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On Nov 4, 2026, at 4.20 a.m. UTC, the tug 'Ayaz Bey' issued a distress signal in Romanian waters, northeast of Shabla. Together with the the tug 'Ramazan Bey' (IMO: 7210824), it was towing the 'Mentor'. Hurricane-force winds caused the tow lines to break. The crews carried out a hazardous manoeuvre in darkness to reconnect the lines. Although the connection was successfully restored, the 'Ayaz Bey' subsequently lost control and collided head-on with the tanker's hull. The impact caused significant damage to 'Ayaz Bey', which was at risk of sinking. Following the distress call, two vessels—operated by the Border Police, the Coast Guard, and the Emergency Inspectorate of the Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA)—along with the SAR vessel 'ARES' of ARSVOM, were dispatched to the scene. Three injured crew members from the 'Ayaz Bey' were transferred aboard the Dutch-flagged tug 'Odin' and taken to the port of Mangalia, while the remaining four crew members stayed on board the tug, stating that they did not require assistance. It was stabilised in the anchorage area off Mangalia, and an investigation has been initiated. The tanker remained unmanned and adrift off Mangalia. On Sep 23, it had been struck by a Russian drone near Odesa. According to Ukrainian authorities, a fire broke out during the attack, and the 63-year-old Ukrainian captain was killed. The remaining 15 crew members were evacuated. There was no confirmed information regarding a leak of sunflower oil from the tanker, nor of any new damage to its hull resulting from the collision with the tug 'Ayaz Bey'. It was unclear when the towing operation would be resumed. Bulgarian authorities continued to monitor the situation. Report with photo: https://clubz.bg/181446?fbclid=Iwb21leAVZf3xjbGNrBVl99mV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHBkb2YFc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEfPMO1BDtbT-vJh6cRBfvEkffDiyTLwmPUDGSq3Zea_jPRLkZ_DbJwiLW_R8Q_aem_Gj5G-f9T9IjCGXOsxEatBQ

Passengers were stuck on board the new 'Spirit of Tasmania IV', hours after it was due in Geelong, less than a week after the ferry started carrying paying customers. The ferry left Devonport on Nov 4 just after 7 p.m. and was scheduled to dock on Nov 5 at 6.30 a.m. The ship, however, had to wait for a tug, before entering the channel, while it made multiple sharp turns in the Port Phillip Bay for four and a half hours.

On Nov 4 at 4.20 a.m. UTC, the 'Ayaz Bey' issued a distress signal in Romanian waters, northeast of Shabla. Together with the the tug 'Ramazan Bey' (IMO: 7210824), it was towing the tank m/v 'Mentor' (IMO: 9340374). Hurricane-force winds caused the tow lines to break. The crews carried out a hazardous manoeuvre in darkness to reconnect the lines. Although the connection was successfully restored, the 'Ayaz Bey' subsequently lost control and collided head-on with the tanker's hull. The impact caused significant damage to 'Ayaz Bey', which was at risk of sinking. Following the distress call, two vessels—operated by the Border Police, the Coast Guard, and the Emergency Inspectorate of the Romanian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA)—along with the SAR vessel 'ARES' of ARSVOM, were dispatched to the scene. Three injured crew members from the 'Ayaz Bey' were transferred aboard the Dutch-flagged tug 'Odin' and taken to the port of Mangalia, while the remaining four crew members stayed on board the tug, stating that they did not require assistance. It was stabilised in the anchorage area off Mangalia, and an investigation has been initiated. The tanker remained unmanned and adrift off Mangalia. On Sep 23, it had been struck by a Russian drone near Odesa. According to Ukrainian authorities, a fire broke out during the attack, and the 63-year-old Ukrainian captain was killed. The remaining 15 crew members were evacuated. There was no confirmed information regarding a leak of sunflower oil from the tanker, nor of any new damage to its hull resulting from the collision with the 'Ayaz Bey'. It was unclear when the towing operation would be resumed. Bulgarian authorities continued to monitor the situation. Report with photo: https://clubz.bg/181446?fbclid=Iwb21leAVZf3xjbGNrBVl99mV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHBkb2YFc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEfPMO1BDtbT-vJh6cRBfvEkffDiyTLwmPUDGSq3Zea_jPRLkZ_DbJwiLW_R8Q_aem_Gj5G-f9T9IjCGXOsxEatBQ

During the night of Nov 3 and the morning of Nov 4, four cayucos have arrived at the port of La Restinga: At 11.29 p.m., the 'Salvamar Diphda' escorted to port a cayuco located four nautical miles south of La Restinga with 111 Sub-Saharan people on board, among them 99 males, nine females and three minors. At 01:45 h, the SAR boat escorted another cayuco, which had been located ten nautical miles south of La Restinga, with 125 people on board. At 08:40 a.m., the 'Salvamar Navia' escorted to port a cayuco, which had bwen detected by an echo-SIVE 12 miles south of La Restinga. At 09:35 a.m., the 'Salvamar Diphda' arrived at La Restinga after escorting another cayuco detected by an echo-SIVE 14 nautical miles south of the island.

On the early afternoon of Nov 4, 2026, the unmanned tanker 'Mentor' was drifting with a cargo of 11000 tons sunflower oil a few nautical miles off the Bulgarian coast near Krapets. The captain of the 'Ramazan Bey', which had towed the vessel along with the ' Ayaz Bey', informed the vessel traffic control services that a second tug was expected to assist with the towing operation. The Bulgarian Ministry of Transport stated that the 'Ramazan Bey' was maintaining communication with the traffic control services. The tug had been instructed to remain in the vicinity of the tanker. Contact has been established with the owner. The tanker was struck during a Russian attack. On Sep 23, the tanker was struck by a Russian drone near Odesa. According to Ukrainian authorities, a fire broke out during the attack, and the 63-year-old Ukrainian captain was killed. The remaining 15 crew members were evacuated. There was no confirmed information regarding a leak of sunflower oil from the tanker, nor of any new damage to its hull resulting from the collision with the tug ' Ayaz Bey'. It was unclear when the towing operation would be resumed. Bulgarian authorities continued to monitor the situation. Report with photo: https://clubz.bg/181446?fbclid=Iwb21leAVZf3xjbGNrBVl99mV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHBkb2YFc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMzUwNjg1NTMxNzI4AAEfPMO1BDtbT-vJh6cRBfvEkffDiyTLwmPUDGSq3Zea_jPRLkZ_DbJwiLW_R8Q_aem_Gj5G-f9T9IjCGXOsxEatBQ