At least 10 people have died and 11 are missing after a Spanish fishing boat sank off Canada’s east coast. Three crew members have been rescued, and efforts to find survivors are continuing. The crew of 24 included 16 Spanish, plus Peruvian and Ghanaian nationals, according to Spanish media reports. The vessel, registered in 2004 and based in the port of Marin in the Spanish region of Galicia, sank in waters off Canada’s Newfoundland. Two distress alerts were received from the Villa de Pitanxo vessel more than 450km (279 miles) from land, according to Spanish sea search and rescue agency … Continue reading Tragic: Ten dead and 11 missing as Spanish trawler sinks off Canada

Two luxury cruise ships that sought refuge in Bahamian waters because of unpaid fuel bills are no longer on the lam. Authorities in the Bahamas seized the Crystal Symphony and Crystal Serenity Friday, days after one of the ships joined its sister in Bimini amid a financial collapse at its parent company. Local media outlets reported that the ships were seized off Freeport about 9 p.m. Friday. No passengers were on board when the ships were seized. The vessels are in the custody of the admiralty marshal, said Stephen Turnquest, a Bahamas-based attorney for a fuel supplier that is suing Crystal … Continue reading Two Crystal Cruises ships seized in Bahamas over unpaid bills

A crude oil vessel has exploded off the coast of Nigeria with ten crew members on board. The FPSO Trinity Spirit, with a 22,000 barrels of oil per day capacity, was situated near Warri in southern Nigeria when it burst into flames. The vessel, which is also used for offloading, is owned by Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd (SEPCOL), whose chief executive Ikemefuna Okafor said there were no immediate reports of fatalities. “We can confirm that there were ten crew men on board the vessel prior to the incident and we are prioritising investigations with respect to their safety … Continue reading Oil vessel explodes off coast of Nigeria

Global supply chain disruption and shortages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic are set to continue well into 2022, according to a report. Digital supply chain experts project44 say average delays on shipping from China to Europe rose to 6 days in December, after falling for months. Delays on routes from China to the west coast of the US have also been increasing steadily since October. Congested ports and production delays have disrupted schedules for months. “Delays are likely to continue well into 2022,” project44 said, “as Covid-19 breakouts continue throughout supply chains and consumers continue to buy at a healthy … Continue reading Warning shipping delay problems to continue this year

Two people have been detained after a UK cargo ship collided with a Danish boat in the Baltic Sea off the Swedish coast, killing at least one person. Prosecutors are investigating allegations of gross negligence and gross drunkenness at sea involving the UK-flagged Scot Carrier. Two crew members on the Scot Carrier were found to be over the limit. Rescue teams searched for hours by sea and air after the much smaller Danish boat, Karin Hoej, capsized. One of Karin Hoej’s crew remains missing. Officials said a British and a Croatian citizen had been arrested. A distress call was made … Continue reading Update: Two detained after UK boat’s fatal collision off Sweden

A major rescue operation is under way after two cargo ships collided in the Baltic Sea off the Swedish coast, causing one vessel to overturn. At least two people are believed to be in the water following the incident in the early hours of Monday, the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) said. The overturned ship, the Karin Hoej, is registered in Denmark. The other vessel was named as the Scot Carrier. A spokesman for the SMA said screams were reported from the cold water. “We have not found anyone yet. But we have requested diving resources… it is dark and very … Continue reading Just In: Cargo ships collide off Sweden’s coast in the Baltic Sea

There are more than 70 container ships bobbing out at sea outside the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach waiting to dock and unload, carrying cargo that will likely miss the holiday season amid the supply chain crisis. If these 20-foot containers were unloaded and their contents laid end to end, it would stretch from Southern California to Chicago, or more than 3,000 kilometers, according to analysis from Bloomberg. The global supply chain has reached crisis mode. After a fall in shipping demand during the early days of the pandemic in 2020, a surge at the end of that … Continue reading #SupplyChainChaos: More than 70 ships anchored off Los Angeles and other parts of the world

A Russian Navy destroyer has fended off a pirate attack on a container ship near the western coast of Africa, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Tuesday. Destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov received a distress signal from Panama-registered container ship Lucia en route from Togo to Cameroon on Monday, the ministry said in a statement, and dispatched a unit of marines on a helicopter to it. The pirates immediately fled, allowing Russian soldiers to free the ship’s crew. The Russian destroyer was part of a group patrolling the Gulf of Guinea to ensure the security of civilian navigation. Continue reading Russian warship wards off pirate attack near African coast

Sixteen people have been evacuated from a burning container ship off Canada’s Pacific coast. The Zim Kingston ship is expelling toxic gas but officials said there is “no safety risk” to people on land. The ship was en route to Vancouver when it caught fire late on Saturday. Response vessels spent the night cooling the exterior of the ship with water, but could not douse the flames directly because of the chemicals, CBC News reports. “The ship is on fire and expelling toxic gas,” the Canadian coast guard said. It added that 10 containers had been affected by the fire. … Continue reading Evacuations as ship spews toxic gas off Canadian coast

Five days after President Biden announced operating two California ports 24/7, as many as 200,000 shipping containers are stranded off the coast waiting to dock in Los Angeles, the port director said Monday. “We have about two weeks’ worth of work sitting at anchor right now,” Gene Seroka told CNN. “The question right now is how do we segment this cargo.”Cargo ships are seen lined up outside the Port of Los Angeles. Ports worldwide are congested as the global economy bounces back from pandemic slowdowns and consumers seek goods and commodities. A dearth of ships and containers are hampering efforts to … Continue reading About 200,000 shipping containers stranded off California coast in supply-chain pandemic disruptions

More than a dozen US sailors have been injured after a nuclear submarine hit an “unknown object” while submerged in waters around the South China Sea. Fifteen sailors had minor injuries when the USS Connecticut collided with the object on Saturday, US officials said. They added that it was unclear what had caused the collision. The incident comes as tensions mount in the highly-disputed region over a recent uptick of Chinese incursions into Taiwan’s air defence zone. A US Navy spokesperson said the submarine is now headed towards the US territory of Guam. “USS Connecticut’s nuclear propulsion plant and spaces were … Continue reading US submarine collides with ‘unknown object’ in South China Sea

A rare waterspout caused by a tornado has struck the German port city of Kiel, throwing people from boats and damaging property. Several rowers out in the water were injured as winds of over 100km/h 62mph lashed the northern coast, police said. Four people were seriously hurt in Kiel’s dockside area. The roofs of some buildings were torn off and trees were uprooted. Waterspouts occur when a tornado forms over oceans, rivers or lakes. They usually disperse after a few minutes, but they can pose serious danger to boats that get close. In Kiel, on Germany’s Baltic Sea coast, members … Continue reading Waterspout hits German port city of Kiel, throwing people from boats