On Apriul 2, 2024, the 'Ferran' contacted the CCS Palma and requested towing assistance due to an engine breakdown 12 nautical miles east of Illa de l'Aire. The SAR boat 'Salvamar Antares' was mobilized to the scene, which took the ship in tow and safely pulled it to the port of Mahón.
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SALVAMAR ENIF
On the morning of April 3, 2024, the CCS Tarifa of Salvamento Marítimo coordinated the rescue of two people aboard a precarious toy-type boat which was located 25 nauical miles east of Tarifa. They mobilized the SAR helicopeter Helimer 223 and the 'Salvamar Enif', which transported them to the port of Algeciras.
PACIFIC CHALLENGER
A crew member of the 'Pacific Challenger' went overboard from the fishing vessel and was reported missing on April 1, 2024, at 8.43 p.m. on about 11 kilometers off the Waimārama coast in Hawke's Bay. When the SAR operation started, it was quite misty with a bit of rain, but it has cleared up a lot with a long, gentle sort of swell and clear visibility in the morning of April 2. A mayday alert was being issued every half an hour to alert boaties about the missing person. The Rescue Coordination Centre of Maritime New Zealand mobilized rescue helicopters from Hastings, Gisborne, Auckland and Wellington to conduct searches over the water, and the Defence Force has also sent two NH90 helicopters. Three fishing vessels responded to the distress broadcasts and assisted too. The Coastguard Hawke's Bay provided a vessel and deployed a marker buoy to verify drift conditions in the water for search planning purposes. The coordination centre completed a drift modelling analysis and was continuing to assess conditions.
NORWEGIAN DAWN
Eight holidaymakers who did not make it back to the 'Norwegian Dawn' in time have traveled for 15 hours through six different countries to catch up with the ship, so far without success. The passengers showed up too late when the ship wanted to sail from São Tomé and Príncipe on March 27, 2024. The eight guests, who were on the island on a private tour, missed the final call to the ship and therefore did not make the departure time of 3:00 PM LT. The tour operator contacted the captain to report that the passengers were on their way, but would be late. The Harbour Master tried to call the ship, the captain refused the call. They sent emails to Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), the NCL customer service emergency number, and they said that the only way for them to get in touch with the ship was to send them e-mails, but they were not responding to the emails. Eventually the Sao Tome Coastguard loaded the eight passengers on a boat and took them to the anchored ship, but the captain told the Coastguard to take the passengers back to the island The group was left without their medication and incurred many additional costs, including not having credit cards to use in São Tomé and Príncipe. The passports of the stranded passengers were handed over to local port agents. The Norwegian Cruise Line was working with local authorities and was in contact with the stranded passengers. The group consisted of seven Americans and two Australians, four of which were elderly. One passenger had a heart condition, and another is a paraplegic. There was also a married couple from Delaware, and the wife was pregnant. The group of eight passengers traveled for hours through several countries to reach their ship in Gambia. However, the ship could not dock due to low tide. The group was trying to reach Daakar now, where the ship docked on April 2. Yet another passenger has been without heart medication for days and was very ill. Another passenger, who had been on a different tour, required acute care and was admitted to the São Tomé hospital, leaving her also stranded. The passenger's daughter in California was contacted to coordinate her return to North America. Report with photos: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13260825/Australians-left-stranded-Africa-cruise-ship.html
SALVAMAR ADHARA
On April 1 a cayuco was located in the vicinity of La Restinga. The 'Salvamar Adhara' was mobilized to assist and accompanied the boat to the port, where 55 people, among them 53 men and two women, were disembarked.
FS FLAMANT
On March 30, 2024, the CROSS Gris-Nez was informed that several migrant boats were in difficulty in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais and depolyged the 'Armoise,' to assist a boat off the coast of Bray Dunes in the morning. The crew of the 'Armoise' noticed that the boat had an engine damage and picked up the 55 people who were dropped off at the dock at the port of Dunkirk, where they were taken care of. In the morning, another boat was reported in difficulty off the coast of Marck. The CROSS then deployed the 'Flamant' of the French Navy which took care of 20 people. The rest of the people on the boat refused the assistance offered by French means. Given the risks incurred by migrants in the event of restrictive actions to force them to board State rescue resources such as falling overboard, thermal shock and various trauma, it was decided to let them continue their voyage. The rescued castaways were disembarked in Calais, where they were taken care of by land teams. The 'Flamant' monitored the boat on its way. The police boat 'Eulimene' was tasked to assist another boat with three migrants on board. The crew of the speedboat picked up the three people and took care of them.
EPIC BREEZE
On April 2, 2024, the 'Epic Breeze', en route from Bilbao, suffered technical problems six nautical miles nortwest of Punta Candelaria. The CCS Fisterra of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the SAR vessel 'SAR Gavia', which escorted the ship until its arrival at the port of A Coruña, where it berthed at 10 p.m. UTC. Also the Helimer 402 helicopter was deployed as a precaution. Report with photo: https://twitter.com/salvamentogob/status/1775151024057069655
JAG LOK
En route from Aliağa to Ceyhan Port, the 'Jag Lok' suffered an engine failure at İzmir-Karaburun on Aug 4, 2022, and went adrift off Aliaga. The tug 'Sirapinar XVIII' was deployed to assist and pulled the tanker to Aliağa anchorage, where it dropped anchor on Aug 6. The departure permission of the vessel was cancelled by the Harbour Master. Photo: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FZfJHj9XwAAyoof.jpg
TRUE CONFIDENCE
The tug 'Red Bull' was deployed to assist the 'True Confidence' after receiving notice of the attack on March 6 at around 6.30 p.m. The tug, stationed in the port of Aden, was ordinarily used for towing old vessels to Pakistan and India to be scrapped. The 'Red Bull' then scoured the area while communicating its position to the US Navy so that it didn’t mistakenly identify it as a hostile vessel. At around 1 a.m. on March 8, the crew spotted a light on the 'True Confidence'. Smoke was still billowing from the ship. The tug’s crew tackled the blaze and then used ropes with hooks to scale up the side of the vessel. The task was made harder by the barbed wire that lined the sides of the vessel at the deck level, presumably installed as a last line of defense against pirates. Parts of the ship were blisteringly hot because of the fire. The crew of the 'Red Bull' connected the tug to the damaged ship, but progress was hampered by a second attack. On the morning of March 9, four combat drones headed toward the 'True Confidence'. A French frigate that sailed nearby and its fighter jets destroyed the drones. The US Navy instructed the 'Red Bull' to switch off its tracking system while it was towing the vessel to safety. However, they only sailed around five miles before the engine of the 'Red Bull' suffered a serious malfunction, and fixing the problem would have required a specialist team. As the 'True Confidence' drifted toward Somalia at the speed of about 1-2 knots, the search for a replacement tug became more frantic. The tug 'Hercules' was found, butit was under US sanctions that cited its owners links to Iran. The owner of the 'True Confidence' received special permission from the US Office of Foreign Asset Control on March 12 to use the 'Hercules' in the salvage mission, owner True Confidence Shipping SA and operator Third January Maritime Ltd. said in a joint statement on March 21. The 'Hercules' was instructed to tow the 'True Confidence' to Djibouti. But weather conditions soon worsened and the choppy waters broke the tow line between the vessels. Once the ships were reconnected. they set off again for Djibouti. Yet as they neared the port limits they were told that the request for entry had been denied. Following the refusal by the Port of Djibouti to grant port of refuge, the tow has continued in a north-easterly direction away from the high risk area, with the intention of seeking refuge at the port of Duqm, the shipowner and operator said in a joint statement on March 20. The 'Hercules' and 'True Confidence' were still on their way to Duqm in Oman, which has dry dock facilities that are used for salvage and repairs. Once there, the agency that provided the ship’s crew will locate the remains of the seafarers for repatriation to the Philippines. There has been no pollution from the 'True Confidence' either from the initial attack or the subsequent salvage and tow to date.
HDMS IVER HUITFELDT
The "Iver Huitfeldt" experienced a radar failure and defective ammunition during drone attack in the Red Sea on March 9. A vital defense system failed when the frigate shot down four drones in the Red Sea, where the ship is deployed to fight attacks by the Houthi movement. A series of technical problems put the soldiers in danger during the attack, because for half an hour the frigate could not fire its only air defense missile. The problem was not new, but it has not been solved. Because the frigate's central defense system failed, the guns were put into service. But half of the shells detonated shortly after leaving the guns without being near enemy targets. The many defective grenades resulted in a high consumption of ammunition, which could have had fatal consequences. A very large consumption of ammunition seriously reduces the combat effectiveness and the survivability of the unit, Commander Sune Lund wrote on March 14. All grenades were over 30 years old and were retrofitted with radio fire tubes in 2005, which are unsuitable for actual combat. He underlined the criticality and unacceptable nature of sending a frigate into a hostile environment with ammunition consisting of unstable shells. He stated the clear opinion that the challenge has been known for years, without the necessary and urgent understanding that it is urgent to solve the problem. The Ministry of Defence's materiel and procurement agency recommended that the radar not be used to engage air targets in the future. Instead, the frigate was advised to use two smaller radars, which can only handle a single target at a time. Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen was not aware of the incident and asked the chief of defense to give a more detailed account of the process.
ABDULLAH
While the families of the 23 crew members of the 'Abdullah', the ship owner, the authorities concerned and the countrymen are worried about the situation, there has been no progress in their release. Although the ship owner and the government were working hard, there was doubt whether they will be released before Eidul Fitr (April 9/10). As a result, the families of the hostages were becoming increasingly anxious. After the release, it could take at least a month to complete the process and bring the sailors back. The SR Shipping said on the afternoon of March 30, that they were working hard to release the hostages before Eid and talking to the pirates' representatives every day. The talks were progressing. The food and water stored on the ship, which is anchored 1.5 nautical miles off the coast of Jifl in the Gedoberjan district of Somalia, was meanwhile running out. Before the hijacking, the ship had 200 tons of fresh water stored. Now the sailors have rationed water. When the ship was hijacked, it had about 25 days of frozen food stored for the sailors. However, there is a lot of dry food stored for a long time.
ARMOISE
On March 30, 2024, the CROSS Gris-Nez was informed that several migrant boats were in difficulty in the Strait of Pas-de-Calais and depolyged the 'Armoise,' to assist a boat off the coast of Bray Dunes in the morning. The crew of the 'Armoise' noticed that the boat had an engine damage and picked up the 55 people who were dropped off at the dock at the port of Dunkirk, where they were taken care of. In the morning, another boat was reported in difficulty off the coast of Marck. The CROSS then deployed the 'Flamant' of the French Navy which took care of 20 people. The rest of the people on the boat refused the assistance offered by French means. Given the risks incurred by migrants in the event of restrictive actions to force them to board State rescue resources such as falling overboard, thermal shock and various trauma, it was decided to let them continue their voyage. The rescued castaways were disembarked in Calais, where they were taken care of by land teams. The 'Flamant' monitored the boat on its way. The police boat 'Eulimene' was tasked to assist another boat with three migrants on board. The crew of the speedboat picked up the three people and took care of them.
SALVAMAR MIMOSA
The sailing yacht 'Aisha' requested assistance on April 2, 2024, due to problems with the sails. She is disabled off Cales de Mallorca with two crew members on board. The CCS Palma of Salvamento Marítimo mobilizes the 'Salvamar Mimosa', which took the boat in tow and safely pulled it to Porto Colom. Photo: https://twitter.com/salvamentogob/status/1775191664212013272
SIYA
The 'Siya' suffered a fire in engine room and accommodation area at the Yalova shipyard on June 12 at 1. a.m. The crew along with the shipyard fire-fighters and the local fire brigade teams attended along with the SAR tug 'Nene Hatun' (IMO: 9675004), an ŞARK tug as well as other tugs. The fire was extinguished in the morning. The extent of damage and the cause of the fire was yet unknown. Video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1535923898256183296
FV BREIZ
Five people will appear from April 2, 2024, before the maritime court of Le Havre, after the sinking of the 'Breiz'. Among the defendants is the master of the SNSM boat responsible for towing. They are on trial for involuntary manslaughter, after the sinking of the trawler on Jan 14, 2021, off the coast of Lion-sur-Mer, which claimed the lives of three fishermen, after it got in distress off the coast of Nacre. On board were three sailors, including two brothers, from Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue and Cherbourg. When the trawler was towed by the SNSM boat, the fishing vessel sank very quickly with all its crew. The bodies of the three sailors were recovered the next day by divers from the wreck. A year after the tragedy, the Office of Investigation into Maritime Events (BEA Mer) released its investigation report. He blamed the rescuers and highlighted the lack of experience of the fishermen and the overload of the trawler at the time of the incident. However, a few months later, in November 2022, the five members of the SNSM who participated in the towing were placed in police custody as part of an investigation for manslaughter, which aroused a lot of emotion among the SNSM rescuers. In addition to the master of the SNSM boat from Ouistreham appearing before the court will be the co-owner of the trawler, a maritime expert and two agents from the Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea (DDTM) of Calvados. The penalties incurred are up to ten years of imprisonment.
SALVAMAR NUNKI
On April 1, the pleasure boat 'Picacho 1' was disabled and went adrift, with one crew member on board, in the Boca Barranco area. The 'Salvamar Nunki' was mobilized by the CCS Las Palmas of Salvamento Marítimo. It took the boat in tow and safely pulled it to the sports dock of Las Palmas. https://twitter.com/salvamentogob/status/1774802881448743313
DALI
The tug 'Crystal Coast', pushing a fuel barge, was the first vessel to move through the newly created temporary alternate channel in Baltimore following the collapse of the Key Bridge, headed to Dover Air Force Base with jet fuel. The emergency passageway, whichz is 264 feet wide and 11 feet deep, was cleared on April 1 to allow essential vessels to pass along the Patapsco River around the mangled wreckage at the bridge disaster site. Two crane barges, a 650-ton crane and a 330-ton crane were actively working on scene. Wreckage was continued to be lifted and transferred to a barge as daylight allows. A second 15-foot channel was expected to open soon to allow vessels access to the Port of Baltimore, along with a third, even deeper channel. Auxiliary channels were planned to open along the northeast section of the channel and one running along the south. There was pre-existing debris along the south side of the channel that the Coast Guard was working to remove. The two temporary channels will mainly be for response vessels, commercially essential vehicles and those participating in salvage efforts. A deeper third channel is in the works that would require up to 25 feet of depth to operate, but more debris surrounding the 'Dali' needed to be removed. In phase three, ships with 20 to 25 foot draft will be able to pass then. Howeverm untangling the mangled mess of debris remained a dangerous task. The Unified Response team continued the difficult job of cutting away pieces of what remained of the Key Bridge. A 350-ton chunk of steel was expected to be removed in the evening of April 1, but lightning was a concern. A 200-ton piece of the bridge was removed from the crash site on March 30. The channel will be marked with government-lighted aids to navigation and will have a controlling depth of 11 feet, a 264-foot horizontal clearance, and a vertical clearance of 96 feet. The current 2,000-yard safety zone around the Francis Scott Key Bridge remained in effect, intended to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment. No vessel or person will be permitted to enter the safety zone without obtaining permission from the COTP or a designated representative. A survey is also underway to determine how hard the ground is around the 'Dali' to develop a strategy for its removal. The Unified Command is comprised of the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Maryland Department of the Environment, Maryland Transportation Authority, Maryland State Police, and business consultant Witt O'Brien's, which is representing Synergy Marine, the Singapore company that managed the ship. The cleanup effort at the wreckage site of the Key Bridge will be a 24 hours a day-effort until the Port of Baltimore is back open. The priorities are recovering the four remaining victims, clearing the channel to open vessel traffic for the port, and providing support to those who have been impacted by the crisis. State and federal organizations were already working to provide economic assistance to individuals and small businesses that have been impacted by the collapse. The crew of the 'Dali' will remain on board the vessel until the investigation into the accident has been completed. Representatives from Grace Ocean Pte and Synergy Marine, the Singapore-flagged ship's owner and managing company respectively, reported that all crew members were actively engaged in their standard duties and are assisting the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Coast Guard with the ongoing investigation. The owner of the ship, the Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd., is seeking to cap the amount of damages. The company can be forced to pay for the disaster at $43 million and filed a “limitation of liability” action in federal court on April 1, invoking a little-known statute used in maritime law. The complaint asks a federal judge to consolidate claims against the company in U.S. District Court in Maryland and to either find the company not liable at all or to cap its liability at $43 million, which the company claims is the value of the ship and its freight. Reports with photo and video: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/first-vessel-passes-through-temporary-channel-near-key-bridge-wreckage-site/ar-BB1kSfh9 https://www.keybridgeresponse2024.com/post/update-5-multimedia-release-first-vessel-passes-through-temporary-alternate-channel-around-key-brid