Royal Navy

Yacht Goes Missing in the Red Sea with Five Aboard

A private yacht with three Russians and two Egyptians on board has been reported missing in the Red Sea near the coast of Yemen for several days by its owner and the Russian embassy in Saudi Arabia.It was not immediately clear what had happened to the pleasure yacht named 30 Minutes which its owner said was heading to Djibouti to be sent onwards by ship to Dubai.The ship, which its owner said was registered in Panama, was not fitted with the standard AIS ship tracking system which…

UK Navy Rescues Four From Sinking Yacht

A U.K. Royal Navy warship assisted in the rescue of four people from a yacht that was taking on water and at risk of sinking in the English Channel near the Isle of Wight.Last week, the Portsmouth-based Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond answered a Mayday call from a civilian yacht that was taking on a significant amount of water while sailing from Beaulieu River in the New Forest toward Honfleur in France.Diamond was in the area after leaving its home port and coordinated and conducted the rescue operation…

Britain to Build New National Flagship to Promote Trade

Britain is planning to build a new flagship to promote its business and trade interests around the world, the government said on Saturday, in a move it said would also reinvigorate the nation's shipbuilding industry.Britain said the ship, once built, would host high level trade negotiations and trade shows, and the cost of the shipbuilding project would be confirmed once manufacturing contracts were tendered.Construction of the ship is expected to begin at a U.K. shipyard as soon as next year, and the ship will enter service within the next four years.

Slipstream and Crew Win Yachts de Coeur Humanitarian Prize

Slipstream, a 60-m Burgess motor yacht, and her crew were presented with the annual Yachts de Coeur humanitarian prize in Cannes in June 2018. The award was presented to recognize their efforts to aid the Caribbean islands and people affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Autumn 2017. The award was presented on the 11th June by Commandant Oliver Troy of the French Royal Navy, and depicts Ceres, the Roman goddess of nature and charity.The award was presented to Captains Phil Stevens and Steve Osborne and the crew of Slipstream…

Henriksen Hooks Celebrates 40 Years

Henriksen Hooks AS of Norway will celebrate the 40th birthday of its boat lifting hook at Seawork in July. Since its introduction in 1978, the Henriksen hook has become established among users as a safe and reliable means of launching a boat from a single crane. With more than 10,000 hooks now in use around the world, Henriksen boasts a 100 percent safety record maintained since its first hook appeared 40 years ago. Since then, Henriksen Hooks has also grown as a company following the introduction of additional single point lifting hook designs.Based today in Tønsberg on Norway’s Oslo Fjord…

Royal Navy's HMS Dragon Rescues Yacht Crew

Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon rescues 14 stricken sailors from damaged British racing yacht. "The crew of Dragon have rescued 14 sailors in treacherous weather conditions today after a racing yacht suffered damage in the Atlantic ocean," says a statement from Royal Navy. HMS Dragon was diverted 500 miles away from a routine tasking to provide life-saving assistance to the crew of the 60ft Clyde Challenger racing yacht. The yacht had left the Azores on 5 February 2017 and was bound for the UK when it suffered significant damage following days of strong winds and heavy seas.

Places of Refuge

The concept of force majeure has been broadly accepted since mariners initially encountered the perils of the sea. Persons and governments ashore have been obligated, at least by natural law, to accept and succor those in distress at sea. Concomitant with force majeure is the notion of providing a ship in distress with a place or port of refuge. A place of refuge is where a ship could go to avoid or ameliorate the peril and then depart at the earliest opportunity. While the original need for force majeure and a place of refuge was to reduce the risk to the lives of those on board the ship…