News

The 'Commodore Goodwill', now renamed 'Caesarea Trader', which served the Channel Islands for nearly 30 years, is to be repurposed to transport freight by the Danish-based DFDS. The purchase of the ferry will enhance lifeline freight services connecting Jersey with Portsmouth and St Malo. The ship reflagged under the UK flag, and renamed in homage to Jersey's Latin name, It will be overhauled ahead of its launch later this year, replacing the 'Arrow', the chartered vessel currently transporting Jersey's freight.

An MAIB investigation into the death of a deckhand aboard the 'Cornishman' on Feb 66, 2021, has revealed a chain of critical safety failures. The crew member was struck and killed by a falling trawl beam on the trawler 44 nautical miles south-southwest of the Isles of Scilly. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch report details how the port trawl beam, which had been hoisted to allow the crew to repair the fishing gear, fell suddenly. A second deckhand was also struck and sustained minor injuries. The investigators uncovered other issues that created the conditions for this fatal accident. The vessel’s risk assessments were found not to be followed, and stated mitigations were ineffective, placing the crew at risk while working under a suspended load. The chain type was unsuited to marine operations, where the saltwater environment caused environmental cracking. The supplied chain had been unsuccessfully tempered during manufacture, which resulted in a high level of hardness and low ductility. Additionally, the chain’s installation caused it to be led over a fixed pin, which introduced bending stresses to the chain links that were compromised due to corrosion and cracking. In response to the findings, safety recommendations have been issued to the regulator, the vessel’s owner, and the chain’s manufacturer to prevent a recurrence of the accident. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has been recommended to update the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment) Regulations 2006 guidance to state the training requirements and accreditation of competent persons carrying out lifting equipment inspections. It has also been advised to update its training and guidance to surveyors to improve their ability to check compliance with these regulations during vessel inspections. The vessel’s owner, W. Stevenson & Sons Limited has been recommended to ensure compliance with the lifting equipment regulations; review and update its risk assessments, confirm with chain suppliers and/or chain manufacturers before purchase that the selected chains are suitable for their intended use, and implement the Fishing Safety Management Code for its fleet. The Capital Group FASING S.A., Poland, the chain manufacturer, has been recommended to conduct a thorough review and amend its chain quenching and tempering process to ensure product quality.

The Government of Maharashtra, India, India has named the Virgin Hyperloop One – DP World Consortium as Original Project Proponent (OPP) for the Pune-Mumbai Hyperloop Project, making it the first hyperloop project in the world. In a statement, Virgin Hyperloop One described it as a “landmark announcement” for the building of the Mumbai-Pune hyperloop transportation system.

Starting August 1 and until November 30, 2019, the Panama Canal will promote the implementation of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) annual recommendations on speed and maritime transit aimed at protecting cetaceans, which include whales, dolphins and other large aquatic mammals, during their nearby seasonal migration. With these measures, ships should proceed at a speed of not more than 10 knots in specified areas. Panama has monitored this requirement since December 1, 2014 when maritime traffic separation devices (TSS) were installed by both the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean entry points to the Canal.

The 'Royal Romance', which has been seized in Split in 2022, is set to be temporarily relocated to the port of Trogir for mandatory technical maintenance, according to an announcement by Ukraine’s National Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA on June 16, 2025). The agency confirmed that the transfer will take place under the escort of both a police vessel and a private maritime security firm. Following theinspection, the yacht will be returned to its current berth at the Croatian naval base in Split. The ARMA emphasised that the vessel remains under arrest and in the joint custody of Ukrainian and Croatian authorities. Once the 'Royal Romance' is back in Split, the agency stated it intends to approach the Prosecutor General’s Office to revive efforts to sell the asset under Ukrainian law.

Three officers of the 'Eagle S', who have been detained in Finland since Christmas Day after their ship severed multiple subsea cables in the Baltic Sea, could be charged with criminal offenses within the next two months, according to Jukka Rappe, Finland’s deputy prosecutor general, who said that the prosecutors expected to make their decision over whether to bring charges against the men by August at the latestt. The NBI announced on June 13 that its criminal investigation had been completed and had upheld the suspicions of aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with telecommunications. The suspects, who were believed to be Georgian nationals, were the three most senior officers on board the Russia-linked oil tanker. The ship was seized by Finnish authorities after dragging its anchor along the seafloor for almost 62 miles, amid concerns over Russian sabotage and subversion activities in Europe. The rest of the crew and the ship were freed to depart in March. According to Finland’s Criminal Code, which does not contain a specific offense for sabotage, aggravated criminal mischief carries a minimum prison sentence of two years and a maximum of 10, while the sentence for aggravated interference with telecommunications ranges between four months and five years. The decision to formally charge the three men rests with prosecutors. Pre-trial investigation of the 'Eagle S case has been completed, and the case transferred to the Office of the Prosecutor General for consideration of charges. The Eagle S had also been investigated by Traficom, the Finnish transport and communications agency, which dentified deficiencies aboard, both in terms of its crew accommodation and the general maintenance of the ship, particularly in regards to fire safety, navigation equipment and pump room ventilation.

The new Lamu Port in Kenya took a big step towards completion yesterday with the announcement that its first of 22 berths is finished. According to the South Sudan and Ethiopia Transport Corridor Development Authority, the second and third berths will be completed by December 2020.

Shandong BaoMa Fisheries Group has shelved plans to build a port in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo that could accommodate 500 Chinese vessels, amid legal complications and strong opposition from local residents and environmental organisations. The US$200 million project, which included a free trade zone, shipyard and fish processing and freezing plants, on a private 28-hectare site in Punta Yeguas, a mostly rural area with a public park, required a change in the legal designation of the land.

On the morning of June 19, the 'Spirit of Tasmania IV' left the Leith docks in Edinburgh. In Dec 2024 it was reported how the ship was set to be berthed in Edinburgh until next year, after it was discovered to be too big for its intended ports. The operator TT-Line confirmed it had been engaging with a broker to lease the ferry, although an agreement was not reached. The Tasmanian government then ordered the operator to relocate the ship. The situation sparked a political row in Australia after it was feared a new berth to accommodate the shop, and it's sister vessel 'Spirit of Tasmania V', may not be ready until late 2026 or 2027. Tasmania's infrastructure minister, Michael Ferguson, and the chairman of ferry operator TT-Line, which is state-owned, resigned due to the controversy in Aug 2024. TT-Line was paying A$47,534 (£24,031) per week to berth the ship at Forth Ports.

The 'Shtandart' has been banned from entering ports in the French department of Ille-et-Vilaine, including the largest port, Saint-Malo, but some other regions are still ignoring the relevant EU sanctions. The No Shtandart In Europe group has assured that the 'Shtandart' is not welcome here and will not enter the port of Saint-Malo or any other port in the department. The prefecture stated that it respects the sanctions imposed by the EU and will comply with its own decree issued in 2024. Activists from the group had sent a letter to the prefect for informational purposes so that he could ensure compliance with the European ban in all ports of the department. A similar appeal was previously addressed to the prefecture of Charente-Maritime, as the Russian sailing ship was heading for the port of La Rochelle. However, the appeal was ignored there, and the ship was even able to take part in the naval parade. Earlier, the 'Shtandart', which replaced the Russian tricolor with the flags of Cook Island, published its summer sailing plan. Among the next stops, besides France, are moorings in Great Britain, Ireland, Norway, and Denmark. For more than three years, pro-Ukrainian civil society activists in France have been trying to force the 'Shtandart, which is under EU sanctions, to leave the country permanently.

The Port of Hamburg, Germany’s largest universal port, saw its inland and hinterland cargo traffic grow by 12.1% – 2.57 million tons – in the first quarter of 2019, according to its latest financial results. The data also shows that, for the first quarter of 2019, the Port has handled 34,640 TEU – 20ft standard containers – an increase of 20% in comparison with the same period last year.

Mumbai Port’s decision to raise the draft level to 10.3 metres and 11 metres to dock vessels at BPX and BPS respectively, subject to low tides being over 60 cm has been welcomed by maritime fraternity. This has avoided the waiting period for the vessels arriving with deep drafts till the tide is favorable for berthing. At times, such vessels had to arrange for discharging the import cargo for reducing the draft in stream and only subsequently berth at BPX/BPS.