Category: MARITIME

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

An oil tanker was briefly stranded in Egypt’s Suez Canal but tugboats were able to refloat it. The tanker was said to have had a technical fault with its rudder, according to the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) which caused the mishap harkening back to the Ever Given fiasco which ran aground and was stuck in the canal for six days in March of 2021. Both incidents occurred in the same stretch of the canal. The vessel, the Affinity V, was blocking the southern section of the canal, two navigational sources said, but the SCA said that it had been refloated and traffic had returned to normal.

The Italian coastguard were able to rescue the nine people on board – four passengers and five crew. It was reportedly heading from Gallipoli to Milazzo when it sank. An investigation into the reason the yacht sank is ongoing.

A group of migrants were rescued by the Spanish charity group Open Arms after nine days at sea. The migrants, 101 mostly Egyptian male migrants in a rickety wooden boat, had been adrift for days. One man needed immediate medical attention and was release to hospital. The others had to await their fate but eventually were released into the country of Italy.

Close to a dozen Chinese and Taiwanese boats from each country’s navy were reportedly staying close to the median line of the Taiwan Strait near Pingtan Island amid heightened tensions between the two countries. The Chinese boats repeatedly “pressed” into the unofficial buffer, while Taiwan’s navy stayed close-by to monitor the movements, according to a source. The source, who is familiar with the security planning in the region, said the two were exercising restraint. Taipei’s military said 68 Chinese fighter jets and 13 warships crossed the median line that runs down the Taiwan Strait during August 5, 2022 military drills by Beijing’s forces.