News

The 'Belgica remains stuck in the port of Zeebrugge due to an ongoing legal dispute between the Belgian government and the French company Genavir that operates it. While the ship remains under the command of three Belgian military officers, ongoing technical issues have triggered a legal dispute between Genavir and the Belgian state. Genavir has cancelled the contract and initiated legal proceedings against the government. Since then, the French company has only carried out the minimum necessary maintenance to prevent the ship from sinking. The 'Belgica' was at sea for 248 days for scientific purposes in 2023, but only for 29 days in 2024. No missions are scheduled for 2025. The legal procedure are still ongoing. There appeared to be delays in the French-speaking court of first instance in Brussels. Even if a new operator were selected soon,, the tendering process alone would take at least a year, so the 'Belgica' will almost certainly remain inactive until late 2026.

The 'Elyana' has been anchored off the port of Tobruk for the last three weeks. The ship is linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (IRISL), which is subject to secondary sanctions imposed by the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and has been specifically sanctioned by name. The ship has an established history of shipping arms for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In June 2024, the vessel unloaded an Iranian-origin cargo in Latakia. IRGC cargos destined for Hezbollah and the Syrian regime were shipped into the port of Latakia. On its last voyage, the 'Elyana' set off from Bandar Abbas on April 18, making a port call in Jebel Ali - notwithstanding the ship’s sanctioned status - and continued the voyage on April 21. It took the ship 13 days, which normally takes six days, to reach the southern end of the Suez Canal without making any declared port call. Being quipped with deck cranes, the 'Elyana' would be capable of offloading cargo at unsophisticated ports en route, potentially being able to do so in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen or in Sudan. After transiting the waterway, the 'Elyana' headed to Tobruk, which is managed by the forces of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who controls Eastern Libya and the country's oilfields. The cargo consignor has been approved by or is sponsored by the IRGC.

On May 26. 2025, the Danish frigate 'Iver Huitfeldt' pursued the Russian destroyer "Vice-Admiral Kulakov" from Skagen to the Great Belt. In addition to the Danish Navy, the Federal Police patrol ships "Neustadt" and "Bamberg" shadowed the Russian destroyer on May 26, as well as a convoy of a Russian corvette and two Russian merchant ships on May 25, which also entered the Baltic Sea, bound for Kaliningrad. Units of the Russian Baltic Fleet, supported by the country's airforce and the Northern Fleet, will train for an emergency scenario. Russia plans to deploy 20 warships, 3,000 troops, and 25 aircraft and helicopters for the maneuvers. Almost simultaneously the destroyers "Severomorsk" and "Vice-Admiral Kulakov" had departed from their base in the Kola Fjord for an anti-submarine maneuver. On May 20, the Russian Armed Forces Press Service announced that the destroyers "Severomorsk" and "Vice-Admiral Kulakov" had completed their combat training in the Barents Sea. While the "Severomorsk" remained in the North Atlantic, the "Vice-Admiral Kulakov" headed south along the Norwegian coast, following the German frigate "Bayern." When the frigate set off from Torshvån in the Faroe Islands on May 23 for its transit through the Skagerrak to Warnemünde, the "Vice-Admiral Kulakov" was already there. The command of the "Bayern" was informed of its pursuer. The 'Bayern' berthed in Rostock on May 26. The "Vice-Admiral Kulakov" belongs to the Russian Navy's "Udaloy" class of destroyers. Four ships of this type are stationed in the Northern Fleet. Report with photo: https://www.kn-online.de/schleswig-holstein/nato-baltops-2025-russland-provoziert-mit-parallel-manoever-FTPYT62E2RH5TGHT3NIPMP4HE4.html

On May 27, 2025, a medical evacuation was requested for a crew member of the 'Miguel Oliver'. The emergency alert was issued late this morning after the man suffered kidney colic. The fisheries and oceanographic research vessel was sailing13 nautical miles off Cabo Roig at that time. The CCS Valencia of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the SRA boat 'Salvamar Leo' from the station in Alicante to assist, which disembarked the patient from board and transported him to Torrevieja, where an ambulance was waiting for the further transport to a hospital. Report with photo: https://www.informacion.es/sucesos/sucesos-en-alicante/2025/05/27/salvamento-maritimo-evacua-tripulante-enfermo-117882414.html

On May 26. 2025, the 'Iver Huitfeldt' pursued the Russian destroyer "Vice-Admiral Kulakov" from Skagen to the Great Belt. In addition to the Danish Navy, the Federal Police patrol ships "Neustadt" and "Bamberg" shadowed the Russian destroyer on May 26, as well as a convoy of a Russian corvette and two Russian merchant ships on May 25, which also entered the Baltic Sea, bound for Kaliningrad. Units of the Russian Baltic Fleet, supported by the country's airforce and the Northern Fleet, will train for an emergency scenario. Russia plans to deploy 20 warships, 3,000 troops, and 25 aircraft and helicopters for the maneuvers. Almost simultaneously the destroyers "Severomorsk" and "Vice-Admiral Kulakov" had departed from their base in the Kola Fjord for an anti-submarine maneuver. On May 20, the Russian Armed Forces Press Service announced that the destroyers "Severomorsk" and "Vice-Admiral Kulakov" had completed their combat training in the Barents Sea. While the "Severomorsk" remained in the North Atlantic, the "Vice-Admiral Kulakov" headed south along the Norwegian coast, following the German frigate "Bayern." When the frigate set off from Torshvån in the Faroe Islands on May 23 for its transit through the Skagerrak to Warnemünde, the "Vice-Admiral Kulakov" was already there. The command of the "Bayern" was informed of its pursuer. The "Vice-Admiral Kulakov" belongs to the Russian Navy's "Udaloy" class of destroyers. Four ships of this type are stationed in the Northern Fleet. Report with photo: https://www.kn-online.de/schleswig-holstein/nato-baltops-2025-russland-provoziert-mit-parallel-manoever-FTPYT62E2RH5TGHT3NIPMP4HE4.html