News

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.

Leaking diesel fuel contaminated the water surface in Brunsbüttel's Elbe port on the morning of April 16, 2025. The cause was an overflow during the loading/bunkering process of the 'Felix'. At 8:45 a.m., officers from the Brunsbüttel Water Police Station were called to respond to the incident . The tug had lost a small amount of fuel while bunkering diesel. Some of the spilled fuel entered the Elbe River. Emergency response was not necessary because the fuel had already evaporated due to the strong current. The Brunsbüttel Water Police, in consultation with the Itzehoe Public Prosecutor's Office, has initiated an investigation for water pollution.

On April 11,2025, the 'Forester' was detained in Izmir with 14 deficiencies, five of which being regarded as seriously and grounds for a detention: 1) Safety of navigation - Charts Not updated 2) Emergency systems - Abandon ship drills Lack of training 3) Emergency systems - Fire drills Lack of training 4) Emergency systems - Emergency lighting, batteries and switches Not properly maintained 5) ISM - Ism certificate Not as required The vessel was released again on April 16 and left the port en rotue to Cesme.

arrived Alang anchorage 16.04.25

The 20 crew members of the 'Krishna 1' was detained by Malaysian authorities for allegedly entering the country's territorial waters without proper documentation. The crew, comprising of 11 Indian, 8 Filipino, and 1 Indonesian nationals, were apprehended on April 11, 2025, after disembarking the tanker at East OPL Malaysia (EOPL). Despite the intervention by a shipping agent, they were subsequently handed over by the Malaysian Army to the district police and are currently being held under Section 6(1)(c) of Malaysia's Immigration Act for illegal entry. The local police was awaiting a comprehensive report from the Immigration Department, which is expected by April 17. Following the detention, the embassies representing the crew's respective countries have been notified.

On the morning of April 17, 2025 ,a fire broke out in the wiring of the 'Syros Trader', which was moored at the quay of the Westpoortweg in Amsterdam. Some smoke development was remarked at around 07:50, after which the fire brigade was alerted. They arrived on the scene with three fire engines and a cherry picker. The flames were able to be extinguished quickly. The crew members did not have to be evacuated and remained unscathed. The police attended with the patrol boat 'Kokmeeuw' (MMSI: 244110531).

The 'Hong Hai 16' ex 'Wan Xiang 699', started to tip over amid moderate sea conditions and capsized on April 15, at 5:20 p.m. off Barangay Malawaan in Rizal, Occidental Mindoro. The ship, carrying 7,400 cubic meters of sand, was preparing to depart for Manila with a cargo of sand at 4:30 p.m., when it suddenly tilted during the turning manoever and then toppled over with10 people on board, among them seven Filipinos and three Chinese nationals, who went missing. The Philippine Coast Guard Sub-Station in San Jose, the Special Operations Unit and the Marine Environmental Protection Enforcement Response Group in Southern Tagalog launched an SAR operation. The dredger was drifting bottom up, with possible personnel trapped inside the engine room. The sand carrier vessel, operated by the Keen Peak Corporation, had 25 crew members on board, composed of 13 Filipinos and 12 Chinese nationals. Six Filipinos and eight Chinese crew members survived the accident, while one Chinese national was declared dead on arrival at San Jose District Hospital. The Coast Guard was also coordinating with the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office to prepare for potential environmental impacts, considering the deployment of oil booms. The PCG unit in Sablayan has dispatched an additional response team to support the operations. The PCG was checking underwater conditions and preparing for diving operations and cutting work. The SAR operation was going on on April 16. Reports with photo and video: https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/4/16/authorities-recover-another-body-from-ship-that-capsized-off-occidental-mindoro-1529 https://www.philstar.com/nation/2025/04/16/2436473/search-ongoing-7-filipinos-3-chinese-after-vessel-capsizes-occidental-mindoro https://www.bairdmaritime.com/security/incidents/accidents/one-dead-ten-missing-after-sand-carrier-capsizes-off-occidental-mindoro-philippines https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/4/16/authorities-recover-another-body-from-ship-that-capsized-off-occidental-mindoro-1529 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwPlx-9ePnQ

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.

After more than a century, the last unidentified German WWI submarine in Belgian waters has been revealed as the 'UB-57', the DEME Group said. Buried in sand, the wreck lay off the Westhinderbank. Known for decades, its identity had remained a puzzle until recently. Specialized teams and the crew of the 'Meuse River' were able to safely uncover the stern and reveal the propellers – inscribed with the final clue confirming the submarine’s identity. The 'UB-57' now rests again beneath the sand as a protected war memorial and a reminder of the past. Report with photo: https://www.dredgingtoday.com/2025/04/14/demes-tshd-meuse-river-solves-mystery-in-belgian-waters/:

On Apr 18, 2025, the 'G Spring' was detained in Jiangyin with five deficiencies, three of which being regarded as seriously and grounds for a detention: 1) Fire safety - Fire prevention structural integrity Not as required 2) Life saving Appliances - Lifeboats Not properly maintained 3) Water/Weathertight - Ventilators, air pipes, casings. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063576908591

Beached at Gadani 17.04.25

The 'Humadivi' appeared to have had pieces of mooring ropes in both the ship's propeller and the bow thruster at the time of the allision on Oct 12, 2024, with the Borgharen weir in the Maas. Because the ship got stuck in the weir, shipping traffic was disrupted for a week and the water level on the canalised river dropped sharply. The investigation results of the allision were published today in the half-yearly overview of shipping accidents by the Dutch Safety Board: "When investigating the ship, a piece of mooring rope was found in both the propellers and the bow thruster. It is not clear when this mooring rope ended up in the propeller. The skipper did not notice that there was anything in the propellers prior to the allision with the weir; they seemed to be functioning normally." The final conclusion is: “It is therefore not possible to state with certainty what caused the ship to stop at the Noorder bridge and to drift to the buoy line. Video images showed that both the propulsion and the rudder were still in use just before.” Based on the results of the exploratory investigation, it was decided to stop the investigation. The 'Humadivi' was sailing from Bosscherveld towards Belgium with a cargo of sand and got stuck in the weir around 8:30 a.m. During the days before, there had been a lot of rain in the source area of ​​the Maas, which meant that the water level and current were high for the time of year. At the Noorder bridge in Maastricht, the ship lost all speed. Subsequently, it turned around the bridge pillar as a result of the current, after which it sailed downstream towards the Juliana canal. However, at the Borgharen weir, the ship drifted towards the buoy line. In response, the crew attempted to reach the right bank next to the weir, but failed. The ship got stuck with its stern under the shipping opening of the weir, which was partially open at the time. As a result, the ship took on water and partially sank. One of the crew members was able to jump from the ship to the shore, the other crew member was safely taken off by the fire brigade. The salvage operation was difficult. It was not until Oct 18 that the ship was successfully pumped out, partially unloaded and pulled out from under the weir. Due to the almost week-long opening of the weir, the water level in the Maas had dropped considerably, which caused problems for nearby houseboats and harbours. After the ship was removed, the weir could be closed again. The water level then recovered, after which shipping could be resumed on Oct 19.The skipper has sailed on various tankers throughout the Netherlands for more than 12 years, including on the Maas. At the time of the allision, he had been sailing as skipper of the 'Humadivi' for 12 days. Before that, he had sailed with the ship for two weeks to get to know it. During that time, the same route was always covered. The day before the incident, the ship was already near the weir. The skipper then waited a day before leaving for Belgium, precisely because of the high water level. No indications were found of technical problems with the ship, which was inspected by a Dutch inspection agency in 2022.

The 15 Indian crew members of the 'Star Apollo' have not been paid their salaries since the start of their contracts, lasting between four and eight months. In total, they are owed almost $80,000. The crew’s health is also becoming an issue, according to the International Transport Workers Federation. The vessel is currently docked at the Batamec Shipyard. ITF Inspector Mohammad Gulam Ansari, based in India, who is supporting the crew, said: “This is an Indian shipowner exploiting Indian seafarers, treating them like slaves. It’s yet another example of an owner refusing to take responsibility.” A video and image of the crew showrf them holding signs for help. Some of them include “when we ask for [our] salary, the company is threatening to block our COC (certificate of competency) and INDoS numbers”, “we don’t have proper food on board”, and calls to the ITF and the flag-state to resolve the situation. The owner of the vessel is the Vindhyawashini Offshore. The crew also used a sign to name not just the owner of the vessel but also the RPSL agent Avvic Ocean and the sourcing agent Great India Shipmanagement. Report with photo: https://splash247.com/abandoned-osv-crew-take-to-social-media-to-get-paid/

Repair work on the subsea power line EstLink 2 that runs between Finland and Estonia and was damaged by the 'Eagle S', will start in May and is expected to return to commercial use on July 15, the Finnish power grid operator Fingrid said on April 16. A new cable was being installed on the seabed to replace the existing one over a distance of around one kilometer (0.62 miles). Implementing such extensive repair work has required detailed planning and necessitates a specially equipped vessel for the task. The work was being carried out by Nexans. After the incident, the Finnish authorities had seized the tanker, which was carrying Russian oil in the Baltic Sea, on suspicion it caused the outage of the undersea power cable as well as four internet lines.

On April 17, the SAR helicopter Helimer 215 medevaced a sick passenger from the 'Queen Mary 2', which was sailing 28 nautical miles from Garrucha. The SAR boat 'Salvamar Deneb' medevaced a sick crew member from the oceanographic vessel 'Vizconde de Eza off Santander. Thwe operations were coordinated by the CCS of Salvamento Marítimo in Almería and Santander.

On April 10,2025, the '"Sunset X"' was detained in Lisbon with seven deficiencies, four of which being regarded as seriously and grounds for a detention: 1) Pollution Prevention - Performance standard not met Missing 2) Pollution Prevention - Ballast Water Management Plan Not approved 3) Certificate & Doc - Ballast Water Management Certificate Not as required 4) ISM - Ism certificate Not as required The vessel was released again on April 15 and left the port en route to Algeciras: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063576908591

The death toll from the capsized of the 'Hong Hai 16' in the vicinity of Barangay Malawaan, Rizal, in Occidental Mindoro, has climbed to four, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on April 17. Divers from the Coast Guard Special Operations Unit – Southern Tagalog (SOU-STL) recovered two more bodies – one from the accommodation area below the wheelhouse at 8:15 a.m. and another body at a cabin located at the main deck at 11:36 a.m. 14 crew members survived the incident while seven others remained missing. The survivors have been requested to assist in the identification of the recently recovered cadaver. The Coast Guard Special Operations Unit – Southern Tagalog conducted on April 17 an underwater SAR operation, while the Coast Guard Marine Environmental Protection – Emergency Response Group Southern Tagalog deployed oil spill booms around the capsized vessel to contain a possible oil spill and ensure the protection of the marine environment. A surface assessment confirmed no visible oil sheen in the vicinity. The Philippine Coast Guard in Southern Tagalog now intensified its ongoing response efforts in search for the remaining missing persons from the vessel. Report with photos: https://maritime-executive.com/article/death-toll-in-chinese-sand-carrier-capsizing-rises-to-four

Beached at Aliaga 10.04.25 https://www.instagram.com/p/DIkxZvZIBzg/?img_index=1

Passengers on the Øresund Line's ferry 'Aurora', which, together with the ferries 'Tycho Brahe' and 'Hamlet', operates a shuttle service between Helsingør and Helsingborg, were delayed on the morning of April17, 2025, because the ship could not enter the port of Helsingør, which was blocked by the 'Tycho Brahe' which had a technical issue. The technical problem meant that the 'Tycho Brahe's departure for Helsingborg was delayed by 30 minutes. Therefore, the 'Aurora' had to wait outside the harbor until the 'Tycho Brahe' had departed. After that, everything sailed as planned again.

On April 16, one of the 10 still missing crew members of the 'Hong Hai 16', which had capsized with 25 crew members, among them 13 Filipinos and 12 Chinese nationals on board, was found lifelessin the waters of Barangay Malaawan, bringing the death toll to two. At approximately 2:30 p.m., Coast Guard divers located and recovered the lifeless body of a 22-year-old Filipino crew member from the bridge area of the vessel. The body was turned over to authorities. Another body was recovered from the capsized ship the same day, bringing the total number of fatalities to three. The victim has not been identified. In the frame of the SAR operation and environmental response, the BRP 'Malabrigo (MRRV 4402)' has arrived at the site to assist with the ongoing operations. oreover, surface search efforts in the vicinity were conducted by Coast Guard Sub-Station Sablayan personnel, while the Special Operations Group held an underwater inspection and search operation. The vessel was found grounded on the seabed. During the underwater inspection, Special Operations Unit Southern Tagalog divers conducted a thorough survey of the amidships section of the wreck. Search efforts were immediately intensified to verify the possible presence of a survivor. Currently, nine crew members remained missing, comprising three Chinese nationals and six Filipinos. The capsized ship has been surrounded by 250 metres of oil spill booms as a precaution,, after a light oil sheen was observed, accompanied by a noticeable marine diesel odor. The vessel was carrying an estimated 2,000 liters of lube oil and 30 tons of automotive diesel oil. The ship’s owner and operator have been formally instructed by the PCG to remove the ship by hiring an accredited salvor. The PCG has also conducted an underwater survey and is currently assessing all potential risks, such as debris obstruction, poor visibility, adverse weather, and underwater cliffs, before proceeding with operations. Report with photo: https://www.philstar.com/nation/2025/04/17/2436737/owner-capsized-ship-occidental-mindoro-told-start-vessel-extraction