Defiant Somali pirates await EU navy force

piracy
Somali pirates were undeterred Saturday as a new European Union naval forces readied to launch an operation aimed at curbing relentless attacks that have rattled world maritime trade. The EU’s anti-piracy drive, dubbed Atalanta, was to formally kick off on Monday, increasing the military presence in the Gulf of Aden, which has in recent months [...]


Marine Safety Investigation Report - Final Man overboard fatality from the research survey ship Geosounder, 25 August 2007

geosounder
At about 0310 on 25 August 2007, while the research ship Geosounder was about 185 miles northeast of Cairns, Australia, en route from New Zealand to Singapore, an off-duty integrated rating (IR) who was skylarking on deck while under the influence of alcohol fell overboard. The crew immediately threw lifebuoys into the water, stopped the [...]


HELCOM report shows sharp decrease in ship collisions in the Baltic

helcom
While every year there are more and more ships plying the waters of the Baltic Sea, the occurrence of ship-to-ship collisions, one of the most serious types of accidents at sea, has decreased sharply since 2005, especially in such a busy traffic area like the Gulf of Finland, according to the latest HELCOM study. Analysis [...]


EU to launch anti-piracy mission next week

piracy
A European Union flotilla will begin anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia next week, the EU’s foreign policy chief said Wednesday. The six warships and three maritime reconnaissance aircraft will replace a NATO naval force that has been patrolling the region and escorting cargo ships carrying relief aid to Somalia since the end of [...]


Islamists say they’ll fight Somali pirates

piracy
A radical Islamic group in Somalia said Friday it will fight the pirates holding a Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million worth of crude oil. Abdelghafar Musa, a fighter with al-Shabab who claims to speak on behalf of all Islamic fighters in the Horn of Africa nation, said ships belonging to Muslim countries should not [...]


INS Tabar sinks pirate mother ship

ins-tabar
NEW DELHI: An Indian naval frigate has sunk a pirate vessel in the pirate infested waters in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of
Somalia.
INS Tabar, which has been deployed for anti-piracy patrol operations since November 2, was among dozens of warships from several countries that took part in a major offensive to protect [...]


VLCC hijacked by pirates

sirius-star
Following on from a spate of piratical activity, a very-large crude carrier (VLCC) has reportedly been hijacked off the East coast of Africa
It has been reported that the MT Sirius Star was attacked some 450nm south-east of Mogadishu. The Liberian flagged vessel is the largest to be hijacked to date, with deadweight (DWT) of 319,430 [...]


“Go to sea!” campaign launched at IMO to attract entrants to the shipping industry

imo
A campaign to address the global shortage of seafarers, especially officers, which threatens the very future of the international shipping industry, has been launched by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in association with the International Labour Organization, the “Round Table” of shipping [...]


Developed Countries Push Back Vs. Pirates

Rich nations come together on joint action after Somali pirates seize ship laden with tanks.
Armed pirates aboard fast-moving skiffs have increasingly turned the shipping lanes off Somalia into a lucrative hunting grounds: commandeering vessels large and small and leaving the world’s maritime powers frustrated about how to stop the seafaring bandits.
Now, however, momentum is growing [...]


RINA LAUNCHES NEW GREEN PLUS CLASS NOTATION

ITALY-based classification society Rina has launched a new goal-based class notation, Green Plus. The voluntary notation will be based on an environmental performance index which covers all aspects of the vessel’s impact on the environment, including carbon emissions.
Rina’s Green Star notation already anticipates the requirements of MARPOL and other relevant legislation. Now, Rina says, the [...]