The Met Office issued a white alert for the entire country, warning of overtopping waves between 10.30am and 3pm with swells of two to five feet, a day after seawater flooded Malé's carnival area, Industrial Village and northern waterfront, affecting some restaurants. A second alert was issued nationwide warning of swell surges between 10pm and 2.30am.
A tourist fell into the sea when a parasail canopy burst in strong winds off Kaafu Maafushi. The parachute became tangled in a zip-line before jet-ski operators rescued those involved. No injuries were reported.
The Faresmaathodaa Council intercepted a vessel illegally extracting sand from a nearby uninhabited island and forced the operators to return the bagged sand to the beach, sharing video of the sand being unloaded back onto the shore. Council president Mohamed Sabaah said years of sand extraction had damaged the island's reef and measures were taken to prevent a recurrence, noting that removing sand from islands is legally prohibited.
President Muizzu commissioned an Australian-gifted vessel into the MNDF Coast Guard as Imaaduddin at a ceremony at the Hulhumalé International Terminal. Australia's Special Envoy for the Indian Ocean Tim Watts presented it and Defence Minister Hassan Rasheed accepted the handover. Built by Austal, the vessel was handed over in Perth in April and sailed more than 3,000 nautical miles to reach Malé on 15 June, the longest continuous voyage undertaken solely by Coast Guard personnel. Its crew completed three months of pre-commissioning training in Australia. Lieutenant Colonel Shinan Zahir is commanding officer.
The president opened a Maritime Coordination Centre in Villimalé, built with Japanese government assistance, to serve as the command hub for coordinating responses to maritime and aviation incidents. The centre features a modern operations room, training classrooms and an auditorium, with UNODC overseeing the project and Australia also contributing equipment and support.
Bangladesh will donate 20,000 trees to the Maldives to support the government's five-million-tree planting programme, Foreign Minister Dr Halilur Rahman announced, symbolically handing over 10 trees at a ceremony in Lonuziyaaraiy Park held during his visit for the 61st Independence Day celebrations.
