The MRCC in Portugal requested the medical evacuation of sick crew member from the 'Auto Achieve', en route from Vigo to Le Havre, about 100 nautical miles off A Coruña The Spanish National Center notified the CCS of 'Salamento Marítimo in Finisterre, which mobilized the SAR helicopter Helimer 401 to medevac the patient. The man was safely hoisted and taken to Alvedro, from where an ambulance transported him to the hospital.
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SERENA
On April 15, 2024, the 'Serena' was detained in Ferrol with 31 deficiencies, eight of which being seriously and grounds for a detention: 1) Life saving Appliances - Launching arrangements for rescue boats Inoperative 2) Life saving Appliances - Inflatable liferafts Not ready for use 3) Labour conditions - Anchoring devices Not ready for use 4) Fire safety - Fire dampers Inoperative 5) Propulsion and auxiliary machinery - Propulsion main engine Not as required 6) Propulsion and auxiliary machinery - Auxiliary machinery Insufficient power. 7) Emergency system - Emergency fire pump and its pipes Inoperative 8)) ISM - Ism certificate Not as required The vessel was released again on May 8 and permitted a single voyage to Tuzla for permanent repairs. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063576908591
MARELLA DISCOVERY
On the morning of May 5, 2025, the 'Marella Discovery', enroute from Gibraltar to Palma de Mallorca, alerted the RCC of Salamento Marítimo in Almería. One passenger required medical evacuation. The CCS mobilized the Helimer 215 helicopter, which hoisted the patient and transported her to the airport, where an ambulance was waiting.
GREAT ZHOU
The HM Customs made a sizable drug bust from the 'Great Zhou' on the anchorage of Gibraltar by deploying drones that were acquired in December 2024. The bulk carrier had arrived in Gibraltar on April 30, 2025, on a bunkering stop after a voyage from Santos, Brazil. The HM Customs undertook a routine check of the vessel while also using its newly acquired drones. The survey of the underwater areas of the vessel raised suspicions at one of the vessel’s sea chests on the port side of the hull. Divers ultimately retrieved four packages that had been hidden in the sea chest and the investigation found they contained 120 kg of cocaine. The HM Customs detained the vessel and interviewed the crew. It was later permitted to proceed to a scheduled port call in Italy. Officials in Gibraltar believed the crew was not aware of the drugs hidden on the outside of the hull. They also believed that the drugs were not meant to be offloaded in Gibraltar but would have proceeded to another country in Europe but through their efforts interrupted a smuggling operation. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys9YeOUvpHA&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.maritime-executive.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE
ELYANA
The sanctioned 'Elyana', which in the past is likely to have been involved with shipping arms to Syria, has just completed a northerly passage up the Red Sea and was located on May 3, 2025, underway and entering the southern end of the Suez Canal. As of the end of the day, the AIS signal showsed it has completed the Suez Canal transit. The vessel set off from the Bandar Abbas commercial port on April 18, making a port call in Jebel Ali, and departed on April 21. The vessel is not known to have made any port call en route and hence has taken much longer to complete the Jebel Ali to Suez leg of its voyage than would a normal commercial vessel. The 'Elyana' is listed by name and is subject to secondary sanctions by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). It is linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), which is sanctioned as an entity.Equipped with deck davit cranes, the 'Elyana' would be capable of off-loading cargo at unsophisticated ports en route, potentially being able to do so in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen without using the closely monitored (and recently demolished) ports of Hodeida and Ras Isa. In June 2024, the 'Elyana' had unloaded cargo in Latakia, which had been taken on in Bandar Abbas. While closely aligned with the doomed Assad regime in Syria, the IRGC are known to have used Latakia as a hub for their arms imports destined for Hezbollah and the Syrian regime, using shipping to the port of Latakia and flying Boeing 747 cargo aircraft directly into Latakia International Airport.