Tag: Mediterranean Sea

In its annual Safety and Shipping Review, Allianz provided a statistics review of shipping incidents by vessel type, by cause and by region, for the last decade. Cargo ships accounted for almost half of incidents, while the main cause has been foundering accounting for over half of all total losses during this period.

NATO has requested ship operators to report any instances of GPS or AIS interference in the Mediterranean. NATO is concerned about cyber security in the area, after detecting several electronic interferences and also possible GPS jamming in recent months, mostly in the Eastern Mediterranean.

On 9 July, a Court in Marseille started the trial for the Captain of the cruise ship 'Azura', who was sued over breaching sulphur fuel limit, during a stopover in Marseilles, on 29 March. In the first case of its kind in Europe, if found guilty, the Master could face up to a year in prison and a fine of up to €200,000.

The humanitarian boat 'Open Arms', which was carrying 60 migrants, docked in Barcelona on Wednesday July 4, as it was scheduled. The ship ended up in Spain after Malta and Italy had rejected it. Despite the fact that the irregular immigration has decreased, European countries are polarized in their immigration policies.

The IMO Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea is coordinating the technical and feasibility study to examine the possibility of designating the Mediterranean Sea, or parts of it, as a SOx-ECA under IMO’s prevention of pollution convention (MARPOL) Annex VI.

A humanitarian boat with 59 migrants on board was rescued off Libya and is now heading to Barcelona, after Italy and Malta refused to allow the ship dock in their ports. The ship Open Arms is carrying five women and four children, and will arrive in Barcelona on Wednesday, July 4.

The Dutch-flagged ship 'Lifeline' that about 230 rescued migrants on board for almost a week, finally docked in Malta on Wednesday, June 27. This development ends the dispute between Malt and Italy which refused to let the ship into one of its ports. The Maltese Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat said that the procedures for identification, to find out the migrants' asylum eligibility will start.

The Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean is hosting a regional workshop on response to potential spill incidents involving hazardous and noxious substances, in Valletta, on 20-21 June. Regional cooperation is an efficient way of preparing for possible spills, IMO noted.

After refusing to accept 226 migrants onboard a German charity rescue ship last week, Italy now seems to relent, saying on Thursday it would take them in, but would impound the vessel. The crew of the ship operated by Mission Lifeline charity had spotted migrants in two overcrowded rubber boats in international waters on 14 June.

The US navy vessel 'USNS Trenton' conducted a passenger transfer of 41 people with ships from the Italian Coast Guard off the coast of the island of Lampedusa, Italy, on 17 June. Trenton had encountered a vessel carrying the 41 people in distress while underway in the Mediterranean Sea, on 12 June.