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Five children sustained minor injuries in the collision between the 'Storebaelt' and a cargo ship near the Pollendam, a dam of approximately three kilometers length northwest of Harlingen.on Sep 14, 2025, at 9.30 p.m. 26 high school students were on board the sailing vessel. The KNRM responded with two lifeboats. The children were taken to the KNRM boathouse in Harlingen, where they were checked by paramedics. A few were shocked, and some had bumps on their heads. The cause of the collision was not yet known. The bowsprit of the 'Storebaelt' was broken. The damaged sailing ship was towed to the port of Harlingen by a tug of the Noordgat shipping company, which also brought the uninjured children ashore. Report with photo: https://nos.nl/artikel/2582498-vijf-kinderen-lichtgewond-bij-aanvaring-met-vrachtschip-voor-de-kust-bij-harlingen

On Sep 11, 2025, at approximately 6:18 a.m., the 'Niki', after spending the night in the Porticello harbour, ran onto the Formica rocks, which are rising from a depth of over 50 meters to just below the surface, 18 minutes after sailing towards the port of Tenes with eight crew members on board and a cargo of farmed sea bream. The maritime authorities deployed patrol boats which responded to assist the crew and check for any leaks of pollutants. There were serious concerns about the likely damage caused to the exposed rock, which is home to highly valuable marine flora and fauna, as well as being of notable archaeological interest and a destination for underwater exploration enthusiasts. Firefighters drained the water which had entered the ship through two leaks. Divers patched the hull. The tug 'Sea Dream' and other vessels attempted to keep the vessel afloat, but to no avail. On the afternoon of Sep 13, the tug 'Sea Dream' and other vessels attempted to keep the vessel afloat, but to no avail. On the afternoon, Coast Guard patrol boats intervened with sirens blaring to evacuate the vessel and get everyone to leave. Reports with photos: https://www-himeralive-it.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.himeralive.it/porticello-cargo-greco-incagliato-sulla-secca-della-formica-operazioni-di-recupero-in-corso-foto/amp/?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIUAKwASCAAgM%3D#amp_ct=1757880292123&_tf=Von%20%251%24s&aoh=17578799426447&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.himeralive.it%2Fporticello-cargo-greco-incagliato-sulla-secca-della-formica-operazioni-di-recupero-in-corso-foto%2F https://www.rainews.it/tgr/sicilia/articoli/2025/09/porticello-peschereccio-incagliato-allaltezza-dello-scoglio-formica-1f6d8afd-cb61-4b3d-a020-1b0a05632fb2.html https://newsicilia.it/palermo/cronaca/ancora-incagliato-il-peschereccio-finito-contro-gli-scogli-nel-palermitano/1035222/ https://qds.it/cargo-greco-niki-pericolo-naufragio-imminente-secca-formica/ https://itacanotizie.it/qds/cargo-greco-niki-pericolo-naufragio-imminente-secca-formica/

On the late afternoon of Sep 13, the 'Niki' was refloated. However, it appeared to be experiencing stability issues. The impact had created a hole approximately of about 1,5 meters in the bow. During the next few hours, the ship was stabilized and then proceeded to the port of Termini Birese with slow sspeed, where it was berthed at the port jetty on Sep 14 at 6 p.m.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers made their final statements on Sep 12 at the Helsinki District Court in the trial of the captain and two officers from the 'Eagle S' on charges that their negligence caused the damage on Dec 25, 2024, of five subsea cables running between Finland and Estonia. After broad speculation that it was a case of sabotage, the prosecution centered on the command responsibilities, citing negligence and not pursuing charges of intentional damage to the cables. The captain, 1st, and 2nd officers of the tanker were charged with aggravated sabotage and aggravated interference with telecommunications as a result of the anchor-dragging incident. The trial began on Aug 25, and the court has now been scheduled to issue its ruling on Oct 3. The three officers have been subjected to a travel ban since Jan 2025 that did not permit them to leave Finland. Others from the crew that had initially been under investigation were removed from the travel ban. The court has now ruled to lift the travel ban on the captain and two officers. Prosecutors had argued it should remain in place until the verdict. The case centered on whether the captain and officers should have realized that the anchor dropped and was being dragged. Investigators concluded it dropped because of poor maintenance and a broken safety pin on the chain stopper. The defense lawyers countered that the anchor windless had been serviced and tested, and further, it had withstood violent storms before the ship entered the Gulf of Finland. The prosecution contended that they should have realized there was a problem because the vessel’s speed dropped when the anchor began dragging. The defense was that they believed it was an engine problem that caused the speed drop. In their closing remarks, the prosecution contended to the court that no evidence was presented of engine problems. According to them, the captain is responsible for the management and condition of the ship while the two officers were on navigation watch during the time the anchor dragged 55 miles along the seabed. The defense said it was the chief engineer, who was not on trial, who was responsible for the condition of the machinery, including the anchor. Further, they questioned why the Finnish authorities had not informed the vessel sooner when they suspected it was dragging the anchor. There also remained an issue of jurisdiction, and whether the vessel voluntarily entered Finnish waters. The defense argued that Finland lacked the authority because the damage occurred in international waters and the ship only entered Finnish waters when it was commanded by the police. The prosecutors were still asking the court to sentence each of the three officers to a minimum of 2,5 years in prison. The leniency of the proposed sentences is because the cables were not intentionally broken and the overall damage was “quite minor.” The companies reported it took a few months to complete repairs at a cost of approximately €55 million. The incident was followed by several other suspicious events, which led to allegations that it was part of an orchestrated plot by Russia. NATO and the Scandinavian countries increased monitoring of key assets as a result of the suspicions regarding the actions of the 'Eagle S'.

The 'Golden Mind', which had left the poret of Bluff on Sep 8, 2025, suffered steering difficulties and got stuck west of the coast of Stewart Island on Sep 10. The owners of he tanker have contracted the ocean-going tug 'MMA Vision' (IMO: 9548627) to provide towage assistance. Towage arrangements have been made between the commercial parties involved The 'MMA Vision' set off from Wellington on Sep 12 and was expected to reach the tanker on the afternoon of Sep 14. As of Sep 154, the 'Golden Mind' was NUC in pos. 47° 30' N 165° 10' E.