Sixty killed after boat capsizes between Liberia and Sierra Leone

     A boat carrying refugees from fighting in Sierra Leone capsized
crossing the Manor River to Liberia on 14 Dec. and 60 people, mostly women
and children, were killed. Thirteen people survived. The 73 people
reportedly rushed to board the dugout canoe and it slipped into the river
and capsized. The overloaded vessel was carrying people escaping fighting
between the military government of Sierra Leone and a rival group, the
Kamajors, loyal to the civilian government ousted 25 May.

Sinking of sailing vessel in Haiti kills at least 17, 20 missing

     About 20 people are missing after a vessel sank 48 kilometers/30 miles
from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, apparently after hitting a reef, at 0200 13
Dec. Seventeen people, including the master, survived and 18 bodies have
been recovered. The vessel was sailing between La Gonave Island, Haiti, and
Port-au-Prince with passengers and cargo that included 150 sacks of rice,
105 sacks of cement and 15 tons of beans. The vessel sank in water 658
meters/2,160 feet deep.

Equator Joy abandoned in South China Sea

     The Equator Joy (Singaporean-registry 2,225-gt, 3,090-dwt general
cargo ship built in 1972, operated by Thong Soon Lines Pte. Ltd.) was
abandoned 13 Dec. at 03 degrees 12 minutes north, 108 degrees 56 minutes
east, after it began sinking. The 18 crewmembers were rescued and taken to
Singapore.

U.S. Coast Guard helicopter rescues crew off Miami

     The Gonave Express (Belize-registry, 272-gt) sank early 16 Dec., 88
kilometers/55 miles southeast of Miami, in a storm. A U.S. Coast Guard
helicopter rescued the crew in three-meter/10-foot seas. The ship broadcast
a distress call at 0200 after it lost propulsion and began to flood. The
24-meter/80-foot vessel was empty and sailing to Miami to load cargo.

Master of Turkish-registry ship arrested for fleeing collision off France

     Belgium has arrested the master of the Ocean Transporter
(Turkish-registry 30,165-dwt bulk carrier built in 1972, operated by Semih
Sohtorik Management & Agency Inc.), which collided with the Noble Art
(French-registry trawler) on 13 Dec. off Brittany in France. The Noble Art
sank four hours after the collision and the Ocean Transporter ignored a
French order to return to assist, saying that it was carrying urgent cargo.
The three crew of the Noble Art were rescued by a French-registry vessel.
The Ocean Transporter sailed to Ghent, Belgium, where the ship arrived the
night of 16 Dec. and unloaded Brazilian soya. Belgium charged the master,
Tevfik Dunbay, on 17 Dec. after France demanded that he be extradited on
charges of negligence, escaping his responsibilities and ignoring orders to
assist. According to four of 33 crewmembers of the Ocean Transporter,
Dunbay was sleeping when the collision occurred. He was not told of the
collision, as the bridge crew thought the vessels had "brushed" each other.
Belgium has detained the Ocean Transporter for a crack near the engine
room.

Bulk carrier damaged in allision with Detroit River Lighthouse

     The Buffalo (11,619-gt, 24,270-dwt, 8,036-nt, 193.5-meter/643.8-foot
motor bulk carrier built in 1978 by Bay Shipbuilding Corp. at Sturgeon Bay,
Wis.; operated by American Steamship Co.) struck the Detroit River
Lighthouse in Michigan at 0520 12 Dec., causing the bow to be crushed in,
extending from below its anchors to below the waterline. The lighthouse is
16 kilometers/10 miles northeast of Monroe, Mich. The ship took on water
but was allowed to proceed to Toledo Shipyard, where it was drydocked 14
Dec. after unloading its cargo, reportedly petroleum coke, to the American
Republic (12,158-gt, 24,790-dwt, 11,106-nt, 193.5-meter/643.8-foot motor
bulk carrier built in 1981 by Bay Shipbuilding at Sturgeon Bay; operated by
American Steamship). It had been sailing from Detroit to Cleveland. Repairs
will take six weeks and U.S.$500,000 at least. Weather conditions included
clear visibility with seas up to 0.9 meters/three feet. The lighthouse's
stone foundation had minor damage.

Former Australian frigate largest vessel scuttled in Southern Hemisphere

     The Royal Australian Navy's former Yarra-class ("River"-class) Frigate
Swan (50) was scuttled 14 Dec., the largest ship ever to be deliberately
sunk in the Southern Hemisphere. Explosives sank the warship 2.4
kilometers/1.5 miles off southwestern Western Australia in three minutes.
The Swan was laid down 18 Aug., 1965, and launched 16 Dec., 1967, at
Williamstown Naval Dockyard in Williamstown, Victoria, Australia.
Displacing 2,750 tons fully loaded and measuring 112.75 meters/369.91 feet
in length, the Swan was commissioned 20 Jan., 1970. It was decommissioned
in September 1996 and stripped of usable equipment and cleaned of
pollutants before being sunk as an artifical reef and diving attraction.

Superstructure of the Slanic destroyed

     A fire aboard the Slanic (Romanian-registry 3,493-gt, 4,795-dwt dry
cargo ship built in 1979, operated by Navrom S.A.) in a floating dock at
Constanta, Romania, has destroyed most of its superstructure. Damage its
estimated to be at least U.S.$500,000.

Saga Rose damaged by fire in Southampton

     The Saga Rose (Bahamian-registry 24,474-gt passenger ship owned by
Saga Group) sustained fire damage to its forward promenade deck on 14 Dec.
while in A&P Southampton Ltd.'s King George V dry dock in Southampton,
England. The ship, formerly the Sagafjord, was in the second phase of a 15
million British pound/U.S.$25 million refit that includes refurbishment of
the cabins. About 300 shipyard workers and 350 crew were aboard and all
were evacuated safely. Seven shipyard personnel and five firefighters were
treated for smoke inhalation and one firefighter was hospitalized with
injuries while another had minor steam burns. The fire was found at 1400
and extinguished by 2000 by more than 100 firefighters.

Tug grounds, takes on water off North Carolina

     The Captain Frank (20-meter/65-foot tug), sailing to Charleston, S.C.,
to be sunk as an artificial reef, ran aground 14 Dec. and began taking on
water, three kilometers/two miles east of Ocracoke, N.C. A U.S. Coast Guard
helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., dropped a
pump to the tug on 15 Dec. Weather conditions included 25-knot winds and
1.8-meter/six-foot seas. The tug is in 1.2 meters/four feet of water.

Collision in the St. Lawrence Seaway

     The Canadian Explorer (16,353-gt, 26,390-dwt, 13,490-nt,
222.50-meter/730.00-foot motor bulk carrier operated by ULS Corp.; built by
Kaiser Co. Inc. at Portland, Ore., as tanker in 1944, converted and
lengthened with new midships and bow in 1961, new stern 1983) and the
Island Skipper (Greek-registry 28,479-dwt, 178.21-meter/584.66-foot motor
bulk carrier built in 1984, operated by Siomar Enterprises Ltd.) collided
around midnight 14 Dec. at the Beauharnois Locks in the St. Lawrence
Seaway. Aboard the Canadian Explorer, two vents, two lights and the gangway
were destroyed and several ribs were bent. The Island Skipper, following
the collision, hit the bullnose of a dock and suffered damage that included
holing to its No. 2 cargo hold. The Canadian Explorer was laid-up at
Dofasco Inc. in Hamilton, Ontario, on 16 Dec.

Orange Star grounds in Turkey, Bosporus Strait closed briefly

     The Orange Star (Norwegian-registry 18,302-gt, 171-meter/561-foot
tanker) ran aground at 0720 17 Dec. near the Yenikoy area of Istanbul,
Turkey. The Bosporus Strait was closed at 1530 to allow for refloating. The
ship had left Tuapse, Russia, and is carrying 30,000 tons of gas-oil. A
boat took a group of protesters, the Association of Nature Warriors, to the
ship, where the tried to put a black flag on the Orange Star. It was
quickly removed and thrown overboard by a crewmember. After local police
warnings, the group dispersed. The Orange Star reportedly ran aground due
to strong currents and is now in the Marmara Sea.

Milwaukee excursion vessel damaged by fire

     The Iroquois (U.S.-registry 18.82-meter/61.75-foot, 149-passenger
motor excursion vessel built in 1946, operated by Iroquois Boat Line Co.
and homeported at Milwaukee) caught fire 18 Dec. while at its mooring on
the Milwaukee River, just north of the Clybourn Ave. bridge. No one was
aboard at the time. Damage has been estimated at U.S.$20,000.

Grounding off Japan leaves ship undamaged

     The Jiang Chang (3,995-gt, 5,060-dwt dry cargo ship built in 1991,
operated by China Changjiang Shipping (Group) Corp.) ran aground early 13
Dec. near Kanazawa, Japan. None of the 26 crewmembers were injured. It was
refloated later in the day and towed to Kanazawa. The vessel was to have
left Kanazawa the night of 12 Dec. for Tsuruga, Japan, but anchored due to
strong winds, which apparently later caused the ship to drag its anchor.

Qin Tai 2 assisted to Japanese port

     The Qin Tai 2 (Chinese-registry 1,577-gt, 2,300-dwt general cargo ship
built in 1991, operated by Qin Tai Shipping Co.), sailing to China in
ballast, had an unspecified equipment problem in bad weather of Niigata,
Japan, on 12 Dec. It was towed to the port the same day.

Calcite II refloated

     The Calcite II (8,188-gt, 6,301-nt, 184.33-meter/604.75-foot motor
bulk carrier built in 1929 by American Ship Building Co. at Lorain, Ohio;
operated by USS Great Lakes Fleet Inc.) has been refloated by the John
Purves (436-gt, 296-nt, 45.7-meter/150-foot motor tug built in 1919 with
2,700 kilowatts/2,000 brake horsepower, operated by Andrie Inc.). It ran
aground at 1730 12 Dec. in the Saginaw River close to Buoy 68 near the
Interstate 75 bridge in Zilwaukee, Mich., while carrying limestone.

Additional charge made against master of the Evoikos

     Michael Chalkitis, the master of the Evoikos (Cypriot-registry
75,428-gt, 140,218-dwt tanker built in 1977, operated by Papaphilippou),
was charged with an additional count by Singapore on 12 Dec. of failing to
keep a proper lookout. The Evoikos and the Orapin Global (Thai-registry
129,702-gt, 268,450-dwt tanker built in 1975; owned and operated by Thai
International Tankers Co. Ltd. and managed by Denholm Ship Management Ltd.)
collided at 2054 15 Oct. about five kilometers/three miles south of Pulau
Sebarok, Singapore. The Evoikos was sailing from Fujairah, United Arab
Emirates, to Singapore with 120,000 tons/840,000 barrels or 137 million
liters/36 million gallons of marine fuel oil. It was to unload the cargo at
Caltex Trading Co. Ltd. and Singapore Petroleum Co. Ltd. Two or three cargo
tanks ruptured spilling at least 25,000 tons or 27 million liters/seven
million gallons of oil and the ship anchored three kilometers/two miles
southeast of Pulau Sebarok. Damage included a gash on the port side 50
meters/164 feet long and 10 meters/32 feet wide, from the deck to below the
waterline. The Evoikos was chartered by Metro Trading International. The
Orapin Global was sailing in ballast to the Arabian Gulf after having left
the Singapore Eastern Anchorage. Chalkitis, 58, a Greek citizen, and Jan
Sokolowski, 54, of the Orapin Global, a Polish citizen, were charged.
Chalkitis was previously accused of a breach of duty, failing to reduce
speed and preventing the Evoikos from being seriously damaged under the
Singapore Merchant Shipping Act. Sokolowski was accused under Singapore's
penal code of navigating recklessly, endangering lives and failing to take
action to avoid a collision. On 13 Dec., both masters were denied
permission to return home. The next court hearing is 8 Jan.

Additional information on collision off Japan

     The Kashi Maru No. 8 (409 tons) and the Settsu Maru No. 5 (393 tons)
collided at 0100 9 Dec. off Japan's Izu Peninsula. The Kashi Maru No. 8
subsequently drifted and sank near Higashiizu, Japan, as the result of
heavy damage on its port side amidships. Some of the ship's fuel spilled.
The Kashi Maru No. 8 was sailing from Heda, Japan, ad the Settsu Maru No. 5
had departed Kobe, Japan. Each ship had five crewmembers but no one was
injured.

U.S. Coast Guard reports on Bright Field allision in New Orleans

     The U.S. Coast Guard on 18 Dec. released its report on the allision of
the Bright Field (Liberian-registry 36,120-gt, 68,200-dwt, 23,035-nt,
224-meter/735-foot bulk carrier built in 1988, owned by Clearsky Shipping
Corp. and operated by COSCO (Hong Hong) Shipping Co. Ltd.). The Bright
Field has 7,302 kilowatts/9,789 brake horsepower available for 14 knots and
was built in Sasebo, Japan. It has 13.292-meter/43.609-foot beam and there
seven cargo holds with a capacity of 81,337 cubic meters/105,730 cubic
yards. At 1430 14 Dec., 1996, the ship slammed into a New Orleans dock
housing a Riverwalk mall and a 16,200-square-meter/180,000-square-foot
Hilton hotel. At least 116 people were injured and the dock and some 15
shops and 456 hotel rooms were destroyed. More than 5.7 million liters/1.5
million gallons of water flooded a cargo hold aboard the Bright Field and
4.6 meters/15 feet of hull under the bow was damaged. The ship had been
sailing with 64,000 tons of corn for Kashima, Japan.

     Court claims totaling U.S.$35 million to U.S.$40 million have been
filed, including U.S.$17 million to U.S.$18 million in property damage and
U.S.$15 million to U.S.$16 million in lost business.

     According to the report, the crew failed to maintain the ship's Sulzer
6RTA62 engine and then lied under oath about the accident. A clogged oil
filter and low oil pressure caused an automatic shutdown, and although a
manual override was available for restart, the engineer on duty used a
slower method, unaware of the ship's status. Out of control, the Bright
Field dropped an anchor and came parallel to the dock, with the Nieuw
Amsterdam (4,217-dwt passenger ship built in 1983, operated by Holland
America Line Westours Inc.) astern and the Flamingo Queen, a gambling
vessel with 637 aboard, 30 meters/100 feet ahead. The excursion vessel
Creole Queen, with 174 people aboard, was also docked nearby. From power
loss to allision took two minutes, and the ship fit in a space 275
meters/900 feet long.

     The report states that equipment was not maintained and tested and
longstanding engine problems that resulted in the accident were not
repaired. The Coast Guard has recommended that Liberia, as the country of
registry, take action for the "negligence, misconduct and false testimony"
of the crew and suspend the licenses of the engineers pending a revocation
hearing. According to the owner and operator of the Bright Field, they had
directed the chief engineer to fix the engine problems and replaced him
soon afer the allision. Finally, the Coast Guard report also criticizes its
own investigators for not taking enough measures to preserve evidence.
Apparently, some items were tampered with, repaired or adjusted before
testing by the Coast Guard and the U.S. National Transportation Safety
Board.

     The National Transportation Safety Board issued its report in
September, in which it recommended development of an evacuation system for
the area and said that all vessels should monitor one radio frequency that
will provide warning of such accidents. The River Front Alert Network
started on 11 March but is currently only required to be monitored by
buildings along the Riverwalk.

(AT) LAST...BUT NOT LEAST...

Third leg of Whitbread Round the World Race begins

     The third leg of the Whitbread Round the World Race from Fremantle,
Australia, to Sydney, Australia, some 3,600 kilometers/2,250 miles, began
13 Dec. with eight yachts. The second leg was from Cape Town, South Africa,
to Fremantle. Meanwhile, Innovation Kvaerner II, a Norwegian team, said
last week that Ian Walker, an Australian helmsman, was leaving the team in
Fremantle after differences with the skipper, Knut Frostad. The team is
leading the race with 207 points. EF Education, with Paul Cayard as
skipper, is second with 197. Swedish Match, which won the second leg, is
fourth with 167 points.

Want to buy oil from the Exxon Valdez?

     Alaska is offering for sale 2,000 samples of crude oil collected from
the Exxon Valdez spill rather than pay U.S.$6,000 in disposal fees. The
tanker spilled 38,304,000 liters/10,080,000 gallons of oil when it ran
aground in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on 24 March, 1989. The samples,
which range from 40 milliliters/1.2 fluid ounces to a liter/0.26 gallons,
were taken as legal evidence by Alaska for court cases stemming from the
spill and are no longer needed. The samples contain rocks, water, pieces of
fishing nets and other debris along with oil. Alaska expects to receive at
most U.S.$10,000 through the offer and the money will be used for research
into how to identify the sources of oil spills. Prices start at U.S.$5. For
information