The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter 'Charles David Jr.' offloaded and transferred custody of 245 kilograms of cocaine and nine suspected smugglers to Drug Enforcement Administration authorities at Coast Guard Base San Juan, Puerto Rico, on June 8, 2024. The seized contraband was estimated to have a wholesale value of $7.4 million dollars, while the interdiction and seizure is the result of multi-agency efforts involving Coast Guard’s Western Hemisphere Strategy, the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force Initiative and Operation Unified Resolve. The Drug Enforcement Administration was leading the investigation in this case. In the early morning hours of June 3, 2023, the 'Heriberto Hernández' had located a suspect vessel, approximately 75 nautical miles south of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. As the cutterapproached, the crew observed the occupants of the suspect vessel jettison multiple packages overboard. The crew of the cutter successfully stopped the suspect vessel that had nine men onboard, who claimed to be Venezuelan nationals. The cutter crew also recovered multiple packages of the jettisoned cargo and seized a total of 10 bales and two additional bags, with individual packages, which tested positive for cocaine. The 'Heriberto Hernández' embarked the nine detainees and seized contraband that were later transferred to the 'Charles David Jr.' for final transport to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Report with photo: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3800489/coast-guard-offloads-74-million-in-seized-cocaine-transfers-custody-of-9-smuggl/
News
PACIFIC HONOR
On June 7, 2024, the 'Pacific Honor', while sailing 355 nautical miles east of Mogadishu, was approached by a suspicious small boat. The master of the vessel stated that the small boat with six armed people on board, came close to one and a half miles to the vessel which had armed guards on board. However, the boat departed at that point, and the bulk carrier continued its voyage from Mina Saqr to Mombarsa with an ETA as of June 10.
Rostock
On May 2, a HLC 295000 heavy load crane of Liebherr mounted on the deck of the 'Orion I' crashed in the Seaport of Rostock during a test when lifting a pontoon which was filled with 5.550 tons of water. The crane boom broke off, and parts fell onto the 'Orion I', which started to list to port side, and onto the quay edge. Heavy metal pieces flew around. Five people inside the crane's cabin were injured by the heave jerk. The fire brigade, ambulances and police attended with a large contingent. They tried to free the victims from the steel mesh. There were two serious and three minor injuries. A total of 120 people were on board the 'Orion I' who were now being evacuated and looked after. A rescue helicopter has landed. In addition, large amounts of oil leaked out, which the fire brigade has to collect before it got into the water. It is the second accident on the Liebherr site within a few months. In January, two loading cranes fell into the water during tests. The salvage then took several months. Reports with photos and video: https://www.nonstopnews.de/meldung/32916 https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/mecklenburg-vorpommern/Rostock-Erneutes-Unglueck-mit-Hafenkran,hafenkran156.html https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/panorama/id_87809036/rostock-krank-knickt-im-hafen-ab-fuenf-verletzte.html
Everett WA
The American destroyer USS 'Kidd' returned to Everett after nearly 50 crew members aboard were tested positive for coronavirus as of April 27, 2020. This was the second reported outbreak of COVID-19 aboard a US Navy vessel at sea. After concerns were raised about cases aboard the USS 'Theodore Roosevelt', one sailor assigned to that ship died from coronavirus complications. Roughly half the crew members on the USS 'Kidd' have been tested for the virus, and some have been evacuated. 45% of the ship have been tested for COVID-19, with 47 total positive results. Two Sailors have been medically evacuated. 15 sailors have been transferred to USS 'Makin Island (LHD 8)' for monitoring due to persistent symptoms. None were in the ICU or on ventilators. Sailors aboard the USS 'Kidd' were wearing PPE and N95 masks. Initial COVID-19 testing of sailors from the USS 'Theodore Roosevelt' were now complete, there are 955 active cases, along with 14 recovered cases. The USS 'Kidd' was on a counter narcotics mission' when ait was reported at least 18 crew had fallen ill with the virus.
CG CHARLES DAVID JR
The crew of the 'Charles David Jr.' offloaded and transferred custody of 245 kilograms of cocaine and nine suspected smugglers to Drug Enforcement Administration authorities at Coast Guard Base San Juan, Puerto Rico, on June 8, 2024. The seized contraband was estimated to have a wholesale value of $7.4 million dollars, while the interdiction and seizure is the result of multi-agency efforts involving Coast Guard’s Western Hemisphere Strategy, the Caribbean Corridor Strike Force Initiative and Operation Unified Resolve. The Drug Enforcement Administration was leading the investigation in this case. In the early morning hours of June 3, 2023, the Coast Guard Cutter 'Heriberto Hernández' had located a suspect vessel, approximately 75 nautical miles south of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. As the cutterapproached, the crew observed the occupants of the suspect vessel jettison multiple packages overboard. The crew of the cutter successfully stopped the suspect vessel that had nine men onboard, who claimed to be Venezuelan nationals. The cutter crew also recovered multiple packages of the jettisoned cargo and seized a total of 10 bales and two additional bags, with individual packages, which tested positive for cocaine. The 'Heriberto Hernández' embarked the nine detainees and seized contraband that were later transferred to the 'Charles David Jr.' for final transport to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Report with photo: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3800489/coast-guard-offloads-74-million-in-seized-cocaine-transfers-custody-of-9-smuggl/
GUARDAMAR C.ARENAL
On June 9, the 'Salvamar Izar' has rescued 55 people from one inflatable boat, and the 'Guardamar Talía' 56 miogrants from another one, while the 'Guardamar Concepción Arenal' rescued 60 people from a third boat. All migrants were transferred to Puerto del Rosario, Fuerteventura. The reszce operations were coordinated by the CCS Las Palmas of Salvamento Marítimo. Report with photo: https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/1799821148731101684
Marseille
The 'AIDAblu' made a brief stopover yesterday in Marseille on April 26, 2020, to embark several hundred crew members of one of his sisterships, the 'AIDAsol', which has been moored in the port for 1,5 months. The transfer took place to facilitate the repatriation of AIDA personnel via Germany. The 'AIDAblu' set sail again in the afternoon. At the same time, another cruise ship which had been berthed in Marseille since last month, the 'Europa 2' of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, set sail to also return to Germany, its arrival in Hamburg was scheduled for May 2. The Marseille areas now hosted six cruise ships, the 'Costa Smeralda', 'MSC Magnifica' and 'AIDAsol', 'Le Boréal', 'L’Austral' and 'Le Lyrial'. The repatriation operations of the international personnel of these ships was still in progress, in particular via flights chartered by the owners. This was particularly the case for the crew members of the 'MSC Magnifica', which arrived on April 20 and who also landed 4 tonnes of food surplus, donated to local associations to help the most disadvantaged.
CG RESOLUTE
The 'Resolute (WMEC 620)' returned to its homeport in St. Petersburg on June 8, 2024, following a 60-day patrol of the Caribbean, in support of Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast’s Operation Vigilant Sentry and Joint Interagency Task Force-South's counterdrug mission. While deployed within the Coast Guard’s Seventh District area of operations, and off the southwest coast of Haiti, the Resolute crew, together with the Coast Guard Cutter 'Mohawk (WMEC 913)', interdicted one go-fast vessel, apprehended four suspected smugglers and seized 3,736 pounds of marijuana worth more than $3.5 million. In addition to the drug interdiction and deterring illegal maritime migration, the 'Resolute' conducted over 24 hours of SAR efforts for two missing mariners after the Vanuatu-flagged schooner 'De Gallant' sank approximately 20 miles north of Great Inagua on May 21, 2024. The 'Resolute' refueled Coast Guard helicopters searching for the missing sailors, conducted strategic search patterns, and recovered floating debris from the 'De Gallant's life rafts. Together, Coast Guard and Royal Bahamas Defence Force crews covered over 3,700 square miles before suspending the search.
GUARDAMAR TALIA
On June 9, the 'Salvamar Izar' has rescued 55 people from one inflatable boat, and the 'Guardamar Talía' 56 miogrants from another one, while the 'Guardamar Concepción Arenal' rescued 60 people from a third boat. All migrants were transferred to Puerto del Rosario, Fuerteventura. The reszce operations were coordinated by the CCS Las Palmas of Salvamento Marítimo. Report with photo: https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/1799821148731101684
San Diego
The number of coronavirus cases aboard the USS 'Kidd' rose to 64 as the Navy destroyer pulled into port at San Diego on April 28, 2020, to get medical care for the crew and to disinfect and decontaminate the ship. The 'Kidd' was the second Navy ship to have an outbreak of the disease while at sea, the other being the USS 'Theodore Roosevelt', an aircraft carrier that has been docked at Guam for a month and has more than 900 sailors with confirmed cases of COVID-19, but the entire crew has now been tested. The Navy has moved swiftly to get the 'Kidd''s crew ashore. That was a point of contention with the 'Roosevelt', whose skipper, Capt. Brett Crozier, felt compelled to write to several other commanders pleading for more urgent Navy action to protect his crew of nearly 5,000. Crozier was then relieved of command for what the Navy's top civilian official at the time, Thomas Modly, called poor judgment. Modly resigned several days later, and the Navy is now seeking higher-level approval to reverse his move and restore Crozier to command. The Navy said that 63% of the 'Kidd''s crew of more than 300 had been tested as of April 28. One sailor was medically evacuated to the United States on April 22 after experiencing shortness of breath. Fifteen were transferred to another ship with a medical facility for closer observation of symptoms. Sailors being removed from the 'Kidd' at San Diego will be isolated with twice-daily medical screenings. Crew members who have tested negative will enter quarantine for a period of observation, with military health professionals monitoring them for symptoms. Also, a small contingent of sailors who tested negative will remain on the ship for essential services and deep cleaning. The cleaning is expected to take two weeks. The destroyer had been off the Pacific coast of Central American doing counter-narcotics operations. The Navy said no deployed ships currently have known coronavirus cases aboard. 13 ships that previously had one or more active cases while in port have zero cases now.
Flensburg
The Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft shipyard a which had been operating at a loss for some time, filed for self-administered insolvency on April 24. The goal of the shipyard’s filing was to permit it to start afresh. The future of Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft in the medium term was in building Ro-Ro ferries, according to the message delivered by the management at a workers meeting on Sunday April 26. The move is specifically designed to allow the company to start from fresh without existing contractual obligations to customers and suppliers. Though an administrator will be brought in from outside the company, the company management will continue to control the business which is a different process to bankruptcy in German law. Investor Lars Windhorst is prepared to put money into the business through his Tennor Holding investment vehicle. Tennor Holding took 100% control of the yard in 2019. He has said, however, that the money should not be used on loss making contracts. The former majority owner Siem Industries is interested in contracting 4 further Ro-Ro ferries from the yard. Siem recently took delivery of LIEKUT, the eighth of a series of vessels built by FSG for the company to charter out. FSG had been making significant losses for a number of years. The Siem group acquired the company for a token €1 back in November 2014 after severe liquidity problems. Those losses massively increased in recent years, however, with the yard losing an eye watering €111m in 2018. The hugely increased losses were due in part to delivery delays with Irish Ferries 'W.B. Yeats' and the subsequent penalty payments made to Irish Continental Group (ICG). The agreed contract price to build the 'W.B. Yeats' is understood to have left little to no margin for the yard in the first place.