Sandy Hook Pilot Captain Timothy M. Murray
Sandy Hook ship pilot, Captain Timothy M. Murray died following a fall while boarding a tanker arriving at the Port of New York and New Jersey on Wednesday. His death is the second pilot fatality in less than a year. Both incidents took place while boarding. In December 2019, Captain Dennis Sherwood was killed in a fall while boarding an inbound containership arriving in the harbor.
Captain Murray’s recent death has renewed the focus on the arrangement of the boarding ladders and platforms on many merchant ships, specifically the “trapdoor” pilot ladder arrangement. While common, the trapdoor arrangement does not meet IMO standards. The pilot ladder arrangement requires the pilot to pull themselves up while also twisting to ensure proper footing on the platform.
The events leading up to the catastrophic explosion in Beirut, Lebanon that killed more than 135 and injured 5,000, began in November 2013, when the cargo ship 
Alexander Hamilton suggested in The Federalist Papers that “a few armed vessels, judiciously stationed at the entrances of our ports, might at a small expense be made useful sentinels of the laws.”
On March 19, 2020, the Princess Cruise Line ship Ruby Princess arrived in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and disembarked 2,700 passengers. These passengers included those who had been isolated in their cabins with fever. Roughly 2,000 of the passengers had been swabbed for coronavirus but were allowed to leave before the test results were available.
Ecuador has raised an alarm after a naval patrol sighted a fleet of around 260 Chinese fishing vessels just outside the Galápagos protection zone. Naval patrols had been stepped up to monitor the Chinese ships. Chinese fishing vessels come regularly to the Pacific around the Galápagos, but this year’s fleet is one of the largest in recent years.
Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, from New York City died Monday after being bitten by a great white shark while she was swimming approximately 20 yards off the western shore of Bailey Island, near the city of Portland, according to Maine Department of Marine Resources Patrick Keliher in a 
As Hong Kong braces for its 
The 
Canadian Bert terHart recently completed a 267-day solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the world via the five capes on his 43′ sailboat using only traditional celestial navigation. He is the first North American to circle the globe solo and non-stop using only a sextant, a chronometer, an almanac, pen, paper, and charts with which to navigate.