A routine voyage turned grim when the cruise ship Sapphire Princess recovered five bodies in the western Mediterranean, underscoring the ongoing risks of migrant crossings. The Maritime Telegraph reports the incident occurred mid-journey, far from shore.
MV Hui Yuan was temporarily detained by authorities in Sweden after investigators recorded an illegal discharge of coal cargo residue into the Baltic Sea near Ystad, The Maritime Telegraph reports.
A Chinese bulk carrier briefly disrupted traffic in the Suez Canal on April 2 after a technical failure forced the vessel aground during transit, stopping the southbound convoy for about four hours, Maritime Executive reports.
The containership Safeen Prestige has reportedly sunk in the Strait of Hormuz after a missile strike triggered a severe onboard fire, according to The Maritime Telegraph. A safety warning issued by NAVAREA IX on April 1 confirmed the vessel’s loss, marking the first reported total ship loss linked to the current security escalation affecting commercial shipping in the region.
A Taiwanese court has ordered a Chinese captain to pay about $560,000 to Chunghwa Telecom after his vessel damaged the Tai-Peng No. 3 subsea cable in the Taiwan Strait, NextShip reports. The ruling follows a three-year prison sentence issued in June 2025, underlining Taiwan’s tougher enforcement measures to protect critical offshore communications infrastructure.
More than 200 passengers were evacuated after the river cruise ship A‑Rosa Sena struck the Amsterdamsebrug on the outskirts of Amsterdam late Wednesday, The Maritime Telegraph reported, citing local media. The helmsman suffered minor injuries, while passengers remained unharmed.
Libya has initiated an emergency maritime response to secure the damaged LNG carrier Arctic Metagaz, which continues drifting in the Mediterranean and poses rising environmental and navigation risks, according to NextShip. The country’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) is coordinating recovery efforts with international specialists and national authorities to stabilize the vessel and prepare it for towing to a safe port.
A Strait of Hormuz shipping disruption has left around 3,200 vessels carrying nearly 20,000 seafarers stranded west of the waterway as security risks escalate across the Persian Gulf, as The Maritime Telegraph claimed.
Spanish maritime authorities in the Canary Islands chased down a detained tug that attempted to leave the port of Las Palmas without permission. The tug Sylvia M, which was towing the offshore vessel K-Marine IV, tried to depart despite a standing detention order, reported by Maritime Executive.
A major search and rescue operation is underway off the coast of South Africa after a tugboat sank in rough seas, leaving five crewmembers missing. Two merchant vessels and a fishing boat are assisting the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) in the operation.
A fatal collision between the cargo vessel Shinsei Maru and the fishing boat Kosei Maru has left two fishermen dead off the coast of Toba City, according to The Maritime Telegraph. The incident adds to growing safety concerns in Japan’s congested coastal shipping lanes.
A fatal cruise ship fire off Singapore claimed the life of one crew member on February 20, The Maritime Telegraph reports. The blaze broke out around 04:00 on deck nine of the Liberia-flagged MV World Legacy, prompting a full-scale emergency response and evacuation.
A deadly engine room fire aboard the Singapore-flagged bulk carrier Mandy has killed two crew members and sent a third to hospital, Splash 247 reports.
DP World has dismissed its chairman and chief executive Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem after documents released by the US Department of Justice cited his association with Jeffrey Epstein, The Maritime Telegraph claims. The move signals a sharp leadership change at the Dubai-headquartered ports and logistics group.
A maritime accident involving a chemical tanker and a fishing vessel near Kobe occurred on February 11, 2026, The Maritime Telegraph reports, citing the Japan Coast Guard. The vessels made contact east of the Akashi Strait, close to the entrance routes to Kobe Harbor, leaving one fisherman injured.
A Panamanian-flagged container ship sank off the coast of Phuket on February 7, prompting a rapid rescue operation by the Royal Thai Navy and local authorities. All 16 crewmembers were safely evacuated shortly before the vessel went under, avoiding casualties in what could have become a major maritime disaster.
A commercial chemical tanker has rescued 27 seafarers after a tuna fishing vessel caught fire and sank in the Eastern Pacific, highlighting the lifesaving role of merchant ships in open-ocean rescues, The Maritime Telegraph reports.
A fire in the engine room of the Ro-Ro ferry Maria Felisa injured three crew members while the vessel was sailing through the Surigao Strait in the southern Philippines, reports The Maritime Telegraph. The incident forced the ferry to stop mid-voyage and rely on external assistance, highlighting once again the risks faced by seafarers during onboard emergencies.
Two crew members are still missing after the bulk carrier Changxin 198 capsized and sank off the western coast of Hainan Island, underscoring ongoing safety risks for bulk carriers operating in severe weather. The Maritime Telegraph reports that the incident occurred in the Gulf of Tonkin on 31 January 2026.
A crew member from the tanker Songa Pearl remains missing after falling overboard in the Elbe estuary, prompting a large-scale search and rescue operation that was later suspended. The incident was reported by The Maritime Telegraph.
Russian captain Vladimir Motin faces gross negligent manslaughter charges after the cargo ship Solong collided with the anchored tanker Stena Immaculate near the Humber Estuary on March 10, 2025, causing a fire that engulfed both vessels and leaving one Filipino sailor missing, as reported by Safety4Sea.
US forces have seized a seventh oil tanker connected to Venezuelan crude movements, tightening enforcement against sanctioned shipping in the Caribbean. The latest operation, reported by NextShip and confirmed by U.S.
A Hong Kong court has sentenced the captain of an oil tanker to 14 months in prison following a deadly collision with a local fishing boat, a case that has once again exposed serious navigational safety risks in busy coastal waters. The court ruling and key details of the proceedings were reported by NextShip.
A routine attempt to refloat a grounded bulk carrier off Taiwan’s east coast escalated into a wider maritime emergency when one of the assisting tugs also ran aground, prompting a helicopter evacuation, The Maritime Telegraph reports.
