ZAMIL 25

The crew of the Hong Kong-flagged ASL Bauhinia have abandoned the container ship in the Red Sea after it caught fire on Tuesday, two maritime sources said, adding the cause of the incident was not immediately clear.The crew were rescued by another vessel and are safe, the sources said, adding that the incident took place in the open sea off Yemen.The Shanghai-based manager of ASL Bauhinia, Asean Seas Line, was not immediately available for comment.Earlier this month, Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militia said the group would limit their attacks on commercial vessels sailing through the Red Sea to Israel-linked ships provided the Gaza ceasefire is fully implemented.

This episode of Maritime Matters: The MarineLink Podcast, delves into the critical importance of the inland waterways infrastructure in the U.S., focusing on the Chickamauga Lock Project on the Tennessee River. A trio of experts – Tracy Zea, President & CEO of WCI; Elizabeth Burks, USACE Nashville Division Chief; and Capt. Joe Cotton, Project Manager, Chickamauga Lock Project – discuss the current state of the inland waterways, the history and significance of the Chickamauga Lock, and the ongoing efforts to modernize this essential infrastructure.Key PointsThere are 12,000 navigable miles of inland waterways in the U.S.80% of locks are past their 50-year design life, increasing failure risk.

The trade of Russian oil for March-loading in Asia has slowed significantly as a growing gap between buyer and seller expectations in China has emerged. This disconnect comes amid rising costs for chartering non-sanctioned tankers following new U.S. sanctions, according to traders and shipping data.Fresh sanctions imposed by Washington on January 10 targeting Russia's oil supply chain have caused tanker freight rates to surge. Many buyers and ports in China and India are avoiding ships affected by the sanctions, further complicating trade.

Patrick Murphy has been President of Blue & Gold Fleet, L.P., the San Francisco Bay Area’s largest and premier provider of Bay Cruises and ferry service, since 2016. Murphy grew up in the Maritime business. His father, Roger Murphy, founded Blue & Gold Fleet in 1979. Patrick Murphy began his career in 1982, working part-time in the Box Office and as a Deckhand before receiving his United States Coast Guard’s license in 1995 and was promoted to Captain in 1996. In 2005, Murphy advanced to Blue & Gold Fleet Operations Manager, and then to Director of Operations in 2009.

An undersea fibre optic cable between Latvia and Sweden was damaged on Sunday, likely as a result of external influence, Latvia said, triggering an investigation by local and NATO maritime forces in the Baltic Sea."We have determined that there is most likely external damage and that it is significant," Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina told reporters following an extraordinary government meeting.Latvia is coordinating with NATO and the countries of the Baltic Sea region to clarify the circumstances, she said separately in a post on X.Latvia's navy earlier on Sunday said it had dispatched a patrol boat to inspect a ship and that two other vessels were also subject to investigation.