“These are our new best friends,” skipper Ken Read remarked as the Maltese-flagged containership Zim Monaco pulled up alongside his carbon fiber dismasted raceboat, Mar Mostro, in the middle of the southern Atlantic Ocean.
This 257-meter long containership had recently departed Rio de Janeiro when they were alerted to the emergency on board Puma Ocean Racing’s entry in the Volvo Ocean Race… While sailing along comfortably at around 21 knots of boatspeed, Mar Mostro’s carbon fiber mast snapped unexpectedly, quickly changing their situation from competition, to survival.
They were 700 miles from land and the carbon stump sticking out of their deck was not going to get them to shore before their food and water ran out.
After carefully lowering jugs of diesel from the towering steel hull deck of Zim Monaco, Mar Mostro now is powering her way to the obscure rocky island of Tristan da Cunha, where in a few days time, her crew will rendezvous with another merchant ship that will pluck the yacht from the sea and carry her south to Cape Town, and hopefully in time for the start of Leg 2 of the Volvo Ocean Race.
Ironically enough, Mar Mostro’s other major sponsor, besides Puma, is Berg Propulsion, a designer and producer of controllable pitch propellers. Who would have guessed that during the first leg of this famous race, that already half the fleet would have had to rely on their propellers, vice sails, to get safely to shore…
Credit: Amory Ross/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean RaceJonathan Swain and Rome Kirby pulling a jug of diesel onboard. PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG re-fuel during a mid-ocean rendezvous with the "Zim Monaco" on leg 1 of the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12, from Alicante, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa. (Credit: Amory Ross/PUMA Ocean Racing/Volvo Ocean Race) Volvo Ocean Race
The US Coast Guard is reporting no injuries among the 22 crew aboard the medium-size car carrier. Morning Midas is capable of carrying around 6,000 motor vehicles.
The vessel departed from Yantai, China on May 26 with destination Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico where it was expected on June 15. According to shipping database Equasis the 2006 Morning Midas is owned by Hawthorn Navigation Inc. out of London with management by Zodiac Maritime Limited.
North Korea appears to have returned to an upright position its stricken Choe Hyun Class destroyer that partially capsized during a botched launching ceremony, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
Ukraine's SBU security service said on Tuesday that it had hit the road and rail bridge linking Russia and the Crimean peninsula below the water level with explosives. In a statement, the SBU said it had used 1,100 kilograms (2,420 pounds) of explosives that were detonated early in the morning and damaged underwater pillars of the bridge, a key supply route for Russian forces in Ukraine in the past.
June 3, 2025
Total Views: 1746
Get The Industry’s Go-To News
Subscribe to gCaptain Daily and stay informed with the latest global maritime and offshore news
— just like 108,959 professionals
Secure Your Spot
on the gCaptain Crew
Stay informed with the latest maritime and offshore news, delivered daily straight to your inbox
— trusted by our 108,959 members
Your Gateway to the Maritime World!
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Join The Club
