11 men, which is more than half the crew members of the "Maersk Alabama" which was at the center of a piracy drama off Somalia in April 2009 are seeking damages totaling nearly $50 million. The five-day standoff ended when Navy SEALs killed three of Capt. Richard Phillips' captors. While Phillips was hailed as a hero, his former crew members allege the New Englander's actions put them in grave danger when the ship sailed within about 250 miles of the African coast despite warnings to stay at least 600 miles offshore because of the threat of piracy. The ship's owner and a contractor are named in the suits, filed in Norfolk and Alabama.

One crew member was killed after taking a shortcut to disembark from the "Dette G" in a UK port on May 16, 2012. The sman used the pilot gate instead of the accommodation ladder on the vessel, fell into a narrow 50-cm gap between the vessel and the quay and suffered a fractured skull. The UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) launched an investigation.

In the evening of May 24, 2012, a faulty refridgerator set alight the living quarter of the "Main Donau" which was underway on the Main in Collenberg, Miltenberg Community. The "Main-Donau" just had berthed in Collenberg, when thecoxswain remarked the fire and called the fire brigade which was soon on scene with 30 men. Though the fire could be extinguished within short time, the damage to the interior was about 20000 Euro.

The Eggner’s Ferry bridge reopened on May 25 with a new 322-foot span to replace the one that was torn away when the "Delta Mariner" struck it Jan. 26. The bridge which is an entry to the western side of Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area along U.S. 68/Kentucky 80, was being crossed by vehicles traveling on both lanes of the narrow bridge just after 1 p.m. Hall Contracting of Kentucky was awarded a $7 million contract and completed the repair work two days ahead of schedule. The Coast Guard and the National Transportation and Safety Board are still investigating the crash. During a hearing in Apri, the master of the "Delta Mariner" had testified that faulty lighting on the bridge was the main cause of the crash. A state engineering supervisor for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet testified that a tug had previously hit the same span of the bridge and damaged a green navigation light. He said one side of the bridge remained dark after a series of malfunctions, but lights on the side approached by the "Delta Mariner" were working the night of the crash.

The S.S. Badger car ferry left Manitowoc on May 25, where it was docked overnight after striking a sandbar. The "Badger" sailed for its home port of Ludington, Michigan, after the ferry ran into trouble Thursday as it approached the harbor in Manitowoc on its first trip of the season. When it hit the sandbar, a piston ring broke on one of the ferryboat's engines, making it nearly impossible for the "Badger" to navigate to its moorings. Report with photo: www.jsonline.com/...

Authorities planned to move the "AFL New England" on May 26, 2012, after it has been anchored in Bedford Basin for almost a month as the company operating was shut down. The "AFL New England" is running out of fuel and food for its 14 crew members. The ship was slated to move with own engine, accompanied by a pilot boat, to Pier 33 at Ocean Terminals. The container ship was left stranded when New York-based American Feeder Lines International shut down its chartered New England container service on April 27. Initially, it was thought the ship would return to sea quickly, as soon as its German owners, Rass Shipping, found a new operator for the vessel. But then warrants for outstanding debt began piling up at the Federal Court of Canada, preventing it from leaving until it gets clearance from the court. The list of creditors that have a hold on the ship includes Portland Pilots Inc., Atlantic Pilotage Authority, F.K. Warren Ltd., Boston Harbor Pilot Association, Massachusetts Port Authority and Cerescorp Co.

arrived Jiangyin Scrapyard at 24.051.2

In the morning of May 23, 2012, the "Brandal", which was to strengthen the ferry capacity between Halsa Kanestraum had to remain at the quay because of a missing engineer. Only at 10 a.m. a second engineer was on board and the ferry went into service. Company personnel shortages were made responsible.

Cocaine with an estimated street value of £3.3m has been seized from the "Hope Bay" after it docked in Portsmouth on Apr 30, 2012. Packages of the drug were found on the ship while it was docked at Flat House Quay, after it arrived from Colombia. Border Force officers discovered the 33 kg haul concealed in a hold as containers of fruit were unloaded. A further 32 kg of the drug, with a street value of £3.2m, was discovered when the vessel arrived in Flushing on May 1. The second haul was found after Dutch customs had been alerted by UK border officials. Although the first haul was found on 30 April, the seizure can only now be reported following the conclusion of a joint exercise by the Border Force, Dutch customs and French customs investigations service, the DNRED. No arrests have been made but inquiries are ongoing into the two seizures. Report with photo: www.bbc.co.uk/new...

Coast Guard aircrews piloting two MH-65 Dolphin helicopters conducted a medical evacuation of a 35-year-old Polish woman suffering symptoms of pneumonia aboard the cruise ship The World, approximately 92 miles southwest of Kona, Big Island, on May 25, 2012. Coast Guard watchstanders in Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu was notified of the patient's condition at approximately 9 p.m. on May 24. At the time, the vessel was 293 miles southwest of Kona, Big Island. The "World" was originally en route to Honolulu but diverted to the Big Island to conduct the medevac. The ship’s doctor was treating the patient and her condition was stable at that time. He reported that the ship would have an insufficient amount of oxygen by the time they reached port, due to the amount the patient was consuming, at 6 a.m. on May 25. The Coast Guard flight surgeon, upon hearing this, recommended the patient be medically evacuated and taken to a hospital ashore to receive treatment. Coast Guard aircrews aboard two Dolphins and an HC-130 Hercules airplane were launched to conduct the medevac. The C-130 provided air cover for the operation. The first Dolphin rendezvoused with the ship 115 miles south of the coast to deliver oxygen for the patient at 11 a.m. The second helicopter met the ship 92 miles southwest of Kona and safely hoisted the patient at approximately 12:15 p.m. The patient was taken to Kona Community Hospital for further treatment.

The "Urd" left Vigeroe on May 25 at 4.45 p.m. after completition of repairs of the damage suffered in the collision with the "Nils Holgersson". On its first voyage the ship headed for Liepaja, ETA May 27.

On May 25th 2012 the first passenger liner arrived at the new Singapore Cruise terminal at Marina South, Royal Caribbean International’s VOYAGER OF THE SEAS arrived at 05.00 hrs, it is the first time for the VOYAGER OF THE SEAS to arrive in Singapore, as the passengerliner will kick-start her maiden Asian season with a series of Southeast Asian cruises from Singapore.

OMAN's Port of Salalah, the second largest container terminal in the Middle East by volume, raised its container throughput three per cent to 922,000 TEU, drawn on a 5.1 per cent revenue increase to US$35.77 million year on year. The terminal's general cargo operations was up by 10 per cent at 1.621 million tonnes, according to its Port Services Company, SAOG, cited by a Dubai's Arabian Supply Chain report. The Port of Salalah's container terminal has six fully operational berths along 2,205 metres of quay and can handle the largest vessels with its 16.5 metre - 18.5 metre approach channel. Source : Schednet

Japan's largest carrier MOL has announced it will launch a new weekly China-Middle east service (CMS) departing Shanghai on June 8. This MOL service complements the existing service run by Wan Hai Lines, Pacific International Lines and the "K" Line, said a company statement. The 42-day CMS service is operated by a total of six vessels, in which MOL will provide one postpanamax ship, the 5,896-TEU MOL SOLUTION.

Head engineer in the Sevmorgeo company, Yuri Kuzmin, confirms that the diesel-run “DIKSON” will spend 15 days in Kirkenes for upgrade. The upgrade of the “DIKSON” will include the installation of satellite navigation equipment, as well as all necessary equipment for the seismic works, Kuzmin says. The vessel will head to sea at 1 August and return to its home base in late September or early October. It is the first time Russia uses its diesel-run icebreaker for this kind of operations. The “DIKSON” is built by the Finnish Wartsila yard in 1983. It has Arkhangelsk as its home port. Source : BarentsObserver

sold to Mumbai Breakers,arrived Mumbai at 25.05.12