists fear an environmental catastrophe in the Natura 2000 protected area. The ship was to be salvaged within 30 days, according to the responsible Ministry for Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure, but the owner has abandoned his ship, and the cost of salvaging it, which were estimated at three million euros, will probably be charged to the Croatian taxpayer. Divers discovered in April that the engine room had been flooded three meters high by a leak. On Feb 5, 2025, local politicians turned to the public, after a new damage has occurred on the ship. The residents of the municipalities of Raša, Marčana and Barban, which share the Raška Bay, have been waiting for a response from the relevant authorities, i.e. the ministry, for ten months, stated the president of the Association of Municipalities Dalibor Paus during a press conference in Krnica, supported by Neven Iveša, a biologist at the Faculty of Natural Sciences in Pula, who emphasized that the Raša Bay is protected as a Natura 2000 area. Some measures have been taken to remove waste water and fuel, but due to the deterioration of the ship, other dangerous substances may be released into the environment, warned the biologist, who is critical of alleged plans by the ministry to tow the ship to Turkey because Croatia is technically unable to salvage ships of this size. He suggested the wreck should be dismantled on site with the involvement of local companies. Report with photos: https://www.kleinezeitung.at/kaernten/alpeadria/19330023/vor-zehn-monaten-gestrandet-schiffswrack-vor-istrien-wird-zur

The 'Loch Alainn'. serving on the route Ardmhor-Eriskay, suffered a technical issue on the morning of Feb 6, 2025, which required further investigations and repairs. As a consequence, the scheduledd departures from Barra at 05:20 a.m., 07:15 a.m. and 09:15 a.m. and from Eriskay at 06:10 a.m.,, 08:10 a.m. and 10:10 a.m. had to be cancelled, while troubleshooting was underway. After the repairs have been completed successfully, the sailings from Barra at 09:15 a.m. and from Eriskay at 10:10 a.m. were reinstade.

On the evening of Feb 4, 2025, the KNRM boat in IJmuiden was alerted for a medical evacuation from the 'Viking Neptun', which was carrying out cable laying tasks 15 nautical miles off the coast of the port, after a crew member had developed medical problems and needed medical treatment asohre. Together with an ambulance crew, the lifeboat sailed towards the ship, which had weighed anchor and sailed towards the coast for the rendezvous. About 12 nautical miles outside the piers of IJmuiden the lifeboat went alongside, and two crew members were transferred to stabilise the patient and escort him onto the boat. Once back in IJmuiden, the patient was taken by ambulance for further examination to the hospital. Report with photo: https://www.knrm.nl/nieuws/knrm-reddingstation-ijmuiden/prio-1-medische-evacuatie

The sunken foreship of the 'Volgoneft 239' and all of the 'Volgoneft212' are currently being examined underwater, but with no attempts yet being made to haul them to shore or extract the fuel oil left in their tanks .According to Eugene Simonov, an expert with the Ukraine War Environmental Consequences Work Group (UWEC) , the sunken parts are left untouched because Russian authorities simply do not have the appropriate equipment to extract oil from underwater reservoirs. As a result, according to Viktor Danilov-Danilyan, the head of science at the Russian Academy of Sciences, the wrecks could evolve into the worst ecological catastrophe, Russia has seen in the 21st century. On Jan. 25, the Russian government officially had declared that the emergency services had finished the ongoing oil extraction operation, but this only concerned the grounded stern of the Volgoneft 239'.

The “Volcán de Tauce”, which has been moored since Jan 14 at the Santa Catalina dock in the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, after resolving the technical trouble that altered the La Palma line in December by inserting the catamaran “Volcán de Tirajana”, has been sold to the Emirates International Air Cargo company from the United Arab Emirates. The ferry will presumably be delivered on Feb 13. The management of the Armas Trasmediterránea Group has informed the company's staff on Feb 5 of the sale of the ship, which is listed as the property of Anarafe S.L., one of the companies controlled by the Armas Trasmediterránea Group. According to reports, its new owner intends to convert it into a hospital ship.

Clean-up operations were ongoing after oil escaped from the wreck of the 'Ultra Galaxy' during salvage operations. The oil, which was trapped within the wreck, leaked during the complex wreck removal process. Clean-up operations were carried out with a workforce of around 180 people in 12 teams and progressing steadily. As the risk of oil escaping during operations of this nature is anticipated, robust contingency measures are always in place. The South African Maritime Safety Authority stated on Jan 29 that SpillTech, a dedicated spill management company, has been on site from the onset of the removal operation to handle such incidents promptly and effectively. To safeguard marine life and coastal ecosystems, the SAMSA is working closely with SANCCOB (Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds) and Cape Nature, both of which are on standby to respond should wildlife be affected. The wreck removal operation began in December, and approximately 4206 tons of wreckage have been removed from the site.

On Feb 3, 2025, the "Brødrene", with two crew members on board, suddenly started sinking northwest of Sørvær. The MRCC received an emergency locator transmitter signal. The rescue helicopter SAR Queen from from the Norwegian Armed Forces' 330th Squadron in Banak, that had been on a joint training with a coastal defense vessel west of Hasvik and Sørøya, which was about to return to Banak and just five minutes away, was diverted to the scene. Upon its arrival, only the bow of the ship was still sticking out of the water. One fisherman was sitting on the bow tip, which was sticking only sticking one meter out of the water, while the otherman had been thrown off the ship and was floating in the sea. There were four to five meter high waves at the scene. First the man on the bow was saved. The cutter moved well in the sea. There were also both ropes and wreckage around the wreck, which made the rescue operation challenging, After the rescue, the helicoper crew was signaled that there was another person in the water, about 300 meters from the vessel, swimming in oilcloth and boots, but without a life jacket or anything, as he hadn't had time to put it on. The fisherman was in the water and swimming for about 20 minutes. The two were flown to Hammerfest for a medical check-up. Both were said to be in good condition, given the circumstances. The NSSR lifeboat 'Gjert Wilhelmsen, the patrol vessel 'Bison' of the Norwegian Coast Guard as well as the work boat "Mimmi" from the Finnsnes Dykk- og Anleggsservice participated in the effort to try to salvage the cutter, which, however, sank, when the towage commenced.The crew of the lifeboat picked up the EPIRB transmitter that sent a distress signal and a lifebuoy with a light, but didn't see any raft. It is triggered by pressure and it is possible that the cutter was not deep enough. Reports with photos and video: https://www.tv2.no/nyheter/innenriks/her-klamrer-han-seg-fast-til-livet/17422201/ https://www.ifinnmark.no/her-blir-de-reddet-opp-av-sjoen-jeg-er-glad-det-gikk-bra-med-mannskapet/s/5-81-2184677 https://www.nrk.no/tromsogfinnmark/skipsforlis-utenfor-soroya-1.17249260 https://www.kystogfjord.no/nyheter/i/PpXP0X/satt-paa-baugen-da-hjelpen-kom https://www.nyhetssaker.no/artikler/d6c1ee29-c38d-4603-9aa2-b65180791de3

Early on Feb 5, 2025, the Sommen', en route from Aveiro to Avedøre, got stuck twice during the wastbound transit of the Kiel Canal. The first accident was at Oldenbüttel, where the ship ran into in the southern embankment at canal kilometer 40 at 2.08 a.m. The allision damaged the dolphin 5, but the ship was able to free itself. A sailing ban was initially imposed. Once the electronic problem, which was identified as the cause, had been remedied, the ship was able to continue towards Kiel. Only 27 kilometers further, just ahead of the Rade Canal Bridge, the ship then suffered an engine failure and ran into the southern embankmen at canal kilometre 67,3 at 6.05 a.m., getting stuck in pos. 54° 20' N 009° 43' E, near the municipality of Schacht-Audorf. The Kiel Canal traffic control center prohibited the vessel from continuing its voyage unassisted, and the tug 'Parat' (IMO: 8128212 ) was called from Kiel. Also the SFK-tug 'Holtenau' (IMO: 8200321) was sent to the accident site from Kiel on the foremidday and reached the casulaty at around 10 a.m. Other ships could pass the accident site with caution as the 'Sommen' was stuck outside the fairway. At 11.15 a.m. the tugs pulled the 'Sommen' off and towed it to Kiel with the 'Parat' as steering tug at the stern, where it was berthed at the Voith Quay in the North Port for investigations at 1 p.m. UTC. It continued its voyage on Feb 6 at 3.30 a.m. UTC. Report with photo: https://www.shz.de/lokales/rendsburg/artikel/nord-ostsee-kanal-in-rendsburg-frachter-faehrt-zweimal-in-boeschung-48316711

On Feb 5, 2025, the 'Siempre Esmeralda' suffered propulsion problems after having caught a piece of plastic in the bottom intake about nine nautical miles north of Tina Menor The crew requested assistance, and the CCS Gijón of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the SAR boat 'Salvamar Castor' to the casualty. The cutter was taken in tow and pulled to the port of San Vicente de la Barquera.

The allision of the 'Regina K' with the Moselle lock in Müden happened while the ship was on autopilot, when it sailed into the lock at high speed. Analysis of the recorded data shows that the ship entered the lock at a speed of 12.2 kilometers per hour. The public prosecutor's office confirmed that semi-autonomous driving with autopilot is generally permitted on the Moselle on the condition that the ship's master can intervene at any time. The authorities were still investigating why this did not happen in this case. Investigations had showed that neither the engine nor the ship's controls had any technical defects. In addition, no evidence of alcohol or drug consumption by the responsible captain was found. Video recordings showed that the ship continued to sail at high speed until the impact,which destroyed the lock gate. The public prosecutor's office is still investigating why the ship's captain did not intervene. Possible human errors or a misassessment of the situation were the focus of the investigation.

The sunken foreship of the 'Volgoneft 239' and all of the 'Volgoneft212' are currently being examined underwater, but with no attempts yet being made to haul them to shore or extract the fuel oil left in their tanks .According to Eugene Simonov, an expert with the Ukraine War Environmental Consequences Work Group (UWEC) , the sunken parts are left untouched because Russian authorities simply do not have the appropriate equipment to extract oil from underwater reservoirs. As a result, according to Viktor Danilov-Danilyan, the head of science at the Russian Academy of Sciences, the wrecks could evolve into the worst ecological catastrophe, Russia has seen in the 21st century. On Jan. 25, the Russian government officially had declared that the emergency services had finished the ongoing oil extraction operation, but this only concerned the grounded stern of the Volgoneft 239'.

On Jan 30, 2025, the 'Aphrodite I' was detained in Venice with 18 deficiencies, nine of which being regarded as seriously and grounds for a detention: 1) Structural conditions - Bulkhead - Construction Not as required 2) Structural conditions - Bulkhead - Corrosion Corroded 3) Safety of navigation - Gyro compass Inoperative 4) Emergency systems - Emergency source of power - Emergency generator Inoperative' 5) Fire safety - Fire detection and alarm system Inoperative 6) Fire safety - Fixed fire exthinguishing installation Not as required 7) Fire safety - Fire doors/openings in fire resisting division Not as required 8)) ISM - ISM Certificate Not as required The vessel was released again on Feb 4 and left the port on Feb 5 en route to Piraeus with an ETA as of Feb 9, https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063576908591

The "Eventin" is still not allowed to continue its journey due to ongoing investigations. As long as the results of the investigations are pending, a sailing ban applies. Two investigations are underway in which customs and the classification society DNV are involved. The results were sent to Panama as the flag state, which instructed the crew of the "Eventin" to cooperate with the authorities in Germany. There was no precise information on the further timetable. The customs inspections focused on the question of whether the approximately 100,000 tons of oil on board the "Eventin" was Russian oil and whether the EU oil embargo was being violated. The Stralsund public prosecutor's office had announced that there was no initial suspicion of a crime. The ageing ship was also prohibited from sailing due to technical shortcomings.