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

Egypt’s Suez Canal has been blocked by a large container ship that ran aground after losing control, causing a traffic jam of cargo vessels in the region. Tug boats were deployed to help shift the 400m-long (1312ft) and 59m-wide ship – the Ever Given, but there are fears it could remain trapped for days. The incident occurred just north of the port of Suez early on Tuesday. The waterway connects the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, providing the shortest sea link between Asia and Europe. The Ever Given, registered in Panama, was bound for the port city of Rotterdam in the … Continue reading Egypt’s Suez Canal blocked by large container ship

The Philippines has called on China to withdraw more than 200 ships it accuses of encroaching upon its territorial waters in the South China Sea. Defence Minister Delfin Lorenzana said the Chinese ships were violating the Philippines’ maritime rights. The Philippines says the fishing boats do not appear to be fishing and are crewed by China’s maritime militia. Five years ago an international court rejected Chinese claims of sovereignty over 90% of the water mass. The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have all been contesting China’s claim to almost all of the Sea for decades but tension steadily increased … Continue reading Huge Chinese ‘fishing fleet’ alarms Philippines

The Nigerian army freed 14 crew from a Chinese fishing boat from their pirate kidnappers on Saturday, after a month in captivity. Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Yahaya told AFP news agency a ransom of $300,000 was paid before the crew were freed. The Chinese fishing boat, registered in Gabon, was seized using high-speed boats off the Gabonese port of Port-Gentil on February 7 and the crew – six Chinese nationals, three Indonesians, a Gabon national and four Nigerians – kidnapped. The boat, with the crew still on board, was spotted some 110km (68 miles) from the Nigerian island of Bonny a … Continue reading Crew of Chinese boat freed after ransom payment

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine Soryu is seen in the Pacific Ocean after colliding with a commercial ship on Monday. Damage can be seen to the planes on the sub’s mast A Japanese submarine collided with a commercial ship as it attempted to surface off the country’s Pacific coast on Monday, government officials said. Three crew members from the Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine Soryu suffered minor injuries, and pictures from the Japanese Coast Guard showed it sustained damage to its fairwater planes, the winglike structures on its conning tower. The accident occurred off the main island of Shikoku in … Continue reading Japanese submarine collides with commercial ship while surfacing in Pacific

The Iranian government says it has agreed to allow the crew members of a South Korean ship it seized last month for alleged environmental pollution to leave the country. “Following a request by the South Korean government the crew of the Korean ship have received permission to leave the country in a humanitarian move by Iran,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Tuesday. Khatibzadeh said the legal case against the South Korean-flagged MT Hankuk Chemi and its captain continues. He did not specify whether the crew, which included sailors from Indonesia, Myanmar, South Korea and Vietnam, had already left. … Continue reading Iran agrees to release crew of seized South Korean tanker

Pirates who kidnapped 15 sailors from a Turkish-crewed container ship in the Gulf of Guinea on Saturday have made their first contact with the shipping company to discuss a ransom, Turkish state media reported on Thursday. “Communication has been established with crew members of the Mozart container ship,” Istanbul-based Boden Shipping, which provides technical management services for the vessel, was quoted as saying by state-owned Anadolu news agency. “Information has been obtained that all 15 crew members are in good health, not wounded and together,” it said. The company did not say whether a ransom demand was made but declared … Continue reading Update: Pirates who kidnapped Turkish sailors make contact