Brazil: Filipino seafarer with a heart emergency taken off his ship near Ilhéus and treated in hospitalA 48-year-old Filipino crew member on the merchant ship Amazon Victory had a heart emergency about 114 nautical miles off Ilhéus, Brazil. The Brazilian Navy organised his transfer to a hospital, where he had an emergency heart procedure. He is getting better.
Vietnam: four fishermen safe after their boat sank near the White Lion oil fieldA small Vietnamese fishing boat sank in rough seas on 21 October 2026. Another fishing boat picked up all four crew. They reached Tran De port in Can Tho on 23 October, and border guards say all four are healthy.
Ghana: seven fishermen found alive off Benin after almost two weeks at sea in a canoeThe engine of the fishing canoe Second Chance failed after it left Sekondi, Ghana, on 9 October 2026. The canoe drifted east to Benin. Navies of Ghana, Togo and Benin brought all seven fishermen home safely on 22 October.
Scotland: search starts again for two fishermen missing after the Kilda sank off LewisPolice divers went back to sea on 21 October to look for two missing crew of the fishing boat Kilda off the Isle of Lewis. A third crew member died. Fishing leaders say no distress signal was sent.
UpdatedFerry fire near Merak, Indonesia: all 420 passengers and 40 crew of KMP Batumandi taken off safelyThe ro-ro ferry KMP Batumandi caught fire near Merak port, Indonesia, on 20 October 2026. All 420 passengers and 40 crew moved to another ferry within about 40 minutes. Eleven people went to hospital, and no one died. The ferry sank the next evening.
Spain: rescue helicopters take two seafarers from merchant ships to hospitalSpain's sea rescue service, Salvamento Marítimo, flew two seafarers from merchant ships to hospital on 20 and 21 October 2026. One was on a Cyprus-flagged tanker south of Málaga. The other was a Ukrainian crew member on a cargo ship off Galicia.
Small cargo ship sank off Beypore, India, after a collision: all eight crew rescuedThe cargo ship MSV Jesus Heart sank about 18 to 20 nautical miles off Beypore, Kerala, late on 20 October 2026. Its master said a fishing boat hit it. A tug picked up all eight crew, and the Coast Guard brought them ashore on 21 October.
Two injured seafarers taken off a bulk carrier near Richards Bay, South Africa, in rough seasOn 19 October 2026, a sea rescue crew from NSRI took two injured seafarers off a 292-metre bulk carrier near Richards Bay, South Africa. The swell grew to 7 metres during the operation. Both men were stable.
Crew member with a severe head injury taken off a work ship on the River ThamesOn 20 October 2026, a crew member fell from height inside a work ship at London Gateway on the River Thames. The RNLI lifeboat crew and the ship's crew moved the injured person from the generator room to a tug, and then to an ambulance.
Off northern Japan, 17 crew rescued from a burning fishing boat, and a Filipino fisherman is still missingAll 17 crew of the Japanese fishing boat Tenryu Maru were rescued after an engine-room fire in the North Pacific on 20 October 2026. Two days earlier, a Filipino crew member died and another went missing after falling from a Taiwanese fishing boat.
Rescue ship's chief officer lost after 28 crew saved from burning container ship in the South AtlanticThe Portuguese-flagged bulk carrier Aeolian Arrow rescued all 28 crew of the burning container ship Espirito Santo Express on 15 October 2026. Its own chief officer fell into the sea while the rescue boat was being recovered and could not be saved.
Cruise ship AIDAnova picks up four fishermen from a liferaft after fire in the SkagerrakFour crew of a Danish-flagged fishing vessel escaped a fire in the Skagerrak on 18 October 2026 by liferaft and were picked up by a boat from the cruise ship AIDAnova. Norwegian rescuers said none was injured.