On Wednesday, August 10, Italian authorities raised the security threat level in all major ports where cruise ships and ferries transit. Coastguard Admiral Vincenzo Melone sent an order to all passenger and cruise-ship ports to raise their alert level from MARSEC 1 to MARSEC 2. The Coast Guard said that the raising of the security measures is not, connected to a specific terror threat, but the need for prevention following the latest developments in Europe. The order to raise the level of Security issued yesterday refers to the SOLAS Convention on maritime safety.

Due to safety concerns of the Wildfires in Madeira, P&O Cruises decided to skip the arrival of P&O Azura in Funchal. The Portuguese island in the Atlantic Ocean faces major catastrophe with the fire closing dangerously to Funchal. So far four people have died since the fire broke out however the authorities fear the numbers of the victims will rise. Currently there are 132 active fires on the island leaving thousands of tourists stranded to the island. There are reports of tourists who had to flee the hotels and spend the night awake or sleeping on the floor.

As of August 1 Holland America Line has updated the Restaurant price list paid for the entire fleet. Holland America Line says that their alternative restaurants, winners of three awards, are more affordable than those of other competing cruise companies. The company also said that many years had passed since the last price update.

SorentoPress reports that a passenger on cruise ship sailing in the Gulf of Naples, last night almost lost a finger of his left hand. The medical emergency has been reported by the captain of MSC Poesia to the Italian Coast Guard, stating that a tourist suffered partial detachment of his finger.

The amazing model of Queen Mary 2 made from Lego bricks will be exhibited at the International Maritime Museum in Hamburg between 10 and 16 August 2016.  Built by the artists Klaas H. Meijaard and René Hoffmeister from about 1 million Lego bricks in approximately 1,200 labor hours the ship weighs a 870 kg and includes a highly detailed replica.

In a major operation conducted by the Italian authorities 17 members of the organized criminal syndicate Ndrangheta were arrested. Among them was the boss Gaetano Tomaselli who was arrested on a cruise ship. The police boarded the cruise ship during a stop in Cagliari on August 4, before the passengers could get off, and arrested Tomaselli. The special antiterrorism squad of the Guardia di Finanza of Reggio Calabria on the night of July 30, planned to arrest Tomaselli at his home. However one day before, he boarded on cruise ship with his family in Civitavecchia.

The cruise ship Caribbean Princess lost propulsion and was adrift for nine hours on the Irish Sea with 4,000 passengers onboard. The news was first published by Cruise Law News web site and several passengers commented on social networks about the ships current status. Princess Cruises released several tweets regarding the propulsion problems saying that the ship lost propulsion 25 nautical miles southeast of Dublin in the Irish Sea.

A ship carrying 855 refugees including 47 children arrived in the port of Salermo, Italy at midnight. The refugees, from Sub-Saharan Africa, Somalia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Egypt, have been rescued in the recent days over the course of several operations by the Italian Navy off the coast of Sicily. The first to exit the ship were the sick refugees and people with infectious diseases. Among them were several wounded, including two men wounded by firearm, one of them with the bullet still in his body. Then disembarked the women, six are pregnant.

The fifth tropical cyclone in the Atlantic Ocean this season, formed in the Caribbean, has forced two Carnival cruise ship to change their current itineraries. In order to avoid the path of the tropical storm Earl, Carnival Glory has replaced its scheduled arrival in Belize City and Roatan with stops in the Bahamas ports Nassau and Freeport. Carnival Magic will also cancel the arrival in Belize and will have extra fun day at sea. The arrival in Cozumel is being moved up one day of the original schedule.

Royal Caribbean has announced changes in itineraries of Empress of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas current voyages. In order to avoid the path of the tropical storm Earl, Empress of the Seas has replaced its scheduled arrival in Grand Cayman with visits in the Nassau, Bahamas on August 4, Coco Cay on August 5, and will be anchored  today,  August 2 in Key West.