Marine Link
Friday, March 29, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Rubber Boats News

26 Jul 2021

Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Launches MRRV for Philippines DOT

Japan's Mitsubishi Shipbuilding launched the first of two large multi-role response vessels (MRRVs) being built to order for the Department of Transportation in the Republic of the Philippines. Photo courtesy Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.

Japan's Mitsubishi Shipbuilding launched the first of two large multi-role response vessels (MRRVs) being built to order for the Department of Transportation in the Republic of the Philippines. The MRRVs, both scheduled to be in service in 2022, will be used for severe-weather rescue missions and patrolling in offshore and coastal zones, enhancing rapid response capabilities for maritime accidents and crimeThe ceremony took place at the Enoura Plant at MHI’s Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works in Yamaguchi Prefecture on July 26, 2021.

27 Jun 2021

Shipbuilding: Ice-Class Expedition Yacht Named Crystal Endeavor

© Crystal Cruises

Crystal Endeavor, the 164 x 23-m, 20,200 GT ice-class expedition yacht was built at MV Werften and recently named in in Stralsund.The first luxury expedition yacht with ice class built in Germany is being dubbed 'the fastest, highest-performance and most spacious expedition mega yacht in its sector' with a passenger space ratio of more than 100. Her Polar Class PC6 classification enables her to navigate Arctic and Antarctic regions. She offers a total of 100 suites of between 28 and 105 m² with 24-hour butler service for a maximum of 200 passengers.

24 Jun 2021

Helsinki Shipyard Launches First Cruise Ship for Swan Hellenic

(Image: Helsinki Shipyard)

Finnish shipbuilder Helsinki Shipyard said it has launched the fist of three new luxury expedition cruise ships it is building for Swan Hellenic.At the same time, the hull of the second ship, which already has a ship shape, was floated in the dry dock, while the production of the third vessel in the series started earlier this month.The first of the ships under construction is scheduled to be handed over to its owner in Fall 2021, followed by the second in Spring 2022 and the third in Fall 2022, the shipbuilder said..“The vessel, which has now been launched, is a forerunner in many respects.

21 Apr 2021

Philippines Boosting Maritime Presence to Protect Territory, Resources

(Photo: Philippine Coast Guard)

The Philippines is beefing up its presence in the South China Sea and deploying more ships and an aircraft to protect its maritime territory and resources, a government task force said on Wednesday.The Philippines has ramped up its rhetoric in recent weeks in defiance of what it says is threatening behavior by Chinese vessels in its 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), despite four years of rapprochement with historic rival China."We are exhausting all means possible to protect our territory and EEZ…

14 Apr 2021

Antarctic Supply Ship Returns to Australia After Engine Room Fire

(Photo: Australian Antarctic Program)

Antarctic resupply ship MPV Everest berthed in Fremantle, Australia at 5:30 p.m. local time Tuesday, after it suffered an engine room fire earlier this month, the Australian Antarctic Division said.Australia’s chartered Antarctic resupply vessel MPV Everest was about 1,700 nautical miles south of Perth when the April 5 fire engulfed the vessel's port engine room and destroyed two inflatable rubber boats on the deck. There were no injuries to the 72 expeditioners and 37 crew on board.The ice-strengthened ship…

08 Mar 2020

Mitsubishi Wins Order for Philippine MRRVs

Japanese shipbuilder Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group, has concluded an agreement with the Republic of the Philippines to construct two multi-role response vessels (MRRVs).The vessels will be built at Shimonoseki Shipyard & Machinery Works for completion and delivery in 2022.The MRRVs on order are vessels with length overall of approximately 94 meters. They also have a maximum speed of not less than 24 knots, and an endurance of not less than 4,000 nautical miles.Both vessels will be equipped with secured communication systems for Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) surveillance, helideck and a hangar for helicopter operations, an underwater remotely operated vehicle for subsurface search and survey, and high-speed rubber boats.

02 May 2019

Evacuations Underway as Cyclone Menaces India's Coast

India has evacuated more than 300,000 people along its northeast coastline by boat, bus and train ahead of a severe cyclone due to make landfall on Friday, with many villagers piling household possessions on to trucks before fleeing their homes.Severe cyclonic storm Fani was churning up the Bay of Bengal about 320 km (198 miles) south-southwest of the Hindu temple town of Puri where special trains were put on to evacuate tourists and the beaches were empty.In total, about 1.2 million people are expected to be evacuated from low-lying areas of 15 districts in the eastern state of Odisha to cyclone shelters, schools and other buildings…

10 Apr 2019

ABB to Equip Seabourn Duo

Seabourn Venture. Image courtesy of Seabourn

ABB said it has secured a power and propulsion contract for the two debut Seabourn ultra-luxury expedition vessels.The contract covers two 170-meter length ships due delivery to the Seattle-based cruise company from Italian yard T. Mariotti, in June 2021 and May 2022 respectively.Seabourn has chosen ABB’s power and propulsion technology for the 23,000gt ships that integrates main generators, switchboard, convertors, bow thruster motors and the remote control system in a single package…

10 Sep 2018

More than 100 Died in Boat Wreck off Libya

More than 100 migrants died in early September when their crowded rubber boats were wrecked off the coast of Libya, the MSF aid agency on Monday quoted survivors as saying.The two vessels had set out from the Libyan coast early on Sept. 1, each carrying scores of people, mostly African, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said in a statement on its website.One boat's engine failed later that day and the other began to deflate, it quoted a survivor as saying. Some survived by clinging to floating wreckage.A survivor told MSF that “European rescuers" had come by aircraft and thrown life rafts, but migrants remained in the water for hours."On our boat, only 55 people survived. Many people died, including families and children.

21 Jun 2018

Italy to Impound German Charity's Migrant Rescue Ship

Italy appeared to relent on Thursday after at first refusing to accept 226 migrants on board a German charity rescue ship, saying later in the day it would take them in but would impound the vessel.Anti-immigrant interior minister Matteo Salvini initially said the Dutch-flagged ship Lifeline should take the people it plucked from the Mediterranean to the Netherlands and not Italy.But transport minister Danilo Toninelli, who oversees the coastguard, later said it was unsafe for the 32-metre vessel to travel such a great distance with so many people on board."We will assume the humanitarian generosity and responsibility to save these people and take them onto Italian coastguard ships…

21 Jun 2018

Italy Tells Rescue Ship to Take Migrants to the Netherlands

Italy's anti-immigrant interior minister accused a German charity on Thursday of ignoring coastguard orders when its Dutch-flagged ship picked up 226 migrants off Libya's coast and he said they should be taken to the Netherlands not Italy.Earlier this month Matteo Salvini pledged to no longer let charity ships offload rescued migrants in Italy, leaving the Gibraltar-flagged Aquarius stranded at sea for several days with more than 600 migrants until Spain offered them safe haven.On Thursday, Mission Lifeline, a charity based in Dresden, Germany, pulled migrants off two rubber boats in international waters even though it was told by Italy that Libya's coastguard was coming to get them, a spokesman for the charity said.

21 Jun 2018

Libyan Coastguard Picks Up 301 Migrants Headed for Europe

Libya's coastguard picked up 301 African migrants on Thursday from two inflatable boats after their engines failed near its western coast, a spokesman said.Libya is a main departure point for migrants fleeing wars and poverty trying to reach European countries, though crossings have dropped sharply since last July due to a more active coastguard supported by the European Union."The coastguard rescued 301 migrants early this morning, including three women and 46 children from 12 different sub-Saharan countries," its spokesman Ayoub Qassem told Reuters."The illegal migrants were on board two big rubber boats," Qassem said. "The engines of the two boats stopped working in the middle of sea."On Wednesday…

20 Mar 2018

Italy Seizes Ship that Picked up Migrants in Mediterranean

Italian authorities seized a charity’s ship on suspicion it had helped illegal immigration by picking up migrants in the Mediterranean instead of letting Libya’s coastguard take them back to North Africa, the aid group said. The Spanish charity Proactiva Open Arms picked up 218 migrants who were in unsafe rubber boats in international waters off Libya’s coast on Thursday, then took them to Sicily, the Italian coastguard said. A Sicilian court impounded the boat late on Sunday on suspicion that members of its crew had violated international agreements on handling migrants and helped illegal migration into Europe, the charity said. There was no immediate comment from the court in Catania.

30 Oct 2017

Unsafe Mixed Migration by Sea

Unsafe mixed migration by sea continues to claim many lives, despite the strenuous efforts made by Governmental and naval rescue services, often supported by merchant vessels, abiding by the long-standing tradition and legal obligation to go to the rescue of persons in distress at sea. The complexities of this humanitarian challenge were discussed on Monday (30 October) at a meeting hosted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), bringing together representatives of UN agencies, the maritime industry and European Union naval forces. For the rescued and seafarers alike, the experience can be harrowing. A modern merchant vessel is unsuited to carrying large numbers of survivors…

27 Jun 2017

Three Dead, Thousands Rescued in Seas Off Libya

Three migrants died in the Mediterranean on Monday night, a German aid group said, during Italian-led rescue operations in which thousands more were pulled to safety from rickety boats. About 5,000 migrants were picked up off the Libyan coast by emergency services, Italy's navy, aid groups and private boats on Monday, and rescues were continuing on Tuesday, according to an Italian coastguard spokesman. "Despite all efforts, three people died from a sinking rubber boat" and rescue boats in the area are struggling to cope, German humanitarian group Jugend Rettet said on Facebook. Jugend Rettet (Rescuing Youth) is one of about nine aid…

05 Apr 2017

Humanitarian Ships Rescue Hundreds in Mediterranean

Humanitarian groups operating rescue ships off the coast of Libya picked up more than 700 migrants out of seven flimsy and overcrowded boats on Wednesday, Italy's coast guard said. The Phoenix rescue ship, operated by the Malta-based non-governmental organisation MOAS, rescued more than 300 people from three boats in international waters off the coast of the Libyan city of Sabratha. The Aquarius, operated by SOS Mediterranee and Doctors without Borders, went to the aid of four rubber boats, a coast guard spokesman said. Italy's coast guard coordinated the rescues. Migrants arriving in Italy on boats from North Africa are up some 30 percent so far this year, according to official data released last week.

17 Nov 2016

About 100 Migrants Feared Dead in Mediterranean

Six migrants died and up to 100 more were missing and feared dead after their rubber boat sank in the Mediterranean on Thursday, the president of the Italian unit of aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said. A British navy ship rescued 27 people and recovered six bodies about 20 miles from the coast of Libya early on Thursday morning, MSF Italy president Loris De Filippi said. The new disaster adds to a death toll which aid groups had put at 240 for the three days ending on Wednesday, as migrants continue to leave Libya despite rough seas. The migrants were transferred to the MSF ship Bourbon Argos, one of several aid agency vessels operating in the area. Survivors told staff that another 90 to 100 people had also been on board and had died.

08 Sep 2016

Cruise Ship Transits the Northeast Passage

Hanseatic in ice water (Photo: Hapag-Lloyd Cruises)

Expedition cruise ship Hanseatic has navigated the Northeast Passage for the second time, completing its journey through the Arctic Ocean sea route in the early hours of September 7, 2016. After sailing a total of 5,542 nautical miles, the ship will arrive in Nome on September 10 and officially end its cruise. In 2014, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ Hanseatic became the first non-Russian cruise ship to navigate the Northeast Passage, which runs along the north coasts of Asia and Europe, from the Bering Strait to the White Sea.

31 Aug 2016

Calm Seas, Libya's Lawless State Open Door for Migrant Flows

Calmer seas and Libya's lawlessness have opened the way for smugglers to ship thousands of migrants across the Mediterranean this week, in a striking reminder of how far Europe is from ending the migrant crisis. In just four days, Italy's coastguard and European vessels pulled 13,000 migrants from packed wooden boats and rubber dinghies crossing from Libya's coast through the Strait of Sicily, one of the shortest routes from North Africa. Images from rescue vessels showed migrants crammed into fragile boats, some in orange life jackets, others jumping into the water to swim as rescuers shouted for them to stop. Many were women and children, most of them Subsaharan Africans.

23 Jun 2016

Boat Migrant Rescues Surge as Calm Seas Return to Mediterranean

Ships manned by humanitarian organisations, the Italian navy and the coast guard helped rescue more than 2,000 boat migrants on Thursday as calm seas returned to the Mediterranean prompting a surge in departures. The Topaz Responder, a ship run by the Malta-based humanitarian group Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), said 23 different migrant boats had been spotted in the sea about 20 nautical miles from the Libyan port city of Sabratha. Rescue operations were ongoing, the Italian coast guard said. "The mass movement is probably the result of week-long, unfavourable weather conditions" that have come to an end, MOAS said on Twitter. The Topaz Responder picked up 382 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa from three different large rubber boats.

30 Mar 2016

Migrant Arrivals to Greece Rise Sharply

Arrivals of refugees and migrants to Greece from Turkey rose sharply on Wednesday, just over a week since the European Union and Turkey struck a deal intended to cut off the flow. Greek authorities recorded 766 new arrivals between Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning, up from 192 the previous day. Most arrived on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos. Italy reported an even larger jump in arrivals on Tuesday, when officials there said 1,350 people - mostly from Africa - were rescued from small boats taking the longer migration route over the Mediterranean as the weather warmed up. The EU Commission said on Tuesday that the flows in the last week had reduced…

13 Oct 2015

Greece: No Plan for Migrant Sea Patrols with Turkey

Greece said on Tuesday it had no plan to carry out joint sea patrols with neighbouring Turkey to stem an influx of migrants and refugees into Europe. A record 400,000 refugees and migrants have arrived in Greece this year from nearby Turkey, most fleeing war-torn Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq and hoping to reach wealthier northern Europe. Many others have died at sea while making the short but perilous crossing on flimsy rubber boats. The member states of Europe, meanwhile, have struggled to agree on a strategy to control the flow of people. German government spokesman Steffen Seibert on Monday suggested that Greek and Turkish coast guard and navy team up to crack down on traffickers that migrants are turning to in their effort to reach Europe. "Greece ...

20 Sep 2015

4,700 Migrants Rescued off Libya Coast

Nearly 4,700 migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya on Saturday as they tried to reach Europe but one woman was found dead, Italy's coastguard said. Tens of thousands of people, mainly from Africa and the Middle East, have tried to cross the Mediterranean this year, often dangerously packed into small vessels unsuitable for the voyage. The coastguard said in a statement it had coordinated 20 rescue operations involving numerous vessels which picked up 4,343 migrants from rubber boats and barges. In one of the inflatable boats a woman's body was found, the coastguard said, without specifying the possible cause of death. Another 335 people were picked up as part of a rescue mission coordinated by Greece and were being directed to a port in Italy to disembark.