yacht sea explorer

SEAXPLORER SERIES

Whether you choose the 105m, 77m, or 60m version, or a full custom, SeaXplorer is the most capable and efficient luxury expedition yacht ever built.

EYOS EXPERTISE

To help create the ideal globally-capable expedition yacht, EYOS Expeditions took over 150 design criteria to DAMEN shipyard. Working with DAMEN’s design team, EYOS advised on details from the hull form and bridge layout to the tender davits and Zodiac boarding arrangements.

SeaXplorer was the first yacht built to meet the new Polar Code Standards, which came into force in 2017. While her entire hull is ice-strengthened, in the most challenging ice conditions, SeaXplorer can go astern using a specially shaped icebreaking stern to break through boundaries that stop other yachts.

WELL EQUIPPED

In tropical waters, SeaXplorer is designed for efficient access both above and below the sea.

She features dedicated space for submersibles, dive gear, and a recompression chamber, as well as dedicated storage for an array of carefully chosen tenders. Every detail is infused with knowledge gained over hundreds of expeditions.

A fully certified, enclosed helicopter hangar keeps your aircraft safe no matter where you take your yacht.

TRUE EXCLUSIVITY

Built with remote destinations in mind, SeaXplorer achieves an unprecedented 40 days of autonomy. Her guests will define their own limits; SeaXplorer offers true exclusivity far beyond the reach of others.

Despite her rugged capability,  SeaXplorer  is still very much a luxury yacht. Stunning spaces connect guests to the outside world and passing scenery. Thanks to the Damen/Amels synergy, the yacht meets the highest standards for which renowned Dutch yacht builders are known.

SeaXplorer is the pinnacle of expedition super yachting. She is the globally-capable, true luxury yacht we’ve been waiting for. EYOS is proud to have worked with Damen and Amels on this outstanding series of yachts.

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The first SeaXplorer expedition superyacht has been sold

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Welcome to Xplore. Our new series that focuses on the SeaXplorer range of superyachts where we’re going to explore what it takes to design, build and operate these go anywhere superyachts built with a real taste for adventure.  

THE LATEST EPISODE

This is Xplore ! Our new series focusing on our SeaXplorer range of superyachts.

In this new series, we are going to explore what it takes to design, build and operate these “Go Everywhere” superyachts.

Welcome to Monaco. The home of superyachts and the perfect destination to kick off our introduction to the first episode of Xplore.

In this episode, host Bill Springer travels to Holland to meet with the Damen Yachting team who brought the SeaXplorer concept to life.

A first in-depth look at two of the SeaXplorer yachts taking shape at our shipyard in Antalya.

We head to Monaco for the Explorer Yacht Summit where industry elites meet to discuss the latest trends in the explorer yacht market – a field in which Damen Yachting is a key player.

In this episode we return to Monaco to meet with the exterior design team behind the SeaXplorer concept and we’ll go behind the scenes to find out how they collaborated with real world explorers to perfect this new breed of superyacht.

In this episode we travel to England to explore two very different interiors designed for two very different SeaXplorers that are currently under construction.

VENTURE TO THE WORLD’S EDGES

It takes a special sort of yacht to sail to the most remote places on Earth. The SeaXplorer range combines high-quality, luxury yachting with a passion for adventure and exploration. The result is an icon of innovation, as technically sophisticated as it is elegant.

Able to access both polar extremes and unspoiled tropical beauty in safety and absolute comfort, the SeaXplorer is the embodiment of escape. Join Bill Springer in this special video series as he uncovers the SeaXplorer, inside and out.

Visit the locations and meet the people behind the design, build and operation of the ultimate in adventure yachting.

ABOUT BILL SPRINGER

Bill Springer would rather be on a superyacht. And since he spends most of his time exploring the world writing about superyachts and luxury travel as a Senior Contributor to Forbes and many other lux publications, he usually is!

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SeaXplorer 60

Delivery available from Spring 2024

• 12 guests in 6 spacious cabins • Scuba dive deck • Wet lab for ocean research

SeaXplorer 77

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• Wellness Centre and Dive Centre • Helicopter hangar and refuelling tanks • Ice Class

SeaXplorer 105

• 24 guests with 41 crew and staff • 5 large tenders plus hangar for two aircraft • Polar Class

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This Custom 190-Foot Ice-Class Explorer Yacht Comes With Its Own 37-Foot Sailboat

The sleek vessel, a partnership between damen, azure yacht design and eyos expeditions, can also stay at sea for up to 30 days., rachel cormack.

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The interior, which was spearheaded was Design Unlimited, has been labeled “personal and alluring.” The layout includes six lavish suites for up to 12 guests, along with cabins for 15 crew and two expedition staff. On the bridge deck, you’ll will find a sky lounge and dining area with prime views. Seafarers can enjoy more panoramic vistas from the SeaXplorer’s signature observation lounge in the bow.

Outside, meanwhile, you can relax in the cabana-style bar and lounge, cool of in the giant infinity pool or soak in the bridge deck’s Jacuzzi. To encourage further exploration, the yacht is equipped with a helideck and a wide range of toys, including a custom 37-foot sailboat, two tenders, a couple of motorcycles and vehicles for both on and off-road use.

The SeaXplorer 58 will now undergo her final build phase in preparation for delivery to her owner in spring. “We are very excited at the successful accomplishment of this milestone of the project,” Tolga Karacadal, operations manager of yachting at the Antalya shipyard, said in a statement. “Having seen the yacht in the water for the first time, it’s clear to see that she will be a head turner.”

Rachel Cormack is a digital editor at Robb Report. She cut her teeth writing for HuffPost, Concrete Playground, and several other online publications in Australia, before moving to New York at the…

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A Closer Look at Damen Yachting's 105m SeaXplorer

By Jenna Mehdi

The SeaXplorer 105 is the largest SeaXplorer available. She represents the pinnacle of design, engineering and build prowess flexed by the acclaimed luxury explorer range. We take a closer look at the ultra-luxurious features you can expect to see onboard…

With close attention to client feedback from the SeaXplorers already delivered by Damen Yachting  - Anawa and La Datcha - the SeaXplorer team has been hard at work to create the ultimate luxury design. 

In collaboration with exterior designer Azure Yacht Design and operational partner EYOS Expeditions, the SeaXplorer 105 represents an evolution of the best features onboard the older designs in a similar size range. 

This is not to say the design and its implementation is set in stone, however. Enrique Tintore, SeaXplorer Design Manager, says that although the SeaXplorer 105 is ‘ fully developed ’, there is ‘ massive’ scope for client customisation. ‘ That’s a key part of our proposition throughout the design process, ’ he adds. 

A key part of the SeaXplorer’s appeal is her vast tender and toy garage. The SeaXplorer 105 takes this to new extremes.

Alongside a 13-metre chase boat, the yacht has capacity to carry some four tenders (each between eight and 12-metres long) in the forward garage and tender bays. This is not to mention a submarine, as well as her scuba dive deck with watersports centre and waterline embarkment. 

Befitting a luxury expedition yacht of over 100m, the SeaXplorer 105 has a Gross Tonnage of 6,500 and 5,775 square metres of volume spread over eight decks. Accommodating 24 guests in comfort, the yacht includes not one but two large Owners’ suites. 

The design has been built entirely to PYC compliance making her fully fit for charter. As for her expedition capabilities, the SeaXplorer 105 carries huge onboard stores for all provisions, luggage parts as well as helicopter fuel, tender fuel and tanks for 8,000 nautical miles. 

The SeaXplorer 105 inherits the unique indoor Observation Lounge enjoyed on the smaller models, but on an unprecedented scale of 123 square metres of sweeping views - allowing for a bar and multimedia centre to be incorporated. 

The SeaXplorer 105 will navigate the most treacherous and rewarding water routes on earth. As such, the yacht will comply with IMO Polar Code category B requirements for polar safety and environmental protection. In addition, her hull is built with Polar Class 7 ice-strengthening with double-acting stern ice breaking for fast-changing ice conditions. 

The yacht’s powerful stabiliser fins retract in case of interaction with obscure ‘growlers’ - fragments of ice the size of trucks that float just beneath the surface of the water.

An explorer with a conscience, the yacht will be powered by the latest hybrid diesel-electric pod technology, while large garbage and greywater stores below deck ensure zero discharge between port calls. 

The SeaXplorer 105 is equipped with a certified twin helideck, with weathertight double hangar below deck and a hydraulic lift system to ensure both aircraft protection against the elements. For expeditions in Antarctica, long-range helicopter trips or heliskiing excursions require two helicopters; bringing increased flexibility, redundancy and safety when off the beaten path. 

The extra space brought by a twin helideck also brings plenty of room for leisure. Host 200 guests in an ultra-lounge style outdoor party, or erect a full-sized tennis court for a game with a view. 

If two helipads weren’t enough, the SeaXplorer 105 is equipped with an indoor spa of the same size. Complete with an 8-metre pool, gym with folding terrace, whirlpool, steam room, sauna, massage room hairdresser and beauty salon, this aptly christened ‘wellness space’ is guaranteed to change the game of superyacht spa facilities. 

The room to make the SeaXplorer 105 your own is staggering. Get in touch with the team at Damen Yachting to find out more.  

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Damen SeaExplorer 58 yacht PINK SHADOW successfully completes sea trials

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By Nina Done   6 April 2023

The SeaXplorer 58 yacht PINK SHADOW has successfully completed her series of sea trials near Damen ’s Antalya shipyard in Turkey , designed to test her capabilities, equipment and safety features.

Marking the third hull in the Dutch builder’s luxury explorer yacht range, PINK SHADOW’s striking hunter-green hull and rugged exterior is courtesy of Azure Yacht Design, with Design Unlimited is responsible for her interior styling. 

The 1,090 GT explorer yacht is equipped with an ice class hull for polar exploration, with the yard confirming she has been built to “meet the adventurous Owner’s globe-trotting lifestyle with family and friends to explore polar and tropical regions alike.”

She performed and looked great sailing for the first time and is certainly a head-turning yacht with her unique color scheme and design features.

Damen Yachting’s SeaXplorer Design Manager Enrique Tintore says: “We are very happy with how the sea trials are going and are looking forward to delivering this SeaXplorer to the Owner in the very near future. She performed and looked great sailing for the first time and is certainly a head-turning yacht with her unique color scheme and design features.”

Delivery is expected later this Spring, although at this stage it is not anticipated she will be made available for charter . For more information about this yacht, please read our article: ' Damen Yachting launches first custom SeaXplorer 58 in Antalya '

If you're keen on renting an explorer yacht for your next yacht vacation, please speak to your preferred yacht charter broker .

Featured Damen yachts available for charter

77m Damen Yachting 2020

72m Damen Yachting 2017 / 2020

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67m Damen Yachting 2014

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SeaXplorer 105

The Damen SeaXplorer 105 m is a ruggedized expedition yacht designed to sail in the remote areas of the world. She is an “off the drawing board” expedition yacht. Her design brief demands a vessel with the following:

– Good sea keeping characteristics for long voyages over the remote oceans – Ice strengthening for Polar Class 7 for visiting the Polar regions – HVAC for both tropical as well as winter conditions – Storage space and tank volume for autonomy up to 40 days – Protected space allocation for helicopters, tenders and other expedition gear. – Passengers capacity up to 24
 – Crew and expedition staff up to 41
 – Environmentally friendly to operate in the fragile parts of the world – Safety according the applicable SOLAS regulations
 – High passenger comfort
 – High Quality Yacht finish at all guest areas (inside/outside)

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105m / 345ft

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More From Forbes

Explorer yacht influencer interview: ray dalio.

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Ray Dalio diving in the Seychelles in 2024

I’m not an economist. Or a hedge fund manager. Or even good at math. But I am curious enough to have read The Changing World Order by Ray Dalio who, by the way, also happens to be the founder of the world's largest hedge fund firm, Bridgewater Associates that currently has over $120 billion in assets under management. And since being particularly curious about ocean exploration is also a wonderful part of my job writing about yachts, I also know that Mark and Ray Dalio founded a serious ocean exploration initiative— OceanX a few years back. So… I could not imagine a better subject for my latest “Influencer Interview” series than Ray Dalio. As you’ll see, he’s as knowledgeable and passionate about the world’s oceans as he is about other important subjects.

OceanXplorer is the ultimate ocean research vessel.

BS: The mission of OceanX is “to explore the ocean and bring it back to the world.” And OceanX is doing that by “combing science, technology and media to explore and raise awareness for the oceans and create a community engaged with protecting them.” So, the question is: where does your motivation and passion for the OceanX mission come from?

RD: I'm so excited about the ocean and ocean exploration because the ocean is the most important asset the world has—it has the greatest effect on our wellbeing. And it's also the most exciting place to be. The ocean is 72 percent of the world's surface, and the highest point on the surface is equal to the ocean's deepest depth. So, this means that it's more than twice the size of all continents combined.

I grew up near the ocean on Long Island and some of my earliest memories are of the crabs, shells, all of those coastal experiences. And then watching Jacques Cousteau amazed me, and then I learned to dive, and I was lucky enough to have experiences interacting with ocean explorers. It’s been a lifelong journey.

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NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 04: OceanX Media Founder and Creative Director Mark Dalio (L) and OceanX ... [+] Founder Ray Dalio speak onstage during the Launch Of OceanX in New York City. (Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for OceanX)

What I'm hoping to do with OceanX is explore it and then bring it back to people to see it the way Jacques Cousteau did for me. OceanX is an endeavor that I've been doing in one form or another for about 11 years. We’ve done museum exhibitions. We have an ocean exploration that we bring scientists on and is the best platform for both discovery and for conveying discovery in media.

OceanX is doing this with marine biologists from all over the world and sharing their discoveries on regular and social media. OceanX has more than 10 million social media followers, who love following the missions and learning about the ocean. Later this year, we’re excited to release OceanXplorers , a groundbreaking new television series on National Geographic/Disney produced by BBC Studios Natural History Unit and OceanX in association with Earthship Productions for National Geographic. It follows a team of scientific and storytelling pioneers exploring the deepest and most inaccessible depths of our world’s oceans aboard OceanXplorer."

One of OceanX's Triton submarines exploring a reef in Raja Ampat

BS: Can you tell me about the underwater missions you're most proud of or excited by?

RD: We were the first to capture footage of the Giant Squid in its natural setting with The Discovery Channel in 2012, bringing amazing footage of this incredible creature to the world. We have filmed expeditions for BBC’s Blue Planet II and Sir David Attenborough’s award-winning series Great Barrier Reef."

BS: Since some of OceanX’s greatest contributions to the field of marine science include conducting the first-ever submersible dives to the Antarctic seafloor and conducting the most comprehensive survey of North America’s only coral barrier reef system it’s obvious that submarine-operation is integral to OceanX’s mission. Can you also talk about your choice of Triton subs? Apart from any connection to the company you might have, can you tell me why Triton subs are the best choice for the missions you have planned?

OceanXplorer is the ultimate ocean research vessel with serious sub-ops capability.

RD: We use Triton subs for ocean exploration because they are the most reliable and they can be perfectly customized for our scientific and media needs.

And OceanX continues to make a positive difference in the world. Earlier this year, OceanX convened global climate leaders together at COP28 in Dubai to advance ocean health. Experts aboard OceanXplorer this year have also surveyed underwater seamounts and ridges in the Azores to provide data to support the Azorean government’s goal of designating 30% of the region’s waters as Marine Protected Areas. And during a recent mission in the Seychelles (where these photos of Dalio diving were shot) OceanX also created the first-ever comprehensive map of the Aldabra Atoll, the world's second-largest coral atoll.

Stay tuned for more information.

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Search on for Missing Indonesia Boat Crew After 11 Found Alive at Sea

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Rescue teams searched waters in central Indonesia on Wednesday for 24 fishermen missing since their boat sank at the weekend, with hopes kept alive by the discovery a day ago of 11 survivors who had been floating at sea for three days.

The boat with 37 crew went down on Saturday near Selayar Island off South Sulawesi province, according to the search and rescue agency, with 11 survivors in life jackets spotted by fishermen only on Tuesday. Two other crew were found dead.

"We just received the report of the boat sinking from those who survived on Tuesday," local operation division head Andi Sultan told Reuters.

Navy and fishing boats were assisting the search on Wednesday. Local media showed a picture of navy personnel lifting a body of one of the dead crew found the previous day, covered in an orange sheet.

The boat had departed from the capital Jakarta on March 3 headed to waters off Lombok island, about 1,000 km (621 miles) away. Midway through the journey the vessel capsized in high waves and strong winds, Andi said.

Indonesia's rainy season began in January with the meteorological agency forecasting it would reach its peak this month, particularly on the islands of Java and Sumatra.

(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Editing by Martin Petty)

Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .

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Philippines strikes security deals as tensions rise with China at sea

MANILA — The Philippines has been striking new defense agreements with other countries at a rapid clip, seeking to build what officials here call a “network of alliances” that could deter Chinese aggression in disputed waters.

The Philippines has signed or entered discussions over new security agreements with at least 18 countries since a Chinese coast guard vessel flashed a military-grade laser at a Philippine coast guard ship in the South China Sea last year, according to the Philippine Defense Department.

While the deepening Philippine alliance with the United States — which includes granting the U.S. military expanded access to Philippine military bases — has drawn much attention, Manila’s security campaign goes beyond Washington.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. made nearly a dozen overseas visits in 2023, many to seek security assistance and military equipment. This year, his schedule includes delivering a rare address before the Australian Parliament as well as the keynote speech at Asia’s premier defense summit, the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore.

Since 2022, the Philippines has inked new defense agreements with the European Union, India and Britain. Japan, Canada and France are looking at signing visiting-forces agreements with the Philippines, which would allow those countries to send troops to Philippine bases, according to their embassies.

Rebuffed by China, Philippines’ Marcos toughens line on contested waters

If adopted, these agreements would give the Philippines one of the most robust security networks in Asia, expanding the global stakes in the rising tensions over the South China Sea, Philippine officials say. “Given that we are the underdog, we leverage our relationships with other countries,” said Jonathan Malaya, assistant director of the country’s National Security Council. “Our network of alliances is critical.”

China claims much of the South China Sea, part of the Pacific Ocean that is bounded by China, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei. In recent years, China has stepped up its presence in these waters, building artificial islands with military infrastructure such as radar domes and runways.

Off the coast of the Philippines, Chinese ships have swarmed Philippine vessels and ignored appeals by Philippine officials to stop their aggression. Earlier this week, a Chinese coast guard ship fired water cannons at a Philippine coast guard vessel , shattering a windscreen and injuring four personnel, Philippine authorities said.

Last year, Marcos’s administration responded with what it called a policy of “ assertive transparency ,” broadcasting videos of aggressive Chinese actions at sea. But in recent interviews, top officials said the country needs more than a publicity campaign to defend its sovereignty.

China has previously accused the Philippines and the United States of fueling tension in the South China Sea. Asked by reporters last year about joint air and maritime patrols between the Philippine and U.S. forces that launched in November, Wu Qian, a spokesperson for China’s Defense Ministry, said Washington had “instigated and emboldened the Philippine side to infringe upon China’s sovereignty.”

More recently, Ji Lingpeng, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Manila, said that “bringing in outside forces and forming ‘small circles’ will not help resolve disputes in the South China Sea, but only complicate the regional situation [and] undermine regional peace and stability.”

How Chinese aggression is increasing the risk of war in the Taiwan Strait

Philippine officials disagree, saying their country is standing up for its sovereignty, not acting on behalf of Washington. And with a third of the world’s shipping passing through the South China Sea, diplomats in Manila say many countries — not just the United States — have good reason to deter Chinese aggression.

If other nations don’t defend international law, the “right of might” wins, Luc Véron, the European Union’s ambassador to the Philippines, said in an interview. “We cannot accept that our freedom of navigation in South China Sea will be impeded … by any players,” he added. In July, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the first state visit by an E.U. leader to Manila in nearly 60 years , vowing to increase maritime security cooperation with the Philippines. “Security in Europe and security in the Indo-Pacific is indivisible,” she said.

Japan is negotiating a reciprocal access agreement with the Philippines that would allow the militaries of both countries to conduct joint training and exercises, similar to the Visiting Forces Agreement that the Philippines has with the United States. Diplomats from Canada and France said their countries are considering similar arrangements.

Vietnam, which also borders the South China Sea, last month signed new agreements with the Marcos administration, including the establishment of a hotline for maritime affairs and a memorandum of understanding on encounters with one another in the South China Sea. “Both countries very clearly recognize that the primary threat to their national sovereignty does not lie in each other, but to the north,” said Ray Powell, SeaLight director at the Stanford University Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation.

The Philippines is also building up its military arsenal with foreign help. India is scheduled to deliver the first of three batteries of supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines this year, part of a $375 million contract. The Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and Sweden have offered to supply drones and submarines, while the United States, on top of supporting the Philippine military’s modernization efforts, has provided $120 million annually in grant funding to the country’s security forces, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

“The ultimate goal is for credible defense,” said Malaya, the security official.

Marcos is the son of a former Philippine dictator once considered a pariah in international politics. But his efforts to push back against Chinese territorial intrusions have won him new popularity among leaders wary of Beijing’s growing ambitions, said Dindo Manhit, president of the Manila-based think tank Stratbase ADR Institute. “Why will all these countries visit this small [Southeast Asian] country being led by the son of a dictator?” Manhit said. “Simply because he said he will assert our rights.”

Marcos’s courtship of security partners marks a sharp shift from his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, who publicly “realigned” himself with China during his six-year term. Duterte took offense when world leaders criticized his war on drugs for violating human rights and civil liberties, and at various points threatened to abrogate the Visiting Forces Agreement with the United States and to expel European diplomats.

Although Duterte’s term has ended, his daughter is Marcos’s vice president. Tension between the families has risen, and in January, the two presidents publicly traded barbs, accusing each other of being addicted to drugs. If the Duterte family returns to power, the Philippines could rescind security commitments or swing back to a more pro-China foreign policy, political analysts say.

Sixty migrants feared to have drowned in Mediterranean Sea

As many as 60 people are feared to have drowned on a vessel carrying migrants across the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy or Malta, the operators of a charity rescue group say.

This week alone the charity said it had collected more than 200 people in need who were making similar voyages.

SOS Mediterranee said it rescued 25 people in a "very weak" condition in coordination with the Italian Coast Guard on Wednesday, with two unconscious people flown to Sicily by helicopter.

"The survivors departed from Zawiya, Libya, seven days before they were rescued,” SOS Mediterranee posted on X.

"Their engine broke after three days, leaving their boat lost [and] adrift without water and food for days. Survivors report that at least 60 people perished on the way, including women and at least one child," it added.

There was no immediate comment from the Italian coastguard.

In a post on X on Wednesday, the SOS Mediterranee said its Ocean Viking vessel had evacuated 25 people spotted using binoculars who were on a rubber boat drifting in the Libyan search and rescue area.

The charity said it picked up a further 113 people, including two children, from a wooden boat and 88 from a packed rubber dingy, in rescue operations on Wednesday and Thursday.

It said it had been instructed to sail to the Italian Adriatic port of Ancona, about 1,500 kilometres away, but had asked for a closer disembarkation port given the poor condition of the migrants, some of whom are on oxygen masks.

A dangerous passage to Europe

The central Mediterranean is one of the world's deadliest migration routes.

According to the United Nation's migration agency (IOM), almost 2,500 migrants died or went missing attempting the crossing last year, and 226 since the start of 2024.

It said it was "deeply troubled" by the reports from SOS Mediterranee.

"Urgent action is needed to strengthen maritime patrols and prevent further tragedies," it said on X.

Charity groups like SOS Mediterranee and others complain that Italy's right-wing government is obstructing their rescue activities , forcing them to travel to distant ports to disembark migrants and often temporarily impounding their ships.

Italy and other European Union governments are trying to curb the number of sea migrants crossing from North Africa, and have offered money or equipment to Libya and Tunisia to stop departures from their shores.

Data from the Italian Interior Ministry record that 5,968 migrants have arrived by sea this year, down from 19,937 at the same stage in 2023.

Reuters/ABC

• X (formerly Twitter)
• Central African Republic
• Government and Politics
• Immigration
• Immigration Policy

Crew on Icon of the Seas cruise ship rescues 14 people stranded at sea

The crew on the world's largest cruise ship, the Icon of the Seas, helped rescue 14 people who were clinging to a small boat this week, officials said.

A Royal Caribbean spokesperson said the ship "encountered a small vessel adrift and in need of assistance" Sunday.

"The ship’s crew immediately launched a rescue operation, safely bringing 14 people onboard," the spokesperson said. "The crew provided them with medical attention, and is working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard."

The cruise, which began in Miami, was headed for Honduras when the rescue happened, passengers said. Passengers captured video of the crew using a small vessel to ferry the group to the safety of the cruise ship.

The crew broadcast “Code Oscar, Code Oscar, Code Oscar,” over the loudspeakers, Alessandra Amodio said in a report on  FoxWeather.com . Amodio said she watched as people on the tiny craft waved a large white flag.

After the rescue, Amodio said, the cruise ship’s captain announced the crew had rescued 14 people stranded at sea for eight days.

The Icon of the Seas boasts 18 decks and six waterslides, and it can accommodate more than 5,500 passengers. It has 2,850 staterooms and seven swimming pools.

The colossal ship is 1,198 feet long, dwarfing the Titanic, which was 882.9 feet long. It departed on its maiden voyage on Jan. 27 from Miami, TODAY.com reported.

Antonio Planas is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital. 

The Associated Press

Meriam Bouarrouj is an NBC News assignment editor.

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UN chief condemns Russia bid to hold presidential poll in occupied Ukraine

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned Russian efforts to conduct its presidential election in occupied areas of Ukraine, a U.N spokesperson said on Friday.

Launch of the SeaXplorer 58

A milestone moment in Antalya, when the SeaXplorer 58 yacht emerged from the shed and was lowered into the water. The yacht will now undergo her final build phase in preparation for delivery to her Owner in the coming months.

In the spirit of exploration 

A custom yacht, the SeaXplorer 58 has been developed with considerable input from her Owner, making her perfectly prepared to offer the combination of indoor-outdoor living in which the Owner can enjoy adventures with friends and family around the world.  Together with Design Unlimited, the Owner has created a personal and alluring interior in keeping with the SeaXplorer’s spirit of exploring the corners of the globe.

The SeaXplorer 58 features accommodation for a crew of fifteen as well as two expedition staff. Six luxury suites provide accommodation for up to twelve guests. To facilitate exploration, the yacht features a wide range of toys, such as two multi-role tenders, motorcycles, vehicles for both road and off-road use and a custom 11.4 metre sailboat. 

Connecting to the elements  

When not exploring unchartered territories, guests can unwind in the cabana-style bar and lounge, featuring an infinity-edged pool, located beneath the SeaXplorer’s certified helideck. On the Bridge Deck, in addition to the Jacuzzi, the sky lounge and dining area provide the perfect connection to the world outside.  The yacht also features the SeaXplorer signature bow point observation lounge, giving unrivalled views of some of the most beautiful and unspoiled locations on earth. 

Forward thinking sailing  

With her ice class hull and 30 days’ ocean-going autonomy, the yacht can safely sail to the most extreme and sensitive environments on the planet. The SeaXplorer 58 is a future-facing yacht and features a number of sustainable options, including a premium synthetic teak deck and wastewater tanks, ensuring suitability for operations in zero-discharge zones of outstanding natural beauty.  

A breathtaking moment 

Tolga Karacadal, Operations Manager Yachting at the Antalya shipyard said, “We are very excited at the successful accomplishment of this milestone of the project. Having seen the yacht in the water for the first time, it’s clear to see that she will be a head turner.” 

Enrique Tintore, SeaXplorer Design Manager at Damen Yachting, said of the launch, “It was a breathtaking moment for all involved to see the yacht out of the shed for the first time. The SeaXplorer 58 looked spectacular in the winter sunshine, a clear testament to what the combined team in the Netherlands and Turkey, along with our subcontractors, can achieve together. We are looking forward to putting the finishing touches to the yacht and handing her over to her Owner in the spring. After this, we will be continuing our work, creating the first SeaXplorer 60, which is scheduled for delivery in spring 2024.” 

Next in line  

The next SeaXplorer 60 promises to be equally elegant and sophisticated. She will feature a luxurious interior design from H2 Yacht Designs and offer enhanced sustainability courtesy of Hybrid by Amels technology.  

This innovative feature enables cruising at speeds of up to 7 knots on electric propulsion, significantly lowering noise and vibrations for those onboard while considerably reducing emissions. 

Premium yacht building hub  

In line with its building philosophy, Damen Yachting began construction of the SeaXplorer 58 up front, in order to offer the Owner a rapid delivery. Designed and engineered at Damen Yachting’s head office in the Netherlands, the yacht is the first SeaXplorer to be constructed in Antalya.  

The yard is Turkey’s premiere yacht building hub, boasting outstanding facilities and enjoying access to an experienced supply chain. The SeaXplorer range innovatively combines Amels yacht building experience with Damen shipbuilding technology. With an exterior design by Azure Yacht Design, the range also benefits from the input of design partner EYOS Expeditions and the hard-won experience they have gained in the field.  

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Europe and U.S. Plan to Supply Gaza by Sea, but Aid Groups Say It’s Not Enough

Relief organizations say cumbersome new strategies cannot substitute for Israel allowing more supply trucks into the Gaza Strip, while an airdrop of aid reportedly went awry and killed five people.

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By Hiba Yazbek ,  Aaron Boxerman ,  Monika Pronczuk and Thomas Fuller

A day after President Biden announced plans for maritime aid delivery to the Gaza Strip, European leaders said Friday they would deliver aid by ship as early as the weekend. But aid groups and Gaza officials criticized shipments by air or sea as too cumbersome, urging that vastly more food and medicine be supplied by trucks.

The complications of delivering aid to the hungry residents of Gaza were underlined on Friday when the authorities in Gaza said at least five Palestinians were killed and several others were wounded after they were struck by packages of humanitarian aid that were dropped from an aircraft.

The United Nations has warned that five months of war and an Israeli blockade have left hundreds of thousands of Gazans on the brink of starvation, prompting a variety of proposals to speed the delivery of food and other vital needs. Israel insists on inspecting all supplies going into Gaza, and aid trucks have been allowed in through just two border crossings — one from Egypt and one from Israel — in southern Gaza.

President Biden on Thursday night outlined a U.S. military plan to build a floating pier on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to supply food, water, medicine and other necessities to civilians, saying the operation would “enable a massive increase” in the assistance entering the territory.

The Pentagon press secretary, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, said in a news conference on Friday that the pier would help to deliver as many as two million meals a day. The Gaza Strip has a population of about 2.3 million.

But U.S. officials said the project would take at least 30 to 60 days to complete, raising questions about how famine in Gaza will be staved off in the critical days ahead.

The aid group Doctors Without Borders said in a statement Friday that the U.S. maritime plans were a “glaring distraction” and that the delivery of aid was not a logistical problem but a “political” one.

“The food, water, and medical supplies so desperately needed by people in Gaza are sitting just across the border,” the group said in a statement. “Israel needs to facilitate rather than block the flow of supplies.”

Britain, the European Union and the United Arab Emirates said Friday they would join the U.S. maritime effort, but added in a joint statement that aid must be delivered “through all possible routes.”

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, the E.U. executive body, said that the first ship carrying aid could depart the E.U. nation of Cyprus for Gaza soon, with more to follow on Sunday.

It was not immediately clear where the vessels would unload their cargo or how it would be distributed amid Israeli bombardment and attacks on aid trucks by hungry Palestinians . Gaza does not have a functioning port, and its coastal waters are too shallow for most vessels.

At a news conference in Cyprus, Ms. von der Leyen offered few details. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday that it supported a maritime corridor as long as goods are checked “in accordance with Israeli standards” before leaving Cyprus.

Speaking with reporters on Friday, David Cameron, foreign secretary of Britain, said it was “crucial” that Israel fully open the port of Ashdod, north of Gaza, to receive maritime shipments of aid.

“That’s a working port — it can take aid now,” he said. “That would increase the amount of aid and can then be driven into Gaza.”

Mr. Cameron said around 120 trucks carrying aid have crossed into Israel each day recently, but that the enclave needed more than four times as many aid trucks.

Israeli officials have not said whether they will open more land routes into Gaza.

Shortages of food and other supplies have been especially acute in northern Gaza, and humanitarian groups have called on Israel to reopen a major border crossing there. The few attempts to drive supply convoys from the south to the north have had limited success, with aid groups reporting that in some cases they were turned back by gunfire or their trucks were swarmed and picked clean by desperate people before they could reach their destinations.

Plans for the sea route began taking shape months ago. In November, President Nikos Christodoulides of Cyprus announced an initiative to collect shipments in his country, inspect them at the port of Larnaca and send them through a secure sea corridor to Gaza, about 240 miles away.

If initial shipments this weekend are successful, more deliveries will follow, said Konstantinos Letymbiotis, a spokesman for the Cypriot government. He said it would take about 15 hours to make the journey, although he declined to say where the shipment would be delivered in Gaza, citing security concerns.

The aid will be distributed in part by the renowned Spanish chef José Andrés , the founder of the World Central Kitchen, which has served more than 32 million meals in Gaza.

Mr. Andrés posted images to social media on Friday showing pallets being loaded onto a vessel stamped with the names of his group and Open Arms, a Spanish aid group. He said that the plans for the shipment were “in the final stages,” and that it would “land in the beaches of Gaza with 200 pallets.”

Aid delivery efforts have been complicated by the chaos and desperation created by the war. Last week a convoy of aid with an Israeli military escort ended in catastrophe when dozens of Palestinians were killed as they massed around the aid trucks. The Israeli military released a statement summarizing the results of an initial internal review on Friday saying that Israeli soldiers “fired precisely” at Gazans who approached them during a chaotic scene near the convoy.

The account differed sharply from those of witnesses and Palestinian officials, who described extensive shooting after thousands of desperate Gazans approached the aid delivery.

The Israeli military said that its review found that the soldiers had fired in an attempt to keep “suspects” at a distance.

“As they continued to approach, the troops fired to remove the threat,” it said in the statement.

The release of the report came as authorities in Gaza gave details of what they said was another aid delivery calamity, the deaths of Palestinians killed by a Friday airdrop. The media office for the territory’s Hamas-run government said in a statement that aid packages fell “on the heads” of some people “as a result of landing incorrectly.”

The report could not be immediately verified by independent sources.

A video, circulating on social media and purporting to depict the incident, shows a plane releasing parachutes carrying aid packages over northern Gaza. In the clip , whose date and location were verified by The New York Times, it appears that one parachute failed to open, while multiple packages that were not attached to parachutes plummeted to the ground. In the clip, filmed near Al-Shati Camp , people can be seen running in different directions.

Jamie McGoldrick, a senior U.N. relief official, said the incident was further evidence that Israel must open more overland crossings to aid.

“Let the stuff just flow, it’s a very simple solution,” he said in an interview. “You don’t have to have airdrops like the one which killed five people this morning in the north.”

It remained unclear which country had dropped the aid packages, but a U.S. military spokesman said it was not the United States. Airdrops have been carried out by the United States, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and France in recent weeks.

“Press reports that U.S. airdrops resulted in civilian casualties on the ground are false, as we’ve confirmed that all of our aid bundles landed safely,” said General Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman.

Saleh Eid, a 60-year-old translator, said in a telephone interview on Friday that he had previously seen packages airdropped in north Gaza fall “very fast” when their parachutes failed to open, creating a risk to people’s lives.

Mr. Eid, who lives in Jabaliya, just north of Gaza City, said that many of these packages had fallen into the sea. Others have dropped into open areas near the border with Israel, and people have risked being shot by Israeli forces to retrieve them, he said.

Mr. Eid said that much of the airdropped food ends up being sold on the black market instead of being distributed to the most hungry.

On Sunday, he said, he bought at a market three bags of food that had been airdropped by the United States. He gave the food to his wife, who is nursing their 2-week-old baby, in the hope that she could eat well enough to produce milk.

Each of the bags, he said, cost him 30 shekels, or about $8, and contained a small meal and some biscuits, jam, peanut butter, a bar of chocolate, a juice box, instant coffee and gum.

Helene Cooper , Victoria Kim , Niki Kitsantonis and Christina Morales contributed reporting.

Hiba Yazbek reports for The Times from Jerusalem, covering Israel and the occupied West Bank. More about Hiba Yazbek

Monika Pronczuk is a reporter based in Brussels. She joined The Times in 2020. More about Monika Pronczuk

Thomas Fuller , a Page One Correspondent for The Times, writes and rewrites stories for the front page. More about Thomas Fuller

Our Coverage of the Israel-Hamas War

News and Analysis

​A humanitarian aid ship arrived in Gaza  for the first time since the start of the war, a first step in a fledgling maritime operation to bring more aid  to hungry Palestinians.

​​Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority’s president, appointed one of his senior advisers, Muhammad Mustafa, as the authority’s new prime minister. But analysts doubt whether Mustafa can bring about any substantial changes .

​​The Israeli military said that it had killed a senior Hamas operative  in an airstrike in southern Lebanon, the latest in a series of targeted killings there after the deadly Hamas-led attacks against Israel on Oct. 7.

A Somber Ramadan: Amid Israel’s continuing attacks in Gaza and rising violence, the holy month’s festive decorations and celebratory mood are being replaced by feelings of helplessness and despair  in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

A Strained Lifeline: The United Arab Emirates has maintained its links to Israel throughout the war in Gaza, but the relationship, built on a U.S.-brokered deal, is under pressure as anger against Israel grows .

Shifting Ties: Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish minority has long lived apart from the nation’s secular mainstream, but the war in Gaza has both widened that divide and, in some ways, helped to bridge it .

A Winding Path: The U.S. airman who lit himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington to protest the war had left an isolated Christian community for the Air Force before turning to leftist and anarchist activism .