Category: MARITIME

A woman from China was arrested at a Vermont lake that borders Quebec for trying to smuggle 29 eastern box turtles, a protected species, into Canada by kayak, according to Border Patrol agents. Wan Yee Ng was arrested on the morning of June 28 at an Airbnb in Canaan, Vermont, as she was about to get into an inflatable kayak with a duffle bag on Lake Wallace, according to an agent’s affidavit which was filed in federal court. Agents had been notified by Royal Canadian Mounted Police that two other people, including a man who was believed to be her husband, had started to paddle an inflatable watercraft from the Canadian side of the lake toward the United States, according to an agent’s affidavit. The agents found 29 live eastern box turtles individually wrapped in socks in a duffle bag, the affidavit states. Eastern box turtles can be sold on the Chinese black market for $1,000 each, the affidavit said. Ng was charged with attempting to export the turtles from the U.S., in violation of the Endangered Species Act.

The Greek coast guard is being accused of causing the deaths of dozens of migrants in the Mediterranean over a three-year period, according to a scathing report by the BBC. The deaths include nine who were deliberately thrown into the water, eyewitnesses said. Those nine were among 40 people the report alleges to have died as a result of being forced out of Greek territorial waters, or taken back out to sea after reaching Greek islands, the BBC report said. The investigation said boats are sometimes pushed back towards Turkey by the Greek government, which is illegal under international law. The Greek coast guard said it strongly rejects all accusations of illegal activities.

A Chinese ship and a Philippine supply ship collided Monday, June 17, close to the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. The incident is said to have heightened tensions between the two countries, especially regarding territorial disputes. The Philippine ship entered waters near Second Thomas Shoal which is a submerged reef in the islands. This territory is claimed by several nations but the Philippines says the shoal is within the internationally recognized exclusive economic zone. The New York Times reported that Chinese state media said “that the Philippine vessel had ‘ignored multiple stern warnings’ and had behaved ‘dangerously and in an unprofessional manner,’ causing the boats to collide. The Philippines said that Chinese naval, coast guard and naval militia vessels had engaged in ‘illegal and aggressive actions,’ including what it called ‘ramming.’” MaryKay Carlson, U.S. ambassador to the Philippines, called China’s maneuvers dangerous and that they had “caused bodily injury” and damage to the Philippine vessel.

Governor Wes Moore and the United States Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and others announced the full reopening of the Port of Baltimore following the reinstatement of the Fort McHenry Federal Channel earlier in June. “After the bridge fell, we laid out four key directives: bring closure to the families of the victims; clear the full federal channel and fully reopen the Port of Baltimore to vessel traffic; support everyone affected by this crisis — from our workers to our businesses; and rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge. We promised to bring each of these priorities to completion — even though success was never guaranteed,” said Gov. Moore. “By working together, we have achieved the first three of our four directives. But in this administration, we don’t settle for ‘almost.’ We finish the work we start. We can look out onto the Patapsco and see that the Dali is gone and the wreckage has been cleared. But I will not be satisfied until I can look out on the Patapsco River from this spot and see the Key Bridge standing tall again. That is the push. That is the promise. And by moving in partnership, we will make it reality.” Governor Moore expressed gratitude to the men and women of Unified Command for working around the clock to quickly and safely reopen the 700-foot-wide by 50-foot-deep shipping channel to the Port of Baltimore following the March 26 collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. In only 78 days, Unified Command removed more than 50,000 tons of debris from the Patapsco River, fully restoring the channel, welcoming back global shipping businesses and cruises, and getting Marylanders back to work. “What happened that early morning of March 26 was horrific. What happened next was inspiring,” said Secretary Buttigieg. “As of this week the channel is open, the ships are moving, the terminals are operating, and this great American port is full steam ahead.”

A barge rammed into the structure of a bridge near Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, May 15. The crash caused oil to flow into waters in the busy shipping channel. The accident also closed the sole road to a neighboring island. No injuries were reported. Pieces of the bridge connecting Galveston to Pelican Island fell into the water as well as on top of the barge. The waterway was shut down so cleaning could take place. One man was knocked off the vessel and into the water. He was picked up and was not injured, according to Maj. Ray Nolen of the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office. Experts said the collision was not likely to cause much economic disruption since it occurred in a smaller, less important waterway. The incident happened on the opposite side of Galveston Island’s beaches.

The BBC reportedly tracked down a smuggler who organized a small boat crossing to the U.K. in which five people died. A seven-year-old girl identified only as Sara was among five killed in a crush on board an overcrowded inflatable boat, which set off from a beach in northern France in April, the BBC reported. The BBC investigative team found the smuggler, an Iraqi named Rebwar Zangana, in Luxembourg. The journalists confronted the man, but he denied involvement. However, in earlier phone calls with the man, he confirmed he was still in business and offered the BBC’s undercover reporter a place on a boat for about $1,500.

A Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter aircrew conducted a medevac for a Disney Fantasy cruise ship passenger, Monday, in the Atlantic Ocean 180 miles northwest of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. The medevac patient was a 35-year-old pregnant woman, U.S. citizen, who experienced health complications and required a higher level of medical care ashore.

Commandos from Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard rappelled down ropes from a helicopter onto an Israeli-affiliated container ship in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz and seized the vessel April 13. This was the latest in a series of attacks between the two countries. A special forces unit of the Guard’s navy carried out the attack on the vessel, a Portuguese-flagged container ship associated with London-based Zodiac Maritime. The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all globally traded oil passes. Fujairah, on the United Arab Emirates’ eastern coast, is a main port in the region for ships to take on new oil cargo, pick up supplies or trade out crew. According to reports, the waters off Fujairah have been subjected to a series of explosions and hijackings since 2019.

The crew of a cargo transport abandoned ship after it came under attack by Houthi militia in Yemen. The Houthi have been firing missiles at ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The group says it is a campaign to pressure Israel to end its war in the Gaza Strip. The ship, the Rubymar, was damaged and this was by far the worst attack by the armed group’s missile and drone assaults. Earlier attacks failed to inflict serious damage. The strike involved two anti-ship ballistic missiles launched from Yemen between 9:30 and 10:45 p.m. which, according to the U.S. military, was enough to drive the crew off the vessel.

A wooden boat was sighted at night in international waters north of Libya by a team from Doctors Without Borders. The small wooden fishing boat contained people waving lights from their cellphones to attract attention after the boat’s engine quit. They had been drifting for hours in the pitch black, hundreds of miles offshore in the Mediterranean Sea. Aboard were 162 people, 29 of them children, on the overcrowded boat. The group was rescued and brought aboard another larger ship.