The owner and master of the 'Star of Annan' will have to pay over £200,000 after pleading guilty to multiple breaches of local scallop dredging regulations and national fisheries legislation. The John MacAlister (Oban) Ltd. of South Pier, Oban and the master of the vessel, Alec Murray, of Upper Bayble, Isle of Lewis, both appeared at the Scarborough Magistrates’ Court on April 6, 2021, for sentencing, having admitted the offences at a previous hearing. The company’s owner was fined £180,000, and has to pay £7,000 costs and £170 victim surcharge while Murray was fined £2,908, has to pay costs of £555 and a victim surcharge of £170. MacAlister also appeared as a director to represent the Q Varl Fishing Co Ltd. The Terrace, Torquay, which was fined £15,000 and has to pay costs of £2,140 and a £170 victim surcharge relating to two similar offences which were committed by the fishing vessel 'Q Varl-BM 29' between May 27 May and June 4, 2019. The prosecution was brought by the North East Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (NEIFCA) following significant patrols and enforcement efforts. The court heard how the 10 offences, which had between March 4, 2019, and May 28, 2019, off the coast of Robin Hood’s Bay, included operating in a closed season, using scallop dredges, failing to operate a fully functioning vessel identification system as well as landing undersized scallops. The magistrates found that there had been a deliberate failure to put in place and to enforce such systems as could reasonably be expected to avoid commission of the offences.
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MATANUSKA
Two members of the engineering crew on the 'Matanuska' tested positive for COVID-19 on a trip from Washington state to Juneau on April 17, 2021. No passengers were identified as close contacts. The ferry was underway from Bellingham to Ketchikan when one crew member began showing symptoms of the virus. The captain, following the ship’s COVID-19 protocols, quarantined the crew member in the cabin with the ventilation system turned off. The crew member tested positive for the virus at Ketchikan Hospital. He was isolating at a hotel in Ketchikan. Testing and contact tracing revealed one other engineering crew member who tested positive for the virus. That person stayed aboard the ferry until it arrived in Juneau. Both crew members will remain isolated for at least 10 days, state officials say. The crew will receive follow-up testing in Ketchikan on April 21.
STAR OF ANNAN OB50
The owner and master of the 'Star of Annan' will have to pay over £200,000 after pleading guilty to multiple breaches of local scallop dredging regulations and national fisheries legislation. The John MacAlister (Oban) Ltd. of South Pier, Oban and the master of the vessel, Alec Murray, of Upper Bayble, Isle of Lewis, both appeared at the Scarborough Magistrates’ Court on April 6, 2021, for sentencing, having admitted the offences at a previous hearing. The company’s owner was fined £180,000, and has to pay £7,000 costs and £170 victim surcharge while Murray was fined £2,908, has to pay costs of £555 and a victim surcharge of £170. MacAlister also appeared as a director to represent the Q Varl Fishing Co Ltd. The Terrace, Torquay, which was fined £15,000 and has to pay costs of £2,140 and a £170 victim surcharge relating to two similar offences which were committed by the fishing vessel 'Q Varl-BM 29' between May 27 May and June 4, 2019. The prosecution was brought by the North East Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (NEIFCA) following significant patrols and enforcement efforts. The court heard how the 10 offences, which had between March 4, 2019, and May 28, 2019, off the coast of Robin Hood’s Bay, included operating in a closed season, using scallop dredges, failing to operate a fully functioning vessel identification system as well as landing undersized scallops. The magistrates found that there had been a deliberate failure to put in place and to enforce such systems as could reasonably be expected to avoid commission of the offences.
ST WIND
On April 19, 2021, the authorities of the port of Nakhodka detained the 'ST Wind' due to outstanding wages of the crew. The debt exceeded two million rubles. There were 16 crew members on board. At present, representatives of the FERO RPSM and the transport police were working on the ship. The owner of the vessel is the same company that owns the 'Port May' which was previously detained in Kamchatka due to crew salary arrears and technical malfunctions.
RHAPSODY
At the end of quarantine, 213 migrants have left the “Rhapsody” in Puerto Empedocle on April 19. All migrants of various nationalities, before disembarking, were subjected to a confirmation swab to ascertain the absence of Covid. Immediately afterwards, a large group left by bus, bound to reception facilities located in the regions: Calabria, Puglia, Campania, Lazio, Piedmont and Lombardy, while others were underway to the city of the Temples in search of a means of transport to other destinations. The disembarkation activities were coordinated by the Prefecture of Agrigento and monitored by the state police.