Tanker breaks in half, sinks off Cuba; one dead and five missing

     The Pampero (St. Vincent and the Grenadines-registry 6,294-gt,
9,100-dwt tanker built in 1962, operated by Bravo Tankers) broke in half
and sank 10 kilometers/six miles off Guanabo, Cuba, at 1420 14 April. The
vessel was sailing in ballast from Matanzas, Cuba, to the Nico Lopez oil
refinery in Havana. At least three explosions and a fire were reported
before the ship broke up. Eighteen of the crewmembers, some of them
injured, were rescued, one was killed and five, including three Romanian
deck officers and the Romanian master, are missing. The explosions were
believed to have been in a cargo tank. The Pampero had a special survey a
few weeks ago. The owner spent U.S.$500,000 in preparation on the ship and
no problems were found.

One dead and six wounded in Algerian explosion

     An explosion aboard a trawler at Algiers, Algeria, on 16 April killed
one person and wounded six, one seriously. The explosion came from a
propane tank.

Hong Kong collision injures 27

     The Hai Yang (100-dwt high-speed catamaran passenger ferry built in
1995, operated by COSCO Zhuhai) collided with a car ferry on 15 April off
northern Lantau Island, Hong Kong. At least 27 people were injured, with
passengers from the Hai Yang transferring to the other ferry. Three people
had serious injuries, including one woman whose leg was severed below the
knee. The Hai Yang carried 129 passengers and crew and was sailing to
Zhuhai, China. The same day, another ferry collided with a tug.

"Fish factory" suffers engine room fire

     The Marbella (British-registry 2,880-gt stern-trawling "fish factory"
built in 1989, operated by Marr Vessel Management Ltd.) suffered an engine
room fire 12 April at 51 degrees 02 minutes north, 10 degrees 21 minutes
west. The location is south of Ireland and west of England. The fire began
after water from a seawater tank seeped into the ship's switchboard and
caused a short-circuit. The Marbella has 27 people aboard and is disabled
and adrift.

Collision in Gulf of Mexico causes chemical spill

     The Formosa Six (Liberian-registry 36,191-dwt tanker built in 1995,
operated by Formosa Plastics), carrying ethylene dichloride, and the bulk
carrier Flora, which was empty, collided 0115 12 April in the Gulf of
Mexico, three kilometers/two miles south of the Southwest Pass of the
Mississippi River. Some of the tanker's cargo spilled, but evaporated
quickly and broke down in the atmosphere. Ethylene dichloride, a flammible
liquid, is used in the production of polyvinyl chloride and adhesives. The
Formosa Six was last reported stable at an anchorage.

Romanian-registry ship, tug ground at Novorossiysk

     The Arad (Romanian-registry 12,215-gt, 14,956-dwt dry cargo ship built
in 1987, operated by A1 Team Shipping and Trading) ran aground at the outer
entrance to the Port of Novorossiysk, Russia, on 14 April. The ship is
carrying 12,970 tons of bagged rice and suffered engine problems. While
attempting to refloat the ship, the tug Orion also ran aground.

Russian-registry ship uses Morse Code after disabled off the Netherlands

     The Vera (Russian-registry 1,750-dwt dry cargo ship) was disabled
recently when a bridge window broke during bad weather. Water that entered
through the hole shut down electrical equipment on the bridge, and the ship
drifted towards Terschelling Island, the Netherlands. The only
communication equipment working was a 500 KHz broadcasting unit, which the
crew used to send a CW (Morse Code) distress signal. A station in Ostend,
Belgium, received the signal and the ship was assisted by tugs.

Containerships collide in Istanbul

     The Pelfisher (Maltese-registry 4,345-gt, 6,107-dwt containership
built in 1977, operated by Sarlis Container Services S.A.) collided with
the Sun Pegasus (Romanian-registry 7,580-gt, 8,275-dwt containership built
in 1989) while docking at Hayderpasa in Istanbul, Turkey, on 16 April.

Loaded oil tanker grounds in Lake Maracaibo channel

     The Corelli (Maltese-registry 38,720-dwt tanker built in 1975, owned
by Gemarfin S.A. and operated by Vecomar Shipping Management S.A.) ran
aground 10 April in the outer navigation channel of Lake Maracaibo,
Venezuela, between buoys 21 and 23. The ship, carrying 33,000 tons of crude
oil, was refloated at 1800 and continued its voyage for Petroleo de
Venezuela S.A.'s Isla refinery on Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles. The
ship, with a draft of 11.2 meters/36.6 feet, was undamaged when it ran
aground on accumulated fine sand in 10 meters/34 feet of water, three hours
after sailing.

Ro/ro rams gantry crane in Sydney

     The Toba (34,310-dwt ro/ro built in 1979, operated by Wilhelmsen
Lines) struck a Paceco container crane at the White Bay wharf in Sydney,
Australia, on 13 April. No one was injured, but the rail-mounted gantry
collapsed onto the wharf and was extensively damaged. It has been written
off. The Toba had minor damage.

Barge rams fleeting area near New Orleans

     A barge that broke away from a tow collided with barges in a fleeting
area on the Mississippi River south of New Orleans early 15 April. A
section of the river was closed 90 minutes.

Algolake aground in the St. Mary's River

     The Algolake (Canadian-registry 19,278-gt, 32,043-dwt, 16,621,
224-meter/736-foot bulk carrier built in 1977 by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd.
at Collingwood, Canada; owned and operated by Algoma Central Marine) ran
aground the night of 17 April approaching Algoma Steel while downbound in
the St. Mary's River with taconite. The ship is taking on water with damage
to the No. 1 and 2 ballast tanks. Some of the cargo is being lightered to a
barge owned by Purvis Marine Ltd.

Svendborg runs aground at Goole

     The Svendborg (Antigua and Barbuda-registry 2,730-gt, 2,930-dwt dry
cargo ship built in 1984, operated by Brise Schiffahrts G.m.b.H.) ran
aground at the approaches to the Port of Goole, England, on 16 April. The
ship was carrying lumber with a crew of seven.

Pan Dynamic fouls propeller in Alaska

     The propeller of the Pan Dynamic (South Korean-registry 26,717-dwt
bulk carrier built in 1985, operated by Pan Ocean Shipping Co. Ltd.) fouled
its propeller on 2 April and was in danger of drifting aground in Kazakof
Bay, Alaska. The ship set both anchors and released its stern mooring
lines, but the lines wrapped around the propeller and shaft while still
attached to a stern mooring buoy. The tug Kodiak King and the U.S. Coast
Guard's Balsam-class Seagoing Buoy Tender U.S.C.G.C. Firebrush (WLB 393)
assisted the ship and escorted it out of the bay.

Russian-registry ship loses power at dock

     The Sibirskiy (Russian-registry 3,743-gt vessel) lost power 14 April
in Miyako Bay, Japan. Lines fouled the ship's propellers as it unloaded
cargo in Miyako. The ship docked at the port 13 April.

Barge capsizing closes section of the Houston Ship Channel

     Correcting previous information, a section of the Houston Ship Channel
from mile 52 to mile 56 closed to ships 10 April after a barge capsized at
0950 near Texas City, Texas. The accident, in which the barge capsized in
the wake of an outbound ship, dumped two 9.8-meter/32-foot cylindrical
tanks carrying zinc bromide and four tanks carrying pellets. Brown Water
Marine, which owns the barge, has hired T&T Marine Ways Inc. to recover the
tanks. The barge has been towed into shallow waters of Dickinson Bay, and
by 11 April, three tanks were found. On 13 April, a U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers vessel found that the channel was clear and draft restrictions
were lifted but navigation was limited to one-way at a time. On 15 April,
deep-draft ships were instructed not to overtake other vessels in a
1,600-meter/5,400-foot area near mile 54. One-way restrictions were lifted
but are at the discretion of pilots.

I.O.P.C.F. sets limit on Nakhodka claims

     The International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund said 14 April it
will maintain the level of provisional compensation to a maximum of 60
percent of the amount claimed in the oil spill from the Nakhodka
(Russian-registry 13,157-gt, 20,471-dwt tanker built in 1970, operated by
Primorsk Shipping Co. and owned by Prisco Traffic Ltd.). The ship broke in
half at 0250 2 Jan. in the Sea of Japan, about 130 kilometers/80.6 miles
northeast of the Oki Islands, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. Thirty-one of the
32 crew were rescued and the master was killed. The Nakhodka was carrying
19,000 tons of grade C heavy fuel, or 19 million liters/five million
gallons or 133,000 barrels, from China to Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. The
spill is believed to have been five million liters/1.3 million gallons or
5,000 tons. Total damage could total 20 billion Japanese yen. As of March
31, 2.6 billion yen/U.S.$20 million had been claimed. The maximum amount of
compensation by the I.O.P.C.F. is 22.5 billion yen.

Report on fire aboard the Ambassador

     An investigation into a fire aboard the Ambassador (Vanuatu-registry
37,263-dwt bulk carrier built in 1983, owned by ULS Marbulk Inc. and
operated by Barber) on 31 Dec., 1994, has concluded that visibility
problems due to mineral dust slowed efforts to combat the fire. The vessel
was unloading rock phosphate at the Port of Belledune, Canada, when a fire
began on its conveyor belt system. The vessel had considerable damage.
Vanuatu hired Brian Thorne, who had worked for the Canadian Transportation
Safety Board and had also been a chairman of the Marine Accident
Investigators' International Forum, to investigate. He concluded that the
crew could not see the fire as it started due to the heavy dust. The fire
likely was caused by the transfer belt burning after coming in contact with
an overheated belt roller. The crew, local firefighters and the company
representatives were praised for their efforts in poor weather. Thorne
recommended that every section of the tunnel and loop casing be cooled by a
high-pressure waterjet, that the crew be given high-visibility breating
year, the ventilation system must be improved and the chief and deputy
chief of the emergency response unit at Belledune should be trained in
shipboard firefighting.