Official Chinese News Agency News

Unusually thick sea ice on Laizhou Bay in east China's Shandong Province strands coastal ships. Zheng Dong, chief meteorologist at the Yantai Marine Environment Monitoring Center under the State Oceanic Administration informs that the ice this year is the worst the area has experienced in three years, and the expanding ice field has expanded to 291 square km and is expected to grow, according to Xinhua. Local aquafarmers are concerned that the ice is thicker than in years past, which may lead to heavy losses, as the they are unable to penetrate the ice to provide adequate ventilation for sea cucumbers and other aquatic organisms. Coastal police warn that the ice may cause damage to vessels passing through deeper sea areas near the Bohai and Yellow seas.

A Macau to Hong Kong jetfoil hit a marker beacon in poor visibility while exiting the Macau Outer Harbour entrance channel. The ferry with 177 passengers and 8 crew on board at the time of the incident was towed back to the terminal with reportedly minor structural damage. Twenty-six injured passengers aged between four and sixty were admitted to the Centro Hospitalar Conde de São Januário for treatment. Ferry services from Macau were suspended for 45 minutes. Shun Tak Holdings, operate the 24-hour ferry service between Hong Kong and Macau under the brand name TurboJet.

Syria's ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel-Karim Ali expressed his government's gratitude to the Lebanese Army and security apparatuses for seizing the ship suspected of smuggling weapons for the Syrian rebels, the National News Agency (NNA) informed the official Chinese News Agency. Lutfallah II, a Sierra Leonean-flagged vessel was intercepted by the Lebanese Navy on April 27. Weapons were found aboard its three containers. As a result, 21 people were charged and 14 are in custody. "However, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, in the words of their own foreign ministers, announced backing the (Syrian) fighters and the opposition," he added.