Wrecks – Greek Monohull AEOLOS KENTERIS still idling at Augusta, Sicily – February, 2025
Scrapping of ships is not too common in Italy, and secondly ships idling especially here at Porto Di Augusta like this one were involved in some irregularities and subsequently detained, due to unpaid port dues or involvement in an illegal act (e.g. smuggling). Italian bureaucracy is extremely inflated and slow, and to get a ship […]
Wrecks – 1958 built ship still idling at Augusta, Sicily – September 2024
Scrapping of ships is not too common in Italy, and secondly ships idling especially here at Porto Di Augusta like this one were involved in some irregularities and subsequently detained, due to unpaid port dues or involvement in an illegal act (e.g. smuggling). Various ships are idling at the inner part of the harbour further […]
Wrecks – 1967 built ship still idling at Augusta, Sicily – July 2024
Scrapping of ships is not too common in Italy, and secondly ships idling especially here at Porto Di Augusta like this one were involved in some irregularities and subsequently detained, due to unpaid port dues or involvement in an illegal act (e.g. smuggling). Italian bureaucracy is extremely inflated and slow, and to get a ship […]
Local Shipping – Bezzina’s former Scottish Ferries ABERCRAIG and SCOTSCRAIG at Malta
Salvatore Bezzina, the founder of BEZZINA GROUP, began offering commercial services to the British Admiralty in the early 1940s. His company, Salv. Bezzina & Sons Ltd, was established in May 1966 and provided various services in the heavy engineering industry, including civil marine engineering, heavy haulage, dredging, steel fabrication, and erection of steel structures. Over the […]
Diving – HMS X127 wreck known as Carolita at Malta
One of the few shallow wreck dives in Malta, is the 1915 built 24 metre water lighter HMS X127 known as Carolita. Originally built as a landing craft she was converted into a water lighter and later again into a fuel lighter ferrying fuel for Royal Navy (RN) 10th Submarine flotilla. She’s one of the […]
Scuttling Operation – COMINOLAND and KARWELA – 12.08.2006
On Saturday 12th August 2006, 2 short sea ferryboats COMINOLAND and KARWELA were towed from Cassar Ship Repair Yard, Marsa to Ras il-Hobz, Gozo that is a submerged pinnacle also known as the Middle Finger, to be scuttled by the Gozo Tourism Association. The Pinnacle is one of the most breathtaking dives in Gozo. The top of this pinnacle […]
Wrecks – Chinese Ship suspected of looting WWII wrecks – May 2023
Malaysia’s maritime authorities on Monday 29th May, 2023 said cannon shells believed to be from World War Two have been found on the 2014 built Chinese dredger CHUAN HONG 68 detained at the weekend for anchoring in its territorial waters without permission. The discovery came amid reports that scavengers have targeted two British World War […]
Local Shipping – PRINCESS DIANA & PRINCESS ELIZABETH
Two boats that were former Libyan Customs and Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) Patrol Craft and were never used as short sea passenger boats were the 31.4 metres craft PRINCESS DIANA and PRINCESS ELIZABETH. PRINCESS DIANA was built in 1963 for the Libyan Customs by Brodogradiliste Kraljevica in Hrvatska at Yugoslavia as ARRAID and on […]
Local Shipping – Submersible Exploration Ship U BOAT NAVIGATOR.
One of the converted fishing vessels around is the 2008 built U BOAT NAVIGATOR. She was built at Cinar Tersanecilik Ltd, Gemlik in Turkey as the fishing vessel ESAT KOCALI and in 2012 she was converted after being acquired by the submarine pilots and expert diving instructors father-and-son duo Eugene and Dmitry Tomashov. In fact […]
MBL News – Paul Allen research ship PETREL at Malta – 20.03.2017
On Monday 20th March 2017 around 0814 hrs the 76.45 metre research vessel PETREL owned by the estate of the Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen entered Valletta, Malta. The ship is named after the sea bird petrel. In 2016, Allen purchased the offshore vessel formerly named SEVEN PETREL from Subsea 7, a subsea engineering, construction and services company. In 2017, the ship […]
