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The 35-year-old Nigerian Itoruboemi L,, who was among the hijackers the 'FWN Rapide', now sailing as 'Lady Luciana', in 2018 has been sentenced again by the court in Rotterdam. This time he was sentenced to three years in prison for the hijacking of the 'BBC Caribbean' (IMO: 9378242) in Feb 2017, In May 2025, he appeared at the court in Rotterdam again. He was among the armed pirates who came on board and took the eight crew members as hostages. The crew was taken to the mainland of Nigeria in a boat, where they were held for weeks. The shipping company eventually paid a ransom, after which the crew was released. Itoruboemi L. was given a prison sentence of three years for the case. This sentence was in addition to an eight -year prison sentence that the Nigerian was already sentenced to in Rotterdam in 2022 for the hijacking of the 'FWN Rapide', when 11 of the 14 crew members were taken hostage and held in various hiding places in the jungle of Nigeria. The court noted that Itoruboemi L. probably had a poor and difficult life in Nigeria According to his lawyer, Itoruboemi L. was under pressure at the time of the hijacking of the 'BBC Caribbean' There were financial problems. He was said to have only played a supporting role in the negotiations for the ransom, not the attack and hostage-taking. Yet the evidence told a different story. His DNA was found on a cigarette butt on board the German ship. He also wore a striking dolphin necklace during the hostage-taking, which the crew members later remembered well.

On the early morning of June 28, the Port Authorities of Serifos and Milos were informed by the Joint SAR Center (EKSED) of the Greek Coastguard Headquarters that the'Nissos Rodos' had suffered a failure of the port side main engine 20 nautical miles west of Serifos, during the scheduled route from Piraeus to Heraklion. The ship sailed unassisted at a reduced speed to the port of Heraklion, where it safely disembarked 560 passengers, 164 cars and, 138 two wheelers. An inspection by officers of the Local Ship Inspection Unit (TKEP) followed, and after the presentation of a certificate of class maintenance from the monitoring classification society, the ferry was permitted to continue its voyage.

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The Port of Beirut (PoB) resumed partial operations on Aug 10 with the first two container ships berthing in the container terminal after the explosion which killed at least 160 persons, injured thousands and made hundred thousands homeless. Out of 16 cranes at the container terminal, 12 were currently operational. The port was gradually resuming operations to ensure the supply of all kinds of goods to citizens. Bassem Al Kaissi, the new Director of the PoB, said that the container terminal will be fully operational by Aug 14. Al Kaissi said that 420 containers were unloaded on Aug 10. The container terminal storage area has been cleaned up and restored to its state before the blast. The container terminal represents 80 percent of the overall cargo movement at the PoB. It is located one kilometer away from the blast epicenter. Container vessels can dock at quay number 16. Shipping movement at the PoB had already plunged by 75 percent due to the economic crisis and has reached 15 percent following the blast. Customs have opened offices in the PoB’s warehouse number 14 which was partially damaged. The customs have become able to carry out the inspection of merchandise- Customs duties are being temporarily paid at the Rafic Hariri International Airport. Tthe PoB is now handling only full containers as groupage consignment requires warehouses which don’t exist now. Amer Al Kaissi said groupage, which represents 15 percent of shipments at the PoB, will be diverted to the Port of Tripoli until the rebuilding of warehouses at the PoB is completed. The first two containerships to berth at the PoB after the blast were the 'Electra' (Gezairi Transport) and the 'Nicolas Delmas' (CMA CGM). The 'Electra', which was carrying 400 containers, was diverted to Tripoli where there was a license to operate but the company insisted to unload it in Beirut when it was told that the PoB has resumed operation. The CMA CGM Group and CEVA Logistics said they are fully operational and ensuring business continuity to serve their customers. The Group has redeployed its employees in its two back-up sites in Beirut Digital District and reinforced its presence in Tripoli. Part of CMA CGM’s vessels has been temporarily directed to Tripoli. Few shipping companies are authorized to operate in other ports such as Tripoli or Saida. BCTC, the Customs and the PoB’s authorities did their best to handle the clearing formalities despite the difficult working conditions. The general cargo area was fully operational on Aug 12 both for imports and exports. This includes wheat and other grains as well as construction steel bars. The cost of rebuilding the port is estimated at around $1 billion.

On the afternoon of Juen 27, 2025, the Corfu Port Authority was informed that the 'Corfu Express' had suffered a temporary loss of the main electrical power while en route from Saranda, Albania to the new port of Corfu, with 69 passengers and six crew members on board. The vessel sailed to the port of Corfu where the passengers disembarked safely. The Corfu Central Port Authority banned the vessel from sailing until a certificate of ckass maintenance was presented by the monitoring classification society.

On the morning of Juen 28, the Paros Port Authority was informed that the'Champion Jet 3' that upon its arrival at the port of Parikia, it allided with pier 2 and suffered damage to the bow, while operating a scheduled route from the port of Piraeus, to Naxos, Koufonissi, Schinoussa, Iraklia and return, with 1012 passengers, 34 crew members, 79 vehicles and 13 motorcycles on board. The ship later safely docked at the port, disembarking passengers and vehicles. A part of the passengers were transported to their destination by other ships, with the company's care. The Paros Port Authority conducted the preliminary investigation, and initially prohibited the departure of the ferry. After an inspection and the presentation of a certificate of class maintenance by the monitoring classification society, the ship left the port with the remaining passengers and continued on its scheduled route. Report with photo: https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1273848/greek-ferry-safety-under-scrutiny-after-paros-dock-collision/

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On the morning of June 28, the Port Authority of Thassos was informed by the Master of the ''Nikitis' that it had suffered a failure of the starboard side main engine, before startubg the scheduled route to the port of Kavala, with 76 passengers and 13 private vehicles on board. The 1st Port Department of Thassos of the Central Port Authority of Kavala banned the ship from sailing until the damage was repaired and a certificate of class maintenance was presented by the monitoring classification society. The passengers were transported to their destination with the care of the ship-owning company.

On June 22, 2025, the USS 'Sampson' intercepted a smuggling boat in the Eastern Pacific and captured 3.5 tonnes of cocaine, beingworth $58 million on the U.S. market, more than $120 million in Europe and upwards of $300 million in Australia, depending upon the final destination. Just past 5.30 p.m. a helicopter from the destroyer spotted a suspicious vessel at an undisclosed position in the Eastern Pacific. The crew launched a small boat with a team of officers from Sampson's embarked U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET). The LEDET crew found three suspected drug smugglers aboard the vessel, all of whom said that they were foreign nationals. The packages aboard the vessel tested positive for cocaine, so the cargo and all three suspects were taken into custody aboard the Sampson. Their stateless vessel was later sunk as a hazard to navigation.

The PORT OF KIEL has redesigned the port apron in Ostuferhafen, which is the freight and logistics centre on the fjord. Where once stood a grain silo, there is now an expanded pre-stacking and stand-by area of three hectares for trucks, trailers and pas-senger cars.The State Premier of Schleswig- Holstein, Daniel Günther, visited the Ostufer-hafen on 12th August to hand over the grant notice coming from the State Programme Economy for 5.44 million Euros: The project to redesign the port apron included dismantling three hall areas of the former grain silo, excavation and road works as well as drainage, lighting and security measures and the connection of the area to the infrastructure. Through the new and generous port apron it has been possible to merge formerly separated pre-stacking areas, shorten distances and gain more space for trucks, busses, trailers and passenger cars. Furthermore, IT solutions have been developed to accelerate the handling processes at the gate, which also allow truck drivers to reduce personal contact.Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director at the PORT OF KIEL: “Even under the current circumstances the Ostuferhafen operates in a reliable and safe way. The port of Kiel has proven its systemic importance regarding the transshipment of cross-border freight transport.”In the first seven months of the year 2.1 million tons of cargo have been tran-shipped via the Ostuferhafen (+ 1 %). Additional volumes have been transported by the ferries of the DFDS shipping company to the Baltic States or they have been delivered by the SCA-RoRo-freighters from Scandinavia. Not only general cargo and forest products are unloaded resp. transhipped in Ostuferhafen but also project and heavy cargo, scrap metal and agricul-tural products. The integrated passenger terminal to handle cruise vessels emphasizes the universal character of this port part.

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