Great-Zhou

The HM Customs made a sizable drug bust from the 'Great Zhou' on the anchorage of Gibraltar by deploying drones that were acquired in December 2024. The bulk carrier had arrived in Gibraltar on April 30, 2025, on a bunkering stop after a voyage from Santos, Brazil. The HM Customs undertook a routine check of the vessel while also using its newly acquired drones. The survey of the underwater areas of the vessel raised suspicions at one of the vessel’s sea chests on the port side of the hull. Divers ultimately retrieved four packages that had been hidden in the sea chest and the investigation found they contained 120 kg of cocaine. The HM Customs detained the vessel and interviewed the crew. It was later permitted to proceed to a scheduled port call in Italy. Officials in Gibraltar believed the crew was not aware of the drugs hidden on the outside of the hull. They also believed that the drugs were not meant to be offloaded in Gibraltar but would have proceeded to another country in Europe but through their efforts interrupted a smuggling operation. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys9YeOUvpHA&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.maritime-executive.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE

delivery China May 1 - 5, two years trading, redelivery worldwide, 18.500 $ daily, Rio Tinto

170.000 t ore, Dampier - Qingdao, 5.05 $ fio, scale load, 30.000 t shinc discharge, spot, Rio Tinto