1,190 killed or missing in 1996

     The Institute of London Underwriters has announced that 105 ships of
at least 500-gt were lost in 1996, accounting for 653,775-gt. In 1995, 95
ships of 693,433-gt were lost. Last year, 1,190 people were killed or are
missing at sea. In 1995, 316 people were killed or missing.

Collision on Yangtze kills two, 10 missing

     On 10 Jan., the Ruyi No. 2 (5,015-tons) sank after colliding with the
Dongji (15,000-tons) on the Yangtze River near Yangzhong, Jiangsu Province,
China. Two people were killed, 10 are missing and nine were rescued.

Crewmember killed in tanker fire

     A crewmember aboard the Saraband (Cypriot-registry 132,478-dwt tanker
built in 1977, operated by Vancouver Shipmanagement Ltd.) died in a fire
aboard the ship 21 Jan. at Chittagong, Bangladesh. Among the damage, a
generator of the auxiliary aft engine set was destroyed. Crude oil aboard
is being discharged and temporary repairs are being made.

Tankers collide off France, gasoline spilled

     The Bona Fulmar (Bahamian-registry 45,773-gt, 78,585-dwt ore/bulk/oil
carrier built in 1983, owned and operated by Bona Shipping A/S) collided 18
Jan. with the Teoatl (Mexican-registry 21,706-dwt tanker built in 1987,
operated by Companhia Naviera Minera del Gulfo S.A.) at 51 degrees 23.8
minutes north, 02 degrees 06.6 minutes east. The location is in
international waters about 29 kilometers/18 miles northwest of Dunkirk,
France. No one was injured in the collision, in very dense fog with
visibility of 300 meters/1,000 feet. The Bona Fulmar, with a crew of 26 and
two passengers aboard, was carrying 58,447 tons of unleaded gasoline and
sustained a hole 3.0 meters/10 feet by 4.0 meters/13 feet in her No. 5
cargo tank. Some of the hole was below the waterline. An estimated 9,500
cubic meters/12,400 cubic yards of gasoline or 7,000 tons spilled into the
North Sea. The ship shifted ballast, anchored nearby and transferred the
remaining fuel in the tank to another vessel. A temporary patch was
installed over the hole and the Bona Fulmar, under escort, sailed to
Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to unload her cargo. The Far Turbot
(British-registry 2,015-dwt tug/supply vessel built in 1980, operated by
Howard Smith (U.K.) Ltd.) sailed to the area when the collision occurred
and remained on-scene. The Teoatl, which was not damaged, also sailed to
Rotterdam. Bona Fulmar was chartered to George E. Warren and sailing from
Belgian Petrofina S.A.'s refinery in Antwerp, Belgium, to New York.

Gasoline spilled in Mississippi River after allision

     As much as 95,000 liters/25,000 gallons of gasoline spilled from four
ruptured cargo tanks after a tank barge allided with a stone dike on the
Mississippi River at 0700 16 Jan. The allision occurred three
kilometers/two miles above the Mississippi-Tennessee state line, and about
27 kilometers/17 miles below Memphis, Tenn. The barge was being pushed
upriver by the Shirley K. Stapp, owned and operated by Stapp Towing Co. The
barge was one of four heading upriver from Lake Charles, La., to West
Memphis, Ark. Loaded with 3.8 million liters/one million gallons of
gasoline, it was refloated in high winds and sailed to West Memphis. The
river was closed above and below the allision until the barge reached its
destination.

Vessel with 912 aboard collides with bulk carrier off Bangladesh

     The Mecca 1 (Panamanian-registry 1,118-dwt passenger vessel built in
1970, operated by El Salam Trading and Shipping Establishment) collided
with the Aditya Usha (Indian-registry 19,022-dwt bulk carrier built in
1981, operated by Century Shipping) near Chittagong, Bangladesh, late 22
Jan. The Mecca 1 was carrying 912 Bangladeshi workers deported from Saudi
Arabia for being in the country illegally or carrying forged documents. No
one was injured. The forecastle of the Aditya Usha was damaged and the
Mecca 1 was dented.

Christina suffers fire at Hansweert

     The Christina (Dutch-registry 1,391-gt general cargo vessel owned by
Amasus Shipping B.V.) suffered a fire 21 Jan. at Hansweert. The ship
arrived 20 Jan. from Hamina, Finland.

Mundial Car and Jane collide

     The Mundial Car (Lebanese-registry 2,588-gt, 1,150-dwt ro/ro built in
1965, operated bt Aspen Shipping and Trading B.V.) collided with the Jane
(Antigua and Barbuda-registry 4,628-gt, 5,700-dwt containership built in
1995, operated by Draxl Schiffahrts G.m.b.H.) on 21 Jan. at 51 degrees 50.4
minutes north, 02 degrees 28.8 minutes east. The location is in the North
Sea. The Mundial car was sailing from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to
Tripoli, Libya, and the Jane from Felixstowe, England, to Rotterdam. The
Mundial Car's starboard bow was holed and the ship sailed to Rotterdam. The
Jane was also holed and was leaking oil, with other vessels diverting to
assist.

Two ships in collision off Norway

     The Utsira (Norwegian-registry 444-gt passenger and general cargo
vessel) collided "head-on" with the Dura Bulk (Danish-registry 2,950-gt,
3,007-dwt bulk carrier built in 1973, owned by Danish International and
operated by T Wang) on 22 Jan. south of Karmsundet, Norway. The Dura Bulk
ran aground and was later towed off while the Utsira continued its voyage.

Ro/Ro collides with barge in the Scheldt River

     On 20 Jan., the Rijnha Ven (11,909-gt, 5,710-dwt ro/ro built in 1973,
operated by Dodekanissinki Anonimos Naftiliaki Eteria) collided with the
barge Daniella near Buoy 87 in the Scheldt River. The Rijnha Ven had
arrived in Antwerp, Belgium, on 18 Jan. from Hamina, Finland.

Paria damaged by unknown object

     The Paria (Venezuelan-registry 55,999-dwt tanker built in 1982, owned
and operated by PDV Marina S.A.) was damaged earlier this month when it
struck an unknown submerged object. The ship sustained a punctured prow.
The Paria was in ballast sailing to the Caripito Terminal in eastern
Venezuela to load oil for Bonaire Island, Netherlands Antilles.

Oil spill at terminal near Singapore

     The Pelita/Pertamina 1023 (18,065-dwt product tanker built in 1981,
operated by Pertamina) spilled oil a during operations at a terminal near
Singapore 22 Jan. Five patches some 20 meters/70 feet to 50 meters/160 feet
formed off Pulau Busing Terminal. The source of the spill was contained in
an hour and clean-up operations contained the leaked oil.

Barge with heating oil adrift in Lake Erie

     At 1200 23 Jan., a cable from the forward area of the Donald C. Hannah
(U.S.-registry 191-gt, 28-meter/91-foot tug built in 1962, owned and
operated by Hannah Marine Corp.) parted from the Hannah 3601 (U.S.-registry
35,360-barrel, 88.1-meter/290-foot tank barge built in 1972, owned and
operated by Hannah Marine) in western Lake Erie. The tug, with a crew of
six, was trapped in ice 20 centimeters/eight inches to 25 centimeters/10
inches thick. The barge, with 5.225 million liters/1.375 million gallons of
medium heating oil, drifted and came within 730 meters/2,400 feet of Middle
Sister Island. The tow was sailing from Sun Oil in Cleveland to Toledo,
Ohio, under escort by the U.S. Coast Guard Katmai Bay-class Icebreaking Tug
U.S.C.G.C. Neah Bay (WTGB 105) when the tow parted. The cutter was able to
secure the barge and took it in tow. Either the Neah Bay or sister
U.S.C.G.C Bristol Bay (WTGB 102) will escort the tow to a port, either
Toledo or Canada. The Canadian Coast Guard Light Icebreaker/Navigational
Aids Tender C.C.G.S. Griffon and the Navigational Aids Tender C.C.G.S.
Samuel Risley were sailing or were already on-scene to assist. They have
now left the area.

Konemu runs aground at Noumea

     The Konemu (French-registry 755-gt tanker built in 1990) ran aground
24 Jan. on a reef off Porc Epic near Noumea, New Caledonia. The ship was
refloated with the aid of a tug and sailed to Noumea. The ship's hull was
holed in two areas and 200 tons of light fuel was spilled.

U.S. Coast Guard assists fishing vessel off the Bahamas

     On 9 Jan., the U.S. Coast Guard lead ship of the U.S.C.G.C. Bear (WMEC
901)-class Medium-Endurance Cutter located the 21-meter/70-foot fishing
vessel Isla Morada (Dominican-registry) about 46 kilometers/29 miles south
of Great Inagua, the Bahamas. The vessel was taking on water, and after a
Coast Guard boarding party brought the flooding under control and made
temporary repairs, the fishing vessel was escorted to Port de Paix, Haiti.

Philomise Star disabled off the Bahamas

     On 12 Jan., the U.S. Navy located the 23-meter/75-foot coastal
freighter Philomise Star disabled 22 kilometers/14 miles north of Rum Cay,
the Bahamas. The vessel had been adrift four days and was towed to Rum Cay.

Removal of oil from Nakhodka's bow begins, three die during clean-up

     On 16 Jan., Maritime Disaster Prevention Center began pumping out the
cargo tanks in the bow section 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.). The ship broke in half at 0250 2 Jan. in the
Sea of Japan, 130 kilometers/81 miles northeast of the Oki Islands, Shimane
Prefecture, Japan. Thirty-one of the 32 crew were rescued and the master is
missing. The Nakhodka carried 19,000 tons of grade C heavy fuel, or 19
million liters/five million gallons or 133,000 barrels. Some 5,000 tons of
oil began coming ashore 7 Jan. along with the bow, which is aground near
Oshima Lighthouse at Mikuni, Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The exact location of
the stern is not known. A total of 338,000 liters/87,900 gallons of fuel
was removed by ship from the bow before weather conditions worsened and the
operation was suspended. On 18 Jan., construction of a causeway to the bow
using rocks was begun. But on 22 Jan., 15 meters/50 feet of road
constructed so far was destroyed in rough weather. In all, it is thought
there is 2.8 million liters/730,000 gallons, or 2,500 tons, of fuel in the
bow. Some 283 tons have of oil has been collected from the spill along
eight prefectures spanning 900 kilometers/560 miles. They are Fukui, Hyogo,
Ishikawa, Kyoto, Niigata, Shimane, Tottori and Toyama. On 18 Jan., a
77-year-old clean-up volunteer from Hyogo Prefecture died. On the morning
of 21 Jan., Matsubara Shigeki, 53, had a heart attack while lifting a drum
used to scoop oil. He was among a group of high school teachers involved in
cleaning their local stretch of coastline in Ishikawa Prefecture. Finally,
a 69-year-old fisherman from Fukui Prefecture also died 21 Jan. from a
heart attack. Another 20 meters/65 feet of the road to the bow was
destroyed 23 Jan.

Want more information on the Bright Field incident?

     An extensive and thorough Internet webpage has been set-up on the
incident involing the Bright Field (Liberian-registry 36,120-gt,
68,200-dwt, 23,035-nt bulk carrier built in 1988, operated by COSCO Hong
Kong Shipping Co. Ltd.). The ship allided with a New Orleans dock housing
the Riverwalk mall and hotel complex at 1430 14 Dec. The Riverwalk reopened
23 Jan. The webpage is at: http://www.virtualpet.com/rbbi.