Maritime

A huge fire has been burning for days near the port city of Matanzas in Cuba, a supertanker storage facility. Unable to get the fire under control the first day, Cuba asked for assistance and Mexico and Venezuela sent teams to help fight the fire. The U.S. offered technical advice, according to reports. The fire…

At Least 17 Haitian migrants heading for the United States died when their boat capsized. The incident happened off the coast of the Bahama Islands on Sunday, July 31. Bahamamian defense forces were called when witnesses observed the situation in the early morning hours. “Rescue teams recovered 17 — sadly — 17 bodies from the…

Leidos has entered into a definitive agreement with Cobham Limited to acquire Cobham Aviation Services Australia’s Special Mission business. The Special Mission business provides airborne border surveillance and search and rescue services to the Australian Federal Government. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. “Cobham’s Special Mission team conducts essential operations…

Dutch farmers, angry about new government regulations, used their tractors and trucks to block roads and distribution centers Monday, July 4. The protests were spurred by anger towards the government for plans that would require them to use less fertilizer and reduce livestock, as well as plans to slash emissions. They also targeted Schipol Airport,…

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…

The first call for proposals was launched in October 2021, resulting in a total funding of more than €270 million for over 240 strategic Border Crossing Points and customs laboratories across the EU. This will allow Member States to purchase, maintain or upgrade state-of-the-art customs equipment such as new scanners, radiation monitors, teams of sniffer…

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…

Chargebacks911, the leading dispute technology specialists, today announces its new partnership with AirlinePros, a representation and distribution firm for airlines and travel suppliers, to defeat fraud and friendly fraud for travel industry merchants. Like other major online merchants, travel industry partners including airlines, hotels, and online travel agencies, took a big hit from chargebacks filed…

The Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS) completed an historic transatlantic voyage from Plymouth, UK to its North American arrival in Halifax, Nova Scotia on June 5. The ship had no human captain or crew onboard and is the first self-directed autonomous ship to traverse the Atlantic Ocean. Marine research non-profit ProMare along with IBM designed and…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced that up to $684.3 million is now available for Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) grants, to be awarded on a competitive basis to projects that improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of goods into, out of, around, or within a port. This marks…

International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim has urged further financial support for a UN-coordinated operational plan to address the threat of a major oil spill from the FSO Safer, moored off Yemen, after a pledging event in The Hague saw donors pledging $33 million in new funding. “In the face of an impending environmental…

Superintendent of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Vice Adm. Jack Buono will retire after a maritime career that has spanned more than 45 years. Vice Adm. Buono, a 1978 Kings Point graduate, has spent the past three and a half years at the Academy helm, and will relinquish command at a ceremony in June. His…