The 'Loch Ranza', serving on the route Tayinloan.Gigha, suffered a technical issue with the engine belt on July 28, rendering the service liable to disruption or cancellation at short notice. The following sailings were cancelled: DepartureTayinloan - 03:00 p.m.; Departure Gigha - 003:30 p.m. After the issue wasresolved, the service was resume at 04:00 p.m.
News
BETIM
The salvage of the 'Betim', which sank near Chorao on June 23, was continued, but the ship remained under water on July 26 despite day-long salvage efforts by the river navigation department (RND). A team of 15 RND staff, assisted by a professional diver and a special salvager crane, worked through the day but were unable to lift the vessel. On July 24, pontoons were hired to aid the salvage, but shallow waters along the riverbank made it impossible to accommodate them, forcing the department to switch strategies. There was a high tide which was hindering the work. Preliminary investigations suggested the vessel sank due to rainwater accumulating in the tanks, which were not drained. The responsibility for this lapse was lying with the coxswain, who failed to conduct the required checks and drain the tanks in time.
Port Elizabeth
On May 2, 2020, at 08.50 a.m. the NSRI Port Elizabeth duty crew and EC Government Health EMS were activated by the Transnet National Ports Authority to respond to rendezvous with a bulk carrier approaching Port Elizabeth from Cape Town to attend to a 52 year old Iraqi crew member onboard the ship suffering an emergency medical condition, not Covid-19 related. The sea rescue craft 'Spirit of Toft' was launched accompanied by an EMS rescue paramedic and rendezvoused with the ship seven miles East of Cape Recife. The EMS rescue paramedic and an NSRI rescue swimmer were transferred onto the ship and the patient was found to be in a critical condition. The paramedic took over emergency medical treatment from the ships medical crew and the patient, secured into a stokes basket stretcher, was transferred onto the sea rescue craft and the EMS paramedic and NSRI medics continued with medical care onboard the sea rescue craft while the patient was brought to the NSRI Port Elizabeth sea rescue base and in the care of paramedics he was transported to hospital by EMS ambulance. Despite extensive efforts by hospital medical staff the patient passed away.
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
ETERNITY C
On July 28, the Houthi terrorists stated that they had rescued 10 seafarers from the 'Eternity C', releasing a six-minute, heavily scripted propaganda video, which was showing footage of the crew, with the Houthis claiming it as a proof that the sailors were alive and well. The video includes testimonies from the sailors stating that they were unaware of the maritime ban by the Houthis against sailing to Israeli ports. One crew member can be seen contacting home via a mobile phone, while others were depicted delivering statements. The sailors were seen thanking their captors for “treating them well” and apologizing to Palestine. Under clear duress, they stated they were supposedly en route to Eilat, a claim, which has been disputed by the ship owner. The Houthi terrorists also reiterated their threat to ships belonging to companies affiliated with Israeli ports, regardless of their destination or nationality. The 'Eternitiy C' had on board 22 crew members and three guards at the time of the attack. 10 crew members of the 'Eternity C' were rescued by a privately funded mission organised by the vessel's owner. Five crew members were assumed to be dead, and the remaining 10 were reported to have been taken by the Houthis. The United States and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have criticised the Houthis’ actions. HRW stated them to “unlawfully detaining civilians,” while US officials have accused the Houthis of “kidnapping” the missing seafarers in violation of international law. Report with photo and video: https://splash247.com/houthis-parade-captive-crew-from-sunken-greek-ship-in-propaganda-video/ https://x.com/i/status/1949911917285249526
MANANNAN
The 'Mannanan' suffered a generator failure on the night of July 26, 2025, which resulted in the cancellation of the sailings between Liverpool and Douglos (Isle of Man) on July 27 and 28. The damage required significant maintenance and testing before the ferry could resume service. The ship remained sidelined in Douglas for repairs. Engineers and Workshop team were in the process of swapping out one of the generator sets with the spare unit kept ashore. This was a major undertaking which commenced on Sunday and will see the unit installed today. Additional fitting work and commissioning work was ongoing. In order to expedite repairs, IOMSPC was also flying in specialist electrical engineers this afternoon to perform further diagnostic checks and assist in fixing the issue. At the same time, the electrical engineering team were taking the opportunity to tackle an ongoing electrical issue with another of the vessel’s generator sets. This improves the chances of having sufficient generator capacity to resume service at the earliest opportunity. Affected passengers have been transferred to the company’s ferry 'Manxman ',where possible, with coaches laid on for foot passengers between Liverpool and Heysham, while the reserve ropax ferry 'Ben-my-Chree' was undertaking overnight freight to free up capacity.
Durban
On May 3, 2020, at 10.15 a.m. the NSRI Durban launched the sea rescue craft 'Alick Rennie' to transport a ShipsMed doctor to a bulk carrier at the outer anchorage off-shore of the Port of Durban. The Port Health Authorities had arranged for the doctor to take sample swabs from a crewman onboard the ship, which is due to enter Port, for Covid-19 laboratory testing prior to the ship being granted permission to enter Port. Observing all Covid-19 Department of Health and Port Health Authority safety regulations and protocols on arrival at the ship the doctor was transferred onto the ship and sample swabs were collected from the crewman. The doctor returned to the sea rescue craft accompanied by the samples that he had collected and he was brought into Durban Port without incident. Port Health Authorities evaluated the samples to determine safe passage for the ship to enter Port. The operation completed at 11.40 a.m.
CARNIVAL DREAM
Multiple federal agencies started investigating a death on board the 'Carnival Dream'. An unidentified person died on the Galveston-based Dream on July 23, 2025. the FBI Houston office confirmed. The incident is being investigated by an FBI Maritime Liaison Agent based out of the Texas City Resident Agency, the US Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection. Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, no additional details were provided by the FBI’s Houston office Passengers aboard the ship, which travels to Costa Maya, Belize, and Cozumel, woke up to sirens around 3 a.m., and there was an announcement requesting medical attention on the Serenity Deck.
Grenaa
After the gas explosion aboard the Danish dredger vessel ‘Grete Fighter‘, 582 gt (IMO: 7944762), on April 23 in the port of Grenå,the Grenaa Shipyard has not yet received a report from the Labor Inspectorate on the cause of the accident which was thought to be be due to gas emissions or diesel fumes. However, the yard has already chosen to tighten security in several areas. On April 28, a joint meeting was held where staff and management discussed what they could do to be 100 percent sure the accident cannot recur. It was decided to buy a lot of technical equipment to prevent such an explosion in the future, and some new procedures for this type of work will be intrduced. The two survivors of the accident were in critical condition.
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.