Ocean Trader fire kills one person, one missing

     The Ocean Trader (Singaporean-registry 15,162-gt, 27,340-dwt tanker
built in 1979, owned and operated by Ocean Tankers (Pte.) Ltd.) had a fire
1820 23 April at Berth 7 of Mobil Corp.'s terminal at Pulau Pesek near
Singapore. One person was killed, one is missing and two were injured. The
four are said to be Chinese citizens, with the ship's crew also including
citizens of Myanmar and Nigeria. The fire was reported to the Maritime and
Port of Singapore Authority by a a passing pilot, and five vessels of the
Port of Singapore Authority, Semco Salvage and Marine Pte. Ltd. and Smit
International fought the fire, extinguishing it by 1945. The fire began as
the Ocean Trader discharged condensate.

Fire aboard two ships moored near Greek shipyard kills one worker

     Fires aboard two separate ships the morning of 22 April at a shipyard
near Perama, Greece, killed one person. During steel repairs on the Ionian
Bridge (Cypriot-registry 6,374-gt, 7,483-dwt ro/ro built in 1976, owned and
operated by Strintzis Lines S.A.) a fire began that killed an employee of
the yard, Dimitris Kyris, 40. The ship's crew of 21, all Greek citizens,
were not injured. The ship arrived at Perama on 10 Feb. and was to sail to
Australia. Another fire began aboard the Minoan Hill (Panamanian-registry
62,593-dwt bulk carrier built in 1973, operated by Tsatsakis Shipping)
moored at a quay at nearby Drapetsona, Greece, for repairs. Both fires were
brought under control.

One missing after Belize-registry tanker sinks off Venezuela

     The Gulf Stream (Belize-registry 5,000-dwt tanker) sank 20 April, 37
kilometers/23 miles north of La Tortuga Island, Venezuela. The ship was
sailing from Havana to the Corpoven facility at Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela,
to load oil, when the ship's central cargo tank ruptured. Of the Cuban
crew, 25 boarded lifeboats and were rescued by a fishing vessel while one
crewmember is missing. Venezuela believes that faulty welding of two cargo
tanks caused the sinking. The vessel had been repaired recently in Havana.

Tanker sinks in Jakarta Bay

     The Perwira (Indonesian-registry 746-gt, 512-dwt tanker built in 1972,
owned by Bumi Perkasa Bahtera Ltd. and operated by Salvindo Towage and
Salvage) sank 18 April at 06 degrees 04.42 minutes south, 106 degrees 54.12
minutes east. The location is in Jakarta Bay near Tanjung Priok, Indonesia.

Hakusan Maru, dredger, lost off Japan

     The Hakusan Maru (Japanese-registry 2,187-gt trailing suction hopper
dredger) capsized and sank 18 April off Niigata, Japan.

Tug partially blocks Panama Canal

     The San Pablo II (Panamanian-registry 322-gt tug), involved with
dredging in the Panama Canal, sank in the approaches to the east line of
the Miraflores Locks on 21 April. It is partially blocking the canal.

Tug sinks in river in Maryland

     The tug Eastern Star capsized and sank 10 April near the entrance to
the Wicomico River in Maryland. Of the four aboard, three swam ashore and
one was rescued by a helicopter. The tug was towing an empty gravel barge
when it capsized rounding a bend. A sheen was seen on the water in the
area, formed by some of the 7,600 liters/2,000 gallons of diesel aboard the
Eastern Star. The barge, meanwhile, blocked the river.

Turkish-registry ship suffers fire in Red Sea

     A Turkish-registry vessel burned for 12 hours in the Red Sea off Egypt
on 21 April, 163 kilometers/101 miles south of the Gulf of Suez. The ship
was carrying steel.

Mediterranea suffers fire at Luanda

     The Mediterranea (Cypriot-registry 17,200-gt, 15,969-dwt dry cargo
ship built in 1983, operated by Swiss Marine Inc.) had an engine room fire
16 April while docking at the Port of Luanda, Angola. The No. 2 generator
caught fire, and the fire spread to the No. 1 generator. The engine room
was floded with carbon dioxide to extinguish the fire.

Vittorio Veneto grounds off Albania

     The Vittorio Veneto (C 550), an Italian Navy guided-missile cruiser,
ran aground in sand off Vlore, Albania, on 22 April. The ship is acting as
the command center for Operation Alba ("Sunrise"), a multinational military
force that is protecting aid and attempting to restore security in Albania.
The Vittorio Veneto, 460 meters/1,500 feet offshore, was not damaged. It
was refloated 23 April.

Velebit aground at Lake Maracaibo

     The tanker Velebit ran aground in the Lake Maracaibo Channel in
Venezuela on 17 April after snagging fishing nets. The ship, carrying
petrochemicals from the Pequiven facility at El Tablazo, Venezuela, freed
itself. It is the fourth tanker to ground in the channel since February.
Relatedly, five employees of Institution Nacional de Canalizaciones, which
oversees the channel, have been asked to resign.

Norwegian-registry trawler suffers engine problems

     The Havbris (Norwegian-registry 1,759-gt stern trawler) lost power 221
kilometers/138 miles northeast of Aberdeen, Scotland, on 21 April, at 58
degrees 22 minutes north, 00 degrees 52 minutes east. The Smit Singapore
(1,985-dwt offshore vessel built in 1984, operated by Wijsmuller) towed the
Havbris to sheletered waters where the crew made repairs and sailed for
Norway on 22 April.

Canadian Miner loses power in the Detroit River

     The Canadian Miner (Canadian-registry 16,325-gt, 28,094-dwt,
13,307-nt, 223-meter/730-foot bulk carrier built in 1966 by Canadian
Vickers Shipyards Ltd. at Montreal; owned and operated by Upper Lakes Group
Inc.) lost power at 0618 23 April near Belle Isle in the Detroit River. The
ship anchored and was towed by two tugs to Windsor, Canada, where the crew
made repairs. After being cleared by the Canadian and U.S. Coast Guards,
the ship sailed at 2100.

Algolake refloated

     The Algolake (Canadian-registry 19,278-gt, 32,043-dwt, 16,621,
224-meter/736-foot bulk carrier built in 1977 by Collingwood Shipyards Ltd.
at Collingwood, Canada; owned and operated by Algoma Central Marine) has
been refloated. The ship ran aground the night of 17 April on Vidal Shoal
approaching Algoma Steel while downbound in the St. Marys River between
Michigan and Ontario, Canada. The ship took on water with damage to the No.
1 and 2 ballast tanks. Some of the cargo of taconite was lightered to a
barge owned by Purvis Marine Ltd. Speculation is that the grounding was
caused by a buoy anchor that was pushed into the area by ice.

Superferry 7 fire invesigation suspended

     An inquiry by the Philippine government into a fire that destroyed the
Superferry 7 (Philippine-registry 4,847-gt, 3,199-dwt ro/ro ferry built in
1980, operated by Oshima Unyu and owned by WG & A Lines; formerly the
Mabuhay II) has been suspended. Two people, including an electrician, were
injured 26 March when the vessel had a fire in the North Harbor of Manila,
the Philippines. The ferry was preparing to sail to Cebu and Dumaguete from
Pier 4 and had arrived from Cagayan de Oro with 1,600 passengers. As 572
passengers disembarked, there were two explosions aboard, followed by a
fire near crew cabins above the engine room. As the fire spread, the ferry
was towed away from the pier and partially sank. Damage was estimated at
800 million Philippine pesos/U.S.$30.4 million. A preliminary investigation
concluded that "illegal electrical connections" in a crewmember's cabin
short-circuited, starting the fire. The crewmember said an electrical
extension cord connected several appliances to an overhead outlet. It
probably could not handle the load. Cabin 23 was assigned to contractual
workers doing repair work aboard. The formal probe into the fire was
suspended after Philippine Navy divers were unable to enter the vessel due
to a large oil spill, which reduced visbility to near zero. Relatedly, WG &
A Lines said that it received 410 million pesos/U.S.$15.77 million in fire
insurance from Insular General Insurance Co. The payment was one of the
largest Philippine shipping claims ever, and was also one of the fastest,
being completed within five working days of the fire. Collard and Partners
was involved in the claim.