Rescue crews battled gale-force winds and massive waves as they struggled to rescue hundreds of people trapped on a burning ferry adrift between Italy and Albania.

A ferry carrying about 470 people caught fire off the Greek island of Corfu, trapping passengers on the top decks as gale-force winds and choppy seas hampered the evacuation.

Ireland’s only maritime college has set its sights on becoming the world’s first global training hub for officers of ocean-going super-tankers.

George Whitman offered refuge to writers and readers at his unique bookstore in Paris, writes Carl Dixon