The Dutch Public prosecutor demands a sentence of 10 years for the skipper, 8 years for three of the suspects and 7 years for the fifth remaining suspect. The five Somali pirates appeared in Rotterdam court for seizing the South African yacht Choizil. They were stopped on the coast near Tanzania by the Dutch vessel ‘Amsterdam’. Although the suspects deny, two of the five suspects admitted they were on their way to hijack a boat, before they were stopped. According to the Dutch navy, the Somali’s were in a small boat with 15 others, after they got off the seized yacht. Before the Marines reached them, it is thought the suspects may have thrown the weapons they were carrying overboard. The other fifteen occupants were released earlier due to lack of evidence. www.rnw.nl/africa...

China’s largest shipping companies are lobbying the government to foil Vale SA (VALE)’s plan to build a $2.3 billion fleet of the world’s biggest iron ore carriers that will haul the steelmaking material to the nation, Bloomberg reports. Vale, the world’s largest iron-ore producer, should engage the shipping companies to run the fleet, Zhang Shouguo, executive vice chairman of the China Shipowners Association, said in a telephone interview. More at www.bloomberg.com...

The world’s largest and most advanced solar-powered boat, M/S Tûranor Planet Solar, has arrived in Manila to promote solar power, the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature announced yesterday. WWF-Philippines chairman Vincent Perez said the multi-hulled catamaran aims to be the first solar-powered boat to circumnavigate the world, traveling over 55,000 kilometers westward across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. “It set sail from Monaco in southern France last September 27, 2010 and has just arrived in Manila from Australia. The Philippine stop is a recognition of the country’s strong support for renewable energy,” Perez said.

The attacks in Norway have had little impact on the ferry from Kiel to Oslo. "The percentage of cancellations and rebooking was marginal," a spokesman for the shipping company Color Line said on Wednesday. For travels until last Monday, passengers had the opportunity to cancel their journey to Oslo for free or rebook. Less than 100 passengers took advantage of this offer.

Discovery Cruise Line, which runs day cruises from Fort Lauderdale to Grand Bahama Island, will stop operating for good in September, a spokeswoman said, Miami Herald reports. Spokeswoman Roberta Backus said she believes the company’s ship, Discovery Sun, is under contract with another company. She said she wasn’t aware of who was buying the 1,200 passenger ship or what the selling price was. “The ship will remain in service under another owner,” she said. She didn’t know where the ship would be based or when it might start cruising again. www.miamiherald.c...

Six men whose boat sank after leaving the British territory have been found by athe "CPO Sweden" passing through the Caribbean. They were picked up by the tanker den and are en route to Houston. The men were safe and well. They were found floating in the sea on July 26, 2011, just as authorities called off an air and sea search that had covered 4,000 square miles. The men were traveling from the Cayman Islands to Honduras when the "Miss Janice" sank on July 17. On board were four Caymanians and two Hondurans.

The Lake Express high-speed ferry has been taken out of service until Aug. 4 after one of the vessel’s four engines failed. The ferry, which takes travelers and their vehicles across Lake Michigan between Milwaukee and Muskegon, Mich., has been out of service since Sunday. The vessel can operate on three engines, but it slows the time it takes to cross the lake by 30 to 40 minutes and forced the cancellation of some crossings. The trip normally takes about two-and-a-half hours each way. More at www.bizjournals.c...

On July 26, 2011, the "Till" lost some oil in the Burgtor Harbour at Lübeck. Witnesses remarked the smell of oil and traces on the surface of the water and alarmed the water police Lübeck-Travemünde. An oil field of 800 x 100 m was found and the source traced to be the "Till" which is currently laid up at the quay of the former LMG-yard. The company Feldmann and the fire brigade Lübeck removed the ooil, the police started investigations.

On July 26, about 100 liters hydraulic fuel were spilt into the lower Weser, after the "Salmo" allided with a quay in Brake on 12.30 p.m. The fuel was not recoverable and dissipated. The police launched investigations against the captain. Probably by a navigational mistake the ship had hit the quay when about to berth and also damaged some pilings. The hull suffered a leak of a fist's size through which the oil leaked out. verursachte am unbeladenen Frachter ein faustgroßes The crew was able to catch up most of the oil with own means. The ship was prohibited to leave for the length of investigations, the captain had tpay a safety fine of 1000 Euro in accordance with prosecutors in Oldenburg.

The "Carnival Fantasy" was in collision with the "Carnival Imagination" at the Port of Key West July 26, 2011. The collision caused minor damage to both vessels, but no injuries, pollution or structural damage occurred during the incident. The Coast Guard responded to the collision in the morning. The "Carnival Imagination" was moored and the "Carnival Fantasy" was mooring when the vessels struck stern to stern. Alcohol and drug testings have been conducted on personnel in safety-sensitive positions in accordance with Coast Guard policy. The Coast Guard is investigating the incident. Report with photos: www.d7publicaffai...