Brave efforts by the crew of a tugboat prevented the grounding of the cruise ship Norwegian Prima at the port of Reykjavík in Iceland in May last year, an investigation has revealed. The Icelandic Transportation Accident Investigation found that the ship could have grounded after encountering a sudden increase in wind speed as it departed the port, but the actions of the crew of the tug Magni prevented a disaster.  On the night of May 26, 2023, the Bahamas-flagged cruise ship was preparing to depart Reykjavík. The master, 37, was Panamanian and had sailed with Norwegian Cruise Lines ..read more

On Saturday, the Olympic torch boarded a historic French sailing vessel in Piraeus, bound for France and the next leg of its long journey to the Paris Olympics.  The torch relay began on April 16 in the ruins of Olympia, Greece, with a ceremonial lighting of the flame. This year, the relay runners wound their way along a 3,000-mile route through Greece, ending in Piraeus to meet the French tall ship Belem. (Belem was docked about 20 miles from Olympia during the lighting ceremony, and transited around the Peloponnese to meet the runners in Athens.) Belem is a historic steel-hulled, three ..read more

  Over the weekend, Russia activated the world’s first Arctic observation satellite system. The system draws on data from Roscosmos’ two Arktika-M satellites. The first Arktika satellite was launched into orbit in February 2021 and the second in December last year. The new constellation provides round-the clock meteorological and environmental monitoring of the Arctic surface, including the Northern Sea Route. “For the first time in the world, Russia has created a hydro-meteorological space system that allows permanent observation of the Arctic regions and its adjacent territories,” said ..read more

On Saturday, the Port of Baltimore received its first container ship since the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge one month ago. The arrival is an important milestone for Baltimore businesses and longshoremen, who have been heavily impacted by the closure of the inner harbor.  At about 1730 hours local time on Saturday, the sub-Panamax MSC Passion III transited through the temporary 35-foot-deep shipping channel and moored alongside at Seagirt. About 80 union longshoremen were there to meet the ship and handle her cargo. The port is an important local source of well-paid ..read more

    [By Daniel Cressey]   In 2004, a humpback whale was spotted entangled in fishing gear in Banderas Bay, a small bight on the Pacific Coast of Mexico in which the resort town of Puerto Vallarta nestles. This area is home for Astrid Frisch-Jordán, the operations manager for Ecotours de Mexico and a professional whale watcher. Concerned townspeople were soon calling her about the trapped animal. “The first day, we were like: ‘Oh, that’s very bad, but we cannot attend, we are not experts’,” she recalls. As the hours ticked by, the community’s urge to act grew. “By the second day ..read more

The White House has pledged that there will be no American boots on the ground when a new military aid pier begins operating in Gaza - but there might be British boots, according to the BBC.  The U.S.-led aid operation plans to use a floating pier to conduct joint logistics over the shore (JLOTS) delivery of food aid from sealift ships. After months of conflict and tightened Israeli border controls, Gaza is short on food, and aid groups have warned of the risk of famine. As Gaza has no significant port infrastructure, a joint U.S. Army / U.S. Navy team will install a floating modular caus ..read more

  "Baltimore Key Bridge Collapses After Ship Collision" - this and similar headlines greeted us as we awoke on the morning of March 26. Within 48 hours, our industry partners reached out to the Seamen’s Church Institute to ask what SCI could do to support the seafarers aboard the container ship Dali, now trapped under the superstructure of the Key Bridge. Amid ongoing investigations by the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), access to the Dali was extremely limited. Yet, within a week of the allision, SCI was cleared to board the ship to provide supp ..read more

On Saturday, Houthi forces confirmed a missile strike on a merchant tanker and an American drone aircraft over the Red Sea, demonstrating the continued menace the terrorist group still poses after months of allied counterstrikes. Overnight Friday, the Royal Navy monitoring operation UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported an incident involving the tanker Andromeda Star at a position about 14 nautical miles southwest of Al Mukha, Yemen. This area is at the north end of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, where Houthi forces have attacked Western shipping many times. The master of Andromeda Sta ..read more

    [By Daniel Cressey]   In 2004, a humpback whale was spotted entangled in fishing gear in Banderas Bay, a small bight on the Pacific Coast of Mexico in which the resort town of Puerto Vallarta nestles. This area is home for Astrid Frisch-Jordán, the operations manager for Ecotours de Mexico and a professional whale watcher. Concerned townspeople were soon calling her about the trapped animal. “The first day, we were like: ‘Oh, that’s very bad, but we cannot attend, we are not experts’,” she recalls. As the hours ticked by, the community’s urge to act grew. “By the second day ..read more

  "Baltimore Key Bridge Collapses After Ship Collision" - this and similar headlines greeted us as we awoke on the morning of March 26. Within 48 hours, our industry partners reached out to the Seamen’s Church Institute to ask what SCI could do to support the seafarers aboard the container ship Dali, now trapped under the superstructure of the Key Bridge. Amid ongoing investigations by the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), access to the Dali was extremely limited. Yet, within a week of the allision, SCI was cleared to board the ship to provide supp ..read more