The M/V Moon Jin (South Korean-registry 1,574-gt, 3,021-dwt bulk
carrier built in 1971, operated by Wild Shipping Co. Ltd.), sailing from
Tokyo to South Korea with scrap, suffered an engine room fire and an
explosion on 5 Dec. The ship sank about 32 kilometers/20 miles off
Futaishima Lighthouse in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.
The towboat M/V Vivian McGinnis capsized and sank 20 Nov. in the Ohio
River north of Ashland, Ky., after colliding with another tow. Two
crewmembers were rescued from the capsized towboat, which had 5,700
liters/1,500 gallons of fuel aboard. A sheen was noted on the water near
Ironton, Ohio. The M/V James Faris, pushing two empty asphalt barges,
suffered minimal damaged after being hit by the M/V Vivian McGinnis, which
was pushing an empty coal barge. The river was briefly closed.
The M/T Saraykoy (Turkish-registry 499-grt, 1,222-dwt tanker built in
1973, operated by Putas Petrol Urunleri Tasimacilik Sanayi ve Ticaret A/S)
caught fire and suffered several explosions about 1.6 kilometers/1 mile off
Samsun, Turkey, the afternoon of 2 Dec. The fire was extinguished the same
day. Fourteen crewmembers jumped overboard and were rescued. The vessel was
to discharge 1,050 tons of gasoline at the port when the fire started,
possibly in the engine room.
The Marine 15 (4,712-gt self-elevating drilling platform built in
1981, owned and operated by Marine Drilling Management Co.) suffered a fire
27 Nov. at 29 degrees 02 minutes north, 89 degrees 31 minutes west, off
Louisiana near the Southwest Pass. The fire was extinguished on 29 Nov. All
36 crewmembers were rescued but some were injured.
Some 6,000 tons of logs aboard the M/V Promex Aman (Malaysian-registry
4,685-dwt bulk carrier built in 1976, owned by Aman Navigation Pty. Ltd.
and operated by Abbotswood Holding), which was sailing to Hong Kong from
Miri, Malaysia, shifted on 24 Nov. and the vessel developed a list. The
crew abandoned the ship, which was adrift in the South China Sea at 17
degrees 00 minutes north, 117 degrees 17 minutes east. The crew of 20
Filipino citizens were rescued by another vessel. Aman Navigation has
announced the ship subsequently sank.
A passenger vessel ran aground in the Nile River on 28 Nov. The 25
German passengers and 50 Egyptian crewmembers aboard were evacuated by
police and fishermen. The vessel was sailing from Aswan, Egypt, to Cairo,
Egypt, when it ran aground on an island submerged after recent heavy rains.
The 75 aboard were taken to Mattay, Egypt.
The M/V Legend of the Seas (Liberian-registry 69,130-gt, 5,200-dwt
passenger ship built in 1995, owned and operated by Royal Carribean Cruise
Line) ran aground morning of 29 Nov. off Catalina Island, the Dominican
Republic. The ship had about 2,500 people aboard. The M/V Legend of the
Seas was refloated later the same day with four tugs and anchored for a
hull inspection.
Neptune Orient Lines has been ordered to set aside U.S.$4 million to
guarantee damage assessment and fines after the M/V Neptune Jade
(Singaporean-registry 43,288-dwt, 245 meter/800 foot long containership
built in 1986, operated by Neptune Shipmanagement Services Pte. Ltd. and
owned by Neptune Orient Line) allided with an 18 meter/60 foot light tower
about 2030 27 Nov. A 6.1 meter/20 foot container aboard the ship, loaded
with 70 drums of paint, fell overboard and sank. Two containers of
corrosives and two carrying flammable liquids were damaged. A light buoy
has temporarily replaced the tower, which was destroyed, marking the the
entrance to the shipping channel at Savannah, Ga. The M/V Neptune Jade,
sailing to Panama, was ordered to call at Port Everglades, Fla., where the
crew underwent alcohol and drug testing.
The M/V Columbus Victoria (German-registry 23,165-dwt containership
built in 1979, operated by Hamburg-Sud) and the M/T Sampet Hope
(Liberian-registry 9,070-dwt chemical tanker built in 1991, operated by
P.T. Samudra Petrindo Asia) collided in Port Philip Bay in Melbourne,
Australia, recently. The ships were anchored in 25 to 30 knot winds when
the M/V Columbus Victoria dragged anchor and collided with the M/T Sampet
Hope. The tanker was carrying two parcels of solvents in its center tanks
and suffered damage to the starboard side.
The M/V Kamenitza (Bulgarian-registry 16,188-gt, 24,150-dwt bulk
carrier built in 1980, operated by Nav. Mar. Bulgare) was damaged at
Chicago on 29 Nov. Two bundles of steel rods were dropped into the No. 3
cargo hold, which holed the ship's double-bottom.
The M/V Tina (Dutch-registry 3,727-gt containership), sailing from
Hamburg, Germany, to Gothenburg, Sweden, with containers, ran aground at
Kottstycket, Sweden, on 1 Dec. The ship was refloated with tug assistance
on 2 Dec. and docked in Gothenburg. The M/V Tina reportedly took on a small
amount of water.
The M/V CMBT Endurance (German-registry 14,241-gt containership),
sailing from Antwerp, Belgium, to Hamburg, Germany, with general cargo, ran
aground in the Scheldt River at Zoutelande on 5 Dec. The ship's rudder
failed, and the vessel was refloated at high tide by the tug M/V Barracuda
the same day. The M/V CMBT Endurance sailed to Flushing, the Netherlands,
for inspection and repairs.
The M/V Timimoun (Algerian-registry 3,429-gt, 3,416-dwt ro/ro built in
1977, operated by S.N.T.M. - C.N.A.N.), sailing from Marseilles, France, to
Algiers, Algeria, suffered a propulsion failure 64 kilometers/40 miles
south of Marseilles on 5 Dec. The ship's main engine failed and a tug has
been requested.
The S/S Montebello (U.S.-registry 130 meter/440 foot long oil tanker
built in 1921) has been found in the Pacific Ocean in 270 meters/900 feet
of water about 10 kilometers/six miles off Cambria, Calif. It is 1.6
kilometers/one mile outside the boundary of the Monterey Bay National
Marine Sanctuary. Most of its cargo of 12 million liters/3.1 million
gallons of crude oil is believed to be aboard. The S/S Montebello was sunk
on 23 Dec., 1941, after being hit by a torpedo fired from an Imperial
Japanese Navy submarine, which then surfaced and fired on the ship with its
deck gun. The ship was sailing from Port San Luis, Calif., to Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada, with 75,346 barrels of crude. The crew of 38 was
rescued. The Montebello was found last month by achaeologist Jack Hunter,
who surveyed the ship, with others, aboard the Delta (five meter/16 foot
submarine). The ship is sitting upright on the ocean floor. Two of the S/S
Montebello's 10 cargo tanks were ruptured when it sank. The remaining eight
tanks appear to be undamaged.
Go Back