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Investigators have called for a review of safety systems on Singapore-flagged ships after a crew member of the 'Rio De La Plata' was seriously injured when the container ship was preparing to leave the Port of Timaru in Nov 2020, and three crew members had started unmooring at the front when one of them got caught in a rope. The rope handler was dragged into the mooring winch, causing serious injuries to their hand and face. An investigation by the Transport Accident Investigation Commission found the ship's safety system wasn't followed, equipment should have been installed better and planning was insufficient. The ship's safety plan identified mooring operations as a risk. A standard mitigation was to have a forward mooring party of four crew operating two winches. The investigation found the mooring party was a crew member down. The supervisor was also operating the winch, and each rope handler had to both handle the rope with one hand and signal to the supervisor/ winch operator with the other. With some safety-focused thinking, they could have changed the unmooring plan to use just one winch at a time, enabling one worker to concentrate on handling the rope and another to monitor the rope handler and communicate safely with the winch operator. It found it was likely the crew member stepped too close to the mooring winch while completely engaged in communication with the winch operator and handling the rope, reducing their awareness of their own safety. "Unmooring operations are just as dangerous as mooring operations and crew must ensure that there are always sufficient personnel available to carry out the operation safely," the commission said. "Equipment on board ships must be installed and operated as intended by the manufacturer. Any deviation from the manufacturer's recommendation can increase the risk of serious injury." Last month, the commission recommended the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore investigate and potentially review its audit processes to see if they could be further developed to identify weaknesses in the safety management system and whether further practical improvements could be made. The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore responded last week, saying it had launched a preliminary inquiry. "We have reviewed the company's investigation report and are satisfied with its corrective / preventive actions to prevent a recurrence," the authority said. It said this case would be published in a regular e-bulletin to the maritime industry to highlight the hazards associated with mooring operations. It had also shared the case with its flag state control department to strengthen checks of mooring operations as part of the control and monitoring programme for Singapore-flagged ships.

The Venezuelan nautical authorities reported on May 24, 2022, that one of the seven crew members of the 'Arcángel Miguel', which had capsized in the vicinity of Puerto Estrella on May 23, in Colombian jurisdictional waters, was rescued alive. The survivor — identified as Juan Carlos Sánchez — stated that the shiphad capsized in high waves. Sánchez saved himself in a life raft and saw that when the ship sank, no other crew member managed to save himself. The ship had set sail on May 22 from the Caribbean island of Aruba, off the Venezuelan coast, bound for the Colombian city of Santa Marta. The Venezuelan Coast Guard Command participates in the SAR tasks in coordination with the Colombian Navy and the Caribbean Coast Guard Station.

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Gypsies from the poorest country in the EU - Bulgaria, have attempted to board unnamed motor vessel at Port of Burgas outer anchorage, Maritime.bg reported. The information has been confirmed by the authorities in the country. The regional governor of Burgas has appointed an urgent investigation into the so-called first piracy act in the Bulgaria's European waters. According to Maritime.bg, the attackers were not caught after their approach to the ship was detected by local services. An unknown number of gypsies are said to have sailed in a speedboat and had a ladder to board the unnamed motor vessel, under cover of the night ten days ago. A few years ago, the Libyan GNMT accused Bulgaria of supporting a "purely pirate act" when, under unknown and highly dubious circumstances, the company lost control of motor tanker BADR. The case unfolded again near Burgas. Report in Bulgarian: https://www.maritime.bg/75948-2/

Empire Bulkers Limited and Joanna Maritime Limited — related companies based in Greece — have pleaded guilty to knowing violations of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and the Ports and Waterways Safety Act related to the 'Joanna'. The guilty pleas took place on May 26, 2022, in federal court in New Orleans before U.S. District Court Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon. If the proposed plea agreement is approved by the court, the companies will be fined $2 million ($1 million each), and serve four years of probation subject to the terms of an environmental compliance plan that includes independent ship audits and supervision by a Court Appointed Monitor.

The crew members of the French ferry 'Bretagne' disengaged on May 26, 2022, at the time of the stopover in Saint-Malo. They expressed their dissatisfaction with wage negotiations and working conditions. The crew members held a general meeting on the ship before being heard by two members of the management. At 10.50 a.m. the ship returned to Portsmouth.

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On June 8, 2021, the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC RESOLUTION (IMO 9880685) was docked out at the Norwegian Ulstein shipyard. Full article + photo gallery: https://www.cruisedeck.de/national-geographic-resolution-ausgedockt/

The 'Santa Amaro II' with five crew members on board has been missing since three weeks. The ship had set sail from the Las Piedras pier in Punto Fijo, Paraguaná Peninsula, on May 4, 2022 in the afternoon. Four hours later, the crew reported a damage to the engine and turned off the engines. Since then communication with the ship has been lost. The relatives staged a protest in the afternoon of May 18, due to the lack of information and results by the authorities regarding the SAR efforts. The thesis of a hijack was also handled by the families of the crew in the face of no evidence of a sinking. The crew of the vessel 'Zorro Viejo' continued an own search in the surrounding waters of the Falcón state.

The Port Authorities of Piraeus, Lavrio, Saronic, Milos, Hydra, Aegina, Rethymno and Heraklion were informed in the evening of May 24, 2022, by the JRCC of the Coast Guard - Hellenic Coast Guard that the 'Kriti I' was disabled off Chania about 24 miles north of Heraklion, while operating a scheduled route from the port of Heraklion to the port of Piraeus with 196 passengers on board. She sailed to the port of Piraeus unassisted in the morning of May 25, where passengers and vehicles disembarked safely. The ferry was banned from sailing until the repair of the damage and the presentation of a class maintenance certificate by the classification society that monitors the ship.

Ocean Residences, based in Malta, will have their residence ship called NJORD constructed by Meyer. The ship is to be 290 meters long and equipped with 118 apartments. An oceanographic and atmospheric laboratory with high-quality technical equipment is also to be set up on board the M / Y NJORD. These include drones and a telescope. Scientists and experts are supposed to collect data on environmental, marine and air conditions and create new maps of the ocean floor while traveling around the globe. All collected data should be made available to the general public. Ocean Residences originally planned to have this ship built by Brodosplit and the Norwegian Kleven shipyard Images: https://www.cruisedeck.de/meyer-werft-sichert-sich-neubau-auftrag-von-ocean-residences/

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