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Authorities in Nador have detained the crew of the 'White Eagel' at the city’s port. The ship, which flies the flag of Sierra Leone, was suddenly diverted to Morocco en route to Lebanon. The crew was not allowed to leave the ship and remained under strict surveillance. They were being provided with food daily, while medical teams were on standby to provide assistance if necessary. The ship’s cargo, reportedly around 6,000 tons, remained a mystery. The ship had no clear destination in Lebanon, which only adds to the questions about the purpose of the journey. The ship turned off its AIS while in international waters near Morocco during the voyage . This is a well-known tactic in smuggling operations to avoid detection. Furthermore, the coast of Sierra Leone is known as a base for arms trafficking networks, which makes the situation even more suspicious.

Beached at Alang 26.11.24 as Cean towed by SPM Neel Patrap & SPM Power https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10161139853990036&set=gm.10164275686833943&idorvanity=6884293942

The 'Helen Mary' was boarded by the crew of the European Fisheries Control Agency Ocean Protector some 100 nautical miles off Cork on the afternoon of Feb 16, 2025. It was detained as the European agency had detected suspected infringements of European fisheries legislation in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and was escorted into Cork Harbour on the morning of Feb 17. One of the offences it was detained for was a damaged or faulty pilot’s ladder. The factory ship came into the harbour shortly after 10 a.m. and made its way to Tivoli docks, where it has been tied up at the deep water berth at Lisheen with tug assistance. Report with photo: https://www.rte.ie/news/munster/2025/0217/1497228-trawler-detained/

in a special operation carried out 45 nautical miles from Manta in the province of Manab, approximately 1,745 blocks with presumed narcotic substances were found on board the 'Guayaquil Express' on Feb 15, 2025. The Ecuadorian Navy seized two tons of cocaine that had been placed aboard the ship by 25 armed subjects who approached in speedboats. The ship was headed from Posorja in the Province of Guayas to the port of Manzanillo. The action was executed after receiving an alert of contamination from the ship, which led the Coast Guard Command and the Marine Corps to coordinate a special operation to intercept the ship and proceed with its inspection on the high seas. During the inspection, authorities found approximately 20 packages containing cocaine, identified with four different logos, suggesting the involvement of different criminal organizations. The seized cocaine arrived early on Feb 16 at the port of Manta, where it was made available to the authorities for the corresponding judicial process. Reports with photos: https://www.binoticias.com/internacional/ecuador-intercepta-buque-con-2-toneladas-de-cocaina-destinadas-mexico#google_vignette https://x.com/armada_ecuador/status/1891323853579616326 https://elintransigente.com/2025/02/ecuador-intercepto-buque-con-dos-toneladas-de-cocaina-que-iban-hacia-mexico/

The maritime service provider Koole Contractors in Vijfhuizen has been commissioned by the insurer to salvage the 'Blue Lagoon' off the coast of Orchid Island. Shortly after hitting the rocks in the typhoon Krathon on Oct 1, 2024,, the 19 crew members, consisting of Filipinos, Ukrainians and Russians, were evacueated from the ship by helicopter. They remained unharmed. A light oil spill occurred that was cleaned up by the Taiwanese authorities,. A part of the cargo lies on the seabed. The cargo will first have to be unloaded. The wreck will then be lifted with chain pullers and placed on a heavy-lift ship. Koole will start the salvage still in February 2025, and hopes to complete the job quickly. The typhoon season around Taiwan runs from May to December. Own and rented equipment will be used and the personnel will vary during the salvage. The 'Blue Lagoon' is accessible from two sides, so that a pontoon can be placed on either side to attach the chain pullers, after they have been brought under the ship.

The Royal Netherlands Navy escorted the Russian convoy, consisting of the landing ships 'Alexandr Otrakovsky' of the Ropucha class and 'Ivan Gren of the Ivan Gren class, the supply ship 'Yelnya' of the Altay class, the ' General Skobelev' and the transport ships 'Sparta' and 'Sparta II', through the Dutch Exclusive Economic Zone during the weekend of Feb 15/16. After the passage, other NATO partners took over the escort. The Dutch navy had deployed the Zr.Ms. 'Johan de Witt' for the escort. The on-board helicopter NH90 was also used. The escort was not only to be vigilant, but also to be able to intervene in suspicious actions or disruptions. In this way, the defence protects the critical infrastructure under water. Report with photo: https://www.defensie.nl/actueel/nieuws/2025/02/16/marine-escorteert-russische-taakgroep-van-6-schepen-op-noordzee

The US Coast Guard detained an crew member illegally present in the U.S. and the captain of the 'Los Nietos' near Port Isabel, on the afternoon of Feb 14, 2025. During the boarding, a Coast Guard Station South Padre Island boat crew identified a crew member as a Mexican national. The captain of the fishing vesse had an outstanding felony warrant for weapons charges. The Mexican was transferred to U.S. Border Patrol for processing, and the vessel’s captain was booked into the South Padre Island Jail. Members of the South Padre Island Police Department, Customs and Border Protection Air Marine Operations, and the U.S. Border Patrol assisted in the case. Report with photos: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/4068827/coast-guard-detains-illegal-alien-crewmember-and-captain-of-fishing-vessel-with/

The 'Pontica' was subjected to a Port State Control in the port of Uddevalla after its arrival en route from Barranquilla on Jan 5, 2025. No fewer than 40 deficiencies were discovered during the inspections. The ship must now ensure that the deficiencies are rectified. The Swedish Transport Agency will then carry out a new inspection before it can be allowed to leave Uddevalla again. It left the port again only on Feb 10, next headed to Kiel. Report with photo: https://www.sjofartstidningen.se/tva-fartyg-halls-kvar-i-uddevalla/

arrived Alang Anchorage 17.02.25

On Feb 17, 2025, the investigation report by the Swedish Maritime Accident Investigation Board into the grounding of the 'Marco Polo' off Blekinge, when the ferry approached Stillerydshamnen in Karlshamn on Oct 22, 2023, was published. It pointed to a lack of safety cultur as one of the reasons. The Swedish authorities' handling of the was is also criticized. The GPS equipment was broken and the helmsman thought he was out on the open sea off Hanö. In fact, the voyage took place inside Hanö and the ship ran aground twice with ten-minute intervals - but the personnel on board did not understand this. Approximately 60 tons oil leaked out, the beaches along Listerlandet in Blekinge were soiled and birds were injured. A contributing cause of the accident was that the bridge crew relied solely on one navigation method. This deviates from the international principles which state that all available navigation aids should be used. fter the first grounding, personnel in the engine room feared that the ship had collided with something, but this was not communicated to the personnel on the bridge. The personnel should have made a more thorough analysis of the fault alarm and thus received a correct situational picture earlier. Then perhaps the second grounding could have been avoided and the authorities could have been alerted earlier. The Swedish Accident Investigation Board saw the failure to detect various deviations as a sign of deficiencies in the safety culture. In addition, the crew had too little training on both the navigation system and the safety organization system. The personnel’s contact lines to the shipping company’s personnel ashore also broke down during the grounding, which may also have delayed the alert to the Swedish authorities. The Swedish authorities' handling of the accident may also have contributed to the worsening of the consequences. The Swedish Maritime Accident Investigation Board pointed to shortcomings in communication and cooperation between, for example, the Coast Guard and municipal rescue services. The sharing of information about the oil spill and the accident site was made more difficult due to what the Swedish Maritime Accident Investigation Board called "legal challenges". The government is therefore urged to appoint an inquiry into how society's ability to handle major ship accidents can be strengthened.

The 'HC Eva Marie' has left Vigo again after taking refuge in port for 21 days due to a cargo shift, and resumed its voyage to Emden with an ETA as of Feb 20. The ship had been docked at the Transversal wharf since Jan 26 to secure the cargo again. The operation has been concluded without incident, and the ship sailed after the completion of the inspection of the relocation work of its cargo. The work, which started on Feb 8, has been carried out by the Estibadora Gallega y Pérez & Cía, together with a team of nine specialized workers. In addition, they have had the supervision of experts from Holland and a large security deployment made up of members of the Civil Guard, Port Police, Maritime Authority, personnel from Operations and Security of the Port Authority of Vigo (APV) and a private security company. The operation has required a high degree of coordination and precision. Given the particularities of the cargo transported, the work has begun with a detailed inspection of each of the 96 containers before any movement. After this first review, carried out last weekend by specialists, the containers have been relocated without incidents in another hold of the ship. This task has been carried out by local stevedores. Subsequently, the affected containers have been transferred to new units, in a task carried out by specialized personnel and supervised by Dutch experts. Report with photo: https://www.europapress.es/galego/noticia-buque-transporta-municion-abandona-vigo-refuxiarse-21-dias-porto-corremento-carga-20250216193413.html

The Royal Netherlands Navy escorted the Russian convoy, consisting of the landing ships 'Alexandr Otrakovsky' of the Ropucha class and 'Ivan Gren of the Ivan Gren class, the supply ship 'Yelnya' of the Altay class, the ' General Skobelev' and the transport ships 'Sparta' and 'Sparta II', through the Dutch Exclusive Economic Zone during the weekend of Feb 15/16. After the passage, other NATO partners took over the escort. The Dutch navy had deployed the Zr.Ms. 'Johan de Witt' for the escort. The on-board helicopter NH90 was also used. The escort was not only to be vigilant, but also to be able to intervene in suspicious actions or disruptions. In this way, the defence protects the critical infrastructure under water. Report with photo: https://www.defensie.nl/actueel/nieuws/2025/02/16/marine-escorteert-russische-taakgroep-van-6-schepen-op-noordzee

On the evening of Feb 16, 2025, a medical emergency occurred on the 'Aida Cosma' off the Canary Islands. A passenger needed to be medevaced, while the ship was supposed to head for Funchal. Bad weather conditions made the call impossible. As a result, the vessel was south of Tenerife. A rescue helicopter was requested, which landed on the ship's deck at around 6 p.m. The patient was stabilized on a stretcher and then flown to the nearest hospital for medical treatment on a higher level.

On Feb 16, 2025, the 'Romsdalsfjord', serving on the route Halsa-Kanestraum, suffered technical problems. As a consequence, the scheduled sailings from Kanestraum at 8:10 p.m. and from Halsa at 8:40 p.m. had to be cancelled, while repairs were carried out in the port of Kanestraum. The service was resumed at around 11 p.m.

Beached at Alang 13.02.25

On Feb 17, 2025, the 'Roque Y Paz', with two crew members on board, requested assistance about five nautical miles west of Faro de Laxe, after having suffered a mechanical failure. The CCS Fisterra of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the SAR vessel 'Salvamar Altair', which took the ship in tow and safely pulled it to Laxe.

The 'Hav Nordic', en route from Stavanger with seven crew members on board, ran aground at Eggesbøneset near Mjølstadneset in Fosnavåg on Feb 4, 2025, at 5.40 a.m. UTC (Lat. 62.3186 Long. 5.6951). The vessel lost its rudder, took on water in its ballast tanks and was listing to port side. The lifeboat "Idar Ulstein" (MMSI: 257393000) was called to assist. Another vessel went on standby at the scene until the "Idar Ulstein" arrived on scene. The lifeboat managed to refloat the vessel, which was then towed to the dock at Mjølstadneset, where it was safely berthed at 7.30 a.m. UTC. The tug 'Hunter' (IMO: 9468372 ) started towing the 'Hav Nordic' to Sczcecin on Feb 16 with an ETA as of Feb 23 for permanent repairs, proceeding at a speed of five knots. Report with photo: https://x.com/NSSR/status/1886700651310145715

The 'Vladimir Latyshev' with seven crew members on board, has been stuck in the port of Saint-Malo for almost three years as the victim of the freezing of Russian assets, Europe's response to Putin's war in Ukraine. The ship is well supplied with diesel and the sailors don’t lack anything. The crew keeps maintaining the 'Vladimir Latyshev'. The Russian company LLC Alpha, the owner of the ship, has to advance the costs, but the money has not arrived for several months, around 150,000 euros per month. It is to pay for diesel and various expenses of the sailors. Report with photos: https://actu.fr/bretagne/saint-malo_35288/un-navire-bloque-depuis-3-ans-dans-un-port-breton-cest-un-jour-sans-fin_62213360.html

The Royal Netherlands Navy escorted the Russian convoy, consisting of the landing ships 'Alexandr Otrakovsky' of the Ropucha class and 'Ivan Gren of the Ivan Gren class, the supply ship 'Yelnya' of the Altay class, the ' General Skobelev' and the transport ships 'Sparta' and 'Sparta II', through the Dutch Exclusive Economic Zone during the weekend of Feb 15/16. After the passage, other NATO partners took over the escort. The Dutch navy had deployed the Zr.Ms. 'Johan de Witt' for the escort. The on-board helicopter NH90 was also used. The escort was not only to be vigilant, but also to be able to intervene in suspicious actions or disruptions. In this way, the defence protects the critical infrastructure under water. Report with photo: https://www.defensie.nl/actueel/nieuws/2025/02/16/marine-escorteert-russische-taakgroep-van-6-schepen-op-noordzee

The 'Røsund', which has been inserted on the route Dryna-Brattvåg as a replacement for the 'Haram', after it ran aground off Dryna on Feb 9, 2025, suffered technical problems on the evening of Feb 15, 2025. The operator Torghatten Nord cancelled the scheduled departures from Brattvåg at 6 p.-m.and 7 p.m. and from Dryna at 6.25 p.m. and 7.25 p.m. as a consequence. A small oil leak was the reason for the cancellations, and repairs were commenced to have the ship operational again at 8 p.m.