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The lifeboat ' Bernhard Gruben' of the Hooksiel station of the DGzRS was called out on the night of February 7, 2026, to assist a woman with a medical emergency aboard the 'MSC Poesia'. On the way from Southampton to Hamburg, a passenger suddenly lost sight in one eye. Rapid transport to a specialized clinic was essential. Helicopters could not fly due to the risk of icing in the cold. The MRCC Bremen deployed the lifeboat. The "MSC Poesia" was located north of the East Frisian Islands at the time. As the lifeboat set sail at full speed, the cruise ship headed towards it. The two vessels rendezvoused north of the island of Langeoog at approximately 10:30 p.m. Relatively calm sea conditions for the area, with waves of about one meter, allowed for the safe transfer of the patient from the cruise ship to the lifeboat, which then returned to Hooksiel at a speed of 24 knots. Around midnight, the requested ambulance arrived at the port almost simultaneously. It took the patient to a specialized clinic in Hooksiel. Report with photos: https://www.seenotretter.de/aktuelles/seenotfaelle/naechtlicher-medizinischer-notfall

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has detained and banned the 'Wooyang Venus' from Australian ports for 90 days after AMSA inspectors found crew work and rest records had been deliberately falsified to mask excessive hours worked. On Oct 29, the AMSA had conducted a port State control inspection of the 'Wooyang Venus' in Newcastle following a Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) complaint and found that work and rest records had been falsified and did not reflect the hours actually worked by crew on board. The 'Wooyang Venus' had previously been detained twice by the AMSA, and falsified hours of work and rest were a contributing factor: On August 2026, it found work and rest hours were not recorded and monitored correctly, and in December 2023, it identified evidence of incorrect work and rest records. Under the MLC, vessel owners and operators must meet minimum standards for seafarers’ living and working conditions, including requirements relating to hours of work and rest. AMSA said that accurate records were essential to demonstrate minimum rest requirements are being met and fatigue is being effectively managed. Deliberately falsifying records designed to protect seafarers was unacceptable and presented a significant risk to the safety of crew on board and protection of Australia’s marine environments. The AMSA issued the 90 days ban under section 246 of the Navigation Act 2012, based on the deliberate falsification, the recurrence of materially similar deficiencies and concerns about the effectiveness of the owner and operator’s safety management arrangements. The ship left Newcastle on Oct 31 enroute to Boryeong with an ETA as of Nov 18.

The 'Shelekhov' was detained for the second time within little more than a month, this time on Oct 21 in Trabzon with 14 deficiencies 1) Certificate & Doc - Documents of compliance Not as required 2) Certificate & Doc - Signs and inducations Not as required 3) Pollution Prevention - Oil and oily mixture from machinery spaces Not as required 4) Pollution Prevention - Ballast Water Not as required 5) Pollution Prevention - Other (Marpol Annex I) Other 6) Emergency system - Fire drills Lack of training 7) Radio communications - MF / HF Radio installations Not as required 8)) Life saving appliances - Inflatable liferafts Not as required 9) Life saving appliances - Lifeboats Not ready for use 10) Fire safety - Fire doors/openings in fire resisting division Not as required 11) Living and working - Ropes and wires Not as required 12) Structural conditions - Decks - corrosion Corroded 13) Structural conditions - Other (structural conditions Other 14) ISM - Ism certificate Not as required The vessel was released again on Nov 2. The last detentions were on Sep 5 in Tuapse with ten deficiencies for six days and on Jan 24, 2025 in Karasu with 22 deficiencies, for five days. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17uqj6JoZb/

After having been caught with seven tons of anchovies in its holds on April 9, 2026, off the coast of Anglet, in French territorial waters, without authorisation, the captain of the 'Beti Aingeru', based in Orio, Gipuzkoa, near San Sebastián, was summoned to appear before the Bayonne court on Oct 29. Despite his absence, he was fined €30,000 and had his fishing license suspended for six months.

The Brasilian authorities have seized approximately 33 kg of cocaine concealed in a submerged compartment of the 'Omicron Atlas', which was docked at the Port of Santos, on Oct 27, 2026. The operation was carried out by Brasil’s Federal Police (PF) in cooperation with the Brasilian Navy. Divers from the Federal Police and the Navy’s Southern-Southeastern Naval Patrol Group discovered the narcotics during an underwater inspection of the vessel. The cocaine was hidden inside a compartment below the waterline. Divers retrieved a package containing multiple tablets of the substance, which was subsequently transferred to the Federal Police headquarters in Santos for forensic examination. Laboratory testing confirmed that the seized material was cocaine. The vessel had arrived from India and was destined for Singapore. However, investigators have not yet determined where the narcotics were loaded onto the ship or the intended destination of the consignment. The Federal Police has launched an investigation to establish how the drugs were concealed aboard the vessel, identify those responsible, and determine whether organised criminal groups involved in international narcotics trafficking were linked to the shipment. The seizure formed part of ongoing efforts by Brasilian law enforcement and maritime authorities to counter the growing use of commercial shipping vessels by transnational criminal organisations seeking to move illicit drugs between continents. The ship left Santos on Oct 28 and anchored off the port in pos. 24° 06' N 046° 14' W, where it remained stationary as of Nov 3. Report with photo: https://world-border-congress.com/cocaine-seized-from-submerged-compartment-of-merchant-vessel-at-port-of-santos/