Ecuador News

The U.S. Coast Guard coordinated the rescue of 27 mariners on Saturday after their Venezuelan-flagged fishing vessel caught fire approximately 500 miles north-northwest of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.At 3:51 p.m. PST, Saturday, Rescue Coordination Center Alameda received a notification from the Garmin Search and Rescue Command Center of an SOS distress alert from the 240-foot fishing vessel La Pena.Using a crewmember’s satellite messaging device, Coast Guard watchstanders established communications with the crew and confirmed the vessel had caught fire and sank.

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats on Wednesday asked the Justice Department to hand over all legal opinions its attorneys have produced to assess the legality of the military's 13 deadly strikes against suspected drug vessels that have killed about 57 people."Summarily killing criminal suspects is prohibited under domestic and international law in both peacetime and wartime," they wrote in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi that was seen by Reuters."These recent strikes…

A series of U.S. strikes against suspected drug vessels in the eastern Pacific killed 14 alleged drug traffickers and left one survivor, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday, the latest operation in President Donald Trump's counter-drug campaign.The strikes in the Pacific come against the backdrop of a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean that includes guided-missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine, and thousands of troops. The administration has ordered the Ford carrier strike group to the region…

President Donald Trump dramatically escalated a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean on Friday by deploying the Gerald Ford aircraft carrier group to Latin America, a show of force that far exceeds any past counter-narcotics need and represents Washington’s most muscular move yet in the region.The deployment is part of Trump's military buildup in the Caribbean, which includes eight additional warships, a nuclear submarine and F-35 aircraft. It is likely to raise concern in the…

The U.S. military killed five alleged drug smugglers in strikes against two vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday, in an expansion of the Trump administration's use of the armed forces in its counter-narcotics campaign.On Wednesday afternoon, Hegseth said the military attacked a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean and killed two men on Tuesday. It was the first known U.S. military operation in the Pacific since President Donald Trump kicked off a new offensive against the drug trade.Hours later…

The U.S. military killed two alleged drug smugglers in a strike against a vessel in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday, an attack that expands the Trump administration's use of the military in its counter-narcotics campaign.The strike is the first known U.S. military operation in the Pacific since President Donald Trump started a new military offensive against the drug trade that has led to at least seven strikes in the Caribbean and dramatically raised U.S.

Ecuadorian activist María Chóez, a vocal advocate for the families of missing tuna fishers, has been murdered.According to witnesses cited by NGO Human Rights at Sea, the 48-year-old was shot in the head by occupants of a vehicle on September 25 in Manta, Ecuador.She was reported as being a family member of one of the 21 fishermen from the Patricia Lynn tuna vessel that went missing on December 22, 2024. She had been a vocal advocate about the case.María's assassination underscores the increasing impunity faced by those people who legitimately challenge abuses…

On India's southern coast, V. Srinivas thrived for two decades by farming shrimp, as the country became the top supplier of the delicacy to the United States. Now, Donald Trump's 50% tariff threat is forcing many to consider other ways of making money.Andhra Pradesh state sends the most shrimp from India to the U.S. and farmers there have spent millions of rupees (hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars) over the years to cultivate high-quality shrimp in saline ponds.Now they are being hit hard as Indian exporters have slashed rates they offer farmers by almost 20% after the tariff shock…

A powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula triggered tsunami waves of up to 5 metres (16 feet) and sparked evacuation orders in Hawaii and across the Pacific on Wednesday.The shallow earthquake damaged buildings and injured several people in the remote Russian region, while much of Japan's eastern seaboard - devastated by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in 2011 - was ordered to evacuate.In Hawaii, coastal residents were told to get to high ground or the fourth floor or above of buildings, and the U.S.

Greek police have dismantled a gang that had been hiding cocaine in sheets of leather that were smuggled from Bolivia to Greece on container ships, police officials said on Friday.They said the method used by the gang signalled a shift in methods for smuggling the drug from South America to Europe.Eleven people have been arrested so far, including nationals form Bolivia and Spain, after police monitored the suspects for months following a tip-off by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration…

Turbulence stirred by President Donald Trump’s tariffs could disrupt global shrimp shipments to the United States, with exporters in top supplier India warning that up to 2,000 containers of frozen shrimp are at risk.Ecuador, however—located thousands of kilometers closer to the U.S.—faces a lower tariff rate and may benefit from the shift, exporters say. Shrimp is the country’s most valuable export after oil.India’s shrimp sector is bracing for a 26% tariff under Trump’s July plan, jeopardizing a $7-billion seafood export industry that relies heavily on major U.S.

South Korean authorities found about two tonnes of suspected cocaine on Wednesday on a ship docked at a port, the customs service said, in what appears to be the largest haul of smuggled drugs in the country's history.Korea Customs Service and Coast Guard found 57 boxes of the suspected drug on a bulk ship docked at Gangneung city port on the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, the customs service said in a statement.They searched the ship after receiving information from the U.S.

South Korean authorities found about one tonne of suspected cocaine on Wednesday on board a ship docked at a port, a customs service spokesperson said, in what appears to be the largest haul of smuggled drugs in the country's history.Korea Customs Service and Coast Guard found more than 50 boxes of suspected cocaine, each weighing roughly 20 kg, on a bulk ship docked at a port in Gangneung city on the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, the spokesperson said.They searched the ship after receiving information from the U.S.

SAAM (SM SAAM) reported net income from continuing operations of $59.2 million for 2024, EBITDA of $188 million (+17% vs. 2023) and revenue of $578 million (+7%). During the year it also completed the process of integrating the assets acquired from Starnav in Brazil and Pertraly in Ecuador. It also reported net income from discontinued operations of $479 million from its port terminal and inland logistics operations sold in August 2023. The company also reported that the Board of Directors agreed to propose a final dividend of $39.2 million to shareholders at the annual general meeting.

DP World’s ports and terminals handled a record 88.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2024, up 8.3% year-on-year, despite macroeconomic headwinds and concerns over the outlook for global trade.The global logistics business, which now can handle over 100 million TEU across operations in 78 countries, benefitted from long-term infrastructure investment, contributing to strong growth and new services calling at its terminals.While the Red Sea crisis posed a significant challenge to global shipping in 2024…

Contecon Guayaquil (CGSA), Ecuador’s main port and subsidiary of ICTSI, has signed a new commercial agreement for the Asia-South America (ASA) service, further strengthening Contecon Guayaquil’s connectivity with the Asian market.The agreement brings back five shipping lines and their shippers’ customer base to the terminal: Wan Hai, Pacific International Lines, Cosco, Evergreen and Yang Ming.The ASA service used to call at Contecon Guayaquil until 2015. Contecon Guayaquil’s inclusion in the service rotation reaffirms CGSA’s commitment to innovation…

Washington State Ferries announced it has canceled the sale of two retired vessels after the buyer failed to meet its contractual obligations and left a tugboat crew abandoned in Puget Sound.Sold in August for $100,000 apiece, the decommissioned WSF ferries Elwha and Klahowya had been sold to Nelson Armas, who has gained approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) to transport the out-of-service vessels by tow for recycling at a steel mill facility in Ecuador.But when Armas attempted to move the ferries to Ecuador…

Four seafarers have been abandoned without pay on a 60-year-old tugboat in Washington State.The vessel, Wycliffe, recently changed its flag to Vanuatu, and was scheduled to help tow two retired Washington State Ferries vessels for a 34-day transit to Ecuador – where the new owner is based – for scrap, but the contract was canceled after the tug experienced technical issues.The four crew members on board from Colombia, Panama, and Peru faced dire conditions, including inadequate food…

Washington State Ferries announced it has sold a pair of retired vessels for recycling in Ecuador.Sold for $100,000 apiece, the ferries Elwha and Klahowya have been acquired by Nelson Armas, who has gained approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD) to transport the out-of-service vessels by tow for recycling at a steel mill facility in Ecuador.WSF described the facility as "clean" and "green" and noted that both retired ferries are certified to be free of hazardous materials.A Western Towboat Co.

Turkish holding company Yilport will invest an expected $1.62 billion to expand two ports in El Salvador and operate them jointly with the local port authority, the government of the Central American country said.Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, in a post on X on Sunday evening, said the investment is part of his broader economic revitalization plan.Yilport, which also operates ports in Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru and in Europe, is set to invest to triple capacity at Acajutla, El Salvador's biggest port.It will also invest to overhaul La Union, a port in the east of the country which has been c

Greek authorities have confiscated cocaine valued at more than 1 million euros ($1.10 million) that was hidden in a sea container for bananas, the coast guard said.The drugs, seized from a vessel in Piraeus port on Monday, were found with the help of the Homeland Security Investigations unit of the U.S.

Ecuador's navy is ready to protect the seas around the Galapagos Islands from illegal fishing by foreign ships whose annual visits threaten marine wildlife in the archipelago's waters, following training exercises with neighboring allies.Training operations around the Galapagos, which sit among a mega-diverse marine reserve, began in 2018 after authorities captured a ship in the protected area the year before.The ship, then known as the Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999, was flying the Chinese…

SAAM reported net income of US$501 million in 2023, representing its best-ever results thanks to the sale of its port and logistics assets to Hapag-Lloyd, which generated a net gain of US$422 million.Sales for the year totaled US$540 million and EBITDA was US$160 million, surpassing the prior year by 17% and 9%, respectively."The sale of our port terminal and inland logistics operations leaves us in a solid position to move forward on the path we have set for ourselves: to lead the consolidation process in the towage industry and grow in air cargo logistics services.