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The 'Isle of Mull' has a serious problem with its evacuation systems. As the problem cannot be fixed easily, a new solution has to be designed. As a result, the vessel's capacity will be limited to just 45 passengers, compared to its usual 900. During the routine inspection of the deployed system, the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) identified an issue with the embarkation slide, resulting in the slide failing the inspection. Due to the failure, the starboard side MES system was removed for OEM inspection and failed with the same issue with the glue used in the slide construction. The MES is inspected during overhauls and the annual inspection completed the previous year (2023) had not identified this as a potential issue. Working with the OEM and after an extensive worldwide search, it has become evident that there is no like-for-like replacement available. Obsolescence combined with the design changes in the replacement systems mean that there is no compatible evacuation slide to embark passengers onto the life rafts in an emergency. It is possible that this could take several months to complete. Time will then be required to install and test the system before returning the vessel to a normal Passengers On Board figure and get the new solution certified. With the Calmac fleet so stretched, and delays in the arrival of new ships, this calamity puts capacity on Mull and other routes at risk during busy periods.

On Dec 28 the Salvamar Al Nair has taken 30 sub-Saharan people, among them 28 men, one woman and a child, to Arrecife, who were travelling on the fifth inflatable boat that Salvamento Marítimo has been assisting in the last few hours on its way to Lanzarote. After the four previous rescues of some 240 people carried out by the 'Guardamar Calíope', who were expected to disembark at around 11.50 am in the capital of Lanzarote, the ÄSalvamar Al Nair' was heading to the same port, Puerto Naos, with another 30 people. Their boat was spotted at around 09.20 a.m. by the cruise ship 'Amadea' 44.4 kilometres from Arrecife. Before that, another 240 people arrived in Puerto Naos on board the 'Guardamar Calíope', which had rescued them during the night and the first hours of the day after receiving successive alerts at the Salvamento Marítimo centre in Las Palmas. Once they have landed in Puerto Naos and received medical and humanitarian assistance, the final count of the migrants will take place.

The 'Le Maelys II' started to list to port side and finally capsized at the quayside in the port of Varreux on Dec 23, 2024, leaving seven crew members dead and 17 injured. The Coastguards did not yet have the final figure for the number of deaths because there were still bodies inside the hold of the ship. There were 34 trucks on board. The vessel was carrying out cabotage operations between the Grand Sud and Port-au-Prince. The accident occurred during the loading of the trucks, carried out by the crew. While the vessel was at the ramp dedicated to cabotage operations, a bad maneuver by a truck inside the hold caused a strong imbalance, resulting in the sinking. For the moment, it was half-submerged, outside the international docks area. Report with photo: https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-43922-icihaiti-varreux-capsizing-of-the-maelys-ii-boat-the-explanations.html

The 'Santa Joana', with 39 crew members on board, arrived in the port of Saint-Pierre on Dec 28, 2024, 0n the morning, towed by the trawler 'Santa Cristina'. The two fishing vessels had sailed for seven days to reach the archipelago, following a propulsion problem which had occurred 400 nautical miles from the archipelago. Initially, a tug was contacted to assist the broken-down vessel, but it ultimately did not come. Divers from a private company should be called in the next few hours to try to remove the trawl stuck in the propeller of the 'Santa Joana', and assess the condition of the equipment. Report with photohttps://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/saintpierremiquelon/un-chalutier-portugais-en-panne-remorque-dans-la-rade-de-saint-pierre-par-un-autre-bateau-de-peche-1549228.html:

The 'Sus & Zo', loaded with sludge ,threatened to sink in the Albert Canal in Wijnegem on Dec 27, 2024. Thanks to the quick action of the fire brigade and civil protection, worse was prevented. The emergency services were alerted on the morning, because the ship, which was moored on the side of the cana,l was lying very deep in the water. Upon arrival, the fire brigade found that the pumped up sludge had released a considerable amount of water. That water had accumulated in the hold and thus endangered the stability of the ship. As a precaution, another ship was tied up alongside to prevent the 'Sus & Zo' from sinking. The fire brigade from Zone Rand, which attended with the necessary equipment, pumped out the water. The civil protection arrived during the afternoon to empty the hold, so that the ship could regain its stability. Report with photo: https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20241227_94807699

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Beached at Alang 26.12.24

Several vehicles aboard the 'Kaitaki' have been damaged, and one passenger injured on the crossing that left Wellington on the morning of Dec 27 en route to Picton at 8.45 a.m. The ferry experienced a significant roll while passing near the Karori lighthouse area. As a result, some passenger vehicles shifted and siffered damage. One passenger suffered a minor injury, and our crew provided immediate medical assistance. A full assessment was conducted following the vessel’s arrival in Picton. Report with photo: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/vehicles-damaged-one-injured-on-rolling-interislander-ferry-sailing/D2M6E447VZDQXCLMTLT6OYD3LY/

On Dec 28 the Salvamar Al Nair has taken 30 sub-Saharan people, among them 28 men, one woman and a child, to Arrecife, who were travelling on the fifth inflatable boat that Salvamento Marítimo has been assisting in the last few hours on its way to Lanzarote. After the four previous rescues of some 240 people carried out by the 'Guardamar Calíope', who were expected to disembark at around 11.50 am in the capital of Lanzarote, the ÄSalvamar Al Nair' was heading to the same port, Puerto Naos, with another 30 people. Their boat was spotted at around 09.20 a.m. by the cruise ship 'Amadea' 44.4 kilometres from Arrecife. Before that, another 240 people arrived in Puerto Naos on board the 'Guardamar Calíope', which had rescued them during the night and the first hours of the day after receiving successive alerts at the Salvamento Marítimo centre in Las Palmas. Once they have landed in Puerto Naos and received medical and humanitarian assistance, the final count of the migrants will take place.

On Dec 21, 2024, a 48-year-old woman lost her life aboard the "Sky Princess". She fell onto the deck of the ship while trying to jump overboard, while the ship was heading towards Florida. The crew immediately intervened to provide emergency care, but despite their efforts, she could not be resuscitated. An investigation has been opened to determine the circumstances of the event.

Two experienced sailors were killed in separate incidents in the Sydney to Hobart race. Both crew members died after they were suspected to have been hit by the sail boom. One of them, Nick Smith from South Australia, has been hit by the boat's mainsheet and thrown across the boat, hitting his head on the winch. Smith, 65, was a crew member of the 'Bowline', competing in the race for the fifth time. A few hours later a crew member on the 'Flying Fish Arctos' was struck by a sail boom and died. He was identified as Roy Quaden, 55, a sailor with two decades of experience from Western Australia. The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia will do an investigation. Bad weather has forced several boats to retire from the 79th running of the race, which began on Dec 27. The last loss of life in the race came in 1998 when five yachts were sunk and six sailors died after a major storm hit the fleet.

The helmsman of the 'Aries' was slightly injured in an allision with the Spannenburg bridge when the tug was transiting the the Prinses Margrietkanaal on the night of Dec 27, 2024. The wheelhouse of the ship was probably too high when the ship approached the bridge. The impact caused considerable damage to the cabin. Nets which were hanging under the bridge were damaged as well as a lamp. It was not known how the allision could have happened. It was only reported to Rijkswaterstaat ion the morning of Dec 27. The waterway,at Spannenburg was closed for a while. The police and the Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) were conducting an investigation. Reports with video: https://www.nu.nl/313659/video/schade-aan-schip-en-brug-na-botsing-in-friesland.html?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.binnenschifferforum.de%2F https://www.omropfryslan.nl/nl/nieuws/17101475/schip-botst-tegen-brug-spannenburg-vaarweg-beperkt-open

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arrived Bhavnagar Anchorage 28.12.24

The 'Poseidon Hellas' was forced to return to the port of Piraeus on Dec 28, after experiencing engine trouble while it was sailing north of Aegina island in the Saronic Gulf, en route from the islet of Angistri to Aegina, carrying 182 passengers, 18 crew members, 43 cars, three trucks and nine motorcycles. The ship suffererd a malfunction in its port side main engine, prompting the decision to return to Piraeus at reduced speed amid strong winds.

On Dec 28 at around 8:30 a.m. the 'Abeille Horizon' refloated the barge 'AMT Challenger', which had been stuck on the Normandy coast, between Valéry en Caux and Dieppe since Dec 8 after breaking lose from the 'Boka Glacier' off the Isle of Wight during Storm Darragh, despite several attempts by the 'Abeille Horizon' to try to pass a tow to it during the storm. The tug was accompanied by the 'Multrasalvor 5'. The two ships arrived on site before 5 a.m., and the 'Multrasavor 5' managed to set sail with the 'AMT Challenger' in tow 2,5 hours later.

An attempt to refloat the 'Maccao# that ran aground on the St. Lawrence River near Verchères, in Montérégie, continued until late Dec 27 and resumed on the morning of Dec 28. The owner's refloating plan has been validated by Transport Canada and other authorities involved. The operation was launched at around 11 a.m. and involved three tugs and an agent from the Coast Guard's Marine Hazards and Environmental Response team. It was also being monitored using drones and a helicopter. The ship had grounded following a widespread power outage. The Canadian Coast Guard was informed of the incident on Dec 24 at 1:15 a.m. Therre was no damage to the ship's hull and no pollution observed. The cause of the failure was not yet known, but it had caused the ship to become unmanoeverable, so it ran aground in an area with a clay bottom. The first step in the salvage work was to use the water jets produced by the tugs' propellers to remove the sediment accumulated along the side of the ship, which is a slow process, and the efforts continued until around midnight. If the plan does not work, the ship's cargo of corn will have to be lightered and transferred onto a barge.Generators, heating systems and other supplies were delivered to the ship during the evening of Dec 24. However, the ship managed to operate its own generators and restore power shortly after. Experts boarded the ship on dec 27 to assess the situation and put a refloating plan in place. The position of the ship has no immediate consequences for ship traffic. A speed reduction advisory was in place in the area for ships passing nearby. Report with photo: https://www.noovo.info/nouvelle/le-navire-echoue-pres-de-vercheres-doit-etre-renfloue-vendredi.html

The Finnish authorities suspected several crew members of the 'Eagle S' of having damaged several underwater cables. The tanker was towed from Porkala Cape to a protected anchorage near Sköldvik in Porvoo, east of Helsinki, on Dec 28. Investigators from the Finnish police have been on board the tanker and questioned the 20 crew members, who are of Georgian and Indian nationality. A technical examination has also been carried out, including the fact that the ship's port anchor is missing. Electronic recording equipment has also been found on board, which is far more advanced than that normally found on board merchant ships and can be used for monitoring and recording communications between military units. Technicians were being hoisted down from helicopters to the ship and back up again in batches. The Finnish authorities are now considering whether to press charges against any of the crew members questioned. In addition to the damabe of the Estlink-2 power cable, faults have also been found in four communication cables in the same area. So far, all 20 crew members are still on board the tanker. It is problematic to bring the crew ashore, as the ship requires a minimum crew. In addition, the ship has only one single anchor, which makes it more vulnerable in the event of bad weather. The repeated attacks on important infrastructure on the bottom of the Baltic Sea were met with condemnation from both the EU and NATO. Reports with video: https://yle.fi/a/7-10069788 https://www.svt.se/nyheter/utrikes/luftbro-etablerad-till-eagle-s-besattningen-forhors

scrapped at Busan 12/2024 https://www.shipspotting.com/photos/3793793