Abc News

A container ship smashed into a four-lane bridge in the U.S. port of Baltimore in darkness on Tuesday, causing it to collapse and sending cars and people plunging into the river below.Rescuers pulled out two survivors, one in a "very serious condition," and were searching for more in the Patapsco River after huge spans of the 1.6-mile (2.57 km) Francis Scott Key Bridge crumpled into the water.The ship "lost propulsion" as it was leaving port, and crew on board notified Maryland officials they had lost control of the vessel, ABC News reported, citing an unclassified U.S.

The Pentagon said it was aware of reports regarding attacks on an American warship and commercial vessels in the Red Sea on Sunday, as Yemen's Houthi group claimed drone and missile attacks on two Israeli vessels in the area."We're aware of reports regarding attacks on the USS Carney and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and will provide information as it becomes available," the Pentagon said.Yemen's Houthi movement said its navy had attacked two Israeli ships, Unity Explorer and Number 9…

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper defended the Navy’s controversial decision to remove the commander of a coronavirus-stricken aircraft carrier, who was reported on Sunday to have tested positive for COVID-19 as the number of its sailors with the highly-contagious disease also grew.Captain Brett Crozier started showing symptoms of the virus before he was relieved of his command of the Theodore Roosevelt on Thursday and has tested positive, the New York Times said, citing two Naval…

The Arctic has lost almost 95% of its older ice cover since 1984, says NASA. The area covered by Arctic sea ice at least four years old has decreased from 1,860,000 square kilometres in September 1984 to 110,000 square kilometres in September 2016. ABC News quoted a report produced by the Arctic Council -- an intergovernmental forum of eight member countries that include the U.S., Canada and Russia -- stressed that changes to the Arctic have "global implications," including feedback loops, a phenomenon that could lead to the rapid acceleration of ice melt and in turn raise global temperatures and exacerbate sea-level rise. Rising sea levels are already battering America's coastlines, and threatening to cause entire islands to disappear underwater.

The first deep-sea exploration of the Perth Canyon, Australia's largest undersea valley, will launch today, Phys.org is reporting. The 12-day expedition is backed by Google billionaire Eric Schmidt and will study the conditions and marine life inside the canyon, which researchers hope will provide new information about the effects of climate change. A team of researchers from the University of Western Australia led by Professor Malcolm McCulloch will collaborate with researchers from the Western Australia Museum…

The Australian Federal Police have arrested the captain of a Chinese coal ship -China Steel Developer- for sailing through part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park without a pilot. Sources said that the captain — a Taiwanese national by the name of Lu — will plead guilty to a charge of being the master of a ship without a pilot in the marine park, an offence that carries a maximum fine of $85,000. It is alleged that the vessel sailed through Hydrographers Passage near Mackay on New Year’s Day without a pilot, as required by Australian law. ABC News reports that the ship is believed to have carried a cargo of coal to China before returning to Australia last week. Lu was arrested on Saturday and will appear in Newcastle Court on Monday.

Environmental Protection Agency chief Gina McCarthy said on Thursday that newly proposed rules to slash carbon emissions from U.S. power plants will cut electricity bills after 2030 by forcing power plants to become more efficient. Speaking at a forum on energy efficiency in Washington, which she likened to "preaching to the choir," McCarthy took issue with critics' claims that the EPA's clean power plan will cause consumer electricity prices to skyrocket, in part by forcing older coal-fired plants to close. The rule, subject to a 120-day comment period, will steer investment toward renewable energy  and energy  efficiency companies, she said.

The pirates engaged the navy in a gun battle late Sunday off the coast of Calabar in Nigerian and Cameroonian waters, according to ABC News/AP citing Delta state navy spokesman Lt. Delightsome Yohana. Nigeria's navy fired back, killing the six pirates, and wounding one other who is in custody. The operation is the latest in a string of victories for the Nigerian navy that has ramped up its presence offshore and bolstered it with support from its air forces. In the last two weeks the navy has killed 18 pirates in battles and arrested five others the same spokesman informed the news source. Source: ABC News/AP

The salvage master who coordinated the operation to move the Pasha Bulker off Newcastle has been brought in to head the effort to move a 75,000 tonne bulk carrier which has run aground in central Queensland. Experts and equipment are being brought in to help refloat the Endeavour River, which ran aground in Gladstone Harbor. A spokesman from the salvage company, Svitzer, says it is likely that efforts to refloat the ship will not be made until later in the week when the tides are more favorable. Svitzer is also bringing in one of its naval architects from Holland who will look at the structure of the ship. Additional equipment, including cables and shackles, is scheduled to arrive.

According to reports, P and O Cruises is trying to find charter flights for hundreds of passengers on a storm-damaged cruise liner stranded in Vanuatu. The Pacific Star was battered by gale force winds and waves only hours after it left leaving Auckland. The Pacific Star ran into a wild storm that damaged the ship's bow, as well as some windows, doors and satellite equipment. Many of the 1,200 passengers on board were sea sick, some questioning why the cruise was not postponed. The ship canceled a scheduled visit to New Caledonia and made instead for Port Vila from where P and O Cruises is now trying to arrange return flights for its shaken holiday makers who will all receive refunds. Source: ABC News

According to ABC News the Queensland Government says a decision to base a commercial cruise ship in Brisbane will provide a big boost to the tourism industry. The P&O vessel set sail from her new berth today - on the first of up to 35 scheduled trip for 2006. Premier Peter Beattie says the cruise industry is already worth around $100,000 a year to the Queensland economy. Mr Beattie says with terminals being built in Brisbane, Townsville and the Gold Coast, the lucrative sector will grow.

The Carnival-owned cruise liner Seabourn Spirit recently fended off a pirate attack along Africa's eastern coast, with one person sustaining injuries. The attempt to hijack a cruise ship highlights the pirates' growing audacity — wielding rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, says a recent ABC News report. Since March, 29 attacks have occurred off the coast of Somalia. Although this was the first attack on a cruise ship in more than a decade, pirates attacked 205 ships in the first nine months of 2005 compared with 251 in the same period a year ago, according to the report. Indonesian waters pose the greatest danger with 61 incidents in the first nine months of 2005 and a total of 93 attacks reported in 2004.

The Ethan Allen was in violation of state law during its sightseeing cruise on Sunday, according to a report from ABC News. New York regulations say that any commercial boat carrying between 21 and 50 passengers must have one crew member, in addition to the boat's operator. According to officials, that applied to the Ethan Allen and its 47 passengers. The tour boat capsized on Lake George Sunday, killing 20 people. State regulators have suspended licenses for all five vessels belonging to Shoreline Cruises, the company that operated the tour, officials told The Associated Press. State officials said the boat's captain had a valid master's license issued by the state and that the boat was inspected in May and passed.