Category: MARITIME

Three stowaways were found sitting on the rudder of a ship as it concluded an 11-day voyage from Nigeria, according to Spanish Coast Guard authorities. A photo shared by the coastguard shows the three men sitting on the rudder at the stern of the oil tanker, their feet dangling several feet above the water. The men were taken to hospital at the tanker’s destination in Gran Canaria and treated for dehydration. It’s unknown if they spent the entire journey perched on the rudder or were stowing away in other areas of the ship. The ship originated in Lagos, Nigeria, 2700 miles away.

Two terrorist suspects wanted internationally under Red Notices have been arrested during an international maritime border operation coordinated by INTERPOL. Another eight investigative leads linked to terrorism were generated during Operation Neptune IV (1 July – 3 September) which targeted terrorist suspects and other criminals involved in serious organized crime travelling via maritime routes between North Africa and Southern Europe. The intelligence-led operation was supported by an INTERPOL team on the ground, and also targeted criminal networks involved in the drugs trade, firearms trafficking, human trafficking and people smuggling. Officials at seaports and airports in eight countries – Algeria, Cyprus, France, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, Spain and Tunisia – carried out more than 2.6 million checks across INTERPOL’s databases for stolen and lost travel documents, nominal data and stolen vehicles via its I-24/7 secure global police communications network. These checks generated 140 hits, resulting in 14 additional arrests following seizures worth USD 3.6 million, including: 33 kg of cocaine, some 39,400 ecstasy pills, 133 kg of cannabis, and ten stolen cars. Ten firearms were also seized.

A joint firearms operation between INTERPOL and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) has led to the seizure of some 350 weapons, 3,300 rounds of ammunition and record drug hauls across the Caribbean. Operation Trigger VII (24 – 30 September) saw officers from 19 countries coordinate controls at airports, seaports, land border and inland hotspots, acting on intelligence pointing to organized crime groups and individuals involved in firearms trafficking. They also searched warehouses, inspected packages and carried out targeted checks at firearms dealerships, shooting ranges and private security companies. Police made a total of 510 arrests during the week-long operation, including the subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice wanted for murder. Trigger VII actions also led to the seizure of 10.1 tonnes of cocaine and 2.5 tonnes of cannabis, highlighting the convergence of trafficking routes and the use of firearms used to control the illegal drug trade.

A software flaw combined with the captain’s failure to use back-up controls led to the grounding of a passenger ferry last year in New York City, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a review of the accident in October. The high-speed passenger ferry Commodore, owned and operated by Seastreak, was transiting northbound on the East River on June 5, 2021, when the catamaran lost primary steering and speed control to both of its port hull water jets and then grounded. One minor injury was reported among the seven crewmembers and 107 passengers on board. The grounding resulted in $2.5 million in damages to the vessel. The ferry, providing commuter service between Manhattan and New Jersey, was operating its second trip of the day to the East 35th Street NYC Ferry Terminal from the Sandy Hook Ferry Landing in Sandy Hook, New Jersey. After passing under the Brooklyn Bridge, an alarm alerted indicating a control failure for the port water jets. The captain unsuccessfully attempted to reconnect the port jets several times via the primary control system. The captain first attempted to slow the vessel, then he attempted to go full astern, but only the engines and water jets in the starboard hull responded. This resulted in the ferry turning to starboard and slowing. It crossed to the east side of the river and entered the relatively narrow opening to Bushwick Inlet. Less than two minutes after the alarm, the vessel grounded. The port hull was breached after contact with submerged pilings on the north shoreline of the Bushwick Inlet and seawater quickly entered the port engine room. NTSB investigators found that the captain never tried to engage the back-up control, which could have been used to operate the vessel following the loss of primary control. NTSB investigators found that more effective company training procedures for loss of propulsion or steering control would have included recognizing a control failure and then responding by using the back-up control or other alternatives. Following the grounding, a service engineer for the manufacturer of the primary control system determined the software system was generating an unprecedented number of error messages, which caused the SD card for the display screen controlling the port water jets and engines to fail. This failure resulted in the loss of the display monitor and the loss of primary propulsion and steering control for the water jets and main engines in the port hull. A month after the grounding, the manufacturer issued a service letter to its customers mandating a software update that would correct the issue that caused the problem on the Commodore.

U. S. Coast Guard and federal, state, local agencies and industry organizations from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands conducted a functional area maritime security exercise Wednesday, 14 September, throughout the Captain of the Port Zone area of responsibility. The exercise was part of the nationwide Area Maritime Security Training Exercise Program. Agencies focused on their capacity to alert, mobilize and activate personnel, facilities, and resources for an emergency response.

A superyacht reportedly worth $75-million and linked to Russian steel billionaire was auctioned on 23 August in Gibraltar. This sale is the first of its kind since Russia invaded Ukraine in February of this year. The yacht, Axioma, was impounded by authorities in March after JPMorgan said its alleged owner, Dmitry Pumpyansky, had reneged on the terms of a $20 million loan. He was sanctioned by Britain and the European Union shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine.

A cruise ship passenger from died after being attacked by a shark. The passenger was snorkeling according to authorities. The woman, in her 50s, was cruising on the Royal Caribbean ship, Harmony of the Seas, and was attacked in Green Cay, off the coast of Nassau, as confirmed by the Royal Bahamas Police Force Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings. While the cruise ship was docked in Nassau, the family booked an excursion with a local tour company that took them to a popular snorkeling area, she said. Family members then saw a shark attacking the woman and rushed to her aid. The mother had suffered bites to her “upper extremities,” Skippings said at the time. Paramedics responded to the scene but the passenger perished.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous offloaded approximately 22 pounds of cocaine and 1,256 pounds of marijuana, worth an estimated $3 million, on 2 September at their base in Miami Beach. The drugs were interdicted in the international waters of the Eastern Pacific Ocean by crews from Cutter Vigorous and Cutter Legare. “Vigorous is glad to have been able to make an important contribution to the Coast Guard’s counterdrug mission,” said Cmdr. Ryan A. Water, commanding officer of Vigorous. “I’m incredibly proud of the hardworking Vigorous crew’s proficiency teamwork and devotion to duty that enabled the detection, interdiction and boarding of a vessel suspected of drug smuggling.”

A gas leak at Jordan’s port of Aqaba killed 13 and injured more than 260 others, according to a state media report. A crane malfunctioned while moving a storage container filled with chlorine gas, the state reported. CCTV footage captured the event and showed the container being hoisted into the air and then slipping off of the crane hook and the ensuing explosion of yellow gas. The cloud of yellow gas is seen spreading through the ship, over the ground, and sent bystanders and workers running for safety. State media said as of Monday night, 123 of the injured were still being treated at hospital for chemical exposure. Some of those were in critical condition.

The engineering vessel Fujing 001 and its 30 crew members were carrying out work when Typhoon Chaba hit on Saturday, July 2. The vessel was caught in the storm and snapped in half, then dragged anchor, the anchor chain broke and the vessel floated away, eventually sinking. Rescuers saved at least four people, however, 12 bodies were recovered approximately 50 miles south of the area the vessel sank. The vessel was a floating crane with 30 people on board. The search for survivors or bodies was ongoing.