More than 40 people are missing after a ferry capsized and sank in the Janua River near Sariakandi, Bangladesh, on 22 July. Seven bodies were found and 116 persons were rescued.

Three crewmembers were killed and another three injured on 27 July when heavy seas from Typhoon Rosie broke the bridge windows of the Yamato Maru (Japanese-registry 8,000-gt, 4,900-dwt car carrier built in 1997, operated by Kyushu Kyuko Ferry). Those killed include the master and the chief cook. The ship was sailing from Fukuoka, Japan, to Yokohama, Japan, when the windows were smashed west of Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, by eight-meter/26-foot seas. A helicopter was able to finally reach the ship as the typhoon lost power. The Yamato Maru had a crew of 19 and 60 vehicles aboard.

One person was killed 26 July when the Mathu Bhum (Singaporean-registry 11,079-gt, 14,960-dwt, 920-TEU containership built in 1990, operated by Thai Ship Management Co. Ltd. and owned by Regional Container Lines Ltd.) collided with one of three lighters under tow on the Chao Phraya River in Thailand. The ship sank the barge, as it sailed to Bangkok, Thailand, from Singapore. The lighter sank in 15 meters/49 feet of water.

The Adel (Honduran-registry 397-gt general cargo ship) sank 31 July in the Gulf of Aden. Its five crew was rescued.

The Dona Isabel (Liberian-registry 680-gt sand carrier) sank 24 July after colliding with the Yorksand (Panamanian-registry 3,098-dwt motor refrigerated ship built in 1979, operated by Riga Transport Fleet Joint-Stock Co.) leaving Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Dona Isabel sank near the southern dock entrance.

The Katherine Ann (U.S.-registry 10-meter/34-foot fishing vessel, homeported at New Bedford, Mass.) sank 27 July, 13 kilometers/eight miles east of Martha's Vineyard, Mass. U.S. Coast Guard Station Menemsha, Mass., launched a 6.4-meter/21-foot rigid-hull inflatable boat and Coast Guard Station Woods Hole, Mass., sent a 12-meter/41-foot utility boat. The utility boat rescued the two crewmembers, Andrew Fordett and Tom Furgeson. The Veri Amici (12-meter/38-foot fishing vessel) sank 28 July. An Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon signal was received at 0630 by the Coast Guard, locating the vessel 10 kilometers/six miles northeast of Block Island, R.I. A Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, Mass., HU-25A Falcon responded with a Coast Guard Station Point Judith, R.I., 12-meter/41-foot utility boat. About 1115, a Falcon found two men in a liferaft three kilometers/two miles northwest of Gay Head, Mass. The sailing vessel Bullwinkle stood by until a 6.4-meter/21-foot rigid-hull inflatable from Coast Guard Station Menemsha rescued them. Robert Swain, of Acushnet, Mass., and John Gamache, of New Bedford, said that they had engine problems the night before. When the woke up the morning of 28 July, the vessel was flooded. Although their E.P.I.R.B. was activated, it became separated from the raft. At 1625 31 July, the U.S. Coast Guard received a distress message from a 17-meter/55-foot fishing vessel about 80 kilometers/50 miles east of Cape Hatteras, N.C. As the vessel sank, the four aboard launched a liferaft and activated a 406 Mhz Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon. They were rescued by the Philadelphia (U.S.-registry), and are sailing to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Thor Emilie (Danish-registry 1,655-gt general cargo ship) capsized 27 July at 56 degrees 24 minutes north, 07 degrees 43 minutes east, near Denmark. It was sailing from Klaipeda, Lithuania, to Thessaloniki, Greece, with 1,592 tons of dried lumber, stowed in cargo holds and on deck. The crew was rescued and the ship stabilized. It was towed to Esbjerg, Denmark.

The Goodwill (Panamanian-registry 75,277-gt bulk carrier built in 1992) was reported flooding on 31 July at 13 degrees 10.8 minutes south, 96 degrees 0.93 minutes east. It is carrying coal from Dampier, Australia, to Dunkirk, France. At last report, the ship had run aground in Australia's Cocos Islands and its 21 crew had abandoned it.

The Maersk Tacoma (Panamanian-registry 37,238-gt, 44,182-dwt containership built in 1982, operated by Univan Ship Management Ltd.) was seriously damaged 28 July when it was hit by a tanker on its port side, 25 meters/82 feet forward of the superstructure. It has been drydocked in Singapore.

The Fortuna Reefer (Panamanian-registry 3,971-dwt, 93.3-meter/306-foot refrigerated ship built in 1980, operated by Alphamax Corp.) ran aground 27 July in a Puerto Rican nature reserve. The ship has more than 380,000 liters/100,000 gallons of fuel aboard. The ship had originally grounded 24 July on the southeastern boundary of Mona Island. It was sailing from Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, to Panama City.

A tank barge broke its mooring on 18 July and hit the Seacor Vision (U.S.-registry 68.6-meter/225-foot, 12,280-horsepower anchor handling tug/supply vessel built in 1997 by Moss Point Marine Inc. at Escatawpa, Miss.; owned and operated by Seacor Marine Inc.) in Bayou Casotte near Pascagoula, Miss. About 13,000 liters/3,500 gallons of diesel fuel was spilled from the barge. It then came to rest against two double-hulled tank barges, one with 10,000 barrels of crude oil and the other with 10,000 barrels of diesel. The Seacor Vision had eight persons aboard, but none were injured.

On 30 July, Japan filed claims for 840 million Japanese yen/U.S.$7.08 million for costs involved in cleaning-up 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 Japanese Maritime Safety Agency and the Japanese Ministry of Transport's Ports and Harbors Bureau filed the claims with the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund and Prisco Traffic. The J.M.S.A. wants 690 million yen/U.S.$5.82 million for fuel used by vessels and aircraft, cleaning equipment and supplies, replacement of an oil fence and overtime costs for personnel. The Ports and Harbors Bureau wants 150 million yen/U.S.$1.26 million, mostly relating to the deployment of an oil-spill reponse vessel. The Nakhodka broke in half 2 Jan. about 130 kilometers/80.6 miles northeast of the Oki Islands, Japan. Thirty-one of the 32 crew were rescued and the master was killed. The Nakhodka carried 19,000 tons of grade C heavy fuel, or 19 million liters/five million gallons or 133,000 barrels. More than five million liters/1.3 million gallons of oil came ashore in Japan, affecting the prefectures of Fukui, Hyogo, Ishikawa, Kyoto, Niigata, Shimane, Tottori and Toyama. On 31 July, a Japanese Ministry of Transport panel concluded in a report that the Nakhodka broke-up due to its age. Headed by Hideomi Otsubo, a professor at Tokyo University, the panel reported that samples of steel taken from the bottom of the bow showed the ship's steel thickness had decreased an average of 23 percent since its launch. The hull sides at decreased 30 to 54 percent. Examination of the stern section led the panel to conclude a crack on the bottom of the hull caused the ship to break-up. Improper loading is also likely a factor. The Nakhodka had loaded oil in the No. 2 cargo tanks, ignoring a loading manual by the ship's builder that recommended against this since it would double stress factors.