Following devastating quakes that took place last week in Turkey and neighbouring Syria, the toll rises to more than 33,000 people confirmed dead.

In addition as Tradewinds reports, to the hundreds of thousands losing their homes in freezing temperatures and this is where maritime companies are rushing to offer help.

As part of contributions to assist, the most eye-catching has involved Istanbul-based Karadeniz Holding, which announced on Saturday that it was to send two vessels into the stricken region and from where be able to host a total of 3,000 victims on board. 

The contribution Karadeniz has described as its first humanitarian mission ever with the deployment of a pair of “Lifeship Floating Villages”. The vessels will be sent to the affected areas of Hatay and Iskenderun.

The ships to be deployed are the Karadeniz Lifeship Suheyla Sultan and the Karadeniz Lifeship Rauf Bey. (The latter lifeship, Afloat.ie has identified as the former Irish Sea fast-ferry HSS Stena Explorer which was renamed One World Karadeniz (see photo) prior to departing Holyhead and when bound for Turkey.

This was the first renaming given by Karadeniz after acquiring the pioneering HSS Stena Explorer which was the last ever ferry to operate the former Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead which closed in 2014).

At the weekend, Karadeniz added on social media that the lifeships are “fully equipped with accommodation, living spaces; education, social and medical facilities, dining halls and galleys”.

Anadolu, Turkey’s state-run news agency had said that the floating villages will be deployed in 15 to 20 days after “necessary procedures” are completed.

The lifeships reports Tradewinds are not currently listed on the fleet list of Karadeniz Holding, which deploys floating power stations in several troubled and energy-hungry parts of the world.

Karadeniz which also has an office in Dubai, has operations also in finance, real estate, and shipbuilding industries. On a related note  as Afloat reported in 2015, they had plans to convert the HSS Stena Explorer into a high-tech floating office

For more on the floating village ships and their humanitarian relief role, click here.

John Rowley who is the owner of the TSS Duke of Lancaster ship in north Wales, has slammed urban explorers who broke into the veteran vessel by "scaling the anchor chain" earlier this week. 

Rowley, who owns the dry docked vessel in Mostyn, says it was "raided" on Sunday night and Monday night.

The ship has not been used since the 1980's and has become something of a local curio in subsequent decades for people who have caught a glimpse of it while driving past on the coast road in Flintshire.

In 2014, it was painted black in a move that proved contentious with residents after a Latvian graffiti artist had been commissioned to spray paint the ship only two years prior.

But in the last week it has attracted some unwanted attention by urban explorers who broke into the ship in order to get a closer look and to explore the hull. According to Mr Rowley, the urban explorers "climbed over razor wired security fencing, scaled an anchor chain to get on an upper deck of the ship and then broke inside from there after helping others get onboard."

More from NorthWalesLive on the former 1,800 passenger 'steamer' which Afloat adds was built by Harland & Wolff in 1955 for British Rail/Sealink to serve a career throughout the Irish Sea.

The ferry which in the 1970's was converted to convey cars included service on the Holyhead-Dun Laoghaire route and last year a festival was planned at the dry-docked ship.