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An audio of the radio broadcast of the 'Kildin' on Jan 23 has now been obtained. The audio gathered by the NATO ship is a 75-second radio exchange between the 'Kildin' and the Togo-flagged cargo m/v 'Milla Moon'. A second tape of conversations between crew members aboard the NATO ship identified the exchange they just monitored between the 'Kildin' and the 'Milla Moon', which lifted anchor off Tartus and began sailing toward the end of the Syrian coast on Jan. 23. The 'Kildin' first identified itself as another ship, the 'Bóveda Celeste', and then asked to change channels to continue the conversation. After the switch, the man is heard in accented English identifying his vessel as a warship. “I am adrift. I am not under command,” the operator said. The 'Milla Moon' responded that it will plot a course away before signing off with, “You are welcome. Good watch. Goodbye.” The Russian intelligence vessel, drifted out of control off the Syrian coast, with flames and black fumes rising from the smokestack. The broadcast, as well as video and photos showing the blaze. were gathered by a ship from a NATO nation operating nearby. The audio provides a rare glimpse inside Russia's fleet of spy ships that NATO nations are watching closely due to concerns that Moscow could sabotage underwater cables and pipelines amid tensions over the war in Ukraine. Even though the 'Kildin' was in trouble, the secret ship did not respond to a request for help from the NATO ship. The 55-year-old Kildin gathers intelligence on NATO activities in the Mediterranean and had been operating near naval exercises by alliance member Turkey before the fire, which burned for at least four hours. The 'Kildin's crew removed the covers from the rafts, though they were not deployed. The 'Kildin' raised two black balls from its masts, a maritime signal that the ship can no longer steer. The crew eventually regained control, and the 'Kildin' is still stationed and collecting intelligence from the Syrian port of Tartus, accompanied by a frigate and a supply ship. It was not clear what caused the fire. The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was not aware of a fire aboard the 'Kildin' and would not say what the ship was doing at the time. He dismissed suggestions that it reflected poorly on Russian naval readiness. The retired Vice Admiral Michel Olhagaray, the former head of France’s Higher Military Studies Centre, said that even though the 'Kildin' regained command, the fire highlights Russia’s logistical difficulties in supporting naval forces in the Mediterranean, beyond its bases in the Arctic and Baltic Seas. Moscow cannot even use its fleet for Mediterranean patrols because during the Ukraine dispute Turkey does not allow the naval vessels to pass through the Bosphorus. The maintenance of this Russian fleet, particularly in the Mediterranean, was regarded as extraordinarily cumbersome. Report with photos and audio: https://apnews.com/article/russia-nato-spy-ship-audio-mediterranean-syria-2e6c4d6fa184d7333a3001344f2ea58c

The U.S. Coast Guard started searching for a crew member who was reported unaccounted for aboard the CGC 'Waesche (WMSL 751) ' while operating in the Eastern Pacific Ocean on Feb 6 2025, approximately 300 nautical miles south of Mexico, The patrol boat, zjr attached helicopter and small unmanned aircraft systems were conducting search patterns in the area. Additional Coast Guard and interagency search assets were being employed in the effor. The specific locations of the search efforts could not be disclosed due to operational security considerations. It was unclear when the crew member went missing, who was last seen eight hours earlier. The cutter immediately deviated from its routine counter-drug patrol tasking and initiated a comprehensive search effort. Besides the 'Waesche' itself, the following assets joined the SAR operation: - Two Customs and Border Protection Dash-8 aircraft from Joint Interagency Task Force – South (JIATF-S); - a C-130 aircraft from U.S. Air Force (USCF) 39th Rescue Squadron; -- a C-130 aircraft from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak; - the 'Waesche's embarked Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) drone; - a Mexican Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel: - a Mexican Navy Maritime Patrol Aircraft. The search area and effort are vast, and the operation is being carefully coordinated to ensure maximum coverage and effectiveness. The circumstances around the case were under investigation.

The shipbuilder Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) and the superyacht shipyard Nobiskrug Rendsburg have officially filed for insolvency on Dec 12, 2024, deepening the ongoing crisis for their parent company, Tennor Group, and its owner, Lars Windhorst. District courts in Flensburg and Neumünster have appointed the lawyers Christoph Morgen, Partner, Brinkmann & Partner and Hendrik Gittermann, Partner, REIMER as provisional insolvency administrators. The insolvency filings, submitted to the district courts in Flensburg and Neumünster, follow months of financial instability and reported mismanagement. The bleak reality of the situation became evident on Dec 9, when the SH public utility company threatened to cut off the power supply at the Rendsburg facility due to a lack of payments since Dec 1. No immediate action was taken because the federal police ship 'Neustadt' was still in the drydock for repairs. Workers at both firms are bearing the brunt of the crisis. The shipyards’ financial woes have left around 500 employees in limbo before Christmas, many of whom have already been laid off. At a recent rally in Flensberg, workers' union representatives alleged repeated delays in salary payments, including November wages and Christmas bonuses. Local sources report that Flensburg Works Council chairman Jan Brandt accused Windhorst of lying repeatedly and breaking promises of timely payments. Windhorst has become a target of criticism. He has been accused of mismanagement, poor communication and unfulfilled promises. In recent months, workers, unions and politicians have all demanded his resignation. Schleswig-Holstein’s Economics Minister, Claus Ruhe Madsen, called for Windhorst to face up to his responsibility and sell the shipyards or insolvency would clear the way for new investors. The Tennor Group took over the FSG in 2019, relaunching it as “FSG 2.0” without old debts or new orders. Despite repeated announcements of future projects, they failed to materialise, leaving the shipyard vulnerable. In 2021, FSG acquired the Rendsburg-based yard Nobiskrug as it filed for insolvency, but the acquisition has done little to alleviate the financial strain. In the summer 2024, the situation worsened as the German federal government withdrew a €62 million grant intended for the construction of liquefied gas bunker ships at FSG, citing Tennor’s inability to demonstrate sufficient equity capital. Now, the provisional insolvency administrators are working with the project managers of the RoRo ferry at FSG and the yacht Nobiskrug to resolve both projects. If necessary, the administrators plan to consult with federal and state governments about potential interim financing to bridge construction costs until client acceptance and payment. Meanwhile, they will explore further restructuring strategies for both shipyards. Insolvency pre-financing has also been arranged to secure financial recompense for the 340 workers at the Flensburg site and the 140 employees from the Rendsburg facility. This measure will cover payments through the end of Jan 2025, including the overdue November salaries.

As the 'Stena Adventurer' makes her way to Fishguard on Dec 11, Stena Line has now cancelled sailings to/from Holyhead up until the departure from Dublin on the afternoon of Dec 12. Irish Ferries have, so far, also cancelled all sailings on Dec 11. The port has been closed to SHIP traffic since the weekend when its infrastructure was damaged during the storm when the 'Ulysses' destroyed a dolphin. The port’s management has been surveying and addressing the damage since and it was previously indicated that crossings would be able to resume on Dec 10 from 6 p.m. However, underwater inspections in the port last night were hindered by bad weather, causing the resumption of sailings to be further delayed.

On Feb 6, 2025, a person needed to be medevaced from the 'MSC Bianca Silva' in the port of Hamburg. Three tugs held the ship in position in the Park Port at around 9 a.m., and also the fire boat 'Brandirektor Westphal' went alongside. After a helicopter had hoisted the patient and transferred to a hospital for further medical care, the ship was finally towed to its intended berth at the Eurogate Terminal in the Waltershof Port for cargo operations. It left the port again on Feb 7 at 3.45 a.m., bound to Le Havre with an ETA as of Feb 9.

The 'Essence', en route from Kotka to Rotterdam with an ETA as of Feb 7, was in collision with the "X-Press Mülhacen" (IMO: 9365960) en route from Rotterdam to Gdynia, on the Kiel Canal amid thick fog on Feb 6, 2025, at 7:05 a.m. in the area of ​​the north port of Kiel in front of the Holtenau locks. The "X-Press Mülhacen" was supposed to enter the large north chamber of the Holtenau locks. At the same time, the "Essence" came from the south chamber Both ships came too close to each other and scraped past each other. Both freighters had to interrupt their respective voyages. The "Essence" moored at the Schwartenbek siding near Suchsdorf. The "X-Press Mülhacen" was allowed to continue the voyage to the roadstead of Holtenau, where it anchored in pos. 54° 23' N 010° 11' E at 8:50 a.m. The Kiel water police was on duty with the police boat "Stör". The officers were questioning the crews of the two ships and the pilots on board. Experts from the classification societies examined and confirmed the technical condition of the ships. The 'Esscence' resumed its voyage at around 11 a.m. and was allowed to proceed to Brunsbüttel, where it berthed at the Navy dolphins short past 6 p.m. It resumed its voyage on Feb 7 at 4 a.m. UTC with an ETA at the port of destination as of Feb 8. whereas the '"X-Press Mülhacen" remained stationary on the Kiel Fjord until 8.20 p.m. and then continued on its way to Gdynia with an ETA as of Feb 7.

Following the allision of the 'Ulöysses', where part of the pier collapsed, the port will remain closed until at least Dec 20. Irish Ferries has redeployed the “James Joyce” to the Rosslare - Pembroke route whilst the “Ulysses” has deviated from the Holyhead route for the first time in history. On Dec 12 the ferry left Dublin on the 4 p.m. service to Cherbourg in place of the“WB Yeats” Meanwhile, the Stena Line have sent the ‘Stena Adventurer' to Fishguard and the ‘Stena Estrid' to Birkenhead.

Ferry services have been cancelled between Holyhead and Dublin following the storm Darragh. The Irish Ferries and Stena Line websites were showing major disruption to services on Dec 9, 2024, and Dec 10. The Irish Ferries website showed all services were cancelled due to infrastructure weather damage in Holyhead. Although the Holyhead to Dublin service by the 'James Joyce' on Dec 10 at 8.15 .p.m was scheduled to run. Stena Line is also showing the 'Stena Estrid' was set to sail from Holyhead at 8.30 p.m. The incident with the 'Ulysses', which had an allision on Dec 7, has caused damage to port infrastructure. As a result, Holyhead Port has been closed to marine traffic and, at this time, it was expected that the port will remain closed until Dec 10 at 6 p.m. at the earliest, while a thorough assessment was conducted.

The 'Essence' (IMO: 9491496), en route from Kotka to Rotterdam with an ETA as of Feb 7, was in collision with the "X-Press Mülhacen", en route from Rotterdam to Gdynia, on the Kiel Canal amid thick fog on Feb 6, 2025, at 7:05 a.m. in the area of ​​the north port of Kiel in front of the Holtenau locks. The "X-Press Mülhacen" was supposed to enter the large north chamber of the Holtenau locks. At the same time, the "Essence" came from the south chamber Both ships came too close to each other and scraped past each other. Both freighters had to interrupt their respective voyages. The "Essence" moored at the Schwartenbek siding near Suchsdorf. The "X-Press Mülhacen" was allowed to continue the voyage to the roadstead of Holtenau, where it anchored in pos. 54° 23' N 010° 11' E at 8:50 a.m. The Kiel water police was on duty with the police boat "Stör". The officers were questioning the crews of the two ships and the pilots on board. Experts from the classification societies examined and confirmed the technical condition of the ships. The 'Esscence' resumed its voyage at around 11 a.m. and was allowed to proceed to Brunsbüttel, where it berthed at the Navy dolphins short past 6 p.m. It resumed its voyage on Feb 7 at 4 a.m. UTC with an ETA at the port of destination as of Feb 8. whereas the '"X-Press Mülhacen" remained stationary on the Kiel Fjord until 8.20 p.m. and then continued on its way to Gdynia with an ETA as of Feb 7.

The 'Isfjord' suffered an engine failure en route from Svolvær (Lat. 68.1192 Lng. 14.9302) on Feb 5, 2025, atr around 5 p.m. and went adrift, The Russian captain of the unloaded tanker sent out a mayday call, and both the NSSR-lifeboats from Svolvær and Ballstad were called out by the Main Rescue Centre to assist in securing the ship, which is referred to as "a floating gas station". It is operated by LNS Spitsbergen's subsidiary LNS Ocean, There was an onshore wind from the southwest and it was of interest to gain control of the situation. The lifeboat "Sundt Flyer" (MMSI: 259192000) was first on site, followed by the "Hans Hermann Horn" (MMSI: 257035360), which was the larger boat and took the tanker in tow. On Feb 6 at 03:00 a.m. the patrol vessel 'Heimdal' (IMO: 9353345) of the Norwegian Coastguard took over the tow from the "Hans Hermann Horn" after seven hours. The tug 'Polar Frigg' (IMO: 8714279) left Harstad on the late evening of Feb 5 and reached the scene the next morning at 05:45 a.m. It took over the tow from the lifeboats. On the morning of Feb 6, the tanker was anchored near Lødingen in pos. 68° 26' N 016° 02' E, where it remained stationary as of Feb 7. Reports with photos and video: https://www.lofotposten.no/104-meter-lang-tanker-med-motorhavari/s/5-29-1148933?fbclid=IwY2xjawIQymdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHRJ7Myw8hca4Kz9_Os-hiqEIyRE5YOQ87ULHGow1OGLyZNDZub7KzdrD3Q_aem_gOY2kvA_yQjNIJFrtRMSAw https://x.com/i/status/1887247263187279885 https://www.ht.no/nyheter/i/nylJ8B/maatte-redde-104-meter-lang-tanker

On Dec 12 the divers were still carrying out their inspections on the berth at Holyhead with all the steel columns being checked for any damages under the waterline. Stena was still deeming this an ongoing technical issue- Once the inspections have been finished a decision is made by the relevant teams regarding the chance that the T5 berth can begin operating again and Holyhead Por can once again resume operations.

Smoke has been observed at the port of Tuapse after explosions were reported overnight on Nov 29, 2024. Reports suggested that a large Russian landing ship may have been damaged. Smoke was rising from one of the berths, which is equipped with cranes for loading civilian vessels. Satellite images from SentinelHub on Nov 20 revealed a 135-meter-long vessel docked there, potentially a large landing ship, matching the class of Russian warships known as Project 11711 Ivan Gren. Currently, there is only one such ship in the Black Sea, the 'Pyotr Morgunov' from Russia's Northern Fleet.