· Panama-flagged Vessel Towed to Safety After Engine Failure in Çanakkale Strait
The container ship Orita suffered an engine failure while transiting the Çanakkale Strait en route from Aliağa to Kocaeli on 9 December. No injuries or pollution were reported.
The vessel experienced machinery failure off the coast of Gelibolu, prompting an immediate response coordinated by the Çanakkale Ship Traffic Services Center. Maritime authorities dispatched a guide captain along with tugboats Kurtarma 18 and Kurtarma 20 to ensure the vessel’s safety.
Under escort from Kurtarma 18, the Orita was taken under tow by Kurtarma 20 and subsequently brought to the Şevketiye Anchorage Area, where it was anchored without further incident.
Orita is a 2005-built vessel sailing under the flag of Panama. It measures 132.6 meters in length and 19.45 meters in width.
· Norwegian Ferry Allides With Building on Herfol Island; No Injuries Reported
The Ro-Ro/Passenger Ship Ternen experienced a technical malfunction and struck a shoreline building on Herfol Island, in Norway on 11 December. All five crew and seven passengers aboard were safe, and no injuries were reported.
The incident occurred at around 9:30 am local time while the ferry was arriving at the Island, missing its designated unloading position to starboard and alliding with a retail store housed in Herfol’s former post office. The building sustained damage to its wall and roof, while the extent of damage to the vessel has not yet been confirmed.
Local police deployed a patrol to investigate the incident. After the impact, all passengers and crew disembarked safely, and the ferry was pulled clear of the structure with the assistance of a tug. Norled, the operator, had initially suspended the ferry service but later restored operations.
Ternen is a ferry sailing under the flag of Norway, measuring 29.11 meters in length and 9.1 meters in width.
· Ukraine Disables Russian Tanker “Dashan” in Black Sea Drone Strike
On 10 December, Ukraine carried out the drone attacks and disabled the Russian “shadow fleet” tanker Dashan in the Black Sea. The incident marks the third sea-drone attack in two weeks targeting vessels linked to Russia’s sanctions-evading oil trade.
Dashan was reportedly attacked as it was involved in trading Russian oil sailing through Ukraine’s exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea to the Russian port of Novorossiysk.The official at the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) stated that the crude oil was hit by Sea Baby naval drones while it was sailing at high speed with its AIS switched off.
The impact caused explosions and critical damage to the stern section of the tanker. The video circulating online shows large blasts at the rear of the vessel. The SBU official has not mentioned any casualties in the attack.
Dashan is a Gambia-flagged crude oil tanker built in 2005. The tanker has previously been sanctioned by the EU, U.K., Canada, Australia, and Switzerland for transporting Russian oil and operating with its identification systems disabled.
· Vessel detained in Odesa over Crimea trade links
Ukraine’s security services have detained the Gladius, a Guinea-Bissau-flagged general cargo ship, after the vessel arrived in Odesa to load steel pipes – and investigators say they have uncovered extensive evidence tying the vessel to past illegal calls at occupied Crimea.
The 1992-built, 8,224 dwt ship, formerly known as Aminah Star, switched both name and flag as recently as October 30, according to AIS records. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claims these rapid identity changes were part of a pattern by the vessel’s sanctioned owner to obscure its operations following blacklisting by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.
SBU officials said Gladius had called at Sevastopol at least seven times prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion, exporting agricultural products from Crimea in violation of Ukrainian law. In one documented instance in January 2021, the ship loaded more than 6,900 tonnes of wheat at Sevastopol for export to North Africa.
AIS data shows Gladius entered the Black Sea on December 1 before switching off its transponder the next day while approaching the Ukrainian coast.
