Vessel flees after seven missing in collision

     Seven South Korean fishermen are missing after the General Kezim Orbay
(Turkish-registry 9,605-gt, 12,280-dwt dry cargo ship built in 1970,
operated by D.B. Turkish C.L.) collided with a 51-gt South Korean-registry
fishing vessel off southwestern South Korea on 26 Oct. The vessel partially
sank and four, including the master, were rescued. The ship fled and was
stopped 64 kilometers/40 miles away near Mokpo, South Korea.

One missing after fishing vessel sinks in collision off Singapore

     The Me Linh (Vietnamese-registry 8,384-gt containership) collided with
the SMF 948 (Singaporean-registry 48-gt wooden fishing vessel) the
afternoon of 25 Oct. 8.5 kilometers/5.3 miles northeast of Horsburgh
Lighthouse, Singapore. One of three Indonesian citizens on the fishing
vessel is missing while two were rescued. The Me Linh, sailing for Ho Chi
Minh City, Vietnam, was not damaged. Visibility was four kilometers/three
miles.

Fishing vessel suffers fire, injured master off Georgia

     On 24 Oct., the fishing vessel Mary Snee had a small engine room fire
and had been disabled, but anchored 11 kilometers/seven miles north of St.
Simons Island, Ga. When the vessel weighed anchor, it veered off and its
outrigger hit a utility boat from U.S. Coast Guard Station Brunswick, Ga.,
damaging its radar, mast and aft spotlight. The Mary Snee was taken in tow
and three hours later, the master fell down an engine room ladder and
suffered broken ribs, head lacerations and possible back and neck injuries.
A Coast Guard HH-65A Dolphin from Coast Guard Air Station Savannah, Ga.,
took the man to a hospital and the vessel arrived in port 25 Oct.

Thames River shut by alllision, sinking

     The Sand Kite (British-registry 3,110-gt, 4,225-dwt trailing suction
dredger built in 1974, owned and operated by South Coast Shipping Co. Ltd.)
hit Pier 5 of the Thames River Barrier "F" Span in fog at 0650 27 Oct. and
sank bow first in the Foxtrot span. Its stern was visible above the water
and closed the river for four hours. The ship sank in 5.8 meters/19 feet of
water while inbound with gravel and sand for Angesteins at Greenwich. The
10 crew were not injured. Howard Smith is salvaging the vessel.

Russian-registry "fish factory" blazes out of control in British Columbia

     The Gijon (Russian-registry 7,805-gt, 6,300-dwt motor stern-trawling
"fish factory" built in 1993, operated by Vladivostok Trawling), at
Esquimalt Graving Dock in Victoria, British Columbia, exploded and caught
fire 24 Oct. while under repair. The dry dock was partly flooded to cool
the vessel's fuel tanks but at last report the fire had not been
extinguished. All 94 crewmembers were evacuated and not injured. Five
blocks in Victoria were evacuated but the 400 people have now been allowed
to return. As of 26 Oct., firefighters were taking 20-minute shifts to
fight the fire and the hull had cooled enough to enter.

Fishing vessel sinking in Gulf of Mexico creates diesel spill

     The fishing vessel Baby Kay sank 21 Oct. 64 kilometers/40 miles east
of Post Isabel, Texas. The three crewmembers were rescued. Some 11,000
liters/3,000 gallons of diesel fuel was aboard and a 450-meter/1,500-foot
by 45.7 meter/150-foot sheen was noted.

Fourteen rescued in Lousiana sinking

     On 20 Oct., the 50.3-meter/165-foot fishing vessel Celia-M hit a
submerged object eight kilometers/five miles southeast of Grand Isle, La.
The vessel sank in 14 meters/45 feet of water and the 14 crew were rescued
by the fishing vessel Sea Charger.

Containership seriously damaged in collision at Pusan

     The Qingdao Express (Cypriot-registry 6,811-gt, 7,705-dwt
containership built in 1985, operated by Hyundai Merchant Marine) was at
anchor off Pusan, South Korea, 30 Oct. when it was hit by the Hua Kun
(Chinese-registry 20,582-gt, 36,251-dwt bulk carrier built in 1977,
operated by Shanghai Hai Xing Shipping Co. Ltd.). The Qingdao Express took
on a 75 degree list.

Vessel burning on the Mississippi River extinguished

     The 45.7-meter/150-foot Midwest Pioneer caught fire 20 Oct. on the
Mississippi River near Greenville, Miss. The nine crewmembers were rescued
and the fire was extinguished by three tugs and the U.S. Coast Guard's
Gasconade-class River Buoy Tender U.S.C.G.C. Patoka (WLR 75408).

Tug suffers engine room fire off Ontario

     The Carolyn Jo (Canadian-registry 60-gt, 29-nt, 20.0-meter/65.5-foot
motor tug built in 1941, operated by McKeil Marine Ltd.) had an engine room
fire at 1149 30 Oct. near Snake Island, Ontario. The tug was sailing to
Kingston, Ontario, to drop off a crewmember. The Canadian Coast Guard's
Small Rescue Craft Bittern extinguished the fire and the tug was escorted
to the dock at the Kingston Psychiatric Hospital where local firefighters
inspected the tug. No injuries were reported.

Fishing vessel fire off Texas extinguished

     The fishing vessel Que Paso had a cargo hold fire 28 Oct. 24
kilometers/15 miles northeast of Port Mansfield, Texas. The crew was
rescued by another vessel and the fire was extinguished by the U.S. Coast
Guard "Island"-class Patrol Boat U.S.C.G.C. Knight Island (WPB 1348). It
was later escorted to Brownsville, Texas, by the Coast Guard's
"Point"-class Patrol Boat U.S.C.G.C. Point Spencer (WPB 82349).

Vessels damaged in South Korean collision

     The Torm Eastern (27,652-dwt bulk carrier built in 1981, owned by
Fortuna Navigation Co. Ltd. and operated by Peacehaven Shipping) and the
Chul Jin collided recently off Mokpo, South Korea. The Torm Eastern was
sailing to Inchon, South Korea, with logs from New Zealand and had bow
damage. The Chul Jin, carrying steel coils, had port side shell plate
damage in the area of the engine room and No. 2 cargo hold. Chul Jin later
unloaded its cargo at Mokpo.

Tanker grounds in Greece, three charged

     The Serifos (1,061-gt, 1,974-dwt tanker built in 1967, operated by
Mantinia Shipping Co. S.A.) ran aground 28 Oct. on sand off Cape Pappas,
Greece, near Patras. It was sailing from Corinth, Greece, to Amfilokhia,
Greece, with 1,800 tons of gasoline. The ship's bow was damaged and some
gasoline spilled. In addition, high winds since the grounding have caused
the ship to be holed below the waterline. On 30 Oct., three were arrested
for causing a shipwreck and polluting through negligence. They include the
master, Constantine Anevlavis, 43; second mate, Christos Nikiforos, 50; and
crewmember Theodoros Naftsidis, 38.

Fishing vessel with 30 aboard grounds in Hawaii

     The fishing vessel Fortuna No. 21 (48.2-meter/152-foot longliner) ran
aground 29 Oct. off Keahi Point, Hawaii, near the entrance to Pearl Harbor.
The 30 crewmembers (27 Chinese citizens and three from Taiwan) were taken
to the U.S. Coast Guard facility at Sand Island, Hawaii, by two boats from
Coast Guard Station Honolulu and the "Island"-class Patrol Boat U.S.C.G.C.
Assateague (WPB 1337). The Fortuna No. 21 was sailing to Honolulu to seek
medical attention for an injured crewmember who was taken to Queens Medical
Center.

Vehicle carrier damaged during docking in Antwerp

     The Faust (51,858-gt, 28,050-dwt ro/ro built in 1985, operated by V
Ships (Marine) Inc.) struck a mooring mast at 1800 27 Oct. while mooring at
Harbor No. 1241 in Antwerp, Belgium. The ship was damaged above the
waterline and lost some oil.

Louisiana collision spills diesel fuel

     On 28 Oct., the fishing vessel Shootout and the Jean Tide II collided
in the Eugene Island Channel in Louisiana. The Shootout suffered a hole in
its port side fuel tank and spilled 40 to 50 barrels of diesel fuel. The
Jean Tide II had a hole in its chain locker.

Search for missing Vanessa crewmember ends

     The search for the missing Myanmar crewmember from the Vanessa
(Bahamian-registry 5,265-dwt, 101-meter/330-foot refrigerated ship built in
1984, owned by Eidsiva A.S.A. and operated by Wesnav A/S) has ended after
only a lifekacket was found during a 30-hour search of a
3,100-square-kilometer/1,200-square-mile area by six commercial vessels,
the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans lead ship of the Cape
Roger-class Fisheries Patrol Ship and two CP-140 Aurora and two CC-130
Hercules aircraft from the Canadian Air Command. A U.S. Coast Guard HC-130H
Hercules also participated. The ship sank in the North Atlantic the night
of 23 Oct., about 830 kilometers/520 miles east of St. John's,
Newfoundland. The Summer Wind (Bermudan-registry 13,636-dwt refrigerated
ship built in 1985, operated by Cool Carriers A.B.) rescued nine
crewmembers from a liferaft. The master, Roberto Barruga, had mild
hypothermia but no other injuries were reported among the survivors. A
tenth crewmember, Chief Officer Henry Almorte, a 34-year-old Philippine
citizen, was rescued 24 Oct. after 19 hours in the water by the Cape Roger.
He suffered from severe hypothermia and two medical personnel parachuted to
the ship to treat him. Almorte was only wearing a leater jacket, a
sweatshirt and pants. The bodies of the other four crewmembers were
recovered the same day. The Vanessa sank after its cargo of ammonium
nitrate and calcium nitrate shifted in bad weather. It sent a distress call
at 1300 after developing a starboard list. The Vanessa was sailing from
Sweden to Colombia with a crew of 10 Philippine citizens including the
master, four Myanmar citizens and a Dutch citizen. Those killed include two
Myanmar and two Philippine citizens, one of whom is the chief engineer.

Arrest warrant issued for Croatian tanker owner

     Croatia has issued an international arrest warrant for Cedo Blaskovic,
who through Rijeka Natfa, owns the Tomislav Grad (Croatian-registry
1,262-gt tanker). The vessel suffered an explosion at Solin, Croatia, at
1045 8 Oct. The first mate, Zarko Radovic, was killed and another
crewmember was injured. The ship had just begun unloading 1,500 tons of
benzene and diesel fuel and the blast shattered glass 200 meters/650 feet
away. The prow of the ship was seriously damaged but none of the other
nine-person crew were injured. A court near Split, Croatia, issed the
warrant after he failed to appear in court 23 Oct. He has been charged with
endangering navigation and threatening officials who tried to inspect the
ship before it sailed. Blaskovic was last seen in Rogaska Slatina,
Slovenia, according to Croatian police.

Master, mate fined in Cita sinking

     The master and mate of the Cita (Antigua and Barbuda-registry
3,083-gt, 3,900-dwt dry cargo vessel built in 1976, owned by Martin
Shipping and operated by Reederei Gerd A. Gorke; classed by Germanischer
Lloyd) were fined recently in Southampton, England, after they had been
charged under section 58 of the British Merchant Shipping Act of 1995. The
section specifies breach or neglect of duties and it was also alledged that
the actions of the two were like to cause property damage to a ship or
structure or the death or serious injury of a person, as an adequate watch
was not kept. The ship was sailing from Southampton, England, to Belfast,
Northern Ireland, with 220 containers, when it ran aground early 26 March
west of St. Mary's off Newfoundland Point in the Isles of Scilly. The mate
fell asleep two hours before. The eight crewmembers, all Polish citizens,
abandoned the ship and one suffered a broken leg. Some 145 containers were
lost overboard and the ship later sank. The ship was on time-charter to
Bugsier-Reederei-und Bergungsgesellschaft. The master was fined 2,000
British pounds/U.S.$3,300 as well as 250 pounds/U.S.$420 toward legal fees
while the nate was fined 1,500 pounds/U.S.$2,500 plus 250 pounds/U.S.$420.
Both had pleaded guilty.

Update on Evoikos - Orapin Global

     Tsavliris, working under Lloyd's Open Form, has chartered the Frixos
(Liberian-registry 94,287-dwt tanker built in 1987, operated by Liquimar
Tankers Management Inc.) to lighter the Evoikos (Cypriot-registry
75,428-gt, 140,218-dwt tanker built in 1977, operated by Papaphilippou).
The Evoikos an 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
includes 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.

     The masters, Michael Chalkitis, 58, of the Evoikos, a Greek citizen,
and Jan Sokolowski, 54, of the Orapin Global, a Polish citizen, were
charged by Singapore. Chalkitis was accused of a breach of duty, failing to
reduce speed and preventing the Evoikos from being seriously damaged under
the Singapore Merchant Shipping Act. He could be sentenced to two years in
prison, a fine of Singaporean$50,000/U.S.$32,000 or both. Sokolowski was
accused under Singapore's penal code of navigating recklessly, endangering
lives and failing to take action to avoid a collision. He could be
sentenced to six months in prison, a S$1,000/U.S.$600 fine or both. Both
have now been released on bail of S$100,000/U.S.$65,000 but their passports
are held.

     Clean-up continues but the number of vessels involved as decreased to
26. A slick was reported 13 kilometers/8.1 miles off Batu Pahat, Malaysia,
moving northwest and may now be off Kuala Linggi. Oil was also reported in
Singapore at the Selat Pauh Anchorage and the southern Sinki Fairway. A
committee based at Port Dickson, Malaysia, has been formed to coordinate
clean-up.

Poor lighting, bridge problems blamed for allision

     The master of the Superferry II (Philippines-registry 11,405-gt,
2,000-passenger ferry owned and operated by Willaim Gotong and Aboitiz
Co.), which allided with two ferries and four tank vessels at 0100 5 Oct.
when docking at Pier 4 in the North Harbor of Manila, the Philippines, said
that all the light he had to dock was the vessel's navigational lights and
lights from another vessel. About 15 barrels of bunker fuel were spilled
when a tank vessel sank at Pier 5. There were no injuries. The ferry hit
the Ocean Trader II, Ocean Trader III, Prince I and Prince II and the
ferries Garuda and Starlite Express. The Ocean Trader II sank while the
Prince II had a 13-centimeter/five-inch hole just above the starboard
waterline and the Starlite Express had several dents. The port said the
area had been dark since 26 Sept., when a container fell on the main
electrical coaxial cable in the area. In addition, the incident reportedly
occurred as the master did not have the pilot take command and there was
miscommunication between a tug master and the bridge crew.

Wreck of the Cordiality may pollute fishing areas off Sri Lanka

     The Cordiality (Panamanian-registry 20,284-gt, 34,873-dwt,
200-meter/656-foot motor bulk carrier built in 1979, owned and operated by
COSCO (Hong Kong) Shipping Co. Ltd.) is reportedly leaking hundreds of tons
of oil. The ship was attacked by members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam on 9 Sept. off Pulmoddai, Sri Lanka. It sailed from Hong Kong and was
to sail to Rotterdam, the Netherlands after loading 29,000 tons of
ilmenite. An ensuing fire severely damaged the ship's accomodations and
engine room. Sri Lanka Navy vessels battled about 15 LTTE boats for three
hours following the attack. Two Sri Lanka Army soldiers guarding the ship
and five civilian workers were killed during the LTTE attack and the
ensuing fight killed 25 guerrillas and sank at least four boats. Five
crewmembers of the 32 aboard the Cordiality were missing. The ship is now
lying on its side about a kilometer/0.6 miles off Pulmoddai. It was
carrying 676 tons of heavy fuel oil and 100 tons of diesel fuel as well as
the ilmenite. It is feared that monsoons starting in January will break-up
the ship and pollute local fishing areas.



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