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On the early morning of Dec 19, officials of the Port Authority of Tzelepi were informed by a crew member of the 'Festos Palace' that a person stole small items from other passengers on board. When the ship docked at the port of Piraeus and following instructions from crew members, officers of the Port Authority arrested a 22-year-old man for violation of article 372 of the Civil Code. theft. A preliminary investigation was carried out by the 1st Tzelepi Port Department of the Central Port Authority of Piraeus.

On Dec 7, 2024, the 'Cloudbreak' has berthed at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront Owned by Russian billionaire Alexander Alexandrovich Svetakov, the yacht has docked in the harbour despite the ongoing global sanctions placed on its owner. Svetakov, a Russian property tycoon with a reported net worth of $2.5 billion, is a key figure in Russia’s business landscape. However, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Svetakov faced sanctions from the USA and the EU. These sanctions are designed to limit the influence of Russian oligarchs by seizing assets like luxury yachts, jets, and real estate, but the 'Cloudbreak' has still managed to make its way to South African waters, as Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront has no restrictions on the docking of Russian-owned vessels. South Africa, as a member of BRICS, has no national policy blocking Russian-owned yachts from entering local ports.

The 'Timberland', en route from Damietta to Fredericia, requested the medical evacuation of a crew member 28 nautical miles soutwest of Cádiz on Dec 19, 2024. The CCS Tarifa of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the SAR helicopter Helimer 220 to assist, which hoisted the patient and transferred him to the Jerez airport, where an ambulance was waiting for him.

On Dec 18 the medical evacuation of a passenger from the 'Queen Victoria' became necessary 32 nautical miles southwst of Fisterra, while the ship was en route from Southampton, UK, to Lisbon in heavy seas. The CCS Fisterra of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the SAR helicopter Helimer 401, which hoisted the patient and transferred hm to the airport of A Coruña, where an ambulance was waiting to take him to the hospital for further medical care.

On Dec 17, the District Collector Shan Mohan Sagili stated that seizing the 'Stella L', that arrived from Haldia port on Nov 11 en route to Cotonou, may not be possible due to procedural and legal issues. A 10-member multidisciplinary committee constituted after Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan inspected the ship on Nov 28, collected random samples from the third hatch, and submitted its report. 640 metric tonnes of PDS rice was loaded, but it was released with bank guarantees. Pawan Kalyan visited the port the next day, and directed the officials to seize the ship. The Collector said the identified PDS rice stock of 1,320 metric tonnes on the shop would be downloaded, and it would take 48 hours. The cargo belongs to Satyam Balajee Rice Industries, and the process of acquiring the stock is being investigated further. Later, the remaining loading works onto the ship would be taken up. At the anchorage, a barge was already seized with 1,054 metric tonnes of PDS rice after all inspections. The rice belongs to Lavana International and Sai Teja Exporters. Records of both the companies were being verified. Other companies involved were also being probed. In connection with the 13 PDS rice pending cases, 137 rice mills were identified and inspected for the past few days, SP said. While 89 mills are in Andhra Pradesh, the remaining are located in Telangana, Chhattisgarh and other States. After all verifications, further action would be initiated. There would be no impact on the shipping activity, as 12 ships were awaiting the loading of raw rice, boiled and broken rice at the Kakinada port.