Nothing is "going on".
The collisions being fairly close in time, and time only, are purely by chance; but tragically with fatalities.
This is presumbly a very busy waterway and although thankfully shipping accidents are rare by proportion of the numbers of ships and voyages, with the best will in the world anything can break down and in some caes, lead to a dreadful accident with loss of life.
I live near one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, where even in good conditions ships do occasionally break down and need recovering, or be kept under watch until the crew can effect a repair. Though those are usually far enough from the nearest coast to not be in immediate danger of striking anything or drifting ashore - although while disabled they can be a hazard to other vessels.
