On the morning of Sep 16, the 'MMA Vision' (IMO: 9548627) has established a towing connection and began towing the 'Golden Mind' off the coast of Stewart Island back to the mainland. The tanker had encountered steering difficulties west of Rakiura on Sep 10. The plan was l to tow the vessel to Timaru, which was expected to be completed on Sep 19.
News
RHOSUS
Bulgaria has arrested Igor Grechushkin, the Russian owner of the 'Rhosus', which was at centre of the Beirut port blast that killed 218 people on Aug 4 2020, Lebanese judicial officials said on Sep 15, 2025. Grechushkin, who also has Cypriot nationality, was arrested last week at the Vasil Levski Sofia airport after arriving on a flight from Cyprus. The arrest came nearly five years after a Lebanese investigative judge issued two arrest warrants through Interpol for him and the vessel's captain, Boris Prokoshev, also a Russian national. The judicial officials said papers were being prepared requesting the transfer of Grechushkin to Lebanon for questioning. If Grechushkin is not handed over, Lebanese investigators could travel to Bulgaria to question him there. Earlier this year, Lebanon elected President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and a Cabinet on a reformist platform who pledged to complete a probe. The disaster was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where a vast stockpile of industrial chemical ammonium nitrate had been haphazardly stored for years. Since its early days, the probe into the explosion has faced a slew of political and legal challenges. In December 2020, lead investigator Fadi Sawan charged former prime minister Hassan Diab and three ex-ministers with negligence. As political pressure mounted, Sawan was removed from the case.But investigative judge Tarek Bitar summoned senior political, judicial and security officials in July in a renewed push to close the case.
LECUME 11
Lewis Carr, the 2nd officer in charge of the 'Commodore Goodwill' was "shell-shocked" and "numb" after the collision with the fishing vessel 'L'Ecume II', the court has heard. He denied three counts of gross negligence manslaughter over the deaths of the skipper Michael Michieli and the crew members Larry Simyunn and Jervis Baligat. He is being tried alongside ex-Condor crew member Artur Sevash-Zade on the same charges. The court had previously heard that Mr Michieli would always have his fishing lights on as a matter of protection from larger boats. Carr told the jury he "didn't see any fishing lights" on L'Ecume II when using his sight and binoculars 20 minutes before the collision took place. e said he could see the ship's side lights, single mass headlight and some deck lights, and that the vessel was proceeding normally on its route. Between 05:15 a.m. GMT and 05:24 a.m. there was a small, slight echo of the 'L'Ecume II' on his radar. When he located the 'L'Ecume II' on the AIS he recognised it as a fishing boat by name, but "it didn't have fishing lights on". Carr told the jury that he expected the fishing vessel to take action and pass by the 'Commodore Goodwill' in accordance with maritime regulations. He maintained the course and speed of the Condor vessel until a minute before the collision. He altered to starboard side, and then the 'L'Ecume II' turned to port, which he did not expect and was against any collision regulations: "At that point, I was shocked at what I was seeing and sounded the horn to try and alert L'Ecume. With hindsight, it is late. But at the stage I didn't think L'Ecume would alter course to port which made the collision unavoidable." The prosecution had said that Carr had delayed calling the captain and coastguard about the collision by four minutes. Carr said he "couldn't think clearly at all" and that he was "kind of felt frozen. The first few minutes, the main priority was trying to get a visual of L'Ecume, then stabilise the vessel. At that point, the main focus was trying to get a visual of L'Ecume to see if she was down in the water or where exactly she was." Carr told the court that he ran out to the bridge wing to try and get a visual and, once the captain was onboard, he spent about 15 minutes using the search light to try and locate L'Ecume II before being sent to the captain's cabin after agreeing he was "in a state of shock". After being visited by the other 2d officer in his cabin, Carr said: "I don't think I was in the room. I wasn't responsive, I was still in a state of shock." Answering questions from defence lawyers, Carr told the jury that, after starting his shift at 01:00 a.m., he had been on the deck about five to 10 minutes beforehand to familiarise himself with what was going on before his handover with the other second officer. He proceeded towards Guernsey from Portsmouth and then handed back over to the captain of the ship to lead the vessel into the harbour at 02:40 a.m. As part of his role, Mr Carr would then leave the deck to assist with leaving the harbour from the afterdeck, located at the back of the ferry, acting as an extra pair of eyes to make sure the Goodwill cleared harbour safely. The 30-year-old said he then arrived back on the bridge at 04:52 a.m. and had been there for less than a minute before handover with the captain began. Asked by the defence if he felt pressured to take control of the deck from the captain, Mr Carr said it was "part of the job and obviously you wouldn't say to the captain: 'I don't want to take the conn'". Carr said the hours before had been "exhausting" and that officers were "ready for a change" and to work "more bearable" shift times. When asked if he was tired on the day of the collision, Mr Carr said he was not but "at the time, you just get on with your job". The trial was continued.
MARE DORICUM
The Environmental Prosecutor's Office has asked the Judiciary to revoke the sailing permit for the 'Mare Doricum' that caused an 11,000-barrel oil spill in Ventanilla. The Judiciary irregularly approved the sailing of the vessel in the midst of the investigations. The Specialized Environmental Prosecutor's Office (FEMA) warned that the recent judicial authorization allowing the Repsol vessel to sail to China was violating the continuity of the investigations into the worst ecological disaster on the Peruvian coast. The Public Prosecutor's Office requested that the action be revoked in a statement issued on Sep15, 2025. The PJ had lifted the seizure order against the vessel on Sepr 3, despite the fact that a nullity appeal filed by the Prosecutor's Office was pending review. On Sep 4, the General Directorate of Captaincies and Coast Guard (DICAPI) authorized the vessel's departure, ignoring the warning that the judicial process was not concluded. The tanker left Callao on Sep 5. The Prosecutor's Office also questioned the fact that the return of the vessel and its subsequent departure abroad occurred without the consent or finality of the resolution approving a "principle of opportunity," irregularly executed by the former prosecutor Ariel Tapia Gómez. For the prosecutor's office, this fact compromised the transparency and continuity of the investigations against the individuals and legal entities responsible for the disaster. In response to these irregularities, certified copies of the incident were sent to the oversight bodies of the Judiciary, DICAPI, and the National Port Authority, so that administrative, functional, and jurisdictional responsibilities could be determined. Likewise, the National Coordination of Environmental Prosecutors urged the competent authorities to act urgently to ensure that the investigations into the environmental pollution against Repsol were not interrupted.
CAESAREA TRADER
Lewis Carr, the 2nd officer in charge of the 'Commodore Goodwill' was "shell-shocked" and "numb" after the collision with the fishing vessel 'L'Ecume II', the court has heard. He denied three counts of gross negligence manslaughter over the deaths of the skipper Michael Michieli and the crew members Larry Simyunn and Jervis Baligat. He is being tried alongside ex-Condor crew member Artur Sevash-Zade on the same charges. The court had previously heard that Mr Michieli would always have his fishing lights on as a matter of protection from larger boats. Carr told the jury he "didn't see any fishing lights" on L'Ecume II when using his sight and binoculars 20 minutes before the collision took place. e said he could see the ship's side lights, single mass headlight and some deck lights, and that the vessel was proceeding normally on its route. Between 05:15 a.m. GMT and 05:24 a.m. there was a small, slight echo of the 'L'Ecume II' on his radar. When he located the 'L'Ecume II' on the AIS he recognised it as a fishing boat by name, but "it didn't have fishing lights on". Carr told the jury that he expected the fishing vessel to take action and pass by the 'Commodore Goodwill' in accordance with maritime regulations. He maintained the course and speed of the Condor vessel until a minute before the collision. He altered to starboard side, and then the 'L'Ecume II' turned to port, which he did not expect and was against any collision regulations: "At that point, I was shocked at what I was seeing and sounded the horn to try and alert L'Ecume. With hindsight, it is late. But at the stage I didn't think L'Ecume would alter course to port which made the collision unavoidable." The prosecution had said that Carr had delayed calling the captain and coastguard about the collision by four minutes. Carr said he "couldn't think clearly at all" and that he was "kind of felt frozen. The first few minutes, the main priority was trying to get a visual of L'Ecume, then stabilise the vessel. At that point, the main focus was trying to get a visual of L'Ecume to see if she was down in the water or where exactly she was." Carr told the court that he ran out to the bridge wing to try and get a visual and, once the captain was onboard, he spent about 15 minutes using the search light to try and locate L'Ecume II before being sent to the captain's cabin after agreeing he was "in a state of shock". After being visited by the other 2d officer in his cabin, Carr said: "I don't think I was in the room. I wasn't responsive, I was still in a state of shock." Answering questions from defence lawyers, Carr told the jury that, after starting his shift at 01:00 a.m., he had been on the deck about five to 10 minutes beforehand to familiarise himself with what was going on before his handover with the other second officer. He proceeded towards Guernsey from Portsmouth and then handed back over to the captain of the ship to lead the vessel into the harbour at 02:40 a.m. As part of his role, Mr Carr would then leave the deck to assist with leaving the harbour from the afterdeck, located at the back of the ferry, acting as an extra pair of eyes to make sure the Goodwill cleared harbour safely. The 30-year-old said he then arrived back on the bridge at 04:52 a.m. and had been there for less than a minute before handover with the captain began. Asked by the defence if he felt pressured to take control of the deck from the captain, Mr Carr said it was "part of the job and obviously you wouldn't say to the captain: 'I don't want to take the conn'". Carr said the hours before had been "exhausting" and that officers were "ready for a change" and to work "more bearable" shift times. When asked if he was tired on the day of the collision, Mr Carr said he was not but "at the time, you just get on with your job". The trial was continued.