The Chinese freighter ‘Rui Xing Lun’ capsized on on December 8 in the Bohai Sea. When the incident took place, the freighter had ten crew on board, of whom one died and one is missing. According to reports, the ship experienced a snow storm near Shandong province.
A rescue diver from China, Mr. Zhong Haifeng, who conducted a number of underwater dives to save three people from a sunken cargo ship, received the 2018 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea during 2018’s IMO Awards ceremony.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and its partner SOS MEDITERRANEE informed that were forced to terminate operations by the search and rescue vessel Aquarius. Over the last two months, the vessel has remained in port, unable to carry out its work.
On November 30th, the Swiss Parliament responded to a parliamentary inquiry on the possibility of letting the Aquarius, search-and-rescue ship run by SOS Méditerranée and Médecins sans Frontières. Namely, it denied the vessel to sail under the Swiss flag.
At least 31 people have lost their lives and more than 50 are still unaccounted for, after a boat capsized on Lake Victoria in Uganda, Saturday, according to data provided by the Uganda Police Force. The police said that the key cause of the accident was over-loading and the vessel’s poor mechanical shape.
Twelve Indians were rescued from a sinking vessel in the Persian Gulf by a French Navy ship on November 20. The aircraft unit of the frigate, a Panther helicopter, performed rescue hoist maneuvers and rescue the seafarers from the capsized vessel. The vessel had capsized minutes ago, forcing its Indian crew to cling to the overturned hull.
Italy ordered the seizure of the migrant rescue vessel ‘Aquarius’, after accusing the Doctors without Borders of illegally dumping toxic waste in south Italy. Responding on the accusations, MSF said that this is an attempt by Italy to undermine migrant rescue efforts. Currently, Italy has closed its ports to humanitarian ships that rescue migrants off Libya.
A total of 15 crew members were evacuated from the 134-foot liftboat ‘Ram XVIII’, after the vessel started taking on water near Grand Isle, Louisiana, on Sunday. The US Coast Guard and good Samaritan vessels headed to the scene after watchstanders at USCG Sector New Orleans received a report at approximately 3:16 a.m. from the ‘Ram XVIII’ that it was taking on water approximately 23 nm west of Southwest Pass.
The seabed exploration company Ocean Infinity announced that it has located the missing Argentine Navy submarine ‘ARA San Juan’, exactly one year after it disappeared in the Atlantic ocean, along with its 44 crew. After two months of search, the company located the wreckage in a ravine in 920m of water, approximately 600 km east of Comodoro Rivadavia in the Atlantic Ocean.
The bulk carrier ‘Anatoly Krasheninnikov’ sank in the Far Eastern Sea of Okhotsk on November 9. The ship had 13 people on board at the time of the incident, while ten were saved by a nearby ship. The other three remain unaccounted for, but aerial search for them has been suspended because of difficult weather.
