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Firefighters of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service were tackling a blaze which broke out in the cargo hold of the 'Lowlands Diamond' on Jan 27, 2025, in the port of Aberdeen. The bulkcarrier had docked in the South Harbor at the Dunnottar Quay on Jan 22, en route from Varberg. Firefighters have been engaged in combating the fie since three consecutive days. The Emergency services were now emptying the cargo holds of the vessel for extinguishing the fire, while it was claimed that putting out the fire could take days more. The vessel itself, its crew and the community were safe, as the fire has been successfully isolated to one of the ship’s cargo holds. On Jan 29, a complex investigation was ongoing, 48 hours after the emergency services had arrived on the scene. Marine firefighting specialists were in attendance. Reports with photos and video: https://news.stv.tv/north/firefighters-tackle-complex-blaze-in-ships-cargo-hold-after-vessel-docks-in-aberdeen https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen-aberdeenshire/6682545/ship-fire-aberdeen-harbour/

On Jan 28, 2025, the Royal Navy received a distress signal indicating the presence of three crew members in critical health condition on board the "Tai Hua Wan", en route from Agadir to Mohammedia. The Morroccan Royal Navy medevaced the two near the port of Mohammedia. The two operation was carried out in close coordination with the Royal Gendarmerie and the SAR Coordination Center. The evacuated patients were handed over to the Civil Protection elements. The ship entered the port of Mohammedia on Jan 29.

A person fell overboard from the 'Victoria 1' on the afternoon of Jan 29, 2025. The incident occurred in the waters around the island of Ulkomatala in Helsinki. It was only when the vessel reached the port of Helsinki that friends of the person discovered that he had disappeared. Surveillance camera footage shows a person falling overboard shortly after 3 p.m. An SAR operation was carried out with the help of patrol boats and a helicopter of the Finland Coast Guard. Other vessels operating in the area were also asked to help in the search. Shortly before 7 p.m. the Coast Guard was ending the search, as no one had been found. The assessment was that the person will not be found alive. The water was cold, the visibility poor, so it did not make sense to continue.

The cleanup of the oil lost from the 'Volgoneft-239' has been largely completed, the Russian state marine rescue service Morspas announced on Jan 27. After the tanker broke up, the stern section drifted aground on a rocky shore off Taman. The battered hull began leaking large quantities of fuel oil. The tanker was more than 50 years old, and not designed for winter storm conditions in the Baltic Sea. It was carrying about 4,000 of tonnes of mazut. An estimated 3,700 tonnes of the cargo spilled into the marine environment, fouling beaches from Taman to Anapa. Morspas responded to the 'Volgoneft-239' with a mission to reduce the risk of further oil leaks. Using earthmoving equipment, the salvors built a berm around the entire stern section, enclosing any further petroleum releases. The berm was reinforced with jacks to protect the wreck from wintertime wave action. Before pumping off the tank contents, the salvors had to restore the tanker's cargo heating systems, which are necessary to move the sludge-like material, asmazut only begins to liquefy at about 43 degrees C. From Jany 19-25, 1,500 tons of fuel oil were pumped out of the tanker into bitumen carriers and then transferred onto 20 railway tank car. A truck platform reinforced with concrete slabs was installed on the berm next to the tanker. This supported the trucks receiving fuel oil from the vessel. Eight vehicles were involved in the round-the-clock pumping operations, and over the entire period, 87 truckloads were removed from the tanker. The remaining fuel oil that could not be unloaded by the ship's equipment was pumped out using hand pumps. Meanwhile, cleanup teams boomed off the surrounding area and used mechanical and hand removal to abate the oil. Morspas' Azov-Black Sea branch has deployed small boat teams daily to rocky, inaccessible shorelines, and reports that it has manually collected nearly two tonnes of oil-contaminated soil from hard-to-reach places. No new sources of pollution were identified. They were collecting small local areas and also finishing work in the area of Cape Panagia on cleaning the coastal strip, collecting and delivering the spent soil for disposal. Now that the fuel oil has been removed from the wreck, the salvage operation turns to wreck removal. The plan is to cut up the 'Volgoneft-239' in place and haul it away in sections. Taman's port captain has requested that the wreckage be removed by the end of March. The 'Volgoneft-212' and the remains of her cargo are still on the bottom, though vents have been plugged to prevent leakages. The fuel oil that was released into the marine environment could take up to 10 years to degrade. Report with photos: https://maritime-executive.com/article/cleanup-of-wrecked-russian-tanker-completed

The 'CG 'Active' and CG 'Terrell Horne' have intercepted a boat that was carrying 21 migrants on Jan 27, 2025, at around 10.45 p.m., 20 nautical miles off the coast of Point Loma. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol notified them about a 40-foot panga-style vessel headed north to the maritime boundary line and U.S. waters. The Coast Guard Cutters were diverted to the scene. Both cutters launched boarding teams and, with CBP’s assistance, successfully interdicted the vessel. All 21 people on board claimed Mexican nationality, but two were identified as Guatemalan and Salvadoran nationals. All boat people were transferred to Border Patrol custody.

The "Kjerringa", which sank at the quay of the Hammerfest Industri sometime between Christmas Eve and Dec 27, 2024, was raised again on Jan 6, 2025. The weather was very bad in the area when the accident occurred. On Christmas Day the wind was blowing at a speed of 25 m/s. The exact time of the accident is not certain. On Christmas Eve afternoon, the m/v "Seiland" had docked behind the "Kjerringa" without discovering any damage, an accident report stated. The vessel was moored there since Dec 11. The news of the accident reached the shipping company shortly before 1:00 p.m. The Hammerfest Fire and Rescue was contacted and came to put bilges in connection with the accident to prevent the spread of the oil and/or diesel spill, without any spill being reported. An attempt was also made to raise the "Kjerringa" as quickly as possible, but there was no equipment or crew available for such an operation.When the ship was raised, a hole in the hull could be seen. According to the report, this was due to repeated hits to the stern.

The Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich is said to have evaded millions in taxes in Germany and other EU countries, according to leaked documents that are available to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and have now been analyzed by the "Standard" together with media such as "Spiegel", ZDF, "Guardian" and BBC. The focus is on the "Eclipse" owned by Abramovich and allegedly part of a complex tax avoidance model. The ship is said to have been officially handled through various letterbox companies. Offshore companies were used to conceal the real owner and avoid paying taxes. Abramovich's advisors designed a network of companies that was supposed to simulate the commercial use of Abramovich's yacht fleet. The "Eclipse" was probably part of the structure until at least 2012. According to this, the yacht was officially rented to a company in the British Virgin Islands in order to avoid VAT obligations - although Abramovich demonstrably used the "Eclipse" privately, for example for an exclusive New Year's Eve party in the Caribbean in 2012. There is also said to have been a trick when refueling the yacht. Commercially used ships are exempt from fuel tax in the EU. Internal emails show that those responsible were trying to obtain the necessary evidence. When a rental agreement was not submitted on time, an employee warned that this would jeopardize a tax saving of 44,000 US dollars for filling up the tank once. A particularly lucrative tax loophole arose during the construction of the "Eclipse" in Hamburg. Since the ship was built in what was then the free port, the location was not considered to be German territory for tax purposes. Therefore, no VAT was apparently due on the purchase. The costs are estimated at around 300 to 800 million euros. For a long time, Abramovich and his advisors managed to fend off official inquiries. In Italy, tax proceedings threatened in 2014 after the yacht had been refueled in Trieste, but the investigation was discontinued. There were also disagreements in Cyprus: in 2012, the authorities there demanded around 14 million euros in taxes on chartering. Abramovich's lawyer later withdrew his appeals, but it remains unclear whether the sum was paid. Since the imposition of Western sanctions against Russian oligarchs, Abramovich has avoided the EU in order to protect his assets from being accessed. The "Eclipse" is now off the Turkish coast, beyond the reach of European authorities. In Germany, the alleged tax offenses may now be time-barred. The statute of limitations in Germany is usually only five years, but in particularly serious cases it can be 15 years.

On Jan 29, the 'Sea Punk 1' arrived in the port of Reggio Calabria with 14 people on board, who have been rescued in the Strait of Sicily. The group consisted of 10 Pakistanis, two Egyptians and two Bangladeshis. The migrants were temporarily welcomed in the temporary structure built inside the port area, where the ritual health and administrative checks took place. Foreign citizens will then be assigned to other locations according to the distribution program established by the Ministry of the Interior.

On the morning of Jan 28, 2025, the "Linden", en route from Monrovia to Casablanca, suffered an engine failure off the coast of Mohammedia, 2.5 kilometers southeast of the port. The ship waas drifting approximately 2.5 kilometers southeast of the port of Mohammedia. Upon receiving the distress signal, the Moroccan Royal Navy quickly dispatched a helicopter to evacuate two crew members who were in critical condition. A naval unit was also mobilized on site to monitor the stricken ship and provide the necessary support. The evacuated patient was handed over to the Civil Protection elements. The ship drifted aground in pos. N 33° 43' N 007° 22 W. Report with photo: https://www.welovebuzz.com/la-marine-royale-sauve-deux-navires-en-detresse-au-large-de-mohammedia/

After a series of incidents with broken cables on the bottom of the North Sea, Global Connect, the largest cable operator in the Nordic region, is now calling for a response across the Nordic countries to increase the protection of critical infrastructure. The 'Vezhen' is suspected of having caused the latest cable break in the Baltic Sea. Few people believe that it is coincidence that has led to the breakage of submarine cables in recent months. Suspicion of sabotage is widespread. This has prompted Global Connect to appeal to the Danish government to ensure better protection of the infrastructure on the seabed: “You have to be aware that submarine cables are an integral part of our infrastructure, and there is not much that works in modern society if our main routes for data transmission disappear. As it is today, we can easily handle it – like a storm or a fishing boat that is going to pull a cable over. But what we have seen here recently is that it is happening more systematically, and then it can no longer be handled by a single company,” said the company’s director, Martin Lipper, calling for a contingency plan across the Nordic countries to help protect the infrastructure. The Bulgarian shipping company behind the 'Vezhen' acknowledged that the ship may have caused the rupture of a cable in the Baltic Sea between Gotland and Latvia, but denies that it was a deliberate act.

The cleanup of the oil lost from the 'Volgoneft-239' has been largely completed, the Russian state marine rescue service Morspas announced on Jan 27. After the tanker broke up, the stern section drifted aground on a rocky shore off Taman. The battered hull began leaking large quantities of fuel oil. The tanker was more than 50 years old, and not designed for winter storm conditions in the Baltic Sea. It was carrying about 4,000 of tonnes of mazut. An estimated 3,700 tonnes of the cargo spilled into the marine environment, fouling beaches from Taman to Anapa. Morspas responded to the 'Volgoneft-239' with a mission to reduce the risk of further oil leaks. Using earthmoving equipment, the salvors built a berm around the entire stern section, enclosing any further petroleum releases. The berm was reinforced with jacks to protect the wreck from wintertime wave action. Before pumping off the tank contents, the salvors had to restore the tanker's cargo heating systems, which are necessary to move the sludge-like material, asmazut only begins to liquefy at about 43 degrees C. From Jany 19-25, 1,500 tons of fuel oil were pumped out of the tanker into bitumen carriers and then transferred onto 20 railway tank car. A truck platform reinforced with concrete slabs was installed on the berm next to the tanker. This supported the trucks receiving fuel oil from the vessel. Eight vehicles were involved in the round-the-clock pumping operations, and over the entire period, 87 truckloads were removed from the tanker. The remaining fuel oil that could not be unloaded by the ship's equipment was pumped out using hand pumps. Meanwhile, cleanup teams boomed off the surrounding area and used mechanical and hand removal to abate the oil. Morspas' Azov-Black Sea branch has deployed small boat teams daily to rocky, inaccessible shorelines, and reports that it has manually collected nearly two tonnes of oil-contaminated soil from hard-to-reach places. No new sources of pollution were identified. They were collecting small local areas and also finishing work in the area of Cape Panagia on cleaning the coastal strip, collecting and delivering the spent soil for disposal. Now that the fuel oil has been removed from the wreck, the salvage operation turns to wreck removal. The plan is to cut up the 'Volgoneft-239' in place and haul it away in sections. Taman's port captain has requested that the wreckage be removed by the end of March. The 'Volgoneft-212' and the remains of her cargo are still on the bottom, though vents have been plugged to prevent leakages. The fuel oil that was released into the marine environment could take up to 10 years to degrade. Report with photos: https://maritime-executive.com/article/cleanup-of-wrecked-russian-tanker-completed

The 'CG 'Active' and CG 'Terrell Horne' have intercepted a boat that was carrying 21 migrants on Jan 27, 2025, at around 10.45 p.m., 20 nautical miles off the coast of Point Loma. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol notified them about a 40-foot panga-style vessel headed north to the maritime boundary line and U.S. waters. The Coast Guard Cutters were diverted to the scene. Both cutters launched boarding teams and, with CBP’s assistance, successfully interdicted the vessel. All 21 people on board claimed Mexican nationality, but two were identified as Guatemalan and Salvadoran nationals. All boat people were transferred to Border Patrol custody.

The 'Kriti Captain', which suffered a fire on the night of Jan 25, while it was right next to the port at the underwater pipeline for the unloading of its cargo of 33,000 tonnes of diesel, was taken in tow on Jan 28 at 3 p.m. by the tug 'Abeille Méditerranée' after meeting all the safety conditions necessary for the transit, and was now heading at low speed towards the Gulf of Fos-sur-Mer and the Grand Port Maritime de Marseille. The towing operation was being closely monitored by the CROSS Mediterranée and the semaphores of the French Navy. The convoy should arrive at its destination on Jan 29. During the afternoon, the casino car park on the seafront was closed to parking, and several cars were removed with the help of the municipal police and the gendarmerie. A helicopter was used to transport firefighters from Marseille to check the condition of the ship, restart the last of the three generators to ensure a power supply and raise the anchors. Subsequently, a pilot boat took on board three firefighters from the center of Port-La Nouvelle to come to the aid of the firefighters on the tanker. Report with photos: https://www.herault-tribune.com/articles/port-la-nouvelle-le-kriti-captain-remorque-vers-le-port-de-marseille/

The '50 Let Pobedy', en route to the Ob Bay, suffered significant damage to its port side foreship in a collision with the bulkcarrier 'Yamal Krechet' (IMO: 9202041), en route from Arkhangelsk to Sabetta, the port where Novatek's Yamal LNG production facilitates are located, while operating on the Northern Sea Route., opening a deep gash near its bow on the night of Jan 26, 2025, in the Kara Sea. The accident happened while maintaining winter shipping lanes and escorting a cargo vessel. The condition of the bulkcarrier, which was hit at port side ahead of the accommodation block, was unknown. According to Russia’s operator of nuclear icebreakers, Atomflot, the '50 Let Pobedy' remained seaworthy and continued operating in the Ob Bay. The damaged section was not proximate to the vessel’s nuclear reactor and the power plant continued operating normally. It was, however, unclear if the vessel will complete its regular stint of winter icebreaking services or will return to Murmansk early to undergo repairs. Reports with photo and video: https://gcaptain.com/russian-nuclear-icebreaker-sustains-damage-in-arctic-collision-with-cargo-ship/ https://maritime-executive.com/article/video-russian-nuclear-icebreaker-damaged-in-collision

Following the mechanical problem that affected the“Varamo”, which is stationary in Puerto Deseado since Jan 4, the Danish shipping company Maersk will replace the vessel with the “AS Sabine” (IMO: 9813802). This ship currently operates on the Argentine coast. It will connect the maritime route of the Port of Mar del Plata, where it arrived on Jan 28, with the Patagonian terminals, according to Container Terminal No. 2 (TC2), from where exportable cargo is operated. It was the first time that the vessel will arrive at the local port, where, at this time, the first squid jiggers are beginning to arrive to unload the first squid tide of 2025. Maersk provides a biweekly service in the city and mainly transports frozen fish. It complements the operations of the French shipping company CMA CGM, which, since mid-May of 2024 has enabled the commercial route that links Mar del Plata with Santos to position Mar del Plata goods abroad. Maersk, however, has a longer time to reach the destination countries.

Beached at Chittagong 29.01.25

The ferry company Gotlandsbolaget sent the Nordic Pearl' from Copenhagen to Oslo for the first time on Jan 28 with its new colours and its new name. The 36-year-old ferry, which is now painted aqua-green and white, has also undergone an extensive renovation inside during its almost month-long stay at the shipyard in Landskrona. This applies to both cabins and the ferry's common areas. The ferry was purchased by DFDS in 2001 and named 'Pearl of Scandinavia'' and in 2011 'Pearl Seaways'. Report with photo: https://www.maritimedanmark.dk/forste-tur-med-nyt-navn-og-ny-bemaling

Wing Commander Akshay Saxena of the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been awarded the Vayu Sena Medal for his exemplary bravery in a high-risk anti-piracy operation and rescuing the 'Ruen' from Somali pirates. On Dec 14, 2023, the pirates hijacked the vessel about 380 nautical miles east of Socotra Island, in the Arabian Sea. They took 17 crew members hostage and sailed the vessel towards the Somali coast, where they began negotiations with the shipowner. However, instead of anchoring off Somalia, the pirates decided to set sail again, likely intending to use the 'Ruen' as a mother ship for launching attacks on other vessels in the Indian Ocean. On March 15, 2024, an Indian Navy long-range maritime patrol intercepted the ship about 260 nautical miles east of Somalia. The Indian Warships INS 'Kolkata' and INS 'Subhadra' were positioned alongside the hijacked vessel. In response, the pirates opened fire on the warships and shot down one of 'Kolkata'’s surveillance drones. The Indian military then quickly deployed a team of 18 marine commandos (Marcos) and an IAF C-17 transport aircraft for a precision airdrop mission. Wing Commander Akshay Saxena, as the pilot of the C-17, led the operation that involved the insertion of the commandos into the sea near the 'Ruen'. This risky operation required Saxena to navigate through a third country’s airspace for nearly four hours without authorisation and in complete secrecy. Saxena flew the C-17 at a low level, turning off all the aircraft’s communication systems to avoid detection. As they approached the drop zone, the location was changed, requiring the crew to adapt quickly. Despite the change, Saxena executed the airdrop smoothly, dropping the 18 commandos and their inflatable boats into the water near the 'Ruen'. The commandos boarded the vessel, confronted 35 pirates aboard, and forced them to stand down and surrender. The Indian Ministry of Defense commended Saxena for his “flawless execution of an extremely gruelling mission” and for displaying “exceptional courage, dynamic leadership, outstanding professionalism, and steadfast determination.” He maintained situational awareness during the operation, which lasted for over 10 hours. The rescue of the 'Ruen' also marked the first-ever insertion of marine commandos via airdrop on the high seas, proving India’s readiness to handle piracy threats in distant waters. The Indian Navy has also recommended Lieutenant Commander Sourabh Malik for a gallantry award. Malik and his Commando squad carried out an opposed boarding of the fishing vessel 'Omari' on Feb 2, 2024. Despite the hijackers’ attempts to stop the boarding with heavy and constant small arms fire, they captured seven armed pirates and freed 19 fishermen. Report with photos: https://www.marineinsight.com/shipping-news/iaf-pilot-honoured-for-10-hour-mission-to-rescue-hijacked-ship-from-somali-pirates/

The United States Attorney Duane A. Evans has announced that Fei Wang, aged 38, on Jan 24, 2025, has pleaded guilty to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and for obstructing proceedings, and was sentenced during the same proceeding to three months in prison, three years of supervised release, and payment of a US$200 mandatory special assessment fee. Wang, a Chinese national, was the chief engineer of the 'ASL Singapore', now sailing as 'Xin Hai Tong 805', which was engaged in trade in the USA. The 'ASL Singapore' has arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Feb 26, 2024. The US Coast Guard conducted an inspection, which included review of the vessel’s oil record books. In his plea, Wang acknowledged presenting these books to the Coast Guard knowing they contained fraudulent entries and omitted information about discharging oily bilge water directly overboard before arriving in the USA. The falsified logs were intended to conceal the fact that since at least Oct 2023, when Wang boarded the vessel, the crew had dumped oily bilge water overboard directly from the bilge holding tank and was not complying with international treaties regulating oil pollution from ships. According to court documents and statements, the crew of the 'ASL Singapore' used a portable pump and flexible hose to dispose of oily bilge water in violation of MARPOL Convention,, and without the use of the appropriate pollution prevention equipment and monitoring. This was done prior to Wang boarding the vessel and continued while he was chief engineer, in charge of all engine room operations. The vessel's oily water separator was never properly used during Wang's time as chief engineer. The Coast Guard Investigative Service and the EPA Criminal Investigations Division investigated the case with assistance from US Coast Guard Sector New Orleans. Assistant US Attorneys Christine M. Calogero of the General Crimes Unit, and G. Dall Kammer, Chief of the General Crimes Unit, are prosecuting the case.

The fisherman Are Strand died when he fell overboard from the "Øyværing", which then ran aground at Kabelvåg on March 1, 2024. Now the accident report from the Accident Investigation Board Norway is ready. The accident most likely occurred when the lone fisherman on board the"Øyværing" was setting the third net link and fell overboard. The vessel continued on autopilot and grounded north on the island of Kreta at Kabelvåg. People on land observed the vessel and reported it to the emergency services, and a search was launched. The fisherman was later found in the area where the fisherman's third net link was set, and died as a result of the accident, writes the Accident Investigation Board. No recommendations have been made after the investigation, but the Accident Investigation Board wrote that they emphasized the importance of following up on the action plan with the vision zero for the number of fatalities and serious injuries at sea, which was adopted by the Storting in 2022. A large proportion of the accidents in solo fishing that the board investigated have shown that fishermen have fallen overboard in connection with the operation of the vessel. It is the actual conditions that mean that a lone fisherman must be physically located close to the rig in an exposed position during some parts of the setting and hauling process, which is the main challenge. For smaller fishing vessels with one person on board, it is therefore challenging to identify good measures that can eliminate this danger completely. When the fisherman fell overboard, no one immediately noticed that he was in distress. He had no opportunity to warn, and the fisherman did not use a flotation device, wrote the Accident Investigation Board Norway. A review of previous accidents involving lone fishermen that SHK has investigated has shown that very few lone fishermen used flotation devices. The Accident Investigation Board believes that the consequence-reducing measures such as personal alert devices, flotation devices, electronic emergency stops and ladders, individually or in combination, would increase the likelihood of saving lives in accidents where a lone fisherman falls overboard. In the action plan prepared by the Norwegian Maritime Directorate in connection with the work on the zero vision, several measures have been proposed for, among other things, smaller fishing vessels. Some of these measures are particularly relevant in view of the accident with the ««Øyværing»». Reports with photos: https://www.vaganavisa.no/nyheter/i/zEdax4/undersoeker-doedsulykken https://www.kystmagasinet.no/sikkerhet-statens-havarikommisjon-ulykke/alenefiskere-er-ekstra-utsatt-for-a-do-pa-jobb/1885601