Category: MARITIME

Brazilian federal police rescued four Nigerian migrants who spent 14 days at sea on a ship’s rudder. The four had hoped to reach Europe from Nigeria but were shocked to learn they’d landed thousands of miles away in Brazil. Roman Giomene Friday, one of the four, was quoted as saying, “The journey was so dangerous … I would never try it again.”

The leaders of a global wildlife trafficking ring have been convicted after a four-year investigation and a trial in Nigeria. They pleaded guilty in July to smuggling the scales of endangered African pangolins. These traffickers are considered the top-of-the-pyramid and responsible for half the illegal trade in pangolin scales. Phan Chi (Big Mac), Phan Quan (Benz) and Duong Thang (Fries) were charged with smuggling and trading in pangolin scales and elephant ivory. Faced with little chance of acquittal, they admitted their guilt on the eve of a trial earlier this month. The men were sentenced to six years each and agreed to pay fines as part of a plea bargain to avoid more time behind bars.

U.S. forces prevented two attempted commercial tanker seizures by the Iranian Navy after the Iranians had opened fire in one of the incidents near the coast of Oman. Both of these incidents occurred in international waters. At 1 a.m. local time, one Iranian naval vessel approached the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker TRF Moss in international waters in the Gulf of Oman. The Iranian vessel departed the scene when U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul (DDG 74) arrived on station. Additionally, the U.S. Navy deployed surveillance assets, including MQ-9 Reaper and P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. Approximately three hours later, the U.S. Navy received a distress call from Bahamian-flagged oil tanker Richmond Voyager while the ship was more than 20 miles off the coast of Muscat, Oman, and transiting international waters toward the Arabian Sea. Another Iranian naval vessel had closed within one mile of Richmond Voyager while hailing the commercial tanker to stop. McFaul directed course toward Richmond Voyager at maximum speed as the merchant tanker continued its transit. Prior to McFaul’s arrival on scene, Iranian personnel fired multiple, long bursts from both small arms and crew-served weapons. Richmond Voyager sustained no casualties or significant damage. However, several rounds hit the ship’s hull near crew living spaces. The Iranian navy vessel departed when McFaul arrived. In May, the United States increased the rotation of ships and aircraft patrolling the Strait of Hormuz with partners following an uptick in Iranian merchant vessel seizures.

In mid-March a small submarine was intercepted by the Colombian navy in the South Pacific Ocean. The submarine was discovered carrying thousands of pounds of cocaine and two dead bodies. The vessel was a 50-foot-long, low-profile, semi-submersible carrying more than 2,643 kilograms of cocaine worth more than $87 million, according to reports. The shipment was headed to Central America for distribution. In addition to the cocaine, two dead bodies were found aboard and two men who were deemed in poor health due to inhaling toxic fumes from the submarine.

Six members of a 16-person crew on a Liberia-flagged tanker were held hostage by pirates who boarded the ship in West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea last week, according to the Danish shipper that owns the vessel. Pirates reportedly boarded the Monjasa Reformer near Port Pointe-Noire, Congo, on March 25 and five days later, the French Navy that was patrolling the area, found the ship off the island of Sao Tomé and Principe north of where the pirates boarded. “The pirates had abandoned the vessel and brought some of the crew members with them,” a statement by company spokesman Thorstein Andreasen said. It did not say how they were taken. After the pirates boarded the vessel, the crew sought refuge in a safe area on the ship called a citadel which is the anti-piracy emergency protocol. In spite of this, the pirates somehow managed to take some of the crew hostage. Eventually the six were rescued from an undisclosed location in Nigeria.

China’s Fujian maritime safety administration started a three-day special joint patrol and inspection mission in the northern and central parts of the Taiwan Strait. The mission also includes boarding its ships, the official maritime account said. The southeastern Chinese province maritime safety authority said the operation included on-site examinations of direct cargo and construction ships on either side of the Taiwan Strait with the goal of establishing the safety and security of vessel navigation and to make sure the operations of “key projects are taking place safely and orderly.” The actions come amid heightened tensions between Taiwan and China.

The U.S. Navy-owned research vessel Petrel became dislodged from its holding on a dry dock in Edinburgh, Scotland. More than 33 people were injured when the ship tipped over at the dockyard. Pictures posted on social media show the 3,000-tonne vessel, leaning at a 45-degree angle. A major incident was declared after the occurrence and investigators were looking into the cause.

Three barges broke loose during severe storms in California. One barge struck a San Francisco bridge during the severe weather event called a bomb cyclone. A bridge was damaged. The Third Street bridge was closed to traffic as authorities assessed the damage.

A tourist submarine that focuses on exploring the Titanic shipwreck remains missing. The OceanGate Expeditions submersible has not been heard from for several days and has five people onboard, including Hamish Harding, a British billionaire. French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Sulaiman Dawood are also on the submersible, named Titan. Stockton Rush, the founder of OceanGate Expeditions, may be the fifth person aboard but that had not been confirmed. It launched on Sunday June 18 and lost contact about an hour and 45 minutes later, reports say. The craft has a four-day emergency oxygen supply and time was running out as we went to press.

Australian Police and Border Force found 29 packages of cocaine wrapped in blue plastic and seized it from a bulk carrier called St Pinot, sailing under the Marshall Islands flag. It is alleged that the drugs came from Argentina, South America. Another package was obtained once the ballast tank was emptied. Each package had several 1-kilogram cocaine blocks, police officials said. The discovery was made after they received an SOS call from a small boat off the coast of Rottnest Island which led the authorities to begin looking for cargo ships operating in the area and ultimately found the St Pinot. The two seafarers arrested onboard were working as master and chief engineer. The haul equaled about 850 kilograms of cocaine worth 375 million.