Indonesia’s navy has increased patrols around its Natuna islands in the South China Sea after Chinese and US vessels were detected nearby in international waters, despite saying there the vessels had not caused any disturbance, a navy official said.An Indonesian Airforce’s F-16 Jet Fighter flies over Indonesian navy warship during an operation in Natuna islands, in the South China Sea Five navy vessels, assisted by an air patrol, have been deployed in North Natuna Sea to secure the area, Indonesian Navy western fleet commander Arsyad Abdullah told reporters on Thursday. “The Navy’s position on the North Natuna Sea is very firm in … Continue reading Indonesia adds patrols after detecting ships in South China Sea

Men who boarded and seized a ship in the Gulf of Oman have left the vessel and all those remaining on board are safe, officials say. A UK maritime security agency said the potential hijacking of the Panama-flagged MV Asphalt Princess had ended but gave no further details. The bitumen tanker was seized on Tuesday heading into the congested approach to the Strait of Hormuz. It is not clear who seized the ship, but analysts suspected Iranian forces. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards dismissed reports of possible involvement as a pretext for “hostile action” against Tehran. The men who boarded the MV … Continue reading Update: Suspected hijackers leave ship off UAE

A Panama-flagged ship has been hijacked by armed men in the Gulf of Oman and ordered to sail to Iran, Lloyds List Maritime Intelligence has confirmed. The bitumen tanker MV Asphalt Princess is heading into the congested approach to the Strait of Hormuz, it said. It is not clear who has seized the ship but analysts says Iranian forces will be suspected. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards dismissed the reports as a pretext for “hostile action” against Tehran. The incident comes less than a week after an oil tanker operated by an Israeli-owned company was attacked by a drone off Oman, killing … Continue reading Ship hijacked off UAE ordered to sail to Iran

A ship reportedly came under attack off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea, a British military group said Friday, offering few other details. The brief statement from United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said an investigation was underway into the incident, which it described as happening late Thursday night just northeast of the Omani island of Masirah. The location is over 300 kilometers (185 miles) southeast of Oman’s capital, Muscat. The statement did not elaborate, other to say that it suspected the attack did not involve piracy. Earlier on Thursday, the British military group had said it was investigating … Continue reading Ship reportedly attacked off coast of Oman

The Suez Canal netted Egypt a record $5.84bn in the last tax year, its chief said on Sunday, despite the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on world trade as well as a six-day blockage of the busy waterway by a giant cargo ship. “Despite various challenges, revenues from the canal rose sharply” in the fiscal year ending June 30, said Osama Rabie, head of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA). Authorities netted “the highest revenues in the history of the canal, hitting $5.84 billion”, more than two percent up from the previous year, he said in a statement. Rabie said the SCA’s “marketing and flexible … Continue reading Egypt’s Suez Canal reports record revenue despite blockage crisis

An explosion inside a container on a ship docked at Dubai’s Jebel Ali port late Wednesday caused a large fire and was felt across the city, authorities said. There were no reported deaths or injuries and the fire is under control, authorities said. “A fire has been reported to have broken out in a container within a ship anchored in Jebel Ali Port. A Dubai Civil Defense team is working to put out the blaze,” Dubai Media Office said in a tweet on their official account. The Dubai Media Office posted a video of firefighters putting out the blaze at … Continue reading Developing Story: Blast rocks a port in Dubai causing a large fire

A chemical-laden cargo ship is sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka amid fears of a major environmental disaster. The Singapore-registered X-Press Pearl has been on fire for almost two weeks. Some hundreds of tonnes of engine oil could leak into the sea if the ship sinks, with devastating impact on marine life. The Sri Lankan and Indian navies had worked jointly over the past days in an attempt to put out the fire and prevent the ship from breaking up and sinking. But rough seas and monsoonal winds hampered the operation. “The ship is sinking. Salvers are trying to … Continue reading Cargo ship sinks off Sri Lanka amid fears of environmental disaster

The collision caused a cargo ship to sink while a tanker sustained damage. Nine crew members from the sunken ship have already been rescued by the Japanese coast guard, but three are still missing.The chemical tanker was damaged but did not sink The Japanese coast guard are searching for three missing crew members after a cargo ship collided with a chemical tanker during the early hours of Friday. Nine members of the freighter crew have already been rescued after their freighter sank at 2:40 a.m. (1740 GMT) in Kurishima Strait, Japan. The Byakko, owned by Prince Kaiun Co. of Kobe, hit … Continue reading Crew missing after ships collide in Japan

An explosion on a ship anchored near Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo has prompted the crew’s evacuation. The container vessel MV X-Press Pearl was anchored about 9.5 nautical miles (18km) northwest of Colombo and waiting to enter its port when the fire erupted four days ago, the Sri Lankan navy said. It said it believes the fire was caused by chemicals being transported on the Singapore-flagged ship. The ship was carrying 1,486 containers, including 25 tonnes of nitric acid and other chemicals which it loaded at the port of Hazira, India, on May 15, it said. The vessel’s 25-member crew includes … Continue reading Crew evacuated after explosion on container ship off Colombo

The US Navy says it seized a huge cache of illicit Russian and Chinese weapons from a stateless vessel sailing in international waters of the northern Arabian Sea. The US Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain, said on Sunday the guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey intercepted the boat and discovered the cargo during a routine boarding in a two-day operation on May 6-7. “The cache of weapons included dozens of advanced Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles, thousands of Chinese Type 56 assault rifles, and hundreds of PKM machine guns, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenades launchers,” it said in a statement. The … Continue reading US Navy seizes huge weapons cache in Arabian Sea

The container ship ‘Ever Given’ is refloated, unblocking the Suez Canal Egyptian authorities have seized a massive cargo ship which blocked the Suez Canal for almost a week last month, amid a dispute over financial damages, the state-run Al Ahram news outlet said on Tuesday. An Egyptian court ordered the vessel’s Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha, to pay $900 million in compensation as a result of losses inflicted when the Panamanian-flagged Ever Given prevented marine traffic from transiting through the vital global trade waterway. The hefty bill also includes maintenance fees and the costs of the rescue operation, Al Ahram reported. … Continue reading Suez Canal: Egypt impounds Ever Given ship over $900 million compensation bill

A huge container ship that has been stuck across the Suez Canal for almost a week has been freed from the shoreline, officials say. The course of the 400m-long (1,300ft) Ever Given has been corrected by 80%, according to the Suez Canal Authority. It added that further efforts to move the boat would resume later on Monday. The Ever Given has been blocking one of the world’s busiest trade routes, forcing companies to reroute ships and causing long tailbacks. The reports that the ship had been freed raised hopes that traffic along the canal could resume within hours, clearing the … Continue reading Suez canal: Container ship freed from shoreline