Fewer ships but more lives lost during third quarter

     The Institute of London Underwriters has reported that 13 vessels of
more than 500 gross tons were lost worldwide during the third quarter. This
year, 63 vessels of 505,103 gross tons have been lost as of 30 Sept.,
compared to 75 of 520,626 gross tons in the same period for 1996. Numbers
are likely to change as more vessels are declared total constructive
losses. In the third quarter of this year, 74 people were reported dead or
missing at sea, but for vessels under 500 gross tons, as many as 1,400
people were killed or are missing. Over the first nine months of 1996, 83
people were dead or missing.

Four killed in Oresund sound collision

     The Clipper Skagen (Norwegian-registry 16,137-dwt tanker) rammed the
Peder Wessel (Danish-registry 18-meter/58-foot recreational fishing vessel)
late the morning of 30 Nov. in the Oresund sound between Denmark and
Sweden. The Peder Wessel, which had left Copenhagen, Denmark, for a
day-long trip, broke in half and sank, killing two crewmembers and two
passengers. Visibility in the area was down to 49 meters/160 feet due to
fog. A person that was thrown into the water and 16 others that boarded
liferafts were rescued. Five people were hospitalized and those killed were
identified as Hans Holger Henriksen, 82, the master; Villy Johannes Bagge,
64; Hans-Joachim Kirchner, 55; and Kurt Bau Petersen, 61. The Clipper
Skagen was held in Copenhagen and left 1 Dec. for Latvia.

One dead, one missing in sinking off British Columbia

     The fishing vessel Pacific Charmer sank the morning of 2 Dec. off
Gabriola Island, British Columbia. Of the five crew, one was killed, one is
missing and three were rescued.

Collision in Miami between ferry and pleasure crafts kills one

     The ferry Eagle collided shortly after 1800 3 Dec. with a
8.5-meter/28-foot pleasure craft in Miami's Government Cut. The Eagle was
sailing from Miami to Fisher Island, Fla. A passenger aboard the ferry
rescued two people from the craft, Adam Samole and his son Yale. They were
taken to a pilot boat while the U.S. Coast Guard rescued a third person,
Anne Samole, Adam's wife. Anne Samole later died at South Shore Hospital in
Miami.

Fire aboard very large crude carrier injures four

     Four people were injured, two seriously, after a fire inside a cargo
tank aboard the Mosqueen (Bahamian-registry very large crude carrier
operated by Mosvold Shipping A/S) off Dubai, United Arab Emirates, this
week.

Fishing vessel sinks off Louisiana following fire, three rescued

     The Capt. Mike (116-gt, 23-meter/75-foot fishing vessel) caught fire
24 Nov., 160 kilometers/100 miles southeast of Cameron, La. The three
crewmembers abandoned it and were rescued by another vessel in the area.
Despite firefighting efforts by several vessels, including the U.S. Coast
Guard's "Island"-class Patrol Boat U.S.C.G.C. Kodiak Island (WPB 1341), the
Capt. Mike broke into two pieces and sank in about 78.6 meters/258 feet of
water. The fishing vessel had 9,500 liters/2,500 gallons of diesel fuel
aboard and some of it formed a sheen 90 meters/300 feet by 275 meters/900
feet.

Forward section of MSC Carla sinks

     The forward section of the MSC Carla (Panamanian-registry 55,241-gt,
40,912-dwt, 2,868-TEU motor containership built in 1972 at Landskrona,
Sweden; owned by Rationis Enterprises and operated by Mediterranean
Shipping Co.), with as many as 1,200 containers aboard, sank 30 Nov. in the
Atlantic Ocean. The ship broke into two pieces on early 25 Nov. during a
storm 176 kilometers/110 miles north Sao Miguel Island in Portugal's Azores
Islands. The break-up was at 39 degrees 31 minutes north, 25 degrees 01
minutes west. Weather conditions reportedly included 9.1-meter/30-foot seas
and gale force winds. The ship broadcast a message late 24 Nov. that its
rudder had failed and two Portuguese military helicopters rescued all 34
crewmembers from the aft section. At least three crewmembers suffered minor
abrasions. The MSC Carla's stern was taken in tow by the Fotiy Krylov
(2,253-dwt tug built in 1989, operated by Tsavliris) for San Miguel Island
and was still under tow at last report at three knots, with a 6-degree
starboard list, but was badly sheering. The MSC Carla was sailing from Le
Havre, France, to Boston with 2,400 containers and the surviving section of
the ship reportedly has about 1,000 containers aboard, including 410 FEUs.
Forty-three refrigerated containers have had their refrigeration systems
restored.

     Also, France's Nuclear Safety Agency said 28 Nov. that some containers
aboard the MSC Carla contained medical equipment with radioactive
components. The agency said that three pieces of medical equipment
contained Cesium 137.

Princess of the Orient catches fire at Manila

     The Princess of the Orient (3,110-dwt, 3,000-passenger vessel built in
1974, owned and operated by Sulpicio Lines) caught fire 3 Dec. while docked
in Manila, the Philippines. One crewmember was hospitalized with burns. The
ship was taking on fuel in North Harbor when fuel overflowed from an engine
and spilled onto a hot exhaust stack. An ensuing fire spread to cabins. The
Princess of the Orient had arrived from Cebu province and hundreds of
passengers had disembarked when the fire started.

Fuel spilled as tug sinks at Hunters Point dock

     The tug Yakima sank at 0230 26 Nov. at Hunters Point, Calif. The tug,
owned by Kay Bell of Bell Marine Co., was moored at a pier and sank in 9.1
meters/30 feet of water, spilling about 380 liters/100 gallons of fuel. The
spill was quickly contained and Manson Salvage Co. has been hired to raise
the Yakima.

MSC Rosa M develops list in the English Channel, abandoned by crew

     A French Dauphin helicopter and a British Coast Guard Sea King
helicopter rescued the crew of the MSC Rosa M (Cypriot-registry 20,418-gt,
20,185-dwt, 1,050-TEU containership and ro/ro built in 1978 by Fincantieri
Cantieri Navali Italiani SpA in Italy, owned and operated by Mediterranean
Shipping Co.) after they abandoned the ship in the English Channel on 30
Nov. at 49 degrees 53 minutes north, 01 degrees 17 minutes west. Weather
included Beaufort Force 5 or 6 conditions, with two-meter/6.5-foot seas.
The 32 Cypriot crew boarded lifeboats after the vessel began listing 32
kilometers/20 miles off Cherbourg, France, near Barfleur Point, after its
cargo shifted. There has been speculation that incorrect ballasting
attributed to the list. Twenty-seven crewmembers were flown to the Meleri
(Maltese-registry 31,645-dwt bulk carrier built in 1975, operated by
Eastern Mediterranean Maritime Ltd.) and five, including the master,
attempted to return to the ship but abandoned the effort due to the MSC
Rosa M's 38-degree starboard list. Five crewmembers were slightly injured
and all the crew later were taken to France. The MSC Rosa M was taken in
tow by the Abeille Languedoc (French-registry 1,550-dwt motor tug built in
1979, operated by Les Abeilles) for Bequet, France, where the ship was to
be beached so that pumping operations could continue. The vessel had been
denied permission to enter Cherbourg.

Bremen Senator rescues crew of St. Jude Express off Cuba

     The St. Jude Express (Belize-registry 499-gt, 1,066-dwt dry cargo ship
built in 1966, operated by Aztec Shipping & Trading) caught fire and later
had an explosion on 4 Dec. off eastern Cuba at 20 degrees 22 minutes north,
74 degrees 01.5 minutes west. The ship drifted and the seven crew were
rescued by the Bremen Senator (Liberian-registry 46,490-dwt containership
built in 1993, operated by Unicom Management Services (Cyprus) Ltd.)

Two rescued from burning lobster boat

     Two people were rescued 29 Nov. after the lobster boat they were
aboard caught fire southwest of LaHave Island, Nova Scotia. The man and
woman had minor injuries and boarded another fishing vessel in the area.

Collision damages L.P.G. carrier off Taiwan

     The Flanders Gloria (Liberian-registry 42,286-gt liquefied petroleum
gas carrier) collided with the Mundogas Orinoco (Panamanian-registry
39,931-gt, 51,394-dwt liquefied petroleum gas carrier bult in 1973,
operated by China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co.) near Kaohsiung, Taiwan, on 2
Dec. The Flanders Gloria sustained damage and is sailing to Singapore for
repairs.

Ro/ro heads for Sydney after engine room fire

     The Union Rotoma (New Zealand-registry 29,040-gt, 21,653-dwt motor
ro/ro built in 1976, operated by Union Shipping New Zealand Ltd.) had an
engine room fire 3 Dec. sailing from Melbourne, Australia, to Auckland, New
Zealand. The fire began off Gabo Island at 37 degrees 16 minutes south, 153
degrees 56 minutes east. After repairs were made, the ship sailed to
Sydney, Australia.

Ferry hits bridge in Greece

     The Dignity (Maltese-registry 1,420-dwt passenger and ro/ro ferry
built in 1971, operated by European Seaways Inc.) hit the Poseidonia Bridge
in Corinth, Greece, the afternoon of 24 Nov. It sustained a cracked bow and
sailed to Isthmia, Greece. The vessel was sailing from Italy to Turkey with
69 passengers and there were no injuries.

Ovit refloated after grounding in Indonesia

     The Ovit (Turkish-registry 27,687-dwt bulk carrier built in 1977,
operated by Yardimci Shipping Group) ran aground 16 Oct. leaving Surabaya,
Indonesia, with agricultural products. It was refloated 29 Oct. by Omur
Salvage Co. Ltd. and Smit Singapore.

Flooding clam dredger assisted off Virgina

     The Taurus, a 12-meter/39-foot clam dredge, began flooding 28 Nov.
near Chincoteague Island, Va. A U.S. Coast Guard 6.4-meter/21-foot boat
from Coast Guard Station Chincoteague, Va., brought a dewatering pump to
the vessel and the boat's crew assisted the operator, Trever Coons, 24, in
controlling the flooding. A temporary patch was put in place and the Taurus
was escorted to Greenbackville, Va., for repairs.

British-registry trawler taken in tow due to fouled propeller

     The Mizpah (British-registry 308-gt stern trawler) was taken in tow on
29 Nov. by the British-registry trawler Be Ready at 60 degrees 29 minutes
north, 04 degrees 03 minutes west after its propeller was fouled north of
Scotland. The Mizpah was to be taken to Scrabster, England.

Kuroshima clean-up continues

     A damaged fuel tank aboard the Kuroshima (Panamanian-registry
4,160-gt, 4,845-dwt, 118-meter/386-foot motor refrigerated ship built in
1988, owned by Kuroshima Shipping S.A. and operated by Fukuoka Zosen K.K.)
has leaked about 156,000 liters/41,000 gallons that came ashore in Summer
Bay, Alaska, polluting 7,300 meters/2,400 feet of the shoreine and another
2.7 kilometers/1.6 miles of Summer Bay Lake. A 15-centimeter/six-inch hose,
stretching 136.5 meters/447.8 feet, has been set-up to empty the remaining
fuel. The ship ran aground in high winds the afternoon of 26 Nov. on Second
Priest Rock about 90 meters/300 feet off Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Water depth
in the area is at most 2.1 meters/seven feet and weather included winds of
about 90 knots and seas of 6.1 meters/20 feet. Two Philippine crewmembers
from Manila, Michael Valdellon, 46, the chief officer, and Benito
Gestosani, 36, were killed while the 16 other crewmembers were rescued
after a lifeboat was pulled to shore by a line fired to the ship. The
master and chief engineer are Japanese citizens with the rest of the crew
from the Philippines. The Kuroshima had arrived at Dutch Harbor to load
frozen seafood. The ship had been anchored offshore but its anchor chain
snapped and it drifted. Nine oil-coated birds have been found dead. So far,
55,100 liters/14,500 gallons of fuel have been recovered and about 471,000
liters/124,000 gallons remain aboard.

Damage report for Isle of Wight collision

     The Hoegh Mistral (30,402-dwt bulk carrier built in 1986, operated by
Leif Hoegh & Co. A.S.A.) and the Nordfarer (Bahamian-registry 29,977-dwt
tanker built in 1988, operated by Norden A/S) collided 25 Nov. in French
territorial waters south of the Isle of Wight. The Hoegh Mistral suffered
an eight-meter/26-foot gash on its bow and continued sailing with pulp for
Sheerness, Scotland. The Nordfarer, loaded with jet fuel, was towed to
Southampton, England, by the Anglian Duke (560-dwt tug built in 1977,
operated by Klyne Tugs (Lowestoft) Ltd.) , where a crack was found in the
deck of the No. 1 port cargo tank. Another crack leaked some of the fuel
into the engine room, which was evacuated. While smoke was reported, there
was no fire. The Nordfarer also has damage to its forecastle and
accomodation on its port side.

Buckeye refloated

     The Buckeye (U.S.-registry 11,691-gt, 7,321-nt, 213-meter/698-foot
turbine bulk carrier built in 1952 by Bethlehem Steel Corp. at Sparrows
Point, Md.; opertaed by Oglebay Norton Co.), which ran aground in the St.
Mary's River near Brimley, Mich., the morning of 27 Nov. at Buoy 27, was
refloated a few days later.

Marine Explorer to be repaired at British shipyard

     The Marine Explorer (British-registry 990-dwt offshore vessel built in
1965, operated by Eidesvik & Co. A/S), chartered to the British Royal Navy
for hydrographic work, has been moved to Manning Marine Ltd.'s Clarence
Graving Dock in the United Kingdom for repairs. The vessel had a fire at
0300 19 Nov. at Canada Dock in the United Kingdom. The fire began in a bar
and the first officer was injured.

Reports on the sinking of the Estonia released

     The Joint Accident Investigation Committee investigating the sinking
of the 15,598-ton ro/ro ferry Estonia on 28 Sept., 1994, released its
228-page final report 3 Dec. The commission, appointed by the governments
of Estonia, Finland and Sweden, concluded that design flaw's to locks on
the vessel's 55-ton bow visor and slow reponse by crewmembers were primary
factors in the sinking of the vessel in the Baltic Sea. The Estonia was
sailing from Tallinn, Estonia, to Stockholm, Sweden, and at least 852
people were killed with 137 rescued. Some 300 made it to the outer decks
but died of exposure and exhaustion before being rescued. Only 95 bodies
were found. It is the worst maritime disaster in Europe since World War II.
The commission said the bow locks should have been designed five times
stronger. "The Estonia's bow visor locking devices failed due to wave
induced impact loads, creating opening about deck hinges," the report said.
Thw bow ramp "was located too far forward" and was "not compliant with the
Solas (International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea) requirements
for an upper extention of the collision bulkhead." Sweden has admitted
exempting the Estonia from that regulation. The report also cited the delay
in reponse, such as investigating sounds coming from the bow and decreasing
speed. The commission said that alarms were not sounded until five minutes
after a heavy list developed and some safety equipment was inoperative. The
ferry was also steered into the wind, speeding the flooding. Some 63 trucks
of 100 vehicles were poorly distributed and exacerbated the list. The
Estonia was operated by Estline and classed by Bureau Veritas. It measured
155 meters/509 feet by 22 meters/72 feet.

     According to the official report, the Estonia sinking unfolded as
follows:

          1900 - Departure from Tallinn

          0055 - A crewmember hears a metallic bang near the bow ramp and
                    an engineer reports indications that water has entered
                    the car deck. Winds were 55 to 70 kilometers per
                    hour/35 to 45 miles per hour and waves were 3.5
                    meters/11 feet to 4.5 meters/15 feet high.

          0115 - Bow door opens and ro/ro deck begins flooding

          0120 - Engines stop, ferry lists about 30 degrees

          0122 - First known distress call made, alarm sounded and
                    passengers addressed only in Estonian.

          0125 - Windows and door aft break, water floods accommodation

          0126 - Finnish Coast Guard in Turku, Finland, alerted; incident
                    designated as "major" at 0230

          0135 - List now 80 degrees

          0148 - Vessel sinks at 59 degrees 22 minutes north, 21 degrees 41
                    minutes east in 80 meters/260 feet of water. It has a
                    90-degree port list.

          0158 - Helicopters alerted

          0212 - First rescue vessel, the Mariella (Finnish-registry
                    3,000-dwt passenger ferry built in 1985, operated by
                    Viking Line A.B.), reaches the area

          0300 - First of 25 helicopters arrives. Some helicopters had
                    inoperative winches.

          0900 - Last survivors found

          1000 - Helicopters instructed to recover bodies

          2030 - Last rescue vessel leaves area

     On 1 Dec., Meyer Werft, which built the Estonia in 1979, released a
report made by a panel it appointed. That report stated the ferry sank due
to "the extremely bad maintenance condition of visor and bow ramp, their
hinges and locking devices, in connection with a completely wrong loading
of the car deck and a highly excessive speed." According to the report, the
locks had been repositioned and the new welds were weaker than the original
welds and had been weakened by sailing at high speed through heavy ice. It
said the vehicle ramp, which folds to form a watertight barrier, was out of
alignment. The governmental commission said in March that no evidence of
repairs or alternations to the bow door had been found.

     The governmental commission was hampered in its work by several
personnel changes. Chairman Andi Meister resigned last year after he said
Sweden withheld information and in a book published in September, Meister
said that there is evidence the Estonia has been visited and possibly
plundered by unauthorized divers. The navigational computer has never been
found, for example. Olof Forssberg, who headed the Swedish delegation,
resigned this year after admitting he lied about having received a letter
connected to the snking and a Swedish consultant resigned, saying he no
longer trusted the commission's work.

     Estonia investigated the crew, Finland looked at rescue operations and
Sweden investigated the ferry itself.