Daily Mail News

In the early hours of June 17, U.S. destroyer the USS Fitzgerald was hit by a containership just off the coast of Shimoda, Japan. The collision claimed the lives of seven U.S. Navy Sailors. In the aftermath, both sides are trying to figure out exactly what happened. The containership, ACX Crystal, and the U.S. Navy initially reported the incident at 2:25 a.m. local time. However, they have since revised the time to 1:30 a.m. Apparently, the ACX Crystal made a U-turn at around 2 a.m. to go back and see what it hit.

The world is closely watching several contentious flash points that have potential to ignite. The behavior and rhetoric of China and Russia regarding vital shipping lanes in international waters have been alarming. Disputed sovereignty claims and efforts to enforce them have the maritime world on edge. China’s nine-dash line claims about owning the entire East and South China Sea have created a dilemma for themselves and the other nations in the region. The Philippines v. China case with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague commenced on Jan.

Rolls-Royce announced that Stephen Daintith has been appointed Chief Financial Officer and as an executive director of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc. Stephen will take up his new role in 2017, succeeding David Smith who will leave Rolls-Royce after three years to pursue other business interests. Stephen Daintith is currently Chief Financial Officer of Daily Mail & General Trust plc. Previously he was employed by News International as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer of Dow Jones & Co. His earlier career was spent working internationally in a number of senior positions at British American Tobacco, also at Forte, the Civil Aviation Authority and PriceWaterhouse Coopers.

Anthem of the Seas is forced to run around again after suffering a norovirus outbreak just weeks after being battered by 30-foot waves. Royal Caribbean's newest cruise ship, Anthem of the Seas, is cutting another trip short and heading back to Bayonne early, according to reports. Royal Caribbean tweeted that the ship is turning around to, "provide guests with a comfortable journey back home." The reason given for the return is a norovirus outbreak and possible severe storm, according to the Associated Press. The Associated Press staffer aboard the ship said Sunday that the ship's captain and its cruise director have made announcements about the norovirus issues but it's not clear how many people have been affected by the illness.

The Nicaragua canal project, which is being built by Chinese billionaire Wang Jing and his Hong Kong-based Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co. (HKND Group), is not a threat to Panama, but a complement to the demand of world maritime trade, says the president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega. One of the world’s largest engineering projects, the canal in Nicaragua is three times the size of world’s largest, the Panama Canal, and is estimated to cost at least $50 billion. Of the many Chinese infrastructure projects spanning the globe, the new canal seems to make the least commercial sense. Since the project was first announced, questions about Wang Jing’s political connections and the environmental and social impact of the construction have persisted.

An ex-Royal Navy officer’s converted warship has been seized by Spain amid fears he is a mercenary planning to fight pirates in Somalia. Former lieutenant Chris Enmarsh’s decommissioned gunboat Defender has been stopped from sailing since being forced to stop off in Tenerife for repairs. The Spanish authorities are understood to be concerned that Mr Enmarsh and his five-man crew intend to operate as so-called guns-for-hire protecting oil platforms off the coastline of East Africa, reports the Daily Mail. The 127ft boat was built in Lowestoft, Suffolk, in the mid-Seventies as a fast attack craft for the Sultan of Oman’s navy in the Gulf. Itwas decommissioned in 2002, and Mr Enmarsh is thought to have bought it two years ago.

Planning consent for the ambitious £210-million redevelopment of Alexandra Dock where the factory will be based was granted in May. Already huge jack-up cranes are now regularly shipping turbine components from a riverside quay off Albert Dock to offshore wind farm sites off the Norfolk coast. Work has also already started on re-equipping a shipyard in Paull, where a new fleet of support vessels for the offshore wind industry will be built, reports the 'Hull Daily Mail'. Mark Jones, Hull City Council's head of economic development and regeneration said: "There is a revival of shipbuilding and marine engineering on the estuary. Alexandra Dock is set to be transformed under Green Port Hull plans.

The sinking of the Titanic was the first international news story of the twentieth century to receive instantaneous, intensive coverage world-wide. American newspapers had an advantage over the British press, since survivors of the Titanic were brought to New York City. American newspapers had reporters in place when the first inquiry into the disaster was held by the U.S. Senate at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, the day after the survivors landed. Though not an uncommon mistake, the London Daily Mail ran the unfortunate headline on April 16, 1912, "Titanic Sunk. No Lives Lost.

A renewed effort to encourage the building of a replacement ‘Royal Yacht’ has been put on the table by yachtsman and retired advertising  entrepreneur Ian Maiden. Replacing the Britannia which was decommissioned in 1997 is a controversial subject and has had enthusiasm, pledges and disapprovals at every level of government and across the public spectrum. The fact is that times have changed and financing a new yacht from the public purse is currently definitely not an option. This is despite the fact that this ship’s prime purpose would be that of a Commonwealth Flagship…

Divers searching the wreck of a cruise boat which sank on the River Volga in Russia reportedly saw more than 100 corpses trapped inside when they recovered eight bodies, according to a report on http://www.dailymail.co.uk. The overloaded two-deck Bulgaria sank yesterday afternoon during a heavy storm. Nine people were confirmed dead but it remains unclear exactly how many were on the ship. About 60 children were believed to have been on board, according to Russian news reports. Officials said anywhere from 185 to 196 people were on the Bulgaria, which should have carried no more than 120. The ship reportedly went down near the village of Syukeevo in the Kansko-Ustinovsky district near the region's capital, Kazan.