The USNS '2nd Lt. John P. Bobo (T-AK 3008)' which was deployed to support the mission of building a pier to deliver aid to starving residents in Gaza, was forced to turn back on April 11, 2024, after it suffered a fire in its engine room, while in transit to the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The crew evacuated the area and used portable extinguishers to put out the fire. The ship had to return to Jacksonville, Florida, using just one engine for further assessments. The incident came as the Pentagon's self-imposed deadline of having the pier operational and delivering the needed aid by May rapidly approached. When the Pentagon first announced the plan to use the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, or JLOTS, platform to construct the pier that would serve as a way to quickly deliver large amounts of aid to war-torn Gaza in early March, it was hoped the pier would be operational in the next 60 days. Shortly after that announcement, a group of five Army ships left for the Mediterranean, followed by the m/v 'Roy P. Benavidez', a military sealift command vessel that was carrying heavy equipment and material needed to construct a temporary pier. In late March, the Navy said that it would deploy Naval Beach Group 1 along with the Bobo and the USNS '1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez'. The unit and the ships would bring enough watercraft and equipment to operate a huge floating dock three miles off the coast of Gaza that would serve as the off-load point for aid. One of the Army Landing Craft Utility ships, the 'Wilson Wharf', seems to be stuck in Tenerife, the Army's Logistics Support Vessel 'General Frank S. Besson' spent a week in the Azores before finally making it to the Navy's base at Souda Bay, which may indicate the ship had an engineering issue.
News
PHILAUVENT
On April 17, 2024, at 8 a.m. Salvamento Marítimo was alerted after the skipper of the 'JPK 960 Philauvent-Passecoque', the 63 year old veteranian Philippe Benoiton, whio was participatin in the 'Saliling Race Cap Martinique', and had left from La Trinité-sur-Mer (France) bound for Fort-de-France (Martinique). He went missing west of Cape Finisterre in strong northwestern winds in the night of April 16. The regatta coordinator informed that they had no news of a participating sailboat, with a reduced course and speed as they were able to discover from its GPS. They couldn't contact him. The double-handed competitors Yann Gindre and Michel Foucart aboard the 'L'Opale - A Chacun son Everest' finally found the yacht,at 7:40 a.m., without being able to confirm the sailor's presence aboard. The CCS Fisterra coordinated the SAR operation with the 'Don Inda' and the helicopters Helimer 401, Helimer 402,Pesca 1 and the Sasemar 102 plane. At 9.19 a.m. the auxiliary boat of the 'Don Inda' located the sailboat and verified that the single crew member was not on board. The engine was running and the tiller was broken. The yacht was towed to the Cee Port in A Coruña. The body of the missing person was located five nautical miles southwest of Cabo Fisterra by the Pesca I helicopter. it waa recovered and transoorted to the Vigo airport, where the National Police was waiting. The response was coordinated by the RCC of Salvamento Marítimo in Fisterra. Reports with photos: https://www.elidealgallego.com/articulo/a-coruna/helimer-coruna-une-busqueda-regatista-desaparecido-alta-mar-4799426 https://www.boatnews.com/story/45745/cap-martinique-transatlantic-race-mourns-death-of-competitor
RNLI LIFEBOAT 13-03
Three fishermen were rescued after their vessel sank off Devon's coast on April 16, 2024. RNLI teams from Exmouth and Torbay were requiested at 9.32 p.m. by the HM Coastguard after having received an urgent mayday call, stating: "fishing vessel sinking". This report was quickly followed by a 999 call confirming that all three crew had taken to the vessel's life raft. Within 12 minutes, both the 'R & J Welburn' from Exmouth and Torbay's Severn Class all-weather lifeboat were on their way to the scene. Additionally, an HM Coastguard's rescue helicopter was also tasked to join the effort. The HM Coastguard secured the location of the sunken vessel using its emergency positioning beacon, pinpointing it roughly 14 miles northeast from Berry Head. The Exmouth's crew were the first to arrive on the scene and recovered all three fishermen from their life raft. Despite being cold, none required further medical assistance. All three casualties were then safely transferred to the waiting Torbay lifeboat and brought back to Brixham, where they were met and collected by their waiting families. Report with photos: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/three-fishermen-forced-life-raft-140714624.html
EXPRESS JET
On April 17, 2024, at noon, the Port Authority of Milos was informed by the master of the'Express Jet', that due to adverse weather conditions, the ship would return to the port on a scheduled route from Milos to Folegandros, Thira, Naxos, Paros and Mykonos with 15 crew members and 73 passengers on board. When the ship docked in the port, it was found that a pane of glassof the wheelhouse was broken, and the Milos Port Authority banned the ferry from sailing, until the damage was repaired and a certificate of seaworthiness was presented by the attending classification society. The ship remained stationary as of April 18. The passengers were forwarded to the their destinations by the ship-owning company.
SCOT PIONEER
A leaked radio exchange between an the captain of the 'Scot Pioneer' and the French Coastguard exposed France's infuriating response to the small boats crisis. The captain was outraged after he spotted French navy vessels, including a warship, guiding the traffickers' boats around his ship towards Britain and blocked the 'Scot Pioneer' from entering Dunkirk harbour. The captain begins his protest by radioing the French coastguard with the words: 'I would like to report what is an illegal operation in your waters. This morning we witnessed a French government vessel and a French navy warship escort a boat-load of illegal immigrants across the Channel to the midway point where they handed them over to another [Border Force] ship out of Dover. It has now arrived there. Now I have the French warship passing under my stern, passing another boat-load of immigrants across the Channel. There is also another [French] vessel to the west of us which is escorting a third boat of migrants." In response, the Coastguard informed him that there was an 'arrangement' between the London and Paris governments for the French navy to escort migrant boats towards Britain.