Speed Boats News

A Houthi drone boat ladened with explosives detonated in the Red Sea on Thursday but failed to cause any damage or casualties, the U.S. Navy said, as the Yemen-based group continued its attacks in defiance of international calls to stop.The latest attack came one day after 12 countries including the United States, Britain and Japan issued a joint statement cautioning the Houthis of unspecified "consequences" unless it halts its attacks, in what one U.S. official on Wednesday suggested was a final warning.The Iran-aligned Houthis…

Shipping traffic through the Suez Canal fell 20% between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2 compared to a year earlier, according to the PortWatch platform, after shipping companies began re-routing vessels in response to attacks by Yemen's Houthis.From Dec. 15, when Maersk became the first shipper to announce diversions, until Jan. 2, the most recent date for which International Monetary Fund's PortWatch has data, the number of tankers and cargo ships passing through the crucial shipping lane fell by 10%.But seven-day averages only began dipping on Dec.

Facing rising costs, an Icelandic tour operator is using technology powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance safety and slash insurance premiums for its fleet of high-speed rigid inflatable boats (RIB).Reykjavík-based Whale Safari runs tourist RIBs for whale and bird watching excursions in Iceland. From an insurer’s standpoint, the endeavor—which sees vessels that seat up to 12 passengers achieving high speeds and g-force wave impacts—is inherently risky. To make matters worse for companies like Whale Safari…

Laser Weapon Demonstrator (LWD) trials onboard the German frigate Sachsen have successfully been completed, following on from the integration of the LWD in June 2022, MBDA, a multi-national European group specializing in the field of complex weapon system.The High-Energy Laser Naval Demonstrator Working Group (or ARGE), consisting of MBDA Deutschland GmbH and Rheinmetall, is responsible for development and construction of the LWD, and for supporting the trials that were planned and organized by the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment…

VIKING Norsafe Life-saving Equipment HELLAS has secured orders from Greece’s Ministry of Shipping & Island Policy to deliver 31 patrol boats and three high-speed boats to the Hellenic Coast Guard. The orders, covered in three separate contracts with the VIKING Life-saving Equipment subsidiary, are part of an EU-backed Hellenic Coast Guard procurement program which was initiated four years ago.Two of the contracts cover 31 boats based on VIKING Norsafe’s proven Munin S1200 hull form, with the design adapted to meet client requirements.

Any competition requires skill — but when the stakes are high and seas are rough, the right technology can set contenders apart. On the popular National Geographic reality series "Wicked Tuna" and its spinoff, "Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks," commercial fishing crews compete to reel in elusive bluefin tuna. To brave North Atlantic waters off the coast of Gloucester, where the series is set, and bring in fish that are several hundred pounds, it's critical that captains outfit their…

Russia's Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that the Russian warship Ivan Khurs had been attacked unsuccessfully by three Ukrainian uncrewed speedboats in the Black Sea, on the approaches to the Bosphorus strait.In a statement posted on Telegram, the ministry said the warship had been protecting the TurkStream and Blue Stream gas pipelines - which carry gas from Russia to Turkey, partly across the Black Sea - and "continues to fulfill its tasks".No comment was immediately available from Kyiv.The ministry cited the attack as a justification for Russia expanding defensive measures.

A former heavyweight boxer from Montenegro was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice on Monday with trafficking in 22 tons of cocaine worth over $1 billion, most of which was part of one of the largest cocaine seizures in American history.Goran Gogic, 43, was arrested on Sunday night while trying to board a flight to Zurich from Miami International Airport, after being indicted by a grand jury in New York.Prosecutors charged Gogic with three counts of violating the federal Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act, and one count of conspiracy.

Four times the tonnage of the original Open Arms rescue tugboat and with a capacity to carry up to 1,000 people, the Open Arms Uno made its first rescue on Wednesday, picking up 101 migrants stranded on a wooden boat off the Tunisian coast."Sit down, if you don't sit down we don't continue," a crew member shouted to the excited migrants from a speed boat launched from the vessel operated by the Spanish charity Open Arms before all were taken aboard.One had jumped into the water to try to reach the speed boat…

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday they had seized a foreign ship in Gulf waters loaded with what they described as smuggled diesel.Guards commander Ahmad Hajian said the ship's 11 crew had been detained, but did not give details on their nationality or identify the ship."After inspection, more than 150,000 liters of smuggled diesel were discovered," Iran's state broadcaster quoted Hajian as saying.The semi-official Fars news agency, which is close to the Revolutionary Guards…

Iranian naval forces intervened on Saturday to repel pirates who attacked an Iranian oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden, Iran's state media reported.Pirates in five speedboats attacked the unidentified tanker, but they fled after facing heavy fire from Iran's navy, the state broadcaster IRIB said on its website.Iran’s navy has extended its reach in recent years, dispatching vessels to the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden to protect Iranian ships from Somali pirate attacks.(Reporting by Dubai newsroom Editing by Mark Potter)

What are the implications of the conflict in Cabo Delgado for maritime security in East Africa and the Mozambique Channel?Following the recent attacks on the coastal town of Palma in March-April by Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jamamah (ASWJ) insurgents in Mozambique’s troubled Cabo Delgado region, it is pertinent to assess the future trajectory of the conflict in the commercial maritime domain and the challenges it may pose to trade within the region. During the battle for Mocimboa da Praia…

Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps seized a South Korean-flagged tanker in Gulf waters and detained its crew, Iranian media said on Monday, amid tensions between Tehran and Seoul over Iranian funds frozen in South Korean banks due to U.S. sanctions.Seoul confirmed the seizure of a South Korean chemical tanker by Iranian authorities in the waters off Oman, and demanded its immediate release.Several Iranian media outlets, including state TV, said the Guards navy captured the vessel for polluting the Gulf with chemicals."According to initial reports by local officials, it is purely a technical matter and the ship was taken to shore for polluting the sea…

The article has been updated to include a statement by BW Offshore who confirmed the attack on its FPSO and the kidnapping of several crew members.Pirates on Thursday attacked BW Offshore's Sendje Berge FPSO and kidnapped several crewmembers.Security intel group Dryad Global first reported of the attack on the 349 meters-long FPSO on Thursday, citing a "high confidence" source."Reporting indicates that the FPSO SENDJE BERGE has been attacked by unknown armed men. Further reports indicate that up to 11 personnel may have been kidnapped from the vessel," Dryad said.BW Offshore then released a statement confirming the attack had indeed happened and that nine crew members were kidnapped…

A crew member from the containership MSC Gayane pleaded guilty to cocaine trafficking stemming from a $1 billion bust in the Port of Philadelphia, one of the largest drug seizures in U.S. history.The 27-year-old Montenegrin Vladimir Penda entered a plea of guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Harvey Bartle III on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine on a vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction, U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain announced Monday.

Armed pirates attacked a British-flagged chemical tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday but were repulsed, the ship's manager Stolt Tankers said.The pirates approached the Stolt Apal in two speedboats some 75 nautical miles off Yemen, it said, in one of the most important trade routes for oil heading from the Middle East to Europe."After multiple warning shots were fired by the armed guard team aboard Stolt Apal, the skiffs opened fire on the ship. The armed guard team returned fire, disabling one skiff and ending the pursuit," a company spokesman told Reuters in emailed comments."A coalition warship (also) responded and Stolt Apal has resumed her voyage…

Eleven vessels from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) came dangerously close to U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships in the Gulf, the U.S. military said on Wednesday, calling the moves “dangerous and provocative.”While such interactions had occurred occasionally a few years ago, they had stopped, and this incident comes at a time of increased tensions between the two countries.According to the statement, the Iranian vessels approached six U.S. military ships while they were conducting integration operations with Army helicopters in international waters.At one point…

A Hong Kong-flagged tanker was briefly detained in Iran before being freed after armed Iranian guards in speedboats directed the vessel into its waters while it was sailing through the Gulf of Oman, maritime security sources said on Wednesday.The sources said the SC Taipei chemical tanker had been sailing in international waters on Tuesday when it was stopped."The vessel was approached 48nm (nautical miles) offshore Fujairah and hailed by four skiffs carrying armed Iranian coastguard personnel," British maritime security company Ambrey Intelligence said."The vessel's crew were ordered to lower the ladder and were then boarded. The vessel was later directed to Kooh Mobarak…

Shom, the French national hydrographic and oceanographic office selected SBG Systems’ inertial navigation sytems to renew their whole fleet of INS. They chose Navsight Apogee INS for their speedboats and survey vessels for both shallow and deep-water real-time bathymetric surveys and Qinertia PPK software for post-processing tasks.Shom has 3 major objectives: national hydrography and cartography, defense support in hydro-oceanographic fields, and support in maritime geospatial products and services for public policies on the sea and the coast.

The technical launch of first Doha-class air defense corvette ordered by the Qatari Ministry of Defence within the national naval acquisition program, took place at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Muggiano (La Spezia).The corvette Al Zubarah is named after a ruined and ancient fort located on the north western coast of the Qatar peninsula in the Al Shamal municipality, about 105 km from the Qatari capital of Doha.The vessel, which will be delivered in 2021, is designed consistent with the RINAMIL rules, said a release by Fincantieri."She will be a flexible type of ship capable of fulfilling a range of tasks, from surveillance with sea rescue capabilities to being a fighting vessel…

South Korea's military said on Tuesday it plans to expand the deployment of an anti-piracy unit now operating off the coast of Africa to the area around the Strait of Hormuz, after the United States pressed for help in guarding oil tankers.Attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Iran last year prompted U.S. officials to call for allies to join a planned maritime security mission.While South Korea, a key U.S. ally, will deploy its forces to the area, including the Gulf…

Pirates have abducted seven crew members from an anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessel offshore Equatorial Guinea, the vessel's owner Swire Pacific Offshore (SPO) said.The Singaporean-flagged Pacific Warden was attacked on November 20, 2019 at approximately 5 a.m. local time, while supporting offshore field operations in Equatorial Guinea, SPO confirmed on Sunday.Seven of the 15 crew members on board have been taken by the attackers and are presently missing, while the other eight are safely ashore and unharmed, according to SPO.Maritime intelligence group Dryad said local reports indicate that the 68.9-meter Pacific Warden was attacked by two speed boats while traveling from Luba, Boiko island to Serpentina/Zafiro field complex.

The United States is struggling to win its allies' support for an initiative to heighten surveillance of vital Middle East oil shipping lanes because of fears it will increase tension with Iran, six sources familiar with the matter said.Washington proposed on July 9 stepping up efforts to safeguard strategic waters off Iran and Yemen where it blames Iran and its proxies for tanker attacks. Iran denies the charges.But with Washington's allies reluctant to commit new weaponry or fighting forces…