Military News – Niger receives Helicopters from Italy – 18.10.2022

On Tuesday 18th October in the presence of Niger’s defence minister Alkassoum Indattou and his Italian counterpart Lorenzo Guerini, 2 x AB412HP Helicopters were handed over at Air Base 101 in Niamey Indattou said the delivery was the result of close ties between Italy and Niger. The aircraft will be used to strengthen Niger’s Air […]

Casualties – Medevac by French Navy after MSC RACHELE explosion – June 2022

On Tuesday 21st June, 2022 around 0900 hrs the Regional Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) in Toulon, France received a distress call from the 334 metre containership MSC RACHELE that due to engine room fire , followed by an explosion 3 injured crew members needed a medical evacuation (Medevac). She was sailing between Naples and the […]

Conservation Ships – RAINBOW WARRIOR (III) at Malta – April 2022

On Friday 8th April, 2022 the 2011 built sailing ship RAINBOW WARRIOR (III) passed breakwaters at 1319 hrs coming from Heraklion Greece. Rainbow Warrior (III) is owned by the environmental activist group Greenpeace International. She’s the first purpose built ship since here predecessors RAINBOW WARRIOR (I) and RAINBOW WARRIOR (II) were converted ships. A $32m (€23m) […]

State Visit – Pope Francis at Gozo – 02.04.2022

Malta welcomed His Holiness Pope Francis during his Apostolic visit to the country from Saturday 2nd April to Sunday 3rd April of which on Saturday 2nd April he visited the sister island of Gozo. The island of Gozo was wearing Holy Week dress and Vatican City Flags mounted on road roundabouts, balconies, roof flagpoles etc […]

Yachting – 156 m mega yacht DILBAR seized – 02.03.2022

On Wednesday 2nd March, 2022 the German Government seized the 4th longest yacht in the world – DILBAR as part of a series of sanctions on Russian oligarchs during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov. DILBAR is named after Usmanov’s mother. Below is the first DILBAR launched in 2005 as a 66 […]

Casualties – FELICITY ACE sinks off the Azores – 01.03.2022

On Tuesday 1st March, 2022 around 0900 hrs local time Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) car carrier FELICITY ACE  that caught fire in the Atlantic last February 16th while carrying nearly 4,000 cars from Germany to the US sunk despite several efforts to tow her safely.  The 6,400 CEU ship sank 220 nautical miles off the coast of Portugal’s […]

Broken Up – Greenpeace Ship ESPERANZA – 21.02.2002

After 2 decades the Greenpeace ship ESPERANZA has arrived at the port of Gijon, in Spain on Saturday 12th February, 2002 for recycling procedures by DDR Vessels XXI, one of the 2 companies specialised in ship recycling authorised by the EU. She was built in Poland by Stocznia Polnocna at Gdansk as yard number B98/04 […]

Casualties – Sailing Catamaran NOMADE – 27th March 2002

On Sunday 7th April, 2002 the Civil Protection Department (CPD) fireboat GARIBALDI entered Grand Harbour, Malta towing a capsized 11 metre sailing catamaran NOMADE that capsized on Wednesday 27th March in rough weather around 37 miles offshore Malta with her French male solo crew that was rescued by the 1975 built Cypriot flag cargo ship […]