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The "Fair Lady" is expected to be out of service until June 27, 2025, due to a technical damage. The transmission failure is more extensive than originally expected. Therefore, the planned trips to Heligoland from Bremerhaven, Langeoog, Hooksiel, and Wilhelmshaven with the sister company Adler & Eils have been canceled until the end of the month. The ship is currently being repaired at the Mützelfeld shipyard in Cuxhaven, which is part of the Bredo Shipyard in Bremerhaven. The shipping company Cassen Eils canceled the ship's planned departure from Wilhelmshaven to Heligoland on May 29. A few days later, the departures from the seaside resort quay in Bremerhaven were also canceled. Since April 2025, the "Fair Lady" has been operating regularly from Bremerhaven to Heligoland again after six years, with at least 47 departures planned until the end of September, every Friday through Sunday.

The 'Protug 87' left Portsmouth, UK, on June 11, towing the destroyer HMS 'Bristol' (IMO: 4907828) to Aliaga, ETA 2.7. HMS Bristol is the only Type 82 ship still in existence and saw nearly 48 years of active service. Having been decommissioned in October 2020, she is now enroute for recycling at an EU-approved yard. Veterans and members of the public gathered to give a “respectful farewell” to the ship as it was towed out of the harbour. Construction on the HMS 'Bristol' began in 1967 and she was commissioned into the Royal Navy on March 31, 1973. She fought in the 1982 Falklands War and then used as a training ship for the Dartmouth Training Squadron from 1987. Since 2011, she has lived adjacent to Navy Command Headquarters on Whale Island, Portsmouth. During this time, she provided accommodation for multiple youth organisations including the Sea Cadets, Combined Cadet Forces and the Sea Scouts. The ship was sold by experts from the DRDT, on the behalf of the Royal Navy. HMS 'Bristol' is the second decommissioned ship to be towed for recycling this calendar year, with HMS 'Monmouth' having departed in April. Reports with photos: https://www.letsrecycle.com/news/falklands-war-ship-sent-to-turkiye-for-recycling/ https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/defence/royal-navy-hms-bristol-falklands-ship-scrapped-5171418

Having seen its first ever LNG fuelling in May, the Port of Kiel has announced that, for the first time, two cruise vessels have bunkered LNG on the same day. The bunker operations took place on June 10, 2023, and involved the 'AIDAnova' – which became the first vessel to bunker LNG at the port in May – and MSC Cruises’ latest ship, the 'MSC Euribia'. The bunkering of the AIDA Cruises vessel by Titan capped its third fuelling at the Port of Kiel while LNG for the 'MSC Euribia' was supplied by Nordic energy company Gasum. MSC Cruises and Gasum have inked a long-term agreement for LNG supply to the 'MSC Euribia'. The companies have also signed a letter of intent (LOI) which aims to secure liquefied synthetic gas (e-LNG).

The fire at the Port of Iskenderun has finally been extinguished, Turkey's ministry of defense announced on Feb 7. It was the second time that the ministry has reported that the fire has been put out; after the previous announcement, the blaze resumed at scale, and firefighters managed to contain it later that night. Iskenderun's container terminal is still closed due to the severe structural damage, which forced the facility to halt all operations. The magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck southern Turkey on Feb 6 had a significant impact on the port, toppling stacks of containers and cracking pavement. The physical damage is severe enough that container lines were diverting vessels to other ports, like nearby Mersin. The quake also sparked a fire in the center of the terminal's container storage area. Turkey's coast guard deployed a vessel to apply water from the quayside, and the Turkish air force and army sent aircraft to drop fire retardant on the blaze. The fire spread despite these efforts, but was finally contained in the night of Feb 7. Report with video: https://maritime-executive.com/article/fire-at-port-of-iskenderun-extinguished-after-two-days

The US-sanctioned 'Jaya', which had been assuming the identity of a scrapped vessel, is now heading towards Singapore after spending about 10 days in waters near Dalian. Now renamed 'Quasar', the vessel is using the IMO number of Sos (IMO: 9233791), which was dismantled in 2022. The AIS draught readings suggested it was unable to discharge its cargo during this latest trip to China. Quasar received around 1.8m barrels of Iranian crude via a ship-to-ship transfer with a National Iranian Tanker Co vessel offshore Singapore on May 8. Before continuing up China’s coast, the vessel lingered near Dongjiakou between May 23-27 and attempted to call at the port with an ETA of May 24, declaring the cargo as Iraqi. Satellite imagery did not capture the vessel alongside at Dongjiakou during this period, nor later at the port of Dalian. The 'Jaya' evaded detection by repeatedly changing its name and MMSI numbers, adopting the identity of a scrapped ship and spoofing AIS/GNSS data, enabling it to covertly transport Iranian oil to China despite tightening US sanctions and global surveillance. The vessel has since sailed to waters near China’s Zhejiang province, with its AIS destination now set as Singapore, after departing Dalian on June 10. On its previous voyage to China in April, the 'Quasar' successfully discharged about two million barrels of Iranian crude at Dongjiakou. The cargo was transferred from another NITC tanker in the Gulf of Oman around March 12, after which Jaya adopted the International Maritime Organization number of the scrapped 'Sos' and later changed its name to 'Quasar'. Over the past three months, the 'Jaya' has broadcast false positions and identities, appearing as multiple vessels and complicating tracking by authorities and analysts, highlightings the growing sophistication of sanctions evasion tactics. Meanwhile, China’s oil trade and related companies are facing increasing pressure from the US. Earlier this year, three private Chinese refineries and three terminal operators were added to Washington’s sanctions list for allegedly accepting Iranian crude oil. The Shandong Port Group, which manages Dongjiakou and several other major nearby ports, issued a ban in January on servicing sanctioned vessels, especially those blacklisted by the US.

On June 8, a cracked glass panel installed above the pool deck of the 'Symphony of the Seas' gave way, raining down shards on the lounge chairs of the deck below. Luckily, the seats were empty thanks to one of the ship's crew members who saw what was about to unfold. The ship had departed Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey, en route to its first stop in Florida, docking in Port Canaveral, when the incident occurred. The guests praised one of the ship’s waiters, Nitin Kumar, for jumping into action, warning passengers just in time for them to get out of the way. Nitin saw it cracking and sprinted down to the pool deck and told the people in deck chairs to move. No reason for the accident has been confirmed, but it occurred while the ship was turning 180 [degrees] to dock in Port Canaveral, causing significant vibrations. Report with photos: https://people.com/cruise-waiter-saves-passengers-from-glass-broken-window-royal-caribbean-symphony-seas-11752493

One of Scotland’s main cruise ports is set to experience its busiest year since records began. Greenock Ocean Terminal has 91 cruise liners booked into the Inverclyde town’s new dedicated pontoon across 2023 – a rise of over 25 per cent on last year. As many as 150,000 passengers and 38,000 crew members are expected to pass through the port over the course of this year. It’s more good news for the terminal in its second full season since Covid effectively closed down the cruise industry. Jim McSporran, Clydeport Port Director at Peel Ports said: “We’re extremely proud to be announcing a record cruise year for Greenock Ocean Terminal. “Welcoming cruise liners to Greenock is a hugely important aspect of our port offering and we’re delighted that we continue to attract and grow cruise numbers to the region. “This increase in tourism will benefit visitor attractions and businesses across Inverclyde and central Scotland, and we look forward to welcoming these visitors across the season.” “In an effort to showcase the port as the cruise gateway to the West Coast of Scotland, this year we are also investing in a promotional campaign to feature at the global cruise industry’s key annual gathering in the U.S.” Councillor Stephen McCabe, leader of Inverclyde Council, said: “The cruise sector here in Inverclyde continues to go from strength to strength and I’m delighted that this year is set to be the busiest yet with record numbers of ships and passengers, as well as a substantial number of crew visiting these shores. “It’s timely that with 2023 shaping up to be a bumper year for cruise calls that the finishing touches are being put on our new state-of-the-art Greenock cruise ship visitor centre which will provide our guests from around the world with a first class welcome to Inverclyde and the west coast of Scotland.

Thick black smoke was rising from burning containers at Iskenderun Port on Feb 6, 2023. The fire was caused by containers that toppled over during the powerful earthquake that struck southeast Turkey. ATurkish Coast Guard vessel was assisting efforts to extinguish the blaze.

The 'STL Qianjiang,', that loaded in Port Neches headed to Dahej on June 11, 2025,, after Washington required US exporters to seek licenses to ship the shale gas to top buyer China. Around half of all US ethane exports head to China, where it is used by the petrochemical industry. The vessel's change in destination underscores how the fallout from trade tensions between the United States and China is shifting ethane flows. The 'STL Qianjiang', had loaded at Energy Transfer's Nederland terminal for China's Satellite Chemical, signaled Dahej. The final buyer of the cargo is India's Reliance Industries. The ship has traversed only between the United States and Satellite Chemical's Lianyungang petrochemical facility since July 2022. Energy Transfer and Enterprise Products Partners, two of the top US ethane producers and exporters, have received letters from the US Commerce Department requiring the companies to apply for a license to ship ethane to China.

On May 26, 2025, the 'Goldy Seven' Goldy Seven' was detained in Southampton, UK with 20 deficienciev, four of which being regarded as seriously and grounds for a detention: 1) Fire safety - Evaluation of crew performance Lack of training 2) Labour conditions - Sanitary facilities Not as required 3) Radio communications - Reservce source of energy Not as required 4) Pollution Prevention - Garbage shipboard handling Not as required The vessel was released again on June 10 and left the port en route to Tangier with an ETA as of June 15. The inspection led to a refusal of access to Paris MOU ports. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063576908591

One person is was and two others were missing after a crane collapsed into the water on an Ashkelon pier latein the night of March 14, 2023. The collapse of the crane was caused by unusual weather and strong winds. The injured person was in moderate condition and is receiving treatment at Barzilai Medical Center. Attempts to contact two people who had been working on the site of the crane have been unsuccessful, leading police to believe that they were missing after falling into the sea. Extensive search and rescue efforts were commenced with the help of police diving units, the elite 669 Search and Rescue unit, the Israeli Navy and others. The body of a man of about 60 years of age was found on Beersheba Beach in Ashdod on March 15. The gas pier at the Rotenberg power plant in Ashkelon was damaged. The Electric Company formed a team to investigate the incident. Reports with photos: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-734237 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-734373

The Port of Kiel expects another good season in 2023, resulting in 218 cruise calls, said its MD Dirk Claus in the morning of Jan 17, 2023, as part of a presentation reflecting on last year's results. It follows 2022's record-breaking 244 calls, which saw the port handle over 2.24m passengers, 836,000 of those from cruise vessels. The number of calls in 2019 was 37% less by comparison, numbering 178, and passenger volumes 4.1% lower. 2020 had been forecast to become a record season for Kiel, with 200 calls and 880,000 passengers, but aspirations were dashed owing to the pandemic. This year, a number of larger vessels are scheduled to arrive at Kiel on multiple occasions making the gross tonnage of arriving ships similar to 2022. For 2023, the choice of routes and destinations approached from Kiel will be slightly broader. Moving into the future, Claus expects Kiel to settle on between 200 and 250 cruise calls annually. According to the port, last year’s promising results were the result of ‘intense planning’ with international cruise operators. While 11 calls were cancelled owing to the conflict in Ukraine and the resulting loss of St Petersburg from itineraries, nine were newly added as a result of rerouting by operators. Looking ahead, there will be a strong focus on greener shipping with Claus hoping that between 60 and 100 calls can be supplied with green shore power this year. He stated that Kiel will continue to look at strengthening shore power in line with its corporate sustainability strategy to lower carbon emissions. Work on the new Ostuferhafen shore power plant is expected to conclude towards the end of this year, resulting in Kiel being able to offer shoreside connectivity at all its ferry and cruise terminals from 2024. Along with this €17m investment, a further €2m will be invested to install solar arrays. The systems, which will be fitted on roofs at Kiel Port, are intended to cover up to 30% of the port's electricity requirements in the long term.  Kiel’s first call is expected to arrive April 7 with the river vessel 'Frederic Chopin'. The first cruise ship of the season, Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines’ 'Balmoral', will arrive a week later.  The largest ships to call will be 'MSC Euribia' and 'AIDAnova'. At the other end of the scale, the 'Ocean Majesty' will visit Kiel on six occasions while chartered to Hansa Touristik. The vessel, which celebrates its 57th anniversary this year, is popular with the German source market. One of its calls is scheduled to occur on June 18 during the Kieler Woche sailing festival which will run from June 17-25. Traditionally, this marks the peak of the cruise season with this year no exception: 22 calls are expected by Kiel at the same time as the event takes place. While the highest number of calls is expected between mid-April and the end of September as usual, some ships will continue to call later in the year. 'AIDAnova'’s last departure is scheduled for November 4 whilst December 20 will see Phoenix Reisen's 'Amera' arrive at Kiel as part of a pre-Christmas itinerary. The season will draw to a close a few days later with the 'Spirit of Discovery' on December 29. Costa-, AIDA-, MSC- and TUI Cruises will again be the port's largest cruise customers. The majority of calls account for turnarounds serving the German-speaking source markets, but a number of transit calls will also take place, P&O Cruises’ Britannia, Swiss Ruby, Holland America Line’s 'Nieuw Statendam' and Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ 'Seven Seas Splendor' among them. As in previous years, the Ostuferhafen outside the city centre will be heavily utilised by MSC Cruises and most other cruise ships will arrive at the Ostseekai.