News

The owner of the 'Solöng' said on March 31 that he was setting up a fund for potential lawsuits over the allision wit the 'Stena Immaculate'. The MS Solong Schiffahrtsgesellschaft M & Co KG, a subsidiary of Ernst Russ, which owns the container ship, was sued at London’s High Court on that day by the operators of the 'Stena Immaculate'. The Ernst Russ subsidiary brought a separate case at the specialist Admiralty Court seeking a limitation of liability. That case is being brought against the Dutch logistics firm Samskip, which previously said the 'Solong' was carrying Samskip containers, and all other persons claiming or being entitled to claim loss or damage over the allision. Ernst Russ was setting up a limitation fund, which will be available for parties who have verified claims against the 'Solong'’s owner. The incident occurred in territorial waters of the UK and there are interested parties and potential claimants residing in the UK, such as public authorities, hence the setting up of a fund in the UK is the most appropriate way forward. The owners of the 'Solong' were seeking to face claims and ensure a fund is available for any proven claims. The fund provides necessary security for potential claimants’ claims. On April 1 the 'Fure Vyl' was attended by the tug 'Svitzer Laura' (IMO: 9234147 ), while the tugs 'Brage Viking' (IMO: 9475791 ) and 'Triton' (IMO: 9451537 ) were moored in the vicinity of the 'Stena Immaculate'.

Just days after the EU banned the transshipment of Russian LNG, Russia deployed four LNG tankers, the 'Nikolay Urvantsev' (IMO: 9750660) and the 'Vladimir Rusanov' (IMO: 9750701), both controlled by the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd, which rendezvoused with the 'Lena River' (IMO: 9629598) and 'Clean Vision' for an unusual double ship-to-ship transfer at the Kildin anchorage near Murmansk. The vessels were carrying supercooled gas from the Yamal LNG project operated by Russian company Novatek. The four vesselswere pairing up just south of Kildin island between March 28 and March 31, 2025. An STS transfer routinely takes around 36-48 hours. The 'Lena River' had departed from China at the end of 2024. The vessel subsequently idled for weeks in the North, Celtic and Barents Seas. The 'Clean Vision' had left from Mirs Bay near Shenzhen on Feb 21. The 'Nikolay Urvantsev' and 'Vladimir Rusanov' both had sailed from the Yamal LNG plant around a week ago.

On March 29,, 2025, at 2.50 a.m. LT, the ' Jianghai Zhida 66' (MMSI: 413530020), en route from Ningbo to Jiang Yin with 13 crew members on board, was in collision with the 'Ning Yuan Bei Lun', en route from Ningbo to Zhapu with 934 TEUs of containerized cargo on board, near Yangxiaomao Island, Ningbo, in pos. 29-54. 18 N 122-10. 99 E. The 'Jinaghai Zhida 66', which was scheduled to load cargo at Ningbo Port before heading to Jiangyin Port. suffered such severe damage that it sank within five minutes. At 6:50 a.m. all crew members were recovered. However, one of them was found deceased, while three others were injured and taken to hospital for treatment. The remaining nine crew members were safe and sound. The 'Ningyuan Beilun' suffered only slight damage and moored at Zhoushan Anchorage for investigations. The cause of the collision was investigated by the authorities. The 'Ningyuan Beilun', an open-top container vessel operated by the Ningbo Ocean Shipping, was delivered only on Feb 27 from the Taizhou Jianxing Heavy Industry. It had departed from the Ningbo Meishan Island Container Terminal at 00:56 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive at Zhapu Port on March 29 at 5:30 p.m.

On March 31, 2025, the 'GNV SEALAND', en route from Palma to Valencia, requested the medical evacuation of a passenger 45 nautical miles west of Mallorca. The CCS Palma of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the SAR helicopter Helimer 222, which hoisted the patient and transferred him to the helipad of the Son Espases Hospital.

The river cruise ship 'De Zonnebloem' (MMSI: 244650986), designed to transport people with disabilities, was in a head-on-collision with the 'Servia' (MMSI:24418518), which was en route from Rotterdam to Ghent, on March 29, 2025, at 3.15 a.m. near Voerde-Spellen close to Wesel on the Rhine at river kilometre 809. None of the 69 passengers - people with a disability -, 65 volunteers and 15 crew members were injured, The foreship was torn open at port side. The water police in Emmerich directed the passenger ship into the port of Wesel. The passengers had to leave the ship. De Zonnebloem was trying to get everyone home as quickly as possible. Employees in both Germany and the Netherlands were working on arranging this. The transport company Valys, specialized in transporting people with disabilities, has offered to bring everyone back to the Netherlands in adapted vans. The 'De Zonnebloem'' sails on the Rhine to and from Germany for about 40 weeks a year and also makes cruises on Belgian and Dutch waters. Every year, almost 3,000 people with physical disabilities go on holiday with it. The 'Servia' was damaged at the port side bow above the waterline too. It was ordered to berth in Duisburg for investigations, after Duisburg Water Police officers boarded the vessel, that was presumably responsible for the accident, and banned it from sailing. Because the vessel's captain was suspected of having consumed alcohol, officers took him to the Duisburg station, where a doctor took a blood sample. The Emmerich Water Police officers have begun an investigation, which is currently ongoing. The captain of the vessel now faces criminal proceedings. On MArch 31 the ship berthed in Ludwigshafen. Reports iwth photos: https://www.transport-online.nl/79894/schip-van-de-zonnebloem-aangevaren-door-vrachtschip-en-maanden-uit-de-vaart/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJWRSNleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHVFhFcTI5jk11nTtFmVzm0fsmURb_xNiBBAGh7yIKF7k_IyBaS70MXS8lQ_aem_7k2zktHyStaWKe9ngiyOgQ https://nos.nl/artikel/2561546-vakantieschip-de-zonnebloem-loopt-averij-op-in-duitsland https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/50510/6002565 https://www.schuttevaer.nl/nieuws/actueel/2025/03/29/enige-schip-zonnebloem-aangevaren-mogelijk-maanden-uit-de-vaart/

Following the recent scrapping of the ferry "Moby Dada," the "Moby Zaza" has also been decommissioned from the Moby Lines fleet. It has been sold to Atlantis Maritime, a company based in the Marshall Islands. Its fate is currently unknown. The ferry had served for the Italian company Moby since Dec 2015, and was chartered by Balearia during the 2022 tender.

On March 26, Bruce English, the senior response officer of the Marine Environmental and Hazards Response section of the Canadian Coast Guard, led a media ride-along to the'MSC Baltic 'III' near Lark Harbour on the calmest day since the Feb. 15 storm. Coming ashore just about anywhere else in the area, where most cliffs plunge deep into the sea, would likely have sunk the ship in short order. The accessibility of Cedar Cove by land is also a stroke of good fortune for the salvage effort. The restriction zone for two nautical miles around the ship, the Canadian Coast Guard had established after the grounding, has since been reduced to one nautical mile, but it still restricts hikers from walking out to the Cedar Cove beach via a trailhead located a short distance away in Little Port. Little Port is being used by the Coast Guard and salvage team crews, although the Coast Guard has installed a temporary floating dock for its small vessels in Lark Harbour. The plan is for the contractors hired by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), to fix up an all-terrain vehicle trail that leads from Lark Harbour to Cedar Cove. That project will include extending the road out into the water to the bow of the ship so heavy trucks can help offload the roughly 1,600 metric tonnes of hydrocarbons, such as heavy fuels, oils, lubricants and other materials, safely and more consistently from the ship. The main priority at the moment is still the removal of the potential pollutants from the ship. Mobile generators and boilers began the process of heating the heaviest oils on March 25. It could take up to two days before the first batch of oil has been warmed enough to begin flowing into frac tanks that have also been loaded onto the deck of the ship. Following the removal of all potential pollutants, the salvage crew will focus on removing all of the freight aboard the 'MSC Baltic III'. There had been around 470 containers aboard the ship, but half of them were empty. Three containers, all of which were empty at the time, were ripped open by the brute force of the waves generated by the Feb. 15 tempest. Eight containers of polymer beads have already been removed by the salvage company. Once all the cargo has been removed, the crews will determine how best to remove the ship itself from its precarious position. Report with photos and video: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/view-from-the-sea-closer-look-at-cargo-ship-that-ran-aground-in-a-lucky-spot-in-nl/ar-AA1BLwkU?ocid=BingNewsVerp&apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1

Just days after the EU banned the transshipment of Russian LNG, Russia deployed four LNG tankers, the 'Nikolay Urvantsev' (IMO: 9750660) and the 'Vladimir Rusanov' , both controlled by the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd, which rendezvoused with the 'Lena River' (IMO: 9629598) and 'Clean Vision' for an unusual double ship-to-ship transfer at the Kildin anchorage near Murmansk. The vessels were carrying supercooled gas from the Yamal LNG project operated by Russian company Novatek. The four vesselswere pairing up just south of Kildin island between March 28 and March 31, 2025. An STS transfer routinely takes around 36-48 hours. The 'Lena River' had departed from China at the end of 2024. The vessel subsequently idled for weeks in the North, Celtic and Barents Seas. The 'Clean Vision' had left from Mirs Bay near Shenzhen on Feb 21. The 'Nikolay Urvantsev' and 'Vladimir Rusanov' both had sailed from the Yamal LNG plant around a week ago.

Just days after the EU banned the transshipment of Russian LNG, Russia deployed four LNG tankers, the 'Nikolay Urvantsev' and the 'Vladimir Rusanov' (IMO: 9750701), both controlled by the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd, which rendezvoused with the 'Lena River' (IMO: 9629598) and 'Clean Vision' (IMO: 9655456) for an unusual double ship-to-ship transfer at the Kildin anchorage near Murmansk. The vessels were carrying supercooled gas from the Yamal LNG project operated by Russian company Novatek. The four vesselswere pairing up just south of Kildin island between March 28 and March 31, 2025. An STS transfer routinely takes around 36-48 hours. The 'Lena River' had departed from China at the end of 2024. The vessel subsequently idled for weeks in the North, Celtic and Barents Seas. The 'Clean Vision' had left from Mirs Bay near Shenzhen on Feb 21. The 'Nikolay Urvantsev' and 'Vladimir Rusanov' both had sailed from the Yamal LNG plant around a week ago.

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy has confiscated two tankers in the Persian Gulf waters during an operation on March 31, 2025, the 'Star 1' and 'Vintage', which were carrying over three million liters of smuggled diesel fuel. All 25 crew members of the two tankers were also arrested. The tankers were transferred to Bushehr port, where the diesel will be offloaded under court orders. Iran, has long faced challenges with fuel smuggling, particularly in its southern maritime borders, as the significant price difference of fuel between Iran and the neighbouring countries has made fuel smuggling a lucrative illegal trade. The price of diesel fuel in Iran is only 3,000 rials ($0.003) per liter for limited monthly quotas while the fuel is available at 6,000 rials per liter for unlimited usage by truck drivers and farmers using heavy machinery. The two tankers were singled out via intelligence monitoring at the Bushehr port.

On March 31, 2025, the 'COSTA FASCINOSA', en route from St. Johns to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, requested the medical evacuation of a 79-year-old Swiss passenger 75 nautical miles southwest of El Hierro. The CCS Tenerife of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the SAR helicopter Helimer 222, 201, which hoisted the patient and transferred him tothe Tenerife South Airport for further transfer to the hospital.

The 'De Zonnebloem'', designed to transport people with disabilities, was in a head-on-collision with the inland vessel 'Servia' (MMSI:24418518), which was en route from Rotterdam to Ghent, on March 29, 2025, at 3.15 a.m. near Voerde-Spellen close to Wesel on the Rhine at river kilometre 809. None of the 69 passengers - people with a disability -, 65 volunteers and 15 crew members were injured, The foreship was torn open at port side on 20 square meters. The water police in Emmerich directed the passenger ship into the port of Wesel. The passengers had to leave the ship. De Zonnebloem was trying to get everyone home as quickly as possible. Employees in both Germany and the Netherlands were working on arranging this. The transport company Valys, specialized in transporting people with disabilities, has offered to bring everyone back to the Netherlands in adapted vans. The 'De Zonnebloem'' sails on the Rhine to and from Germany for about 40 weeks a year and also makes cruises on Belgian and Dutch waters. Every year, almost 3,000 people with physical disabilities go on holiday with it. The 'Servia' was damaged at the port side bow above the waterline too. It was ordered to berth in Duisburg for investigations, after Duisburg Water Police officers boarded the vessel, that was presumably responsible for the accident, and banned it from sailing. Because the vessel's captain was suspected of having consumed alcohol, officers took him to the Duisburg station, where a doctor took a blood sample. The Emmerich Water Police officers have begun an investigation, which is currently ongoing. The captain of the vessel now faces criminal proceedings. On March 31 it shifted to Ludwigshafen. Reports iwth photos: https://www.schuttevaer.nl/nieuws/actueel/2025/03/29/enige-schip-zonnebloem-aangevaren-mogelijk-maanden-uit-de-vaart/ https://www.transport-online.nl/79894/schip-van-de-zonnebloem-aangevaren-door-vrachtschip-en-maanden-uit-de-vaart/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJWRSNleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHVFhFcTI5jk11nTtFmVzm0fsmURb_xNiBBAGh7yIKF7k_IyBaS70MXS8lQ_aem_7k2zktHyStaWKe9ngiyOgQ https://nos.nl/artikel/2561546-vakantieschip-de-zonnebloem-loopt-averij-op-in-duitsland https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/50510/6002565

On March 30, 2025, the 'Arnold Edward' was disabled off the port of Yarmouth, NS, and requested assistance. The Canadian Coast Guard vessel CCGS 'Sambro' (MMSI: 316001601)) was deployed to assist and pulled the fishing vessel back into port, where it was safely moored in alongside tow.

Chinese and Russian authorities were actively advancing salvage efforts for the 'An Yang 2', which remained hard aground since Feb 9 near Nevelsk, on Russia's Sakhalin Island. A Chinese task force recently arrived in the Sakhalin Oblast to consult with local Russian government officials and rescue agencies to coordinate the ship's salvage operation. Both sides have signed a letter of intent regarding the oil removal, with further efforts underway to draft the next phase of the salvage plan. Staff from the Chinese consulate boarded the vessel after it ran aground to visit the crew. As of now, all 20 crew members remained in good health, maintaining smooth communication with the outside world and having sufficient supplies of food and drinking water. The vessel was carrying approximately 50 tons of diesel and 700 tons of heavy fuel oil. No pollution has been detected in the surrounding waters following the incident. Report with photos: http://en.people.cn/n3/2025/0331/c90000-20296198.html

Just days after the EU banned the transshipment of Russian LNG, Russia deployed four LNG tankers, the 'Nikolay Urvantsev' (IMO: 9750660) and the 'Vladimir Rusanov' (IMO: 9750701), both controlled by the Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd, which rendezvoused with the 'Lena River' and 'Clean Vision' for an unusual double ship-to-ship transfer at the Kildin anchorage near Murmansk. The vessels were carrying supercooled gas from the Yamal LNG project operated by Russian company Novatek. The four vesselswere pairing up just south of Kildin island between March 28 and March 31, 2025. An STS transfer routinely takes around 36-48 hours. The 'Lena River' had departed from China at the end of 2024. The vessel subsequently idled for weeks in the North, Celtic and Barents Seas. The 'Clean Vision' had left from Mirs Bay near Shenzhen on Feb 21. The 'Nikolay Urvantsev' and 'Vladimir Rusanov' both had sailed from the Yamal LNG plant around a week ago.

On March 29,, 2025, at 2.50 a.m. LT, the ' Jianghai Zhida 66', en route from Ningbo to Jiang Yin with 13 crew members on board, was in collision with the 'Ning Yuan Bei Lun' (MMSI: 413609370), en route from Ningbo to Zhapu with 934 TEUs of containerized cargo on board, near Yangxiaomao Island, Ningbo, in pos. 29-54. 18 N 122-10. 99 E. The 'Jinaghai Zhida 66', which was scheduled to load cargo at Ningbo Port before heading to Jiangyin Port. suffered such severe damage that it sank within five minutes. At 6:50 a.m. all crew members were recovered. However, one of them was found deceased, while three others were injured and taken to hospital for treatment. The remaining nine crew members were safe and sound. The 'Ningyuan Beilun' suffered only slight damage and moored at Zhoushan Anchorage for investigations. The cause of the collision was investigated by the authorities. The 'Ningyuan Beilun', an open-top container vessel operated by the Ningbo Ocean Shipping, was delivered only on Feb 27 from the Taizhou Jianxing Heavy Industry. It had departed from the Ningbo Meishan Island Container Terminal at 00:56 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive at Zhapu Port on March 29 at 5:30 p.m.

The fault, which has kept the 'Tunøfærgen ' in the port of Hov since March 27, has now been located in the port of Hov, being related to a gearbox. The ferry operator hopes that the ferry can be back in service from April 3. Technicians have been working to find the fault together with employees from Hundested Propeller, who at one time had supplied the ship's gears, among other things. The investigations have shown that the port side gear has broken. So now a major repair was started by the ferry operator. Until the Tunø ferry is back in operation, the 'Ternen' will be responsible for the ferry service to the island. However, the 'Ternen' only has room for 12 passengers, and also has other tasks to solve, such as maintaining the wind turbines on Tunø Rev and the turbines at Samsø in the coming days. Therefore, the exact times for the ferry sailings could not be given. If there is an acute space problem, it is possible to deploy an even smaller ship, the 'Ternen 2', which, however, only has room for six passengers, while the 'Tunøfærgen' has a capacity of more than 100 passengers, and also space for four cars.

On March 29, 2025, the 'TB Toranes' , while towing a barge with a crane, belonging to Veidekke, that had been at the slipway in Dåfjorden at Stord, southwards along Sletta, had to stop at Årabrotholmane due to engine trouble. The lifeboat 'Horn Rescue' (MMSI: 257641000) towed the 'TB Toranes' into the port of Haugesund, while the towed barge was taken care of by patrol boat 'Tor' (IMO: 9353369) and the lifeboat 'RC Bergesen' (MMSI: 257965590). which pulled it to Haugesund too. Report with photo: https://x.com/NSSR/status/1906006820411371662

The 'De Zonnebloem' remained stationary in Wesel as of March 31 after the collision with the 'Servia' on MArch 28 at 3 a.m., en route from Düsseldorf to Arnhem. None of the 69 disabled passengers, 65 volunteers and 15 crew members on board was injured, but the ship suffered considerable damage. In addition to the large hole in the foreship, cabinets come off the wall and there was a lot of rubbish on the floor. But the situation was under control quite quickly, and the crew acted well. Together with the volunteers, they cleaned up well and everyone was quickly back to normal. The ship, which has been fully adapted to offer people with a physical disability a pleasant holiday, was due to return to Arnhem on the morning of March 29. People who were coming to pick up a family member were asked to come to Wesel. The organisation Valys, which transports people with a disability, also picked up passengers in Wesel. The next departure was due to take place on March 31. Passengers will be rebooked by De Zonnebloem to another date. The ship will remain in Wesel until it is allowed to sail further by the authorities, so when it is safe enough to continue sailing. It is now up to the operator to find a shipyard for permanent repairs. Report with photo: https://www.gld.nl/nieuws/8290792/flinke-schade-aan-schip-na-aanvaring

The Greek shipping company Creta Cargo Lines has purchased the 'Urd' for its connections between Piraeus and Crete, from the shipping company SeaLines, is expected in Greek waters. The ship will be delivered to the new owners on March 31, 2025, and will then be transferred to Greece, where it will undergo maintenance before entering service.