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21 Jun 2023

Missing Titanic Submersible Update: Searchers Detect Subsea Sounds

Copyright chocolatefather/AdobeStock

Search teams detected underwater sounds while scanning the North Atlantic for a tourist submersible that vanished with five people aboard during a deep-sea voyage to the century-old wreck of the Titanic, the U.S. Coast Guard said early on Wednesday.The detection of the sounds by Canadian aircraft on Tuesday, day three of the search, was reported by the Coast Guard as the clock ticked down to the last 24 hours of the missing craft's presumed oxygen supply.Robotic undersea search operations were diverted to the area where the sounds seemed to originate…

07 Oct 2022

Nord Stream Gas 'Sabotage': Who's Being Blamed and Why?

The gas leak from the Nord Stream gas pipeline measured over 950 meters in diameter. - Credit: Swedish Coast Guard

Major leaks that suddenly erupted in the Nord Stream gas pipelines that run from Russia to Europe under the Baltic Sea have generated plenty of theories but few clear answers about who or what caused the damage.Here is what we know and what has been said so far:WHO IS BEING BLAMED?As probes by European authorities continue, the Swedish security police said on Thursday that suspicions of gross sabotage on the pipelines had been strengthened following a crime scene investigation.

13 Jan 2021

Maritime Security: Neo-colonialism in the Gulf of Guinea

© Lucia / Adobe Stock

Is neo-colonialism in the Gulf of Guinea the answer to West Africa’s maritime crime crisis?In October 2020, China’s transport ministry established an ad hoc workgroup to lay down precautionary measures for ships and seafarers passing through high piracy risk West African waters.The move came as China told its vessels to up vigilance and implement a series of precautionary measures to ensure the security of ocea-going vessels and seafarers amid rising attacks and a surge in kidnaps in the Gulf of Guinea.Plans outlined by Wu Chungeng…

28 Aug 2019

Duterte Readies to Raise Ruling with China

A Chinese warship underway (file image: AdobeStock /  © Vanderwolfe)

When Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte visits China this week, he'll need to salvage something from a "pivot" to Beijing that has left him empty-handed, and exposed his neighbours to a new level of brinkmanship in the South China Sea.Despite his huge domestic popularity and great affection for China, Duterte is under growing pressure to push back at its growing maritime assertiveness. After avoiding the issue for three years, he has vowed to raise with President Xi Jinping a 2016…

07 Feb 2019

Troubled Uljanik Shipyard Stays Afloat by Restructuring

File Image: CREDIT Uljanik Shipyard

Croatia's troubled shipbuilder Uljanik said on Thursday it had chosen local rival Brodosplit as a strategic partner to restructure its operations.Uljanik, 25 percent owned by the state and with 3,500 employees, has been working to stave off bankruptcy due to liquidity problems that began in 2017. Workers staged strikes twice last year over unpaid wages."Uljanik has chosen Brodosplit as its strategic partner which will have an obligation to devise, in cooperation with Uljanik, a feasible restructuring plan…

26 Jun 2018

Migrants Rescued by Boxship Land in Sicily

More than 100 rescued migrants from private cargo ship Alexander Maersk, picked up off the coast of southern Italy on Friday, arrived in the southern port of Pozzallo in Sicily on Tuesday. The new Italian government has closed its ports to ships operated by charities in the Mediterranean, saying the European Union must share the burden of disembarking migrants rescued at sea, mostly off the Libyan coast. The Alexander Maersk is a container ship owned by Maersk Line, part of Danish transport and logistics A. P. Moller-Maersk Group, and is not operated by a non-governmental organisation. It had been waiting off the coast of Sicily to be assigned a port since Friday, the ship owner had said.

10 Jan 2018

German Boxship Collides with Crane at Keelung Port

A German-flagged container ship Hansa Meersburg ran into a crane while berthing at Keelung Port, Taiwan resulting in the damage of containers and port infrastructure, CNA reported. The 2007-built freighter, operated by German-based Leonhardt and Blumberg hit and damaged a berth crane valued at NT$200 million (US$6.78 million) as it was sailing into the harbor. In addition to the damage sustained by the crane, a pier was also damaged, suffering a hole three meters wide and two meters deep. The Focus Taiwan news channel reported that a 62-year-old worker, Chen Lin-tsang, who was handling cargo, suffered minor injury when the ship hit the crane. The incident is being investigated by the Marine Port Bureau (MPB) under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Taiwan.

05 Jun 2017

Coast Guard to Be Honored in DC

John F. Kelly (Photo: US Dept. of Homeland Security)

The Coast Guard Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to the education and welfare of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced that its 13th Annual Tribute to the United States Coast Guard in Our Nation’s Capital will take place on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at the National Building Museum, Washington, D.C. Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly and Admiral Paul F. Zukunft, Commandant of the Coast Guard will deliver keynote remarks. Dinner chairs are Coast Guard Foundation board members Admiral Thad Allen, USCG (Retired) and Corrine Kosar. Secretary John F.

04 Apr 2017

Multi-million Dollar Deal for Somaliland's Historic Port Sparks Land Rush

The land along the road into Berbera is barren and empty. Somaliland's small, rusty Gulf of Aden port which for centuries made the town prosperous rises suddenly out of the ground as the road hits the coast. The crumbling town has languished for decades, but its fortunes look set to change following a multi-million dollar deal to revamp the port which has triggered a rush to buy land. Berbera, along the coast from Djibouti, has been a backwater since 1991 when Somaliland broke away from Somalia following a bloody civil war. The town's buildings, some dating back to the Ottoman era, stand neglected. Unemployment is rampant, exacerbated by a devastating drought that has decimated livestock, a backbone of the export economy.

04 Aug 2016

IMO’s Maritime Security Work Highlighted

Recent security exercises in the English Channel involving military personnel on board ships have sparked heightened media interest in maritime security in the region. As a result, International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s work in this field has been highlighted on the UK news channel Sky News (2 August) by Chris Trelawny, IMO Special Advisor on Maritime Security and Facilitation. Asked about ferry security in the context of terrorism, Trelawny told the programme that “IMO has developed a range of guidance and measures to protect shipping, and to protect the ports serving shipping – including the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code”.

22 Jul 2016

Philippines' Offshore Oil Still in Doubt

The Philippines, eager to resume development of vital oil and gas reserves off its coast, will likely need to reach an accord with a Chinese government infuriated by last week's ruling that granted Manila a big victory in the South China Sea. The Philippines relies overwhelmingly on imports to fuel its fast-growing economy. That reliance will grow further in a few years when the main source of domestic natural gas runs out, so the clock is ticking for it to develop offshore fields that China shows no sign of loosening its grip on. Beijing has refused to recognise the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration that granted the Philippines sovereign rights to access offshore oil and gas fields, including the Reed Bank, a shallow tablemount some 85 nautical miles off its coast.

04 Sep 2015

Migrants Scrap with Greek Authorities on Lesbos

About 200 unregistered migrants trying to board a ship scuffled with police and coastguard officials on the Greek island of Lesbos on Friday, a coastguard spokesman told Reuters. Police used teargas to disperse the migrants, a reporter at the scene for the Greek news channel ANT1 said. "About 200 migrants that were not registered tried to get on a ferry at the port and they were pushed back by the police and the coastguard," coastguard spokesman Nikos Lagkadianos said. Greece is on a front line of a migrant crisis that has seen hundreds of people, many fleeing war and poverty, arriving on its shores every day. European Union officials…

29 Jul 2015

Mexico to Postpone Deep Water Auction

Mexico, which has started to open its nationalized oil industry to additional private investment, will postpone auctions for deep-water oil exploration and production contracts and adjust the terms of upcoming tenders after an inaugural oil auction failed to meet the government's modest expectations. Energy Minister Pedro Joaquin Coldwell told local television the government will change rules that scared off potential bidders earlier this month, when it was able to auction only two of 14 blocks in a pivotal oil and gas tender. He signaled that the government will relax its requirement that consortia bidding on oil parcels must have one member act as a guarantor and hold shareholder equity of at least $6 billion to protect the state's interest in the event of a major accident.

02 Jul 2015

Philippine Ferry Sinks, 36 Dead

A ferry carrying 189 passengers and crew capsized off the central Philippines in heavy waves on Thursday, killing at least 36 people but the majority of those on board were rescued, the coast guard and police said. The MBCA Kim-Nirvana, a motorised outrigger with 173 passengers and 16 crew on board, capsized minutes after leaving the port of Ormoc. Coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo said 127 people survived, while 26 were still listed as missing. "Search and rescue operations are ongoing. Initially we learned that it was due to big waves," said Rey Gozon, director of the office of civil defence for the region. Scores, sometimes hundreds, of people die each year in ferry accidents in the Philippines, an archipelago of 7,100 islands with a notoriously poor record for maritime safety.

28 Apr 2015

Iranian Forces Fire On, Board Cargo Ship in Gulf

An MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter flies by the guided-missile destroyer USS Farragut in 2012 (U.S. Navy photo)

Iranian forces boarded a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf on Tuesday after patrol boats fired warning shots across its bow and ordered it deeper into Iranian waters, the Pentagon said. U.S. planes and a destroyer were monitoring the situation after the vessel, the MV Maersk Tigris, made a distress call in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important oil shipping channels. Iran's Tasnim news agency quoted an unidentified source who sought to play down the incident, saying it was a civil matter with no military or political dimension.

28 Apr 2015

Ship Management Says Concerned for Crew After Iran Fires Shots

Rickmers Shipmanagement, the Singapore-based company that has chartered the Maersk Tigris, said Iranian officials fired warning shots at the container ship and boarded it on Tuesday.   Spokesman Cor Radings told Danish TV2 news channel the company was concerned for the 24 crew members on board, most of whom come from Eastern Europe and Asia.   He said the vessel was running along a normal commercial route between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and that the company did not yet know why Iran had stopped it.     (Reporting by Sabina Zawadzki; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

14 Mar 2015

China to Roll Out 2nd Aircraft Carrier

Chinese officials have confirmed that the country is currently building a second aircraft carrier, say local media. The People’s Daily, the Communist party mouthpiece, quoted top officials as confirming the craft’s construction. The ship is reportedly being built in a shipyard in the northeastern city of Dalian, where China’s first carrier, the Liaoning, was refitted before going into service in 2012. Until now the military has tried to keep the second carrier a secret and at least two reports in Chinese media about the ship have been censored. The report also cited Ding Haichun, who was promoted to the position of deputy political commissioner of the PLA Navy back in January, as confirming that China’s second aircraft carrier is under construction.

26 Nov 2013

Lost NZ Ferry Propeller Found 120m Down in Cook Strait

Ferry Aratere: Photo courtesy of Interislander

The propeller had been lost earlier this month from the Interislander ferry, the 'Aratere', which is expected to be out of service for 6 months as a result, but the propeller has now been found in Cook Strait by Seawork Salvage Co., contracted by KiwiRail, reports Radio New Zealand. The propeller was discovered about two nautical miles from Tory Channel, by using sonar equipment and an unmanned vehicle. Citing a Seawork spokesman, Radio NZ say that the company will probably use its survey vessel, the unmanned submarine [sic] and another ship to salvage the propellor.

26 Nov 2013

UK's Huge Atlantic Array Wind Farm Project Dropped

Image courtesy of EWEA

Developer RWE Innogy is pulling the plug on the 240-turbine Atlantic Array project, report BBC News citing a  Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) source. The 222m (721ft) tall turbines, planned to be situated in an area 200 sq km, (77 sq miles) about 16.5km (10 miles) from the north Devon coast, 22.5km (14 miles) from south Wales coast and 13.5km (8 miles) from Lundy Island nature reserve, would be capable of producing enough electricity for up to 900,000 homes. DECC commented to the BBC that the scrapping of the scheme was a matter for the developer…

07 Oct 2013

Treasure Hunters' Research Ship Sidelined by Fire

RV Dorado Discovery: Photo courtesy Odyssey Marine Exploration

San Diego firefighters knocked down an electrical fire that broke out Sunday aboard the 'Dorado Discovery', a 321-foot British-flagged research and survey ship docked at the 10th Avenue Marine Terminal, reports 'U~T San Diego', quoting city fire officials. The fire began in a storage area of the ship and caused minor damage, but it could take weeks to repair, reported the news channel citing Tanya Castaneda, a spokeswoman for the Port District and Harbor Police. The Coast Guard's investigation might delay the ship's scheduled Oct. 16th departure.

10 May 2013

Taiwan Condemns Philippine Attack on Fishing Vessel

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirm that shots fired from a Philippine ship killed one fisherman and caused serious damage. There have been incidents in the past with Taiwanese fishermen operating in the area being arrested and detained by the Philippine authorities but there have been few reports of shooting, much less injuries and death, reports 'Focus Taiwan News Channel'. Hung Shih-cheng, 65, was shot dead by the personnel on the Philippine vessel on Thursday morning, when the Taiwanese boat – the Kuang Ta Hsing No. 28 – was operating some 170 nautical miles off the southern coast of Taiwan, Focus Taiwan adds, citing the ministry.

06 May 2013

China Aircraft Carrier Group Assembling Quietly

Aircraft Carrier 'Liaoning': Photo courtesy of China Govt.

Escort ships for China's first aircraft carrier, the 'Liaoning', are quietly assembling at Qingdao Harbor & are expected to sail soon. Citing the Hong Kong-based Chinese-language newspaper 'Wen Wei Po' Focus Taiwan reports that the carrier battle group might comprise the Liaoning, four type 052C or 052D destroyers, two type 052B destroyers, two to four type 054A escort ships, one or two type 093 nuclear submarines and one supply ship. The report also said the Liaoning battle group's…

24 Apr 2013

AMO Responds to Cruise Line Industry Criticisms

American Maritime Officers Association (AMO) president follows up on his recent appearance on FOX News Channel. The AMO president says his April 15 live appearance on FOX News Channel's segment, "Remembering Titanic 101 years Ago Today," which highlighted concerns about the rising tide of marine mishaps, has drawn undue criticism from the cruise ship industry's lobbying group, yet, has ignited overwhelming positive public and professional support of putting highly-trained AMO-member U.S. merchant mariners in command of more passenger vacation vessels. A few days after American Maritime Officers President Tom Bethel appeared on "FOX & Friends," the Cruise Lines International Association issued a news release in the form of an open letter from CEO Christine Duffy to Mr. Bethel.