on the afternoon of Aug 19, 2025, the captain of a charter yacht informed the Sassnitz Water Police that his boat had been hit by the 'Binz' near the Sellin pier. While departing from the pier, the passenger ship backed too close to the anchored charter yacht, causing damage to both vessels. Both ships were later able to dock at the port of Sassnitz, where the Water Police began their investigation. They subsequently informed the relevant authorities of the incident and initiated criminal proceedings against the captain of the 'Binz'.
News
WSF WENATCHEE
Less than a month after returning to the route between Seattle and Bainbridge Island on July 24, the 'Wenatchee' has suffered a mechanical failure on Aug 15, that caused the verry to unexpectedly lose power. Pulling the ferry from service hasn’t affected overall sailing schedules. The ferry remained docked at the Eagle Harbour maintenance facility near the Bainbridge Island ferry dock. Washington State Ferries continued to work to find out exactly what happened.
MSC BALTIC III
The Canadian Coast Guard has reached a milestone in the salvage operation for the 'MSC Baltic III'. The bulk of the oil has been removed from the internal tanks, and nearly three-quarters of the containers have been offloaded. Fuel has been and remained the largest concern for the vessel.. The weather and grounding caused cracks in the hull, and the vessel has been weeping small amounts of oil, with a few tar balls found along the shorelines. There were 1,600 metric tons of heavy fuel oil and Marine Gas Oil aboard as fuel and approximately 475 containers, more than half were empties. A total of 333 containers have been offloaded as of Auig 19, with a further 142 boxes remaining on the vessel. With the fuel tanks largely empty, the focus was now on the approximately 10 % of residual oil aboard. The Coast Guard considered the remaining fuel oil equally important because if it were to leak, it could still cause significant environmental damage. No plans have been announced for the hulk.
RUNO
The 'Runö', connecting Ruhnu island in the Gulf of Riga with Munalaid, Roomassaare on Saaremaa and the mainland in Pärnu, went out of service due to a technical malfunction on the evening of Aug 12. The operator Tuuleliinid announced that on Aug 14 a replacement service would depart Ruhnu for Roomassaare at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and Roomassaare for Ruhnu at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. It was not yet clear what caused the latest malfunction. Backup vessels ran four times a day between Ruhnu and Munalaid, based on earlier bookings. The 'Runö' most recently suffered another technical malfunction the previous week, which was repaired within a day.
BAYESIAN
One year after the sinking of the 'Bayesian' in the night of August 19, 2024, at around 4 a.m., in the waters of Porticello between Casteldaccia and Bagheria, in the province of Palermo, the investigations were ongoing. Most likely, a downburst – a sudden, violent downdraft – struck the anchorage at Porticello. At 03:50 a.m. the 'Bayesian’s anchor began to drag. At 04:00 a.m., a blackout occurred: water had reached the generator. Three minutes later, the yacht disappeared from local radars and cameras. At 04:10, after drifting 358 meters, the vessel heeled beyond its Angle of Vanishing Stability (AVS) and sank. The stark contrast with the fate of the nearby vessel, the Dutch schooner 'Sir Robert Baden Powell', anchored just 100 meters away and left unharmed, remained one of the most debated points. Among the still-open hypotheses is the possibility of water ingress through the yacht’s stern doors, never definitively confirmed. The Prosecutor’s Office of Termini Imerese immediately opened a case for shipwreck and multiple counts of manslaughter, placing three crew members under investigation: The Italian Coast Guard compiled a 42-page report reconstructing the events, confirming that the combination of extreme weather and insufficient countermeasures proved decisive. A controversial element remained the captain’s decision to stay in Porticello, despite advice to seek shelter in the port of Marina di Villa Igiea. In parallel, the UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) launched its own technical investigation. The preliminary report, published in May 2025, revealed that the yacht’s AVS that night was only 70.6° in the given configuration (sails down, engine on, keel retracted). This meant that a lateral gust exceeding 63 knots could trigger irreversible capsize. Crucially, this information was missing from the vessel’s Stability Information Book, leaving the crew unaware of its vulnerability in those conditions. On the financial front, the sinking triggered a dispute of enormous proportions. Two insurance policies have been involved: Hull & Machinery, covering material damage, and Protection & Indemnity (P&I), covering civil and environmental liability. While the yacht’s estimated value was around €30 million, total compensation could exceed €400 million, with some sources suggesting coverage as high as €2 billion. However, the outcome will largely depend on the investigations: potential design flaws or documentation gaps could shift liability from the captain to the shipyards involved.