A fine of Rs.15 million has been charged by the Maritime Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) due to the illegal careless discharge of oil from the 'Global Crest em route from Kelang to the United Arab Emirates in the Sri Lankan maritime zone on Jan 26, 2024. The Analysts of the CLS Institute of France informed the officials of the Maritime Environment Protection Authority that they had been able to confirm via satellite technology that an illegal oil discharge had been carried out on Feb 4, by the tanker, causing an oil slick with a length of 11.25 kilometers over an area of approximately 1 square kilometer. Maritime Environment Protection Authority officers investigated the ship’s route and later confirmed that it was heading towards the outer port of Colombo. Maritime Environment Protection Authority officers acted immediately and contacted the Sri Lankan agent of the ship and took the necessary steps to inspect the ship. In the night of Feb 6, a team of special officers of the Maritime Environment Protection Authority inspected it, while it was anchored about 11 nautical miles from Colombo. It was possible to confirm that the 'Global Crest' had illegally discharged oil. Later, MEPA issued a Detention Order against the ship and steps were taken to inform the Merchant Marine Secretariat, Sri Lanka Navy, Sri Lanka Department of Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management, the Sri Lanka Port Authority and the Sri Lankan agent of the ship. According to Section 26 of the Prevention of Marine Pollution Act No. 35 of 2008, the Marine Environmental Protection Authority has the power to impose a fine of up to Rs.15 million on the responsible parties in case of such illegal oil discharge or oil spill. The 'Global Crest' was ordered to pay a fine of Rs.15 million and the amount spent to inspect the ship to the Authority. On Feb 9, after the ship had paid the fine and expenses incurred by MEPA, steps were taken to release it from the detention order. For the first time, Sri Lanka relied on satellite technology from the French company CLS to incriminate a United Arab Emirates-flagged oil tanker responsible for pollution off the Sri Lankan coast. The country signed a partnership with CLS in September to monitor its territorial waters. Report with photo: https://www.dailynews.lk/2024/02/17/admin-catagories/breaking-news/403186/mt-global-crest-fined-rs-15-mn-for-careless-oil-discharge/
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SY CORONA AQ
In the afternoon of Feb 19, 2024, the Barranquilla Harbour Master's Office responded to the wreck of the 'Corona AQ', which sank near Puerto Velero, in Tubará. The body of one of the crew members was discovered, while authorities intensified the search for the second occupant with divers from the Colombian Navy and a rapid reaction unit in the area of the incident on Feb 20. The rescue efforts, coordinated by the General Maritime and Port Directorate, DIMAR, were hampered by adverse weather conditions that hit the region. The SAR operations in Tubará were to be resumed as soon as conditions were safe. The emergency was reported by a local fisherman, which activated search and rescue protocols in collaboration with units of the Colombian Navy, National Police and Firefighters of the municipality. Upon arriving at the scene, they found the boat aground and semi-submerged, with no occupants on board. During the search, the body of a lifeless man, presumably one of the crew, was located. The search continued with the participation of divers from the Colombian Navy and a rapid reaction unit in the area of the incident. Dimar will contact the flag authorities of the sailboat to obtain detailed information about the itinerary and crew. So far, there were no records of the ship's departure and arrival in Colombian ports.
MSC SILVER II
The Houthi movement has claimed an attack targetting the 'MSC Silver II” in the Gulf of Aden with naval missiles on Feb 20, 2022. The ship was en route from Colombo to Berbera. The 'MSC Silver II' was reportedly not damaged and arrived in the port at 6 a.m. UTC.
SEA CHAMPION
The 'Sea Champion' arrived in the port of Aden on Feb 20 after being attacked in the Red Sea in what appeared to have been a mistaken missile strike by Houthi militia. The bulk carrier, which was ferrying corn from Rosario to Aden, was attacked twice on Veb 19, with a window damaged but no crew injuries. The vessel was now unloading part of its cargo of 9,229 tonnes of corn in Aden, before proceeding to Hodeidah, where it was to discharge the remaining load of 31,000 tonnes.
CLIPPER STAR
The 'Clippper Star' was boarded by six perpetrators, armed with machetes, on Jan 31, 2024, at 2 a.m. off Pulau Cula. Three crew members were tied up, no injuries were reported. The intruders stole engine spares and a crew's mobile phone.
CG JOSEPH DOYLE
The 'Joseph Doyle' repatriated 71 migrants to San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, on Feb 17, 2024, following the interdiction of an unlawful irregular migration voyage in the Mona Passage. The Coast Guard Cutter 'Joseph Tezanos' repatriated one other migrant from this case to a Dominican Republic Navy vessel, on Feb 19, just off Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The interdiction occurred after the aircrew of a Customs and Border Protection multi-role enforcement aircraft detected a grossly overloaded makeshift vessel in the Mona Passage waters southwest of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, in the night of Feb 15. The suspect vessel was transiting from the Dominican Republic to enter the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan diverted the 'Joseph Doyle' to interdict the suspect vessel. Once on scene, the cutter stopped the vessel and safely embarked the migrants. Following the interdiction, 68 of the migrants claimed to be Dominican Republic nationals while four others who claimed to be Haitian nationals. Report with photo: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3680854/coast-guard-repatriates-72-migrants-to-dominican-republic-following-unlawful-mi/
KING XIA CRUISE
China's Coast Guard inspected the 'King Xia' on Feb 19, 2024, and the boarding of the vessel caused people to panic. At least six Chinese Coast Guard officers boarded the sightseeing ship "King Xia” in the afternoon in the waters of the Taipei-controlled Kinmen Islands when it strayed near Chinese territorial waters. The Coast Guard officers were aboard the sightseeing ship for around 32 minutes. After inspecting the 'King Xia', examining its navigation plan, ship documents, captain and crew licenses, and obtaining the captain's signature, the Chinese personnel disembarked at 5.19 p.m. LT. China last week accused Taiwan's Coast Guard of driving away a fishing boat with four people on board, that capsized and resulted in the death of two people. Red Cross Society officials from China's southern Quanzhou city Feb 20 accompanied the families of the four people to Kinmen islands for the return of the two surviving crew members. Several Chinese patrol boats were seen off Kinmen Island following the incident. Taiwan protested against the boarding. Report with video: https://en.rti.org.tw/news/view/id/2010754
AL KUWAIT
The 'Al Kuwait', which was blamed for causing a foul smell engulfing Cape Town, has departed on Feb 21 at 4 a.m. UTC, en route to Umm Qasr with an ETA as of March 5. The NSPCA assessed the cattle on board the livestock vessel and described conditions as "abhorrent", including an "extreme build-up of faeces and urine". In a statement on Feb 20 , the animal welfare organisation - the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - said the cows had been on the ship for more than two weeks with many animals having no option but to rest in dams of their own excrement. The NSPCA discovered diseased and injured cattle during inspections between Feb 18 and Feb 20. Eight had to be euthanised due to their injuries, while others were found dead on board. Report with photos: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68355434
KRITI KING
The 'Kriti King' was fined with 100,000 Euros by the public procecutor in Marseille on Jan 19, 2024, to be permitted to leave Fos-sur-Mer due to having used its scrubber in an unauthorized area and having used engine fuel the sulfur content of which was above the authorized level. The ship was detained in the port on Feb 15. The captain will be tried in December in Marseille for having deliberately ignored the rules limiting maritime pollution.The tanker had already stopped at Fos-sur-Mer at the end of 2023 without respecting the ban on the use of the scrubber within 3 nautical miles and in the port area.
APOLLO STELLA
On Feb 20, 2024, just after 8 p.m., the 'Apollo Stella', bound for Hokkaido from Port Klang with 17 Indonesian crew members on board, suffered an engine failure and was disabled off the coast of the Shimane Prefecture. The patrol boat 'Oki' of the Sakai Coast Guard was deployed to the scene and took the ship, which was drifting in the Sea of Japan, 10 kilometers southwest of Hinomisaki, Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture, in tow on Feb 21 at around 4 a.m., and will consider whether to hand it over to another ship and proceed to a port where the ship can be repaired.
CLARA INSIGNIA
The Paranà River remained snarled on Feb 20 even after the 'Clara Insignia' was freed in the evening of Feb 19 after being stuck for three days, and moored in pos. 33° 21.97' S 060° 07.57' W on Feb 20. The Argentine Naval Prefecture (PNA) and a local port authority said the trunk route near the area of San Nicolas remained totally closed as the authorities carried out studies on the river bed, which meant that cargo ships could not reach or leave the inland farming port hub of Rosario, from where most of the country’s soy, corn and wheat flows down to the sea and around the globe. Once the bathymetry has been finished it would be known if it has to be corrected it with dredging or if tthe passage can be authorized through the sector at kilometer 345 (mile 214). Rosario is further upriver at kilometer 410.
NORDPUMA
On Feb 2, 2024, at 12.40 a.m. the 'Nordpuma' was boarded by six perpetrators while moored on Manila Anchorage. The intruders stole two sets of self contained breathing apparatus with cylinder. No injuries were reported.
NISSHIN MARU
dismantled in Kitakyushu City ,Japan https://www.facebook.com/groups/shipbreaking/?ref=nf_target&fref=nf
GALAXY LEADER
The global maritime industry on Feb 19 marked the three-month anniversary of the seizure of the 'Galaxy Leader' and its 25 crew members by the Houthi forces, the only vessel seizure by Houthi forces since launching their attacks on shipping in Oct 2023. The maritime community worldwide has united in expressing their profound concern for the captured seafarers, hailing from Bulgaria, Mexico, Romania, Ukraine and the Philippines, and urging the Houthi forces to immediately release the ship’s crew. “The 25 seafarers who make up the crew of the Galaxy Leader are innocent victims of the ongoing aggression against world shipping, and their plight is a major concern as the merchant shipping community continues to come under attack. All efforts must be made by international organisations and States to secure the release of the seafarers. It is abhorrent that seafarers were seized by military forces and that they have been kept from their families and loved ones for too long. All 25 crew members of the Galaxy Leader must be released now,” the statement said. Numerous global maritime organizations co-signed this statement, demonstrating the industry’s unified stance on the issue. Signatories include the Asian Shipowners Association (ASA), Asociación de Navieros Españoles (ANAVE), Bahamas Shipowners Association, BIMCO, Chamber of Marine Commerce, International Chamber of Shipping, and the World Shipping Council, among many others.
CELEBRITY MILLENNIUM
The Mexican national Fernando Cruz Mendez, 53, was medevaced from the 'Celebrity Millennium', en route from Goa to Mumbai by the Indian Coast Gaurd after suffering a heart attack on Feb 19. 2024, 40 kilometers off the coast of Goa, and taken to a private hospital in Chicalim. The ship had contacted the Coast Guard at 7.25 p.m. A Coast Guard vessel was diverted to the ship and rendezvoused at 9.30 p.m. The patient was taken aboard aloing with his wife and a medical attendant and then transported to Mormugao at 11.30 p.m., where an ambulance was waiting. Report with photo: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/107879885.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
SM JEJU LNG1
The Kogas-chartered 'SM Jeju LNG 1', en route from Aewol, was involved in a collision with a 5900-ton-cargo ship off the coast of South Korea in the night of Feb 17, 2024. The accident happened six kilometres southwest of Yeodo Island, Cheongsan-myeon, at 04.20 a.m. LT. The bunker tanker was hit at starboard side and suffered severe hull damage with a gas leak. There were a total of 77 people on board the two ships at the time of the accident, 58 aboard the cargo ship, which was loaded with vehicles, containers, etc., and 19 aboard the tanker, all of whom were rescued by the dispatched Wando Coast Guard, which had mobilized helicopters and rescue boats to both vessels within four hours of the incident. The Coast Guard was investigating the exact causes of the accident together with the captain of the merchant ship and the LNG carrier, on charges of negligence, destruction of a ship, and violation of the Ship Safety Act. In particular, it has been confirmed that the cargo ship was carrying 11 more people than the capacity, and an investigation is being conducted to determine whether crew members were accurately notified to the Korea Maritime and Fisheries Administration at the time of departure. Reports with photo and video: https://www.newsdirectory3.com/lng-carrier-and-cargo-ship-collision-rescue-77-people-saved-safely-in-accident-near-yeodo-island-wando-gun-jeollanam-do/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoyiYrS5cOo https://imnews.imbc.com/replay/2024/nwdesk/article/6572079_36515.html
RUBYMAR
The Russian Pravda published a report of the alleged sinking of the 'Rubymar' on Feb 20 with a video. In fact it shows the scuttling of the ore carrier 'Stellar Banner' years ago, while salvage work at the damaged 'Rubymar' was going on. Other sources also published pictures on the platform X, former Twitter, of the 'Atlantik Confidence', which sank in 2013 off the coast of Oman, with more than $30 million of steel products onboard. The 'Rubymar', which was hit by two Houthi missiles on Feb 18, was listing heavily with a flooded engine room, but the vessel’s Lebanese owners have signed an LOF salvage contract and are trying to tow the ship to Djibouti. Reports with video: https://pravda-en.com/world/2024/02/20/331038.html https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-does-video-show-houthis-sinking-cargo-ship-red-sea-1871539
MARIA MARIA
The 'Maria Maria' was boarded by four perpetrators, armed with knives, on Feb 6, 2024, at 4.54 a.m. off Pulau Iyu Kecil. The intruders left the vessel without nothing reported stolen. No injuries were reported.
CG JOSEPH TEZANOS
The 'Joseph Doyle' repatriated 71 migrants to San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, on Feb 17, 2024, following the interdiction of an unlawful irregular migration voyage in the Mona Passage. The Coast Guard Cutter 'Joseph Tezanos' repatriated one other migrant from this case to a Dominican Republic Navy vessel, on Feb 19, just off Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The interdiction occurred after the aircrew of a Customs and Border Protection multi-role enforcement aircraft detected a grossly overloaded makeshift vessel in the Mona Passage waters southwest of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, in the night of Feb 15. The suspect vessel was transiting from the Dominican Republic to enter the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan diverted the 'Joseph Doyle' to interdict the suspect vessel. Once on scene, the cutter stopped the vessel and safely embarked the migrants. Following the interdiction, 68 of the migrants claimed to be Dominican Republic nationals while four others who claimed to be Haitian nationals. Report with photo: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3680854/coast-guard-repatriates-72-migrants-to-dominican-republic-following-unlawful-mi/
MT KQLI
The Nigeria Police have unmasked three Indians and five Nigerians as sponsors of the 'Kali', which was impounded for illegally siphoning crude oil from the platform of the Anglo-Dutch Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), in Bayelsa State. Similarly, the police have arrested a popular Lagos-based oil and gas magnate as the alleged owner and sponsor of the 'Harbor Spirit', which was also arrested siphoning crude oil illegally from Sengana oilfields in the coastal axis of Bayelsa State on Feb 4, 2024. The oil merchant, whose office is located in Ikeja, Lagos Sate, was arrested on Feb 19 as he honoured the invitation of the police investigating the operations of the illegal bunkering ship. He was promptly taken to Abuja on the orders of the Inspector-General of Police, and has since been kept in custody as police detectives tried to establish his culpability in the shady oil deals. The Indians, who are members of the management team of a major oil company operating in Kwale axis of Delta State, were yet to honour the police invitation. Their emissaries, identified as retired naval rear admiral and captain, as well as a retired assistant superintendent of police who came to represent the foreign nationals, claimed that the Indians were out of the country. The police e insisted that the Indian suspects must honour the invitation personally upon their return to the country. Findings by the police revealed that the Indians and Nigerians were the promoters of Deep Frontline Shippers Ltd., which allegedly procured the 'Kali' for the illegal assignment. The Indians. The tanker was impounded by the joint team of a private security company, Tantita Security Services Limited (TSSL), and the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) while siphoning crude oil from Pennington oil fields of SPDC in Bayelsa State, on Jan 11. 23 suspects, made up of 12 crew members and 11 host community boys offering operational support to the crew to successfully carry out the nefarious assignment in their areas, were apprehended in the manhunt by TSSL and NSCDC operatives. The 'Kali' was actually registered in the name of Frontline Shippers Ltd., as against the initial fake name, Sasna Global and Sasna Global Resources Ltd. given by the captain of the ship. The police were able to establish, with the assistance of the Nigeria Maritime and Safety Administration Agency (NIMASA), that the vessel was deleted from the Nigerian maritime networks since Feb 1, 2022 and that it had no valid permit to sail on Nigerian waters without a valid certificate of registry and applicable trading certificates.The Indians, who were captured in the CAC records of Deep Frontline Shippers Ltd., were in charge of the finance of the company and are also associated with 150 other corporate entities, including an oil company operating in Kwale axis of Delta State. Full report: