At least 20 dead after capsizing in India

     A ferry capsized 21 Sept. on the Ganges River near Patna, India,
killing at least 20 people. There were at least 50 aboard.

Master of Alaskan crab boat killed after vessel sinks

     An Alaskan fisherman was killed 22 Sept. after the Troika
(18-meter/58-foot fishing vessel) sank near Saint Paul Island, Alaska. Carl
Koso, 35, of King Cove, Alaska, was killed while Arthur Ganacics, 28, of
Seattle, and Nick Kenezuroff Jr., 28, and Radion Kuzakin, 20, of King Cove
were rescued by a nearby fishing vessel, the Gala Maureen. The three swam
15 meters/50 feet after putting on survival suits. Koso was not wearing a
survival suit and after being pulled from the Bering Sea, was pronounced
dead just after 1200 after more than two and a half hours of efforts to
revive him. The Troika was part of a king crab fishery, along with about 40
other vessels, 13 kilometers/eight miles southeast of Saint Paul Island.
The vessel began flooding just before 0900 in seas up to 1.8 meters/six
feet and winds of 48 kilometers per hour/30 miles per hour.

Crew abandons Promex Bayu in South China Sea

     The 19 crewmembers of the Promex Bayu (Belize-registry 4,685-gt,
7,848-dwt motor bulk carrier built in 1977, operated by Yayasan Sabah
Shipping) abandoned the ship 22 Sept. at 17 degrees 47.5 minutes north, 118
degrees 51.5 minutes east. The ship's No. 1 cargo hold began flooding and
the vessel took a 20-degree port list. The crew was rescued by the Eastern
Oasis (Panamanian-registry 16,500-dwt containership built in 1996, operated
by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines).

Fourteen rescued as ship with cement, rice sinks at Colombo

     The Astoria (St. Vincent and the Grenadines-registry 1,140-gt motor
vessel built in 1956, owned by Astoria Shipping Co.) sank in rough seas 25
Sept. off Colombo, Sri Lanka, at 06 degrees 56.20 minutes north, 79 degrees
49.00 minutes east. The ship was carrying 900 tons of bagged cement and
rice and was waiting for clearance before sailing to Sri Lanka's Jaffna
Peninsula. The crew of 12 Sri Lankan citizens and two Philippine citizens
were rescued. The Goodwill (Pvt.) Ltd., the Astoria's local agents,
reported that the ship was anchored in the outer harbor and sank after its
cargo hold flooded.

Lira sinks off Gallipoli

     The Lira (Belize-registry 361-gt motor vessel built in 1965) sank 500
meters/1,600 feet off Gallipoli, Turkey, recently. It is in 15 meters/49
feet of water.

Bow of dry cargo ship torn off in collision

     The Sunwind (St. Vincent and the Grenadines-registry 9,767-gt,
15,855-dwt motor dry cargo ship built in 1979) and the Kamogawa (10,829-gt,
17,712-dwt motor tanker built in 1993, operated by Miwa Kaiun Co. Ltd.)
collided 19 Sept. in the Strait of Malacca, 32 kilometers/20 miles from
Port Kelang, Malaysia. The bow of the Sunwind was reportedly torn off and
its forward-most cargo hold began flooding. It was taken in tow by a tug to
Singapore.

Tow collides with bulk carrier in Welland canal

     At 0515 20 Sept., the Anglian Lady (Canadian-registry 398-gt, 69-nt,
41.61-meter/136.5-foot tug with 3,500 horsepower built in 1953, operated by
J.W. Purvis Marine Ltd.), towing a barge, collided with the Nanticoke
(Canadian-registry 22,706-gt, 35,686-dwt, 15,531-nt,
222.50-meter/730.00-foot motor bulk carrier built in 1980 by Collingwood
Shipyards Ltd. at Collingwood, Ontario, Canada; operated by Canada
Steamship Lines Inc.) below Lock 1 of the Welland Canal between Ontario and
New York. The tug then hit the canal walls twice. The tow was sailing from
Hamilton, Ontario, to Sarnia, Ontario. The tug master was later arrested by
police in Niagara, Ontario, for operating the vessel while intoxicated.

Corriente floods after grounding

     The Corriente (Hong Kong-registry 79,822-gt, 158,185-dwt motor bulk
carrier built in 1989, operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines) ran aground 23
Sept. at Okinotorishima, Japan. The ship is carrying 140,079 tons of coal.
The grounding caused flooding in the forepeak tank, the No. 1 port and
starboard ballast tanks and the No. 1 cargo hold.

Fishing vessel flooding off Virginia

     The 27-meter/87-foot fishing vessel Christophers Pride reported it was
taking on water at 1317 24 Sept., 13 kilometers/eight miles northeast of
Cape Henry, Va. A U.S. Coast Guard 12-meter/41-foot utility boat from Coast
Guard Station Cape Charles, Va., was en route to assist. The Christophers
Pride was last reported to be sailing towards Newport News, Va.

Ship undamaged following grounding in Florida

     On 13 Sept., the Nikolaos G (Maltese-registry 11,096-dwt dry cargo
ship built in 1980, operated by Trustcarrier S.A.) ran aground in the
Egmont Channel near St. Petersburg, Fla. The ship was refloated at 1019 14
Sept. at high tide and escorted to an anchorage where an underwater survey
found no damage. The ship then sailed for Mexico.

Russian-registry bulk carrier grounds in Morocco

     The Sergey Lemeshev (Russian-registry 16,502-gt, 24,105-dwt bulk
carrier built in 1983, operated by Novorossiysk Shipping Co.) ran aground
in Tangier, Morocco, on 16 Sept. The ship, carrying wheat, has been
refloated by tugs.

Lebanese-registry bulk carrier loses power in St. Lawrence Seaway

     The Seba M (Lebanese-registry 7,244-gt, 11,680-dwt, 129-meter/424-foot
motor bulk carrier built in 1976 in Japan) lost power 19 Sept. after
slowing to change pilots and anchored at Cape Vincent, N.Y. The ship was
sailing to Chicago with 10,000 metric tons of steel and 22 crewmembers.
Parts necessary for repairs are being sent from Montreal.

Member of Estonia commission resigns

     Bengt Schager, a Swedish psychologist, has resigned from a
three-country commission invesigating the Estonia, a ferry that sank off
Finland on 28 Sept., 1994, killing as many as 1,000 people. Schager said he
could not trust the commission because it had protected the crew of the
vessel and interpreted facts in their favor to avoid tension between
commission members. He also said that it was apparent safety regulations
were not observed on the Estonia. Last year, the commission's chairman, an
Estonian citizen, resigned, saying that Swedish officials had withheld
evidence. Six months later, the head of the Swedish delegation resigned
after he admitted lying to a journalist about a letter related to the
investigation.