10 FEB 2026 A pregnant woman’s blood sample taken in 1972 was mysteriously missing a surface molecule found on all other known red blood cells at the time. More than 50 years later, that strange absence finally led researchers from the UK and Israel to describe a new blood group …
Read More »SEAFARER RECRUITMENT SHOULD NEVER BE A GAMBLE
09 FEB 2026 Recent reports concerning Chinese seafarers who traveled overseas for what they believed were legitimate job opportunities, only to lose contact with their families for weeks or months, have brought renewed attention to a deeply troubling recruitment pattern. In one widely shared case, a seafarer eventually returned home, …
Read More »DOCKWORKERS DISRUPT PORTS IN ITALY PROTESTING ALLEGED ARMS SHIPMENTS
08 FEB 2026 Port across Italy were reporting strikes and disruptions in their operations as unionized dockworkers staged a 24-hour strike to protest the alleged “militarization” of the ports. Reports indicate ships of Zim and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company were being targeted and forced to hold offshore or divert. Unione …
Read More »KOREAN RORO TURNS AROUND AFTER REPORTING TRUCK FIRE
07 FEB 2026 A Korean-flagged RoRo operating as a ferry was forced to turn around on Friday evening, February 6, after the crew discovered a truck fire onboard. The crew, aided by the local fire department and the Coast Guard, was able to bring the fire under control after about …
Read More »CAPTAIN OF SOLONG GETS SIX YEARS AS COURT CITES “COMPLACENCY AND ARROGANCE”
06 FEB 2026 A judge at the UK’s “Old Bailey” court in London sentenced the former master of the Solong containership to six years in jail for causing the death of a seafarer in the fiery 2025 allision with the tanker Stena Immaculate. A jury on Monday had found Vladimir …
Read More »WITH U.S. EMBARGO LIFTED, VENEZUELAN OIL EXPORTS BOUNCE BACK
05 FEB 2026 Oil exports from Venezuela have surged upwards since the end of the U.S. embargo and the capture of former dictator Nicolas Maduro. Under American management, oil cargoes rose to 800,000 bpd in January, up from about 500,000 bpd under U.S. Navy blockade in December. Vitol and Trafigura …
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