News

The CCS of Salvamento Marítimo in Las Palmas mobilised the 'Salvamar Acrux' on the night of Nov 2 for the rescue of 53 Maghrebi individuals from a precarious vessel, which was located about 16 nautical miles east of Lanzarote. They were taken to Arrecife. The SAR helicopter Helimer 211 was also mobilised to assist. The CCS of Salvamento Marítimo in Tenerife coordinated a rescue operation on the morning of Nov 3 for one cayuco off La Restinga. it was assisted by the 'Salvamar Navia' to the port with 59 Sub-Saharan individuals on board. The CCS of Salvamento Marítimo in Cádiz mobilised the 'Salvamar Suhail' to a patera, which was located about 4.6 nautical miles southwest of Puerto América (Cádiz). The SAR boat transferred its 41 occupants to Puerto América.

After the 'La Lupita' grounded on the morning of Oct 31 on the shore of Paraguaipoa beach, residents were reluctant to inspect the boat because they feared it belonged to a drug cartel. Upon realising there were no crew members on board, they began boarding the vessel. Later some residents began looting the vessel. The community was against a small group that has stripped it, removing the metal to sell it. According to residents, no security officials or local authorities had arrived in the area to investigate the origin of the 'La Lupita'. They also demanded that the vessel be protected so it could serve as a tourist attraction in the municipality. The residents suspected that the shoü came from the coast of Falcón state or the eastern shore of Lake Maracaibo, and they asserted that it had been without a crew for a long time because there was no food or personal belongings on board. The vessel's registration number is AMMT-PE-0068, a Venezuelan naval registration formally issued by the National Institute of Aquatic Spaces (INEA), which places its origin in the state of Falcón. It may have been carried by the currents to Paraguaipoa. Reports with photos and video: https://elpitazo.net/regiones/fotos-desvalijan-barco-que-encallo-en-playa-de-guajira-la-embarcacion-llego-sin-tripulantes/ https://noticialdia.com/al-dia/identifican-el-barco-hallado-a-la-deriva-en-paraguaipoa-es-pesquero-y-pertenece-a-la-capitania-de-puerto-de-las-piedras-en-falcon/ https://ultimasnoticias.com.ve/video/misterio-en-zulia-barco-fantasma-encalla-en-las-costas-de-paraguaipoa/

Two weeks after the fire started aboard the 'Espirito Santos Express', carriers have advised customers that they expected the vast majority of the cargo to be either severely damaged by the fire or a total loss. Salvage teams were meanwhole making progress with the fire as well as with another containership, the 'HMM Platinum', which reported a fire around the same time. The containership was operating under charter to Hapag-Lloyd on a shared route with Ocean Network Express. The full details on the fire were not released by claims consultant WK Webster. The 28 crew members had evacuated the ship on Oct 15, approximately 975 nautical miles northwest of Tristan da Cunha. The crew was rescued by the passing bulk carrier 'Aeolian Arrow', whose the chief officer was thrown overboard from the rescue boat, and the rescue boat was subsequently swamped and lost. Efforts to recover the officer were unsuccessful. Both Hapag and ONE reported that the owners, Seaspan, have advised them the fire remaied under control. A team from SMIT had reached the drifting vessel. On Oct 28, Webster had advised it understood the vessel was still ablaze. It would take considerable time to bring the vessel into a port of refuge and assess the damage in more detail. There was no word on whether the fire started in the containers. The 'HMM Platinum' has anchored off Durbanon Oct 28 after a fire on board, which had started around the end of September, while the ship was navigating off the southern coast of Lavanono, Madagascar. The vessel was also bound for Brasil, when the fire began. Reports indicated that there were approximately 2,300 TEU aboard. HMM had reported the fire had been controlled, working with a salvage team from SMIT. However, the vessel was delayed by weather and had moved away from South Africa while tugs remained with it as a precaution. The crew was reported to be safe, and the ship appeared to be waiting for space in Durban so that it could complete its survey to determine the full extent of the damage.

The 'Louise 1', inked to Russia's Shadow Fleet, was targeted with two limpet mines, which were attached to its hull on Oct 29, 2026, when the sanctioned tanker was approximately 25 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman, transiting outbound from the Strait of Hormuz. At around 10:12 p.m. UTC the tanker was approached by a small boat, which then attached two explosives to the hull above the waterline. When the devices detonated, they sparked a fire in the engine room, disabling the vessel. The location of the blast damage was above the waterline, reducing the risk to the ship. The crew was able to extinguish the fire, and the 'Louise 1' got back under way to its destination. All crew members were reported safe. No pollution has been reported. Babak Taghvaee, a security analyst with the Greek defense industry publication Flight, reported that the assailants were members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy special forces, and that the attackers used a Maham 7 - a 220-kilo bottom mine. The tanker belongs to the Aquarius Maritime Ventures SA, based in Panama, is operated by the PRY Shipping LLC, based in the United Arab Emirates, and its technical management is handled by Anagha Ship Management, of India. Its last available AIS signal in the reviewed records was registered near Khor Fakkan on Sep 28, leaving its movements immediately before the attack unclear. The tanker had transported approximately 735,000 barrels of Russian crude oil from the Urals in February 2026, more than one million barrels to India in March, and another shipment exceeding one million barrels in May, including oil associated with Lukoil.

The MSV 'Al Jusufi', with 14 crew members on board, was struck by an unidentified aerial object, while sailing near Limah off Oman's coast on Nov 2, 2026, and caught fire. All 14 crew members abandoned the vessel in a liferaft after it was struck by the projectile. The Omani Coast Guard rescued the crew, but one seafarer succumbed to his injuries. He was being taken to a hospital at Khasab Port in Oman when he died. The deceased was a resident of Salaya, Devbhumi Dwarka in Gujarat. The deceased has been identified as Gandhar Nahim Ajij, 26. The authorities were coordinating to provide immediate assistance to the survivors. Arrangements were made for the swift repatriation of the crew members and the mortal remains of the deceased seafarer. The vessel had departed from Al Hamriya Port on Oct 31 at 10.10 a.m., headed to Porbandar in Gujarat. Report with photos: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/one-seafarer-dead-in-attack-on-indian-flagged-cargo-vessel-al-jusufi-off-oman-coast-govt-us-iran-war-strait-of-hormuz-news-101793680530699.html