On the morning of April 18, 2025, several migrant boat departures were reported to the CROSS Gris-Nez off the coasts of Pas-de-Calais and Nord. First, a boat was reported departing from Cap Blanc-Nez. The CROSS deployed an aircraft to monitor the boat's departure and the Gendarmerie's RHIB 'Ouranos', which was then relieved by the 'Cormoran' to continue monitoring the boat. The crew launched their operational droma boat (EDO) to make contact with the boat. The occupants refused the offered assistance. The 'Cormoran' continued its surveillance of the boat until arriving in the British SAR region, where it was taken over by the British emergency services. During the recovery by British assets assisted by the 'Cormoran', one person was reported unconscious. A medevac was coordinated by the British rescue center. The victim was declared dead as they approached Dover. At the same time, the CROSS engaged the 'Oyapock' of the Maritime Gendarmerie, to relocate a migrant boat adrift from Gravelines. Once there, the vessel made contact with the boat's occupants, who refused the assistance offered. Shortly after, the occupants requested assistance from the vessel, which then picked up all nine occupants before dropping them off at the port of Dunkirk. Late in the morning, a migrant boat set sail from Equihen beach. The 'Pluvier' was hired by CROSS to locate and monitor the boat. The boat was heavily laden. While conducting surveillance near the boat, the 'Pluvier' reported the deflation of the boat's inflatable tubes and people who had fallen into the water. The victims in the water were immediately recovered by the 'Pluvier's EDO. The 'Minck' was deployed to support the 'Pluvier'. A total of 15 people were rescued. The other occupants of the boat refused all assistance and resumed their journey, under the supervision of the 'Minck', towards British waters after having managed to reinflate the boat's inflatable tube. In total, 24 people were rescued by French resources.
News
SUPERSTAR
On the morning of April 18, 2025, the Port Authority of Volos was informed by the Captain of the 'Superstar', that during the execution of its scheduled route from the port of Volos to the ports of Skiathos-Skopelos and return, a failure was detected in the port side main engine. The ship returned to the port of Volos, where it safely disembarked 427 passengers. The Central Port Authority of Volos prohibited the departure of the ship until the presentation of a certificate of class maintenance from the classification society that monitors it, while the passengers were transported with the company's care.
Rendsburg
The shipbuilder Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft (FSG) and the superyacht shipyard Nobiskrug Rendsburg have officially filed for insolvency on Dec 12, 2024, deepening the ongoing crisis for their parent company, Tennor Group, and its owner, Lars Windhorst. District courts in Flensburg and Neumünster have appointed the lawyers Christoph Morgen, Partner, Brinkmann & Partner and Hendrik Gittermann, Partner, REIMER as provisional insolvency administrators. The insolvency filings, submitted to the district courts in Flensburg and Neumünster, follow months of financial instability and reported mismanagement. The bleak reality of the situation became evident on Dec 9, when the SH public utility company threatened to cut off the power supply at the Rendsburg facility due to a lack of payments since Dec 1. No immediate action was taken because the federal police ship 'Neustadt' was still in the drydock for repairs. Workers at both firms are bearing the brunt of the crisis. The shipyards’ financial woes have left around 500 employees in limbo before Christmas, many of whom have already been laid off. At a recent rally in Flensberg, workers' union representatives alleged repeated delays in salary payments, including November wages and Christmas bonuses. Local sources report that Flensburg Works Council chairman Jan Brandt accused Windhorst of lying repeatedly and breaking promises of timely payments. Windhorst has become a target of criticism. He has been accused of mismanagement, poor communication and unfulfilled promises. In recent months, workers, unions and politicians have all demanded his resignation. Schleswig-Holstein’s Economics Minister, Claus Ruhe Madsen, called for Windhorst to face up to his responsibility and sell the shipyards or insolvency would clear the way for new investors. The Tennor Group took over the FSG in 2019, relaunching it as “FSG 2.0” without old debts or new orders. Despite repeated announcements of future projects, they failed to materialise, leaving the shipyard vulnerable. In 2021, FSG acquired the Rendsburg-based yard Nobiskrug as it filed for insolvency, but the acquisition has done little to alleviate the financial strain. In the summer 2024, the situation worsened as the German federal government withdrew a €62 million grant intended for the construction of liquefied gas bunker ships at FSG, citing Tennor’s inability to demonstrate sufficient equity capital. Now, the provisional insolvency administrators are working with the project managers of the RoRo ferry at FSG and the yacht Nobiskrug to resolve both projects. If necessary, the administrators plan to consult with federal and state governments about potential interim financing to bridge construction costs until client acceptance and payment. Meanwhile, they will explore further restructuring strategies for both shipyards. Insolvency pre-financing has also been arranged to secure financial recompense for the 340 workers at the Flensburg site and the 140 employees from the Rendsburg facility. This measure will cover payments through the end of Jan 2025, including the overdue November salaries.
Holyhead
As the 'Stena Adventurer' makes her way to Fishguard on Dec 11, Stena Line has now cancelled sailings to/from Holyhead up until the departure from Dublin on the afternoon of Dec 12. Irish Ferries have, so far, also cancelled all sailings on Dec 11. The port has been closed to SHIP traffic since the weekend when its infrastructure was damaged during the storm when the 'Ulysses' destroyed a dolphin. The port’s management has been surveying and addressing the damage since and it was previously indicated that crossings would be able to resume on Dec 10 from 6 p.m. However, underwater inspections in the port last night were hindered by bad weather, causing the resumption of sailings to be further delayed.
OYAPOCK
On the morning of April 18, 2025, several migrant boat departures were reported to the CROSS Gris-Nez off the coasts of Pas-de-Calais and Nord. First, a boat was reported departing from Cap Blanc-Nez. The CROSS deployed an aircraft to monitor the boat's departure and the Gendarmerie's RHIB 'Ouranos', which was then relieved by the 'Cormoran' to continue monitoring the boat. The crew launched their operational droma boat (EDO) to make contact with the boat. The occupants refused the offered assistance. The 'Cormoran' continued its surveillance of the boat until arriving in the British SAR region, where it was taken over by the British emergency services. During the recovery by British assets assisted by the 'Cormoran', one person was reported unconscious. A medevac was coordinated by the British rescue center. The victim was declared dead as they approached Dover. At the same time, the CROSS engaged the 'Oyapock' of the Maritime Gendarmerie, to relocate a migrant boat adrift from Gravelines. Once there, the vessel made contact with the boat's occupants, who refused the assistance offered. Shortly after, the occupants requested assistance from the vessel, which then picked up all nine occupants before dropping them off at the port of Dunkirk. Late in the morning, a migrant boat set sail from Equihen beach. The 'Pluvier' was hired by CROSS to locate and monitor the boat. The boat was heavily laden. While conducting surveillance near the boat, the 'Pluvier' reported the deflation of the boat's inflatable tubes and people who had fallen into the water. The victims in the water were immediately recovered by the 'Pluvier's EDO. The 'Minck' was deployed to support the 'Pluvier'. A total of 15 people were rescued. The other occupants of the boat refused all assistance and resumed their journey, under the supervision of the 'Minck', towards British waters after having managed to reinflate the boat's inflatable tube. In total, 24 people were rescued by French resources.
LOCH SEAFORTH
Due to a technical issue of the 'Loch Seaforth ', serving on the route Ullapool-Stornoway, on April 17, that required further investigations, the scheduled deaprture at 10:30 a.m. frm Ullapool and the departure from Stornoway at 2 p.m. have been cancelled. After the technical issue has been resolved, the service was resumed with the 5:30 p.m. sailing departing Ullapool.
Holyhead
Following the allision of the 'Ulöysses', where part of the pier collapsed, the port will remain closed until at least Dec 20. Irish Ferries has redeployed the “James Joyce” to the Rosslare - Pembroke route whilst the “Ulysses” has deviated from the Holyhead route for the first time in history. On Dec 12 the ferry left Dublin on the 4 p.m. service to Cherbourg in place of the“WB Yeats” Meanwhile, the Stena Line have sent the ‘Stena Adventurer' to Fishguard and the ‘Stena Estrid' to Birkenhead.
Holyhead
Ferry services have been cancelled between Holyhead and Dublin following the storm Darragh. The Irish Ferries and Stena Line websites were showing major disruption to services on Dec 9, 2024, and Dec 10. The Irish Ferries website showed all services were cancelled due to infrastructure weather damage in Holyhead. Although the Holyhead to Dublin service by the 'James Joyce' on Dec 10 at 8.15 .p.m was scheduled to run. Stena Line is also showing the 'Stena Estrid' was set to sail from Holyhead at 8.30 p.m. The incident with the 'Ulysses', which had an allision on Dec 7, has caused damage to port infrastructure. As a result, Holyhead Port has been closed to marine traffic and, at this time, it was expected that the port will remain closed until Dec 10 at 6 p.m. at the earliest, while a thorough assessment was conducted.
PSP CORMORAN
On the morning of April 18, 2025, several migrant boat departures were reported to the CROSS Gris-Nez off the coasts of Pas-de-Calais and Nord. First, a boat was reported departing from Cap Blanc-Nez. The CROSS deployed an aircraft to monitor the boat's departure and the Gendarmerie's RHIB 'Ouranos', which was then relieved by the 'Cormoran' to continue monitoring the boat. The crew launched their operational droma boat (EDO) to make contact with the boat. The occupants refused the offered assistance. The 'Cormoran' continued its surveillance of the boat until arriving in the British SAR region, where it was taken over by the British emergency services. During the recovery by British assets assisted by the 'Cormoran', one person was reported unconscious. A medevac was coordinated by the British rescue center. The victim was declared dead as they approached Dover. At the same time, the CROSS engaged the 'Oyapock' of the Maritime Gendarmerie, to relocate a migrant boat adrift from Gravelines. Once there, the vessel made contact with the boat's occupants, who refused the assistance offered. Shortly after, the occupants requested assistance from the vessel, which then picked up all nine occupants before dropping them off at the port of Dunkirk. Late in the morning, a migrant boat set sail from Equihen beach. The 'Pluvier' was hired by CROSS to locate and monitor the boat. The boat was heavily laden. While conducting surveillance near the boat, the 'Pluvier' reported the deflation of the boat's inflatable tubes and people who had fallen into the water. The victims in the water were immediately recovered by the 'Pluvier's EDO. The 'Minck' was deployed to support the 'Pluvier'. A total of 15 people were rescued. The other occupants of the boat refused all assistance and resumed their journey, under the supervision of the 'Minck', towards British waters after having managed to reinflate the boat's inflatable tube. In total, 24 people were rescued by French resources.
VIZCONDE DE EZA
On April 17, the SAR helicopter Helimer 215 medevaced a sick passenger from the cruise ship 'Queen Mary 2', which was sailing 28 nautical miles from Garrucha. The SAR boat 'Salvamar Deneb' medevaced a sick crew member from the 'Vizconde de Eza off Santander. Thwe operations were coordinated by the CCS of Salvamento Marítimo in Almería and Santander.
Holyhead
On Dec 12 the divers were still carrying out their inspections on the berth at Holyhead with all the steel columns being checked for any damages under the waterline. Stena was still deeming this an ongoing technical issue- Once the inspections have been finished a decision is made by the relevant teams regarding the chance that the T5 berth can begin operating again and Holyhead Por can once again resume operations.
Tuapse
Smoke has been observed at the port of Tuapse after explosions were reported overnight on Nov 29, 2024. Reports suggested that a large Russian landing ship may have been damaged. Smoke was rising from one of the berths, which is equipped with cranes for loading civilian vessels. Satellite images from SentinelHub on Nov 20 revealed a 135-meter-long vessel docked there, potentially a large landing ship, matching the class of Russian warships known as Project 11711 Ivan Gren. Currently, there is only one such ship in the Black Sea, the 'Pyotr Morgunov' from Russia's Northern Fleet.