The crew of the “Ventôse” boarded a Venezuelan fishing vessel 820 miles northeast of Martinique on May 27, 2024. 81 bales with 2,4 tons of cocaine were discovered on board. The operation was carried out on the basis of information transmitted by the General Directorate of Customs in association with the anti-narcotics office Ofast. After a relocation phase by its on-board Panther helicopter, the crew proceeded to board the ship. The crew members and the cargo were returned to the Venezuelan authorities at sea. This seventh seizure of the year 2024 brings the FAA's toll to more than 12 tons of narcotics. At the beginning of May, the 'Ventôse' and the Antilles-Guyane patrol boat 'La Résolue' intercepted two ships carrying dozens of bales of cocaine. Traffic on the rise
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ELLORA
On May 27, 2024, at noon, the Port Authority of Milos was informed that the 'Ellora' with nine people on board had suffered a damage to the rudder 12 nautical miles northwest of Milos. The fishing vessel 'Konstantinos' immediatelycame to assist and assisted the yacht to reach the port of Adamanto upon Milos. The Milos Port Authority, which was conducting the preliminary investigation, baneed the yacht from sailing until the damage was repaired and a certificate of seaworthiness has been presented by the monitoring classification society.
HUMANITY 1
On the morning of May 27, the crew of the “Humanity 1” was informed by the civil emergency hotline Alarmphone about a boat in distress in international waters off the Libyan coast. The “Humanity 1” set course for the last known position of the boat and found it at midday. It was a completely overcrowded inflatable boat with 82 people on board, which was unable to maneuver and was floating on the open sea without any rescue equipment. The crew immediately initiated rescue measures and took the people on board the “Humanity 1”. During the first rescue, Alarmphone also reported to the crew a second marine emergency in the immediate vicinity. A short time later, the crew of the rescue ship discovered a small, overcrowded plastic boat with 18 people on board. The “Humanity 1” also took these survivors on board. About half of those rescued were minors, including several small children and babies. The majority of the minors were unaccompanied. Numerous women, including several pregnant women, were also among the survivors. Several people were suffering from severe seasickness and skin burns. The Italian authorities assigned the ship to the port of Livorno, almost 1,200 kilometers from the rescue site, which means at least three days of sailing with an ETA as of May 30. The aid organization accused the authorities of “knowingly violating the survivors’ right to rapid disembarkation as enshrined in maritime law.” The captain therefore immediately asked the ItalianMRCC to assign a closer port.
LG ISLA SANTA CRUZ
In the night of May 26, 2024, the “Isla Santa Cruz” had to be abandoned by its crew when it began to sink for unknown reasons near Salinas, while the ship was towing a semi-submersible that had been seized with 169 packages of drugs 150 miles from the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). A rapid reaction team was immediately deployed to find the 12 crew members as well as the three people who had been captured in the semi-submersible, who were all rescued. During the SAR operation, the coordinating centers of Ecuador, the United States and Peru participated. In addition, two ships of the Ecuadorian Navy, an aircraft of the Colombian Armed Forces, a merchant ship and a fishing vessel were involved.
PREVELIS
In the afternoon of May 27, 2024, the Port Authority of Tzelepi was informed by the Master of the 'Prevelis' that before the ship's departure a malfunction occurred in the port sie anchor winch. The ship had a scheduled route from the port of Piraeus to the ports of Thira, Anafis, Kasos, Karpathos, Diaphanio, Halkis and Rhodes, with 117 passengers and vehicles on board. The Central Port Authority of Piraeus initially banned the ship from sailing. Upon the presentation of a certificate of class maintenance from the monitoring classification society it was allowed to continue sailing.
CG MUNRO
The crew of the 'Munro (WMSL 755)' offloaded approximately 33,768 pounds of cocaine, with an estimated value of $468 million, on May 21, 2024, in San Diego. The offload was a result of eight separate suspected drug smuggling vessel interdictions or events off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America by the Coast Guard Cutter in February and March. Reports with photos: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3788220/media-advisory-coast-guard-to-offload-approximately-33768-pounds-of-cocaine-in/ https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3789060/multimedia-release-coast-guard-crew-offloads-468-million-worth-of-cocaine-in-sa/