Casualties – RoRo ship CAROLINE RUSS disabled for few minutes – 05.04.2024

On Friday 5th April, 2024 the German built and owned Roll On Roll Off (RoRo) ship CAROLINE RUSS reported to Valletta VTS at 1432 hrs that while she was underway to Valletta from Palermo with her scheduled port of call she had a main engine failure , approximately 4 miles off Fish Farm Area (AJD Tuna Ranch). […]

Icebreaker – German Research Icebreaker POLARSTERN

One of the German Government Ships is the 1982 built German research icebreaker POLARSTERN (meaning Pole Star) of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in Bremerhaven, Germany. She was built by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) in Kiel and Nobiskrug in Rendsburg as yard 707 with keel laid down on 22nd September 1981, launched on 6th January, […]

Tugboats – FAIRPLAY 21

One of the Spanish built tugs trading in the German Towage Industry is the 1997 built tug FAIRPLAY 21 which has identical sisters – FAIRPLAY 22, 23 and 24. She was built by Naveles Santodomingo to a design from Aarts Marine BV for the German Towage Company – Fairplay Towage of which invested 19million in […]

Passer By – AHT Centaurus towing Oil Rig – 23.08.2023

The 2009 built anchor handling tug CENTAURUS towing a semi submersible drilling rig (ssdr) from the Atlantic Ocean towards Aliaga, Turkey passed by Malta on her way to the breakers. She was built in Germany under the same name by Mutzelfeldtwerft Nord at Cuxhaven for the German owners Harms Salvage, Transport and Heavylift GmbH & […]

Aerial Photography – MPP ship MARTINA loaded – 03.08.2023

One of the Multi Purpose (MPP) Ships trading worldwide, the 109 metres vessel MARTINA,  was photographed from the air by MALTA SHIP PHOTOS (MSPAP) last Thursday 3rd August, 2023 She was leaving within territorial waters (wtw) after she uplifted bunkers at OPL Malta of which she was photographed offshore Gozo on a beautiful hot sunny […]

Tankers – Chemical/Oil Product Tanker NORIENT SATURN

The Romanian built chemical/oil product tanker NORIENT SATURN had a scheduled port of call at Grand Harbour, Malta last 14th February, 2023 of which she berthed at Laboratory Wharf.                                           She was built at Santierul […]

Smit International – Tugboat BALAU

Smit Internationale N.V. (or Smit International) was a Dutch company operating in the maritime industry. It was founded in 1842 by Fop Smit as a towage company with onl 1 paddle steamer tug KINDERDIJK. Fop’s sons, Jan and Leendert, continued the company under the name L. Smit & Co and expanded the fleet. In 1870, they began using tugs with […]

Casualties – Container Ship CMA DJAKARTA on fire – July 1999.

On the night of Monday 12th July, 1999 the 1998 built 2,102 TEU containership CMA DJAKARTA caught fire off Crete following an explosion. The vessel, owned by Gebr Winter of Hamburg, was on long-term charter to Compagnie Maritime d’Affretement (CMA), Marseilles from 9th April, 1999. She was deployed on CMA’s North Europe/Japan/China service, NCJ-TPX U.S. […]

STS Operation – BEAR ALCOR and PATRICIA – 04.09.2021

On Saturday 4th September, 2021 a ship to ship (STS) Operation between the 274 m crude oil tanker BEAR ALCOR and the 144 m chemical/oil products tanker PATRICIA was photographed from the air by MALTA SHIP PHOTOS offshore Malta. BEAR ALCOR was built in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) on 8th March, 2002 as the Double […]