The M/V Jahan (Belize-registry 8,757-gt, 15,022-dwt general cargo ship built in 1972, classed by Hellenic Register, owned and operated by Seatime Shipping Pte. Ltd.) sank at 0445 27 Dec., reportedly at 32 degrees south, 0 degrees 45 minutes east (about 1,090 kilometers/680 miles west of Cape Town, South Africa). All 28 crewmembers are missing. The ship sent a distress call at 2345 26 Dec. in what were said to be fair weather conditions. The Ghanian master reported that the ship was experiencing uncontrollable flooding and the crew, mostly Bangladeshi citizens, would be forced to abandon ship. South African Air Force C-130B Hercules aircraft from the No. 28 Squadron at Waterkloof Air Base, Pretoria, headed to the area, with three ships - the M/V Cape Falcon (161,475-dwt bulk carrier built in 1993, operated by Soc. Anon. Monegasque), the M/V Captain Panagiotis and the M/V Southgate (25,417-dwt bulk carrier built in 1982, operated by Soc. Anon. Monegasque) - arriving 28 Dec. The search was abandoned 29 Dec. after a 7,800-square kilometer/3,000-square mile area was covered. Nothing was found. The M/V Jahan was on charter to Glencore, London, carrying 14,000 tons of sugar from Santos, Brazil, to Iraq.

A crewmember was killed in a fire aboard the M/V Yamal (Russian-registry 18,172-gt, 4,096-dwt nuclear-propelled icebreaker built in 1992, operated by Murmansk Shipping Co.) early 23 Dec. The fire in the mechanic's cabin was extinguished in 30 minutes, but the mechanic was killed.

A crewmember is missing after the M/T Kinyo Maru No. 2 (2,998-gt, 5,671-dwt tanker built in 1993, operated by Kinriki Kisen K.K.) was struck by lightning the afternoon of 22 Dec. Hideo Matsumura, 46, fell overboard after the ship was hit off Akita, Japan. The lightning apparently caused gas inside a tank to ignite, and the resulting explosion created a hole in the starboard side 1.5 meters/4.9 feet in diameter. Cracks were also found in the deck. A fire was extinguished and none of the other 12 crewmembers was injured. The ship delivered 2,290 tons of gasoline and 1,580 tons of kerosene to Akita earlier in the day, and was sailing to Muroran, Japan, where the cargo was loaded 21 Dec.

The M/V Blumenau Reefer (Maltese-registry 8,707-gt, 6,625-dwt refrigerated cargo vessel built in 1969, operated by International Reefer Services S.A.), carrying bananas from Puerto Bolivar, Ecuador, suffered a fire at Lomonosov, Russia, on 25 Dec. Believed to have been caused by an electrical problem, the fire started in the No. 2 cargo hold but spread to the No. 1 hold. The ship ran aground with both holds flooded. The crew was rescued but one firefighter was reported missing.

The M/V Berrack S. (Honduran-registry 399-gt general cargo ship owned by Sohtorik B. Shipping and Agency Services Ltd.) sank 24 Dec. off Istanbul, Turkey. Weather conditions at the time included strong southwesterly winds. The crew was rescued.

Raphael Dinelli, a French citizen sailing in the Vendee Globe round-the-world race, was rescued 27 Dec. after his vessel, the S/V Algimouss (18 meters/59 feet long), was demasted and partially sunk 26 Dec. in a storm. Peter Goss, a British citizen in the race, rescued Dinelli, 28, after the S/V Algimouss was spotted by a Royal Australian Air Force aircraft about 2,200 kilometers/1,400 miles southwest of Perth, Australia. The race began in France on 3 Nov.

The M/V Handy Humanity (19,340-gt, 33,024-dwt bulk carrier built in 1984, operated by Pacific Basin Agencies Ltd.) and the M/V New Argosy (52,967-gt, 88,782-dwt tanker built in 1987, operated by Associated Maritime Co. (Hong Kong) Ltd.) collided in heavy fog 24 Dec. at the mouth to the Mississippi River. The M/V Handy Humanity was loaded with 12,646 tons of steel, while the M/V New Argosy carried 516,000 barrels of crude oil. The M/V Handy Humanity sailed to the Harmony Street Wharf in New Orleans to unload, while the M/V New Argosy sailed to the Star Convent dock in New Orleans, where it unloaded its cargo the morning of 26 Dec. The two ships sustained little damage, but were required to proceed with tugs.

The M/V John Hamilton Gray (11,259-gt, 1,230-dwt ro/ro ferry built in 1968, operated by Marine Atlantic Inc.) ran aground near Borden, Prince Edward Island, Canada on 20 Dec., 175 meters/574 feet from shore. The vessel carried 116 passengers and 20 crew for Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick, when it was pushed onto a sanbar in high winds. Two tugs, including one from Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, and a Canadian Coast Guard vessel refloated the ship at 2130 22 Dec. The ferry returned to Borden.

The M/V Baneasa (Liberian-registry 65,044-dwt, 253-meter/830-foot bulk carrier built in 1984, homeported in Monrovia, operated by Torvald Kalveness and Co. A/S) lost power 25 Dec. and is drifting at about two knots towards Atka Island in the Aleutians. The vessel's rudder is stuck to starboard. The M/V Baneasa, with a crew of about 30, is not carrying any cargo but has 4,200 barrels of heavy fuel oil and 800 barrels of diesel fuel aboard. The U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area Strike Team has flown from California to Alaska and oil-spill cleanup equipment has been moved to Adak Island. It is hoped that a Coast Guard cutter can take the ship in tow.

The M/V Pine Islands (Belize-registry 15,193-dwt, 148-meter/486-foot general cargo ship built in 1977, operated by Naviera Poseidon) lost power 24 Dec. in the Gulf of St. Lawrence with 29 crewmembers aboard. The ship was able to anchor on 25 Dec. Even if the ship was able to restart its engine, there is little fuel left, as most was spent in restart attempts. The tug Irving Maple (860-dwt, built in 1966, operated by Atlantic Towing Ltd.), from Mulgrave, Nova Scotia, Canada, which stood-by since the night of 25 Dec., finally was able to establish a tow on 27 Dec. and the two vessels sailed for Mulgrave. Aircraft dropped heaters and generators to the ship 25 Dec. and the Canadian Coast Guard Martha L. Black-class Light Icebreaker/Navigational Aids Tender C.C.G.S. Ann Harvey, based in Newfoundland, remained nearby. In addition, the bulk carrier M/V Manifest PKWN (60,969-dwt bulk carrier built in 1986, operated by Polsteam Oceantramp Ltd.) was acting as windbreak for the M/V Pine Islands. Originally, the Cuban master of the M/V Pine Islands requested that the crew be taken off by helicopters, but he later changed his mind. A CH-113A Labrador from the Canadian Air Command's No. 413 Squadron at Canadian Forces Base Greenwood, Nova Scotia, was en route to the ship late 24 Dec. The helicopter landed at Summerside, Prince Edward Island, and remains on call.

The Greek Navy on 23 Dec. released its report on the sinking of its Antipliarchos Lascos-class Guided-Missile Patrol Boat H.S. Antipliarchos Kostakos (P 25), which was participating in Exercise Parmenion. The vessel sank at 1845 4 Nov. after a collision with the M/V Samaina (Greek-registry 3,783-gt, 810-dwt ro/ro and passenger ferry built in 1962, formerly the M/V Mary Poppins; owned by Arkadia Lines Naftkik Eteria) off Vathi, Samos Island, Greece. Of the 38 aboard the warship, 34 were rescued and four (three chief petty officers and a warrant officer) are missing and presumed dead. The M/V Samaina, sailing from Vathi to Karlovasi, did not suffer any serious damage and her 71 passengers and 51 crew were uninjured. According to witnesses, the M/V Samaina suddenly changed course to port and collided with the starboard area of warship's stern. The Samos public prosecutor on 5 Nov. began actions against master Matheos Pnevmatikakis and first mate Antonis Tzouanou of the M/V Samaina for causing a shipwreck through negligence. Both were later released pending a trial. The H.S. Antipliarchos Kostakos sank in 151 meters/495 feet of water about one kilometer/0.6 miles from Samos. The Greek Navy has concluded that Ensign Mihalis Dimoulkas lost sight of the M/V Samaina after he left his station on the bridge of the H.S. Antipliarchos Kostakos. Dimoulkas apparently concluded that the ferry was sailing at a "safe distance." The report also cited the M/V Samaina for ineffective use of its radar, and Pnevmatikakis was singled out for not effectively using navigational equipment as well as sailing at an excessive speed.

An Argentine Navy ship is leaking diesel fuel into an Antarctic wildlife area, almost eight years after it ran aground and capsized, according to a 25 Dec. report. The A.R.A. Bahia Paraiso (Q 6) is lying capsized on rocks off DeLaca Island, about 1.6 kilometers/1 mile from the United States' Palmer Station on the Antarctic Peninsula. The ship, a supply vessel being used for tourism, ran aground 28 Jan., 1989, as it was leaving Palmer. All 150 people aboard were rescued and the ship capsized three days later in a storm taking two S-61 series Sea King helicopters as well. Some 608,000 liters/160,000 gallons of diesel and lubricants spilled during the peak breeding season, killing cormorants, penguins and skuas. The populations of the imperial cormorants and the kelp gulls in the area were decimated. It is not known how much fuel remains aboard the ship or at what rate it is leaking. An Argentine-Dutch salvage operation a few years after the incident removed some of the oil. Since the loss of the A.R.A. Bahia Paraiso, Argentina and the United States have created emergency oil spill response procedures for the area and a 24-country treaty signed in 1991 requires all members to develop emergency responses to such threats to the environment.