Court Orders $1 Bn Payment in X-Press Pearl Disaster as the Nurdle Nightmare Continues

Posted on by July 29, 2025

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ordered the owners and operators of the container ship  X-Press Pearl to pay $1bn USD in compensation for the devastating environmental and economic damage caused when the ship caught fire and sank off Colombo in 2021.

The sinking has been described as the worst marine ecological disaster in Sri Lankan history. X-Press Pearl was loaded with 1,486 containers, containing a range of chemicals, including 25 tons of nitric acid, as well as 1,600 tonnes of low-density polyethylene pellets, commonly referred to as nurdles. 

Nurdles are the raw materials that are melted to make plastic products. An estimated 70 to 75 billion plastic nurdles spilled along Sri Lanka’s western coastline in the sinking, covering the shoreline in a toxic blizzard of white plastic pellets, creating the largest plastic spill ever recorded. 

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Legendary Schooner Shenandoah to be Retired

Posted on by July 27, 2025

Sad news reported by the Vineyard Gazette. After 63 years sailing the waters around Martha’s Vineyard, the legendary schooner Shenandoah will sail her last season next summer.

Martha’s Vineyard Ocean Academy, the educational nonprofit that currently owns and operates Shenandoah, announced that the final voyage will take place at the end of the 2026 summer season.

The Gazette reports that the decision to retire the boat began after the spring haul-out and a U.S. Coast Guard inspection that showed continued repairs and upkeep would no longer be feasible, according to Ian Ridgeway and Casey Blum, the sailing captains who co-founded Martha’s Vineyard Ocean Academy.

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Crew Member Dies After Stabbing Colleague Then Jumping Overboard on World’s Largest Cruise Ship

Posted on by July 25, 2025

A crew member on Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas is reported to have stabbed a fellow crew member multiple times before jumping overboard to his death as the ship cruised off the coast of San Salvador Island in the Bahamas on Thursday night.

According to the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF), the unidentified male crew member allegedly stabbed a female co-worker during a dispute.

“Shortly before 7:30 p.m., a 28-year-old South African female crew member was allegedly stabbed multiple times by another crew member, a 35-year-old South African male,” reads an RBPF press release.

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The Long Goodbye to the Historic Sailing Ship Falls of Clyde

Posted on by July 23, 2025

It has been a long time coming, but it appears that the historic sailing ship Falls of Clyde will finally be removed from Honolulu Harbor to be sunk about 12 miles south of the harbor. The ship has been threatened with scuttling twice before in her long history, but this time it is likely to come to pass.

The Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) announced that Shipwright LLC, a Florida-based maritime technical consulting firm, has been hired to prepare the ship for disposal. The $4.9 million removal project includes removal of debris from the ship and hull strengthening and reinforcement to allow the vessel to be safely towed to be sunk in late November.

Falls of Clyde is the world’s only surviving iron-hulled, four-masted, fully-rigged ship and the only surviving sail-driven oil tanker. She was built in Glasgow in 1878, during a shipbuilding boom inspired by increased trade with the U.S., and she made several voyages to American ports while under the British flag.

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Indonesian Ferry KM Barcelona VA Catches Fire — 575 Rescued, 3 Dead, 2 Missing

Posted on by July 21, 2025

On Sunday, a fire broke out on the ferry KM Barcelona VA in the Celebes Sea off the northern coast of Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. The ferry was en route to Manado, on its regular half-day journey from Melonguane port, according to First Adm. Franky Pasuna Sihombing, chief of the Manado navy base. Officials reported that 575 people were rescued, while three had died and two were still missing.

The ferry’s manifest listed only 280 passengers and 15 crew members at the time of the fire. It is common for the number of passengers on a boat or ferry to differ from the manifest in Indonesia. This discrepancy can contribute to accidents and can complicate search and rescue efforts, Sihombing said.

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Tourist Boat Capsizes in Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay, 35 Dead Including at Least 8 Children

Posted on by July 20, 2025

On Saturday afternoon, Wonder Seas, a tourist excursion boat, capsized in Ha Long Bay, in Vietnam’s Quang Ninh province, around 100 miles east of Hanoi, after encountering a sudden storm. State media reported that at least 35 people have died, including 8 children. The boat had 46 Vietnamese tourists and three crew members aboard when it capsized. Four are still missing.

Navy divers were deployed to help with the search, which was hampered by rough seas, strong winds and heavy rains. At least 10 people were rescued, and the capsized vessel was salvaged and towed ashore, Viet Nam News reported.

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Russia May Finally Scrap its Smoking Aircraft Carrier with a Weak Heart, Admiral Kuznetsov

Posted on by July 16, 2025

There are reports that the Russian Navy may soon scrap its notional flagship, the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov. Since the 1990s, the Kuznetsov has been the only remaining aircraft carrier in the Russian fleet. Built in the final days of the Soviet Union, the ship has an unenviable record of repeated breakdowns and casualties. It has been out of service for repairs and upgrading since March 2017. 

The Kuznetsov was ordered in 1981, commissioned in 1990, but was not fully operational until 1995. Between bad boiler tubes, combustion problems, and burning Mazut, a Russian version of Bunker C, the carrier is notorious for belching a vast cloud of black smoke whenever underway. Given its fuel and chronic boiler problems, the Kuznetsov is often referred to as having a “weak heart.”

Beyond the oily smoke, the carrier’s operating history has been troubled. The ship has never been deployed for longer than six months and was famously followed by oceangoing tugboats during all of its sea voyages in case the ship breaks down. There were reports that in a 2011 deployment, the U.S. Navy’s Sixth Fleet kept close by so it could rescue crew, in case the Admiral Kuznetsov happened to sink. 

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Saving Lafayette ‘s L’Hermione — “It’s Now or Never”

Posted on by July 15, 2025

French maritime enthusiasts are scrambling to raise funds to save the replica of the 18th-century 32-gun frigate, L’Hermione. The Hermione-La Fayette Association says that to finance the ship’s restoration,” It’s now or never.“

The original frigate carried the Marquis de Lafayette across the Atlantic to announce France’s support for American independence from Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War. 

During a dry docking in 2021, significant rot was discovered, representing about 10% of the frigate’s hull structure. Since then, the ship has been in dry dock at Anglet, near Bayonne, while the association has attempted to raise funds for the repairs. So far, they have raised €5m, but say they need another €5m to make the vessel seaworthy again. 

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Houthis Resume Attacks in Red Sea, Hitting Two Bulk Carriers

Posted on by July 10, 2025

The Houthis had not attacked a commercial ship in the Red Sea in approximately seven months. That lull ended on Sunday and Monday when two bulk carriers were struck by gunfire, rocket propelled grenades, small boats and drones. Both ships were about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of the port of Hodeida, Yemen, when attacked.

On Sunday night, the Houthis attacked the 63,000 dwt Liberian-flagged bulk carrier MV Magic Seas. Hit by gunfire, rockets and bomb-laden drone boats, the bulker caught fire and took on water, forcing its 19 crew and three armed guards to abandon ship. The United Arab Emirates said that it had rescued all of those who had been on board the Magic Seas. The bulker was managed by Allseas Marine of Greece

The ship is reported to have sunk. Magic Seas is now the third ship to have been sunk by Hiuthus attack.

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Ferry Capsizes and Sinks in Bali Strait, at Least Four Dead & 30 Missing

Posted on by July 3, 2025

The roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry MV Tunu Pratama Jaya capsized and sank in rough seas late Wednesday on its way to the resort island of Bali, Indonesia. At least four people died, at least 30 are missing, and 31 survivors were rescued, according to local authorities.

“The vessel departed from Ketapang Port in Banyuwangi District, East Java, to Bali’s Gilimanuk Port at 10.56 p.m. and reportedly sank at 11.35 p.m.,” Wahyu Setia Budi, coordinator of the Banyuwangi SAR agency, said.

According to the ship manifest, the MV Tunu Pratama Jaya carried 53 passengers, 12 crew members, and 22 cars. Rescuers were still assessing if there were more people on board than the manifest showed. The passengers were all Indonesian, the transport ministry said.

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Terminally Ill Sailor, Jazz Turner, Becomes the First Disabled Person to Sail Solo Around UK

Posted on by July 2, 2025

Jazz Turner sailed back into Brighton on Monday afternoon, June 30, after a voyage of 28 days, becoming the first disabled person to make the journey around the British Isles non-stop and unassisted. Turner sailed from Brighton on June 2 on her Albin Vega 27-foot yacht named Fear, which stands for “Face Everything and Rise.”

A 26-year-old, engineer from Seaford, Turner lives with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a debilitating genetic condition that affects connective tissue. She was diagnosed with the illness when she was 18, which causes fainting and seizures.  A full-time wheelchair user, doctors have told her that her condition is now terminal, due to complications.

In addition to completing her circumnavigation of the British Isles, Turner set out to raise £30,000 for the charity Newhaven and Sailability through her ‘Project Fear’. Instead, she has raised more than £51,000, so far. People can still donate at www.gofundme.com/f/project-fear.

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New Orca Behaviors Discovered — Using Tools and Sharing Food With People

Posted on by July 1, 2025

There is so much we do not understand about orcas, also known as killer whales. Scientists and sailors have been mystified in recent years by pods of orcas attacking sailboats near the Strait of Gibraltar and the Iberian Peninsula. Multiple theories have been proposed to explain the attacks that have disabled and in some cases sunk sailboats, yet there is currently no consensus to explain the behaviour.

Likewise, recently, some orcas on the Northwest Pacific coast of North America have started wearing salmon hats again, bringing back a bizarre trend first described in the 1980s. And off South Africa, orcas have begun to hunt and kill great white sharks, eating only their livers, leaving the rest of the carcass alone.

Now, scientists have identified two additional surprising orca behaviors.  Southern resident orcas in the Salish Sea have been observed using tools to groom each other. A new study also documents orcas in the wild offering food to people, in what may be an attempt to develop relationships with humans.
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Father Jumps Overboard to Save Daughter After She Falls Overboard From Cruise Ship Disney Dream

Posted on by June 30, 2025

An odd story with a distinctly happy ending. On Sunday, a young girl fell overboard from the Disney Dream cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean.  Her father immediately jumped overboard to rescue his daughter. Both were rescued by the ship’s crew.

“The Crew aboard the Disney Dream swiftly rescued two guests from the water,” a Disney Cruise Line spokesperson told USA TODAY in a statement. “We commend our Crew Members for their exceptional skills and prompt actions, which ensured the safe return of both guests to the ship within minutes. We are committed to the safety and well-being of our guests, and this incident highlights the effectiveness of our safety protocols.”

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The Legendary or Infamous MV Astoria, ex-Stockholm, Sold for Scrap

Posted on by June 27, 2025

The 77-year-old cruise ship MV Astoria has been sold for scrap. The Belgian recycling firm Galloo was the only bidder, acquiring the ship for €200,000.

In her over seven decades of service, she sailed for multiple owners, under many names, including Völkerfreundschaft, Volker, Fridtjof Nansen, Italia I, Italia Prima, Valtur Prima, Caribe, Athena, Azores, and finally Astoria. Ultimately, she will probably be best remembered as the MV Stockholm, which collided with the ocean liner SS Andrea Doria, on July 25, 1956, killing 51 people and prompting one of the largest civilian maritime rescues in history. 

The tragic collision also serves as a lesson about the relationship between technology and seamanship that too often remains unlearned to this day.

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Update: Fire-Ravaged Car Carrier Morning Midas Sinks Under Tow in North Pacific

Posted on by June 24, 2025

The fire-damaged car carrier Morning Midas sank while under tow in the North Pacific Ocean. The ship, with 3,048 vehicles aboard, including over 700 fully electric or hybrid electric vehicles, caught fire three weeks ago on one of the decks carrying the electrical vehicles. Despite efforts to fight the blaze, the fire’s intensity forced all 22 crew members to abandon ship.

Salvage tugs from Resolve Marine took a week to reach the vessel because of its remote location approximately 360 nautical miles southwest of the Aleutians in Alaska. The vessel was still burning when teams on the salvage tug Gretchen Dunlap reached it on June 9, but they believed the water integrity had been maintained. A towline was attacked on June 11, and by the time a second salvage vessel Garth Foss arrived on June 16, thermal scans and visual inspections showed no signs of an active fire onboard.

Zodiac Maritime, the ship’s manager, released this statement:

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