Formal News

A crew member on Mike Lynch's yacht has spoken of being thrown into the water and efforts to rescue passengers as a storm sank the vessel off Sicily this month, in a disaster that killed the British tech tycoon and six other people.Matthew Griffiths, who was on watch duty on the night of the tragedy, told investigators that the crew members did everything they could to save those on board the Bayesian, according to comments reported by Italian news agency Ansa.Griffiths, the boat's captain James Cutfield…

Italian prosecutors are investigating two more crew members from British tech tycoon Mike Lynch's yacht, along with its captain, in connection with the vessel's sinking over a week ago, a judicial source said on Wednesday.Being investigated does not imply guilt and does not mean formal charges will follow.Lynch and six other people were killed when the British-flagged Bayesian, a 56-metre-long (184-foot) yacht, capsized and went down on Aug. 19 within minutes of being hit by a pre-dawn storm while anchored off northern Sicily.On Monday…

The captain of the luxury yacht owned by the family of British tech magnate Mike Lynch that sank off Sicily last week declined to respond to prosecutors during questioning on Tuesday, one of his lawyers said.James Cutfield, a 51-year old New Zealand national, was put under investigation on Monday by Italian prosecutors."The captain exercised his right to remain silent for two fundamental reasons," lawyer Giovanni Rizzuti told reporters."First, he's very worn out. Second, we were…

Italian prosecutors will investigate the captain of the superyacht belonging to British tech magnate Mike Lynch that sank off Sicily last week during an intense storm, killing Lynch and six other people, Italian media reports said on Monday.Reuters was not able to independently verify the decision. Being placed under investigation in Italy does not imply guilt and does not mean formal charges will necessarily follow.James Cutfield, a 51-year-old New Zealand national, is being investigated for manslaughter and shipwreck…

Italian divers have retrieved the body of British tech magnate Mike Lynch's18-year-old daughter, Hannah, who was the last person still unaccounted for after the family's luxury yacht sank this week off Sicily.Seven people, including Lynch himself, died when the 56-metre-long (184-foot) sail boat, the Bayesian, capsized during a fierce, pre-dawn storm on Monday off Porticello, near Palermo. Fifteen people survived, including Lynch's wife and the yacht's captain.Lynch's family is devastated and in shock…

The body of British tech magnate Mike Lynch was retrieved on Thursday from the wreck of his family yacht that sank earlier this week off the coast of Sicily during a violent storm, a source close to the rescue operation said.Lynch's 18-year-old daughter Hannah is still unaccounted for, the source said. The bodies of four other people who vanished when the boat went down were recovered from the yacht on Wednesday.The British-flagged Bayesian, a 56-metre-long (184-ft) superyacht carrying 22 passengers and crew…

Four bodies were retrieved on Wednesday from the sunken wreck of a yacht belonging to the wife of British tech magnate Mike Lynch, the Italian fire brigade said, adding that they were continuing to search for two missing people.The bodies were brought ashore on rescue boats and taken to nearby hospitals for formal identification. Local authorities refused to give any information about who they might have found.Britain's Daily Telegraph reported that two of the dead were Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter…

U.S. maritime companies Crowley and SEACOR Holdings on Thursday announced the formal launch of their joint venture Fairwater Holdings LLC, an independent U.S. company integrating the firms’ petroleum and chemical transportation vessels, capabilities and personnel.Active in all major Jones Act coastwise tank vessel trades, Fairwater supports the transportation of petroleum products, chemical and specialty parcels, as well as Alaskan crude oil. The fleet consists of 31 owned vessels…

Prosecutors in the Italian city of Crotone said on Tuesday they have informed six police and coastguard officers that they may face trial over alleged failures to avoid amigrant shipwreck that killed at least 94 people.The move was denounced by Italy's right-wing government who defended the two coastguards and four police officers."Not only do they risk their lives every day to save others, but they even run the risk of being arrested in the event of a disaster," said Matteo Salvini…

Canada, looking to shore up its defense of the Arctic, is moving ahead to acquire up to 12 submarines and has started a formal process to meet with manufacturers, the defense ministry said.Canada updated its defense policy this year with a focus on protecting the Arctic and dealing with challenges from Russia and China. The procurement of submarines is a critical step in implementing that strategy, the defense ministry said in a statement.Citing global warming, Canada says the Arctic Ocean could become the most efficient shipping route between Europe and East Asia By 2050…

AAL Hamburg, the second of eight Super B-Class heavy lift series being built for AAL Shipping has been named during a formal ceremony at the CSSC Huangpu-Wenchong Shipyard in Guangzhou, China. The newbuild will soon be delivered and commence a busy maiden voyage to Europe.The 32,000 dwt, dual fuel multipurpose heavy lift vessel is equipped with three heavy lift port side cranes (350 tonnes capacity each and 700 tonnes maximum lift) as well as the latest innovation from the AAL Engineering Team, the ‘AAL ECO-DECK’.

Lloyd’s Register has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with H2Terminals Limited and its supply chain partners, HiDROGEN and D3IM, to assess the feasibility of a green hydrogen (H2) infrastructure project in the UK.Parties will collaborate in the fields of floating production and transport of H2 and identify regulatory requirements, including safety cases and risk assessments, for the development of an offshore island and supply chain that will provide green power to businesses on the Thames Estuary and River.The project…

Salvors have recovered Fiji's naval patrol boat RFNS Puamau, three weeks after the brand new vessel went aground on its maiden patrol.The vessel was successfully recovered from the reef at Fulaga and towed to the safe waters of Ogea Island where a thorough damage assessment will be conducted, the Republic of Fiji Navy said.RFNS Puamau is a Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) built by Austal for the Australian Department of Defence, which gifted the vessel to Fiji's Navy.Just months after the vessel's official handover in March…

Australia has awarded BAE Systems Maritime Australia a contract to build the first three Hunter class frigates as the program celebrates its transition into formal construction phase.Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles and the Premier of South Australia, Peter Malinauskas, officially cut steel on the first ship at a ceremony at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in Adelaide, South Australia.

Australia has banned a Cypriot-flagged bulk carrier from entering its ports after inspectors found the vessel to be unseaworthy.The vessel, Peace, is operated by Danaos Shipping, a company which also operates the containership Suez Canal, which was the subject of a prolonged detention by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) in January 2024.AMSA Acting Executive Director Operations Greg Witherall said Danaos Shipping’s failures with the Suez Canal gave the authority…

Deliveries will begin in 2028 if all goes well. Delays and escalating costs have bedeviled the procurement process up until now.Washington State Ferries on Thursday published an invitation to bid on building five new hybrid-electric ferries, an overdue achievement that promises to eventually bring more reliability to cross-Sound ferry service.It’s the first time in more than 50 years that the state will accept bids from shipyards nationwide to construct its vessels. Going out to bid on this contract also represents a major step toward electrification of the WSF fleet.

Of the many challenges confronting the United States’ maritime industry today, some of the more crucial and complicated are related to the development of a well-trained workforce.As is the case in any sector, those responsible for staffing jobs within the maritime industry must promote awareness, secure potential recruits, train recruits to be effective employees, retain high-quality workers, and provide sufficient levels of professional development, all while competing with other industries of similar nature.

How to avoid and address potential prosecution following marine-incident deaths.In recent years, there has been a resurgence in criminal prosecutions of maritime personnel, vessel owners and operators and other individuals and corporations under the federal Seaman’s Manslaughter statute (18 U.S.C. § 1115). Recent examples of such prosecutions include the guilty verdict against Jerry Boylan, who was the captain of the Conception, a 75-foot passenger vessel that caught fire and burned to the waterline while anchored at Santa Cruz Island, Calif.

A formal naming ceremony was held at the CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding Company in the Chinese province of Quanzhou on April 26 for AAL Shipping’s new heavy lift vessel, AAL Limassol.Due to sail on her maiden voyage from China into Europe, the 32,000 deadweight AAL Limassol is set to carry a full weather deck of project heavy lift cargo, including two 135-meter-long barges, weighing 1,650 tonnes and fifteen 80.5-meter-long wind blades. The newbuild will sail under the Cyprus flag.Kyriacos Panayides…

Cambodia plans to cut shipping through Vietnamese ports by 70% as a result of a $1.7 billion China-funded upgrade of a canal connecting the Mekong River basin to the Cambodian coast, the country's deputy prime minister told Reuters.Sun Chanthol downplayed environmental concerns about the Funan Techo canal slated to break ground later this year, and dismissed speculation that it could be used to allow upriver access for Chinese warships as "baseless".The project, to be completed by 2028…

The U.S. Coast Guard said it is seeking to fill 18 vacancies on the National Towing Safety Advisory Committee, which advises the Secretary of Homeland Security, via the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard on matters relating to shallow-draft inland navigation, coastal waterway navigation, and towing safety.The Coast Guard said it will consider applications for the following 18 vacancies:Seven members to represent the barge and towing industry, reflecting a regional geographic balance.One…

The Olympic flame landed on French soil amid tight security on Wednesday, firing the starting gun on a summer extravaganza of sport that President Emmanuel Macron hopes will showcase the splendours of France and burnish his legacy.The flame arrived in Marseille, a port city in southern France founded by Greek merchants, after a 12-day trip from Greece onboard the Belem, a 128-year-old three-masted tall ship that once transported sugar from France's colonies in the West Indies to the metropole.The torch was brought to land by Florent Manaudou…

The U.S. Navy embarked the first Mine Countermeasures Mission Package (MCM MP) aboard USS Canberra (LCS 30), April 18, service officials announced. With the MCM mission package now onboard LCS 30, the Navy anticipates the first MCM Mission Package deployment in Fiscal Year 2025.As part of the embark process, the Navy installed sensors, unmanned vehicles, support containers and the software that enables Sailors to execute MCM operations from an Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship.