The Nigerian Navy has arrested the 'Saisnil II' with 11 people and about 720 tons of crude oil sludge which was allegedly stolen from an oil facility in the Niger Delta region, around 199 nautical miles off Lagos coast, and was later brought to Lagos where it moored in pos. 06° 23.10'N 003° 26.04' E on Feb 10, 2024, where the captain, the Chief Engineer and others were interrogated. The Captain had deliberately turned off the AIS. The ship had sailed from Lagos Anchorage on Nov 23, 2023 to the Taraba Jetty in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to take on board about 720 tons of crude oil sludge. The Authorities in charge of the Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Beecroft, became suspicious of the activities of the vessel minutes after the AIS was turned off.
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ANTWERPEN EXPRESS
A crew member of the 'Antwerpen Express', en route from Balboa to Yantian, suffered a stroke and was medevaced by the U.S. Coast Guard near Guam on Feb 9, 2024. The Coast Guard coordination unit in Guam was notified on Feb 6 that the 37-year-old victim was experiencing symptoms of a stroke and had to be evacuated as soon as possible. The evacuation required intra-agency cooperation between the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy's Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 (HSC-25). Following the recommendation of a duty flight surgeon, the HSC-25 was mobilized to the ship, which was sailing 550 nautical miles off the coast of Spain. In the morning of Feb 9, when the ship was off the coast of Saipan, a Nighthawk helicopter from the HSC-25 flew out to the 'Antwerpen Express'. The sailor was safely hoisted and delivered to the Naval Hospital in Guam. He was then transported to the Guam Memorial Hospital, where he was reported to be stable. Report with photo: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3672872/us-coast-guard-navy-helicopter-squadron-execute-critical-medical-evacuation-of/
BLUE DREAM MELODY
Blue Dream Cruises, the new owner of the former 'AIDAvita', is sending the 'Blue Dream Melody' through the Red Sea despite the current poor security situation. The cruise ship is currently being transferred to China without passengers in order to be converted there for the Chinese shipping company. Blue Dream Cruises has opted for a trip through the Red Sea en route to the Far East. In the night of Feb 12, 2024, the ship passed through the Suez Canal and is currently in the northern Red Sea. The destination as per AIS was given as “Chinese Ship&Crew” as an attempt to signal to possible attackers that the ship does not belong to the “Western world” and is therefore not an enemy of the Houthi rebels. Blue Dream Cruises seemed to consider the situation to be safe enough for passage. In the next few days, the Blue Dream Melody will sail through the area where ocean-going ships were recently attacked several times by the Houthi rebels. On Feb 21, the 'Blue Dream Melody' is scheduled to arrive at the port of Colombo, where the ship will make the next stop on the way to China. .
CARNIVAL SUNSHINE
The 'Carnival Sunshine' had to slow down on her return to Charleston, South Carolina, at the end of her current 5-night sailing due to poor weather. Strong winds and waves made it difficult for the ship to sail at full speed and maintain optimal safety and comfort. This has had a knock on effect on embarkation fort the departure on Feb 8, 2024,, which was delayed by several hours. Incoming guests have been alerted to the change and advised to push back their arrival time to accommodate the delay. Travelers were asked to delay their terminal arrival appointment by three hours. All guests, however, had to be onboard no later than 5:30 p.m. for the ship to depart. Originally, the 'Carnival Sunshine'‘s planned departure was 4 p.m., but this has been pushed back as much as possible to permit adequate time for both debarkation and embarkation. The ship’s next sailing was a 4-night Bahamas cruise, with a day at sea first, followed by a full day in Nassau and another day at sea before returning to Charleston on Feb 12. At this time, there was no change to that itinerary.
NS LEADER
The 'NS Leader' altered course midway through its journey in the Alboran Sea after being hit by sanctions of the US Treasury, while headed to Primorsk. The sanctions were imposed on Feb 8, 2024, at 2 p.m. Washington time. Following the sanctions, the ship reduced its speed by 50 %, and the destination on the AIS changed to “for orders.” The ship had been intended to offload its cargo in 10 days. The Liberia-registered NS Leader Shipping Inc. as the owners was sanctioned for claims that the ultimate ownership of the tanker was within the Russian Federation through the Russian state-owned shipping company Sovcomflot and that the 'NS Leader' has repeatedly violated the $60 price cap, as the vessel was used in Nov 2023 to transport a Russian oil cargo sold in the UAE for over $80 per barrel.