On the morning of Jan 22, 2025, the Central Port Authority of Piraeus was informed by the Captain of the 'Fast Ferries Andrs' about a malfunction of the port side main engine, while the ship was moored in the port of Piraeus on a scheduled route from the port of Piraeus to the ports of Syros, Tinos and Mykonos, with 121 passengers on board. The passengers were transported to their destination by the care of the company. The Port Authority banned the ferry from sailing until the presentation of a certificate of class maintenance from the classification society that monitors it.
News
ZANDER2
After the incident on Jan 20 with the 'Zander II', when an excavator on the workboat rammed and moved a bridge above the lock chamber, which damaged electrical and control cables in the bridge, the Himmelstadt lock has been closed, Now the Main lock was to be opened again in an emergency mode on Jan 22. Initially, this was planned for 12 p.m., but now the opening has been delayed by two hours to 2 p.m. The lock will then have to be operated semi-automatically in a kind of emergency mode. Ten cargo ships are currently waiting to be able to pass through the lock to continue their journey towards Schweinfurt or Aschaffenburg. The Himmelstadt lock operation is now to run temporarily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Three people will open and close the four swing gates of the Main lock with emergency generators and in manual operation. This is normally controlled by the Harrbach control center, which is a good ten kilometers away. The 'Zander II' remained stationarys inside the lock chamber in pos. 49° 55' N 009° 48' E as of Jan 22. On the evening of Jan 20, a mobile crane had moved the bridge back. However, the bridge is still not accessible and had to be further secured on Jan 21. The cables were checked all day. A temporary bridge for the cables is also being built. This means that the bridge can also be checked. It is still completely uncertain how badly it has been damaged, whether segments will have to be replaced or whether the entire steel, non-public bridge on the lock's premises will have to be replaced. It was assumed that the damage would be in the six-figure range. Report with video: https://www.br.de/nachrichten/bayern/nach-schiffshavarie-mainschleuse-oeffnet-im-notbetrieb,UaaFVL7
FUTURE
On Jan 21, 2025, at noon, the Port Authorities of Agia Galini, Kala Limeni, Chora Sfakion and Kokkinos Pyrgos were informed by the Joint Search and Rescue Coordination Center of the Greek Coast Guard that the 'Future', en route from Vila do Conde to Damietta, had rescued 45 migrants, among them 43 men, one woman and one minor, 42 nautical miles south of Gavdos. The vessel approached the port of Paleochora, where the castaways were transferred to a patrol boat of the Greek Coast Guard and were initially transferred into the port of Paleochora and then to a temporary accommodation facility in Agia Chania. A preliminary investigation was conducted by the Central Port Authority of Chania.
COSTA CONCORDIA
The former captain Francesco Schettino of the 'Costa Concordia' could soon be sent to open custody, 13 years after the tragedy on the night of Jan 12, 2012, when the cruise ship sank off the Italian island of Giglio in Tuscany. The legal and psychological consequences of the accident continue to this day. In 2017, the Supreme Court of Cassation in Rome convicted Captain Francesco Schettino as the person primarily responsible for the shipwreck and the deaths of 32 people to 16 years in prison. He has been in prison in Rome ever since. His request for a retrial of his case failed in 2023. The Supreme Court in Rome rejected a corresponding request from Schettino. The captain came under criticism not only for the failed maneuver, but also for leaving the ship while the evacuation was still underway. He has become a figure of fun at times because of his bizarre statements. In May 2025, the Neapolitan, now 64 years old, will have served half of his 16-year prison sentence. Because of his good behaviour, this gives him the opportunity to go into open custody. Schettino has now submitted a corresponding application, and the decision is due to be made on March 4. The ex-captain would then be allowed to leave the Rebibbia prison in Rome in the morning, go to work or take part in a rehabilitation measure, and return to his cell in the evening. Promoting the return of an offender to a responsible life is an explicit goal in many legal systems, including Italy. Schettino is already entitled to 45 days of release per year.
CANACE
A Finnish couple have been assisted after the 'Canape' drifted ashore in the early hours of Jan 21, 2025, at Santos Beach, Mossel Bay. At 08.16 a.m. the NSRI Mossel Bay duty crew was activated by the TNPA (Transnet National Ports Authority) Mossel Bay Port Control, and Police Sea Borderline Control. The high tide had just turned at 08.02 a.m. when the yacht got stuck. The NSRI Mossel Bay lifeboat 'Spirit of Safmarine III', was launched while NSRI rescue swimmers responded to the shore side in an NSRI rescue vehicle. The TNPA harbour tug 'Arctic Tern' was placed on alert by Mossel Bay Port Control. Upon their arrival on the scene the rescuers joined an inflatable boat, the 'Blue Duck' of The Skippers Foundation of Mossel Bay, that was in attendance and assisted NSRI during the operation. The yacht crew, a husband and wife, from Finland, were sailing around South Africa, and the previous port of call was Richards Bay. They were at the swing mooring off Santos beach where in three meter high swells the yacht broke lose and drifted onto the beach. The Skippers Foundation of Mossel Bay inflatable boat assisted to transfer a towline from the 'Spirit of Safmarine III', where NSRI rescue swimmers, in cooperation with the yacht skipper, established a towline. Timing the swells that were washing ashore in the outgoing tide they were able to pull and turn the sailing yacht, that was initially lying side on - abeam - on the beach, to bow to the sea, and then attempts were made to pull the yacht off the beach in the shallow water, but the attempts were not successful. Later, they were joined by the 'Arctic Tern', onto which the towline was transferred. The tug was able to pull the yacht out to sea. The NSRI Mossel Bay rescue crew remained onboard, with the yacht crew, throughout the operation. The anchor, still deployed and dragging, was recovered manually once the yacht reached deeper waters. The 'Arctic Tern' towed the yacht into the Mossel Bay harbour where, once inside the port, the NSRI lifeboat went alongside the yacht, which was then safely moored at the Vincent Jetty at around 11.15 a.m. with no further assistance required. Report with photo: https://www.nsri.org.za/2025/01/a-foreign-sailing-yacht-that-drifted-ashore-has-been-recovered/