Canada reports on 1996 casualties

     The Canadian Transportation Safety Board reported this week there were
211 maritime incidents in 1996, compared to 235 in 1995. Five people were
killed, compared to nine in 1995. Also, 25 people were injured.
Twenty-seven were injured in 1995. No vessels over 300-gt were lost last
year, down from four the year before. There were 64 incidents of vessels
hitting objects in 1996, and there were 92 incidents in 1995. Of the 64, 11
were collisions and there were six capsizings. These numbers were the same
in 1995. In the only reported increase, there were 32 explosions and fires
in 1996, up from 19 in 1995.

Ship loaded with gravel sinks off Japan

     The Kinei Maru No. 18 (Japanese-registry 999-gt, 3,063-dwt dry cargo
ship built in 1985, operated by Miho Kaiun) sank off Hirado, Nagasaki
Prefecture, Japan, on 23 Feb. All five crewmembers were rescued after
boarding a liferaft and reaching shore. The ship was carrying 1,450 cubic
meters/1,885 cubic yards of gravel, 550,000 liters/143,000 gallons of fuel
and 30,000 liters/7,800 gallons of lubricating oil. The Japanese Maritime
Safety Agency set-up a containment boom in case the fuel and oil spilled.
The Kinei Maru No. 18 reportedly began taking on water 40 minutes before it
sank in good weather. The ship was sailing from Iki Island, Nagasaki
Prefecture, to Amakusa, Kumamoto Prefecture.

Tug sinks after fire

     The Rig (Italian-registry 522-gt tug built in 1976, operated by Ocean
Srl) sank 24 Feb. at 12 degrees 36 minutes north, 44 degrees 43 minutes
east, in the Gulf of Aden. It was taken in tow by the Giada D
(Panamanian-registry 10,000-dwt tanker built in 1996, operated by Ar Co In
Srl) after a fire. The crew was rescued and one person was hospitalized.

Tug burns in the Delaware River

     The tug Reedy Point (U.S.-registry) suffered a fire 13 Feb. in the
Delaware River near Pea Patch Island, N.J. After sending a distress call,
the four crew abandoned the tug and boarded the barge Peqko II. They were
rescued by a Delware City rescue boat and were taken to a local hospital.
After the fire was contained by local fire and rescue vessels, the U.S.
Coast Guard lead vessel of the U.S.C.G.C. Capstan (WYTL 65601)-class Small
Harbor Tug and the Coast Guard 12-meter/41-foot utility boat CG-41311, the
Reedy Point was towed by the tug Patricia Moran to the Wilmington Marine
Terminal in Delaware.

Twenty-five abandon vessel in Pacific after fire

     The Avatapu (Cook Islands-registry 36.2-meter/119-foot vessel built in
1968) suffered an engine room fire 2223 21 Feb. at 17 degrees 22 minutes
south, 162 degrees 59 minutes west. The ship was abandoned 320
kilometers/200 miles from the Cook Islands. All 25 passengers and crew
abandoned the ship and spent 30 hours in liferafts before being rescued by
a Fijian-registry vessel 434 kilometers/269 miles northwest of Rarotonga,
Cook Islands.

V.L.C.C. and bulk carrier collide at Fos

     The Once (Kerguelen Islands-registry 269,919-dwt very large crude
carrier built in 1976, operated by Euronav Luxembourg S.A.) collided 25
Feb. near Fos, France, with the Amber (Singaporean-registry bulk carrier).
The Once had just left Fos.

North Pacific runs aground off Norway

     The North Pacific (Singaporean-registry 58,853-gt, 104,966-dwt tanker
built in 1986, operated by Thome Ship Management Pte. Ltd.) ran aground 23
Feb., 16 kilometers/9.8 miles southeast of Gedser, Denmark. The ship was
sailing from Ventspils, Latvia, to Dunkirk, France, with 84,000 tons of
crude oil.

U.S. Coast Guard assists fishing vessel off Cuba

     The fishing vessel Luken (U.S.-registry) sent out a distress call 15
Feb. after it began taking on water eight kilometers/five miles north of
Punta Maisi, Cuba. The U.S. Coast Guard Balsam-class Seagoing Buoy Tender
U.S.C.G.C. Madrona (WLB 302) sent a rescue and assistance boarding party
which installed a pump. After the cutter towed the Luken into international
waters, the fishing vessel Jaqueline L, which was nearby, escorted the
Luken to its homeport of Key West, Fla.

Containership hits gantry crane in Oakland

     The California Orion (Panamanian-registry 36,022-dwt,
210-meter/700-foot long containership built in 1980, operated by Nippon
Yusen K.K.) allided with a gantry crane at the Port of Oakland, Calif., on
7 Feb. The ship had sailed from Los Angeles and was docking at Berth 23.
Donald Hughes, 69, was aboard as a pilot when he suffered "severe
intestinal distress." He left the bridge, leaving a student pilot and the
master in command. When he returned eight minutes later, the ship was on
course to ram the crane. The berth and crane sustained U.S.$250,000 in
damage and were taken out of service for a week. The ship had some damage.
On 13 Feb., the San Francisco Bar Pilots voted 5 to 0 with 1 abstention to
suspend Hughes' state license without pay, pending a hearing.

Crewmembers of the Nakhodka file lawsuit

     The 31 crewmembers of 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.) have filed a lawsuit against their employer
seeking "material and emotional" damages. A hearing on 25 Feb. was
postponed because the owners failed to appear in court in Nakhodka, Russia.
Reportedly, they were in Moscow for work related to the spill. Crewmembers
said they were fired immediately after the incident and the company failed
to pay them U.S.$3,000 each in compensation as promised. Judge Svetlana
Usova has set 3 March as the date of the hearing. It was the second
postponement. The ship broke in half 0250 2 Jan. about 130 kilometers/81
miles northeast of the Oki Islands, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. Thirty-one
of 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. The spill is estimated at more than five
million liters/1.3 million gallons or 5,000 tons and has affected eight
Japanese prefectures. Meanwhile, prosecutors in Nakhodka are planning to
start an independent investigation into the incident. This is in addition
to one underway by the Nakhodka Port Authority and a joint Japanese-Russian
committee.