Malta News

The operator Tug Malta has held a naming ceremony for its latest tug, Med Aldebaran, following its delivery from Damen’s shipyard in Vietnam.With more than 80 tonnes of bollard pull at its disposal, the tug of Damen RSD Tug 2513 type will add significant strength to the company’s operations in Malta’s Port of Marsaxlokk.The tug is a compact, maneuverable vessel combining elements of ASD and tractor tugs.The Med Aldebaran tug has been outfitted with a Damen Marine NOX Reduction System.

On December 4th, Tug Malta held a naming ceremony for its latest vessel, a Damen RSD Tug 2513, in Malta. During a celebration attended by the Prime Minister of Malta Robert Abela, the vessel was named Med Aldebaran.With more than 80 tonnes of bollard pull at its disposal, the new vessel will add significant strength to the company’s operations in Malta’s Port of Marsaxlokk. The RSD Tug 2513 is a compact, maneuverable vessel combining elements of ASD and tractor tugs to deliver an ‘always bow first’ approach to towage.

An international team of scientists is reconstructing the impact of the 2008 Chaitén volcanic eruption on the marine environment following an expedition onboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor (too).After 9,000 years of dormancy, the Chaitén Volcano erupted without warning on May 2, 2008. Ash spewed 30 kilometers (18 miles) into the air and blanketed the landscape. Heavy rain in the following days triggered devastating volcanic mudflows known as lahars that cascaded down mountainsides and into the Northern Patagonian Sea.

Human rights lawyers have filed a court appeal in Berlin seeking to block a 150-metric-ton shipment of military-grade explosives aboard German cargo ship MV Kathrin which they say is to be delivered to Israel's biggest defence contractor.The European Legal Support Center (ELSC) said on Wednesday the action was filed on behalf of three Palestinians from Gaza, arguing that the shipment of primarily RDX explosives could be used in munitions for Israel's war in Gaza, potentially contributing…

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has reported a fire on a Malta-flagged tanker Med Atlantic in the East Johor Straits.The vessel is currently anchored and there is no disruption to vessel traffic in the area, MPA said, adding that all 22 crew had disembarked the vessel and were safe with no injuries.According to the alert MPA received, the fire started an engine room onboard the vessel. An MPA patrol craft, two Police Coast Guard craft, three Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) marine firefighting and rescue vessels…

Telemar, a provider of smart maintenance and remote access technologies, signed an agreement with GNV (Grandi Navi Veloci) to provide safety maintenance services on its growing fleet.GNV has awarded Telemar a contract for management and maintenance of GMDSS and navigation safety installations on its newbuildings GNV Polaris, GNV Orion and GNV Virgo, constructed at CSSC shipyard Guangzhou. These new ships, which will boost ferry services in the Mediterranean and beyond, mark a…

Activists from several countries are setting out on a converted trawler to defy an Israeli blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip."The purpose of this mission is to send a message that civil society is not OK with what's happening in Gaza," said Fellipe Lopes, the Portuguese media coordinator of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition on board the ship Handala during a stopover in Malta."We expect to encounter resistance throughout our mission," said Australian activist Michael Coleman."Ours is not an illegal activity in any shape or form.

Traders are moving Russian diesel cargoes to a new ship-to-ship (STS) loadings site in the northern Aegean Sea, as Western sanctions hit vessels carrying fuel loaded in Russian ports, LSEG and market sources data show.Since a full European Union embargo on importing Russian oil products took effect in February 2023, traders have diverted diesel exports from Russian ports to Brazil, Turkey, countries in Africa, Asia and STS loadings. STS loadings make it harder for Western countries…

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released Accident Investigation Report 6/2024 into the jetty contact by the tanker Ali Ka.The Malta registered oil and chemical tanker made contact with the westernmost section of Oikos Jetty 2 at Canvey Island on the River Thames, England at 0436 on October 25, 2022. The vessel was departing the berth under compulsory Port of London Authority (PLA) pilotage and without a tug in attendance.The impact caused minor damage to the ship but severe damage to the jetty. Ali Ka grounded close to the pier.

Finnish shipbuilder Meyer Turku on Monday delivered Mein Schiff 7 to German cruise line TUI Cruises.Mein Schiff 7 is the seventh ship of the Mein Schiff series built at the Turku shipyard. "Mein Schiff 7's symbolic start of production, the steel cutting ceremony, took place at our shipyard on June 14th, 2022," says Tim Meyer, CEO of Meyer Turku, "We are very proud to have delivered Mein Schiff 7 to TUI Cruises today, less than two years later. This was made possible by our long…

Yemen's Houthis on Friday said they targeted two vessels in the Red Sea with drones and missiles, but there was no independent confirmation of the purported attacks.The group targeted the Elbella and AAL Genoa vessels with "a number of drones and ballistic and naval missiles", the Iran-aligned group's military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a televised speech.Saree did not specify the date on which the strikes were carried out. Reuters did not receive any reports of incidents in the Red Sea on Friday.Eastern Mediterranean Maritime…

Yemen's Houthis said on Tuesday they targeted the MSC Orion container ship in a drone attack in the Indian Ocean as part of their ongoing campaign against international shipping in solidarity with Palestinians against Israel's military actions in Gaza.MSC Orion was sailing between the ports in Sines, Portugal and Salalah, Oman, according to LSEG data.Reuters found conflicting information about the registered owner of the MSC Orion. According to LSEG and other data providers, the ship is owned by Zodiac Maritime…

Carnival's Princess banner is revising itineraries of two of its cruises undertaking a global voyage next year, amid uncertainties in the Red Sea, the cruise operator said on Tuesday.The company said the banner's two "2025 World Cruises"—Island Princess and Crown Princess—would no longer be visiting the Middle East and Asia, and instead would offer new port stops in Africa and Europe.Cruise operators such as Carnival and rival Royal Caribbean are exercising caution as attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi militants on vessels in the Red Sea disrupt shipping in the Suez Canal…

A vessel that reported on Monday an explosion in its proximity, 54 nautical miles northwest of Yemen's Mokha, has sustained damage but the ship and crew are safe and proceeding to next port of call, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said.British maritime security firm Ambrey has said that a Malta-flagged container ship in the same location was reportedly targeted with three missiles while on route from Djibouti to the Saudi city of Jeddah.Iran-backed Houthi militants have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against international commercial shipping in the Red Sea

A Malta-flagged container ship was reportedly targeted with three missiles while on route from Djibouti to the Saudi city of Jeddah, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Monday.The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said it was informed by the Company Security Officer of an explosion in close proximity to a merchant vessel.UKMTO added that the vessel and its crew were safe and authorities are investigating the incident.Iran-backed Houthi militants have repeatedly launched drones and missiles against international commercial shipping in the Red Sea region since mid

Nine people, including a baby, have died after their boat capsized while trying to cross the Mediterranean in stormy weather, and another 15 people are feared missing, Italy's coast guard said on Thursday.The Italian coast guard said it received a cooperation request from the Maltese search and rescue (SAR) authority after the boat capsized approximately 30 miles (50 km) southeast of the island of Lampedusa on Wednesday .The coast guard said it dispatched its own patrol boat to the scene…

A containership lost propulsion in a busy New York City waterway just as it was about to pass under the Bayonne Bridge on Friday night—less than two weeks after a presumed power failure caused similarly sized vessel to allide with Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.The U.S. Coast Guard said it received a report that the Malta-registered APL Qingdao lost propulsion about 8:30 p.m. as it traversed the Kill Van Kull, a shipping late between New York's Staten Island and Bayonne…

As a speed boat carrying more than a dozen Somali pirates bore down on their position in the western Indian Ocean, the crew of a Bangladeshi-owned bulk carrier sent out a distress signal and called an emergency hotline.No one reached them in time. The pirates clambered aboard the Abdullah, firing warning shots and taking the captain and second officer hostage, Chief Officer Atiq Ullah Khan said in an audio message to the ship's owners."By the grace of Allah no one has been harmed so far," Khan said in the message, recorded before the pirates took the crew's phones.

Egypt's Suez Canal Authority said on Monday it had conducted repair work on a missile-hit Greek dry-bulk carrier, highlighting its readiness to restore damaged ships passing through the Red Sea.The Malta-flagged, Greek-owned vessel Zografia had berthed at a floating dock of the authority-affiliated Suez Shipyard Company for repairs after the ship's hull and some components sustained external and internal damage in a Jan. 16 attack by Yemeni Houthi forces.The vessel was sailing…

A new table published by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) indicates continuing positive performance by the vast majority of the maritime industry's flag states.Merchant ships are required to register under a flag state, which determines the vessel's nationality and gives jurisdiction under which to operate. Flag states have the authority and responsibility to enforce regulations over vessels registered under their flag, including those relating to inspection, certification…

The United States on Wednesday returned the Yemen-based Houthi rebels to a list of terrorist groups, while business chiefs warned that disruption to shipping in the Red Sea caused by their attacks could affect supply chains for months.Attacks by the Iran-allied Houthi militia on ships in the region since November have slowed trade between Asia and Europe and alarmed major powers - an escalation of Israel's more than three-month-old war with Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza.The Houthis say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians and have threatened to expand attacks to include U.S.

More than 80 migrants were saved, but two died and three were missing following two sea rescue operations in the Mediterranean off the coast of Libya, the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity said on Sunday.MSF's vessel Geo Barents picked up over 60 people late on Saturday from a rubber dinghy in distress in international waters off Libya. It also recovered one body, and one of the migrants taken on board died shortly after the rescue.Another 19 people were picked up from a nearby abandoned Tunisian offshore oil platform, MSF said.

India will bring in and prosecute 35 Somali pirates its navy captured on a hijacked ship off Somalia, a navy official said, in a departure from its recent practice of rescuing vessels and crew but leaving the disarmed pirates at sea.The captured pirates are due to arrive in India on Saturday and will be handed over to the law enforcement agencies, the official said. He declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to the media.The exact charges against the pirates were not immediately clear…