As many as 165 killed in vessel capsizing off Sri Lanka

     A vessel carrying Tamils escaping continued fighting in Sri Lanka
capsized early 20 Feb. off the northern coast of the country. Reportedly,
95 people were killed and 70, including 22 children, are missing. The
vessel capsized after leaving a base of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam at Nachchikuddah for India.

Yola capsizes off Puerto Rico, three missing and one dead

     While about 64 kilometers/40 miles west-northwest of Borinquen, Puerto
Rico, on 5 Feb., the U.S. Coast Guard Reliance-class Medium-Endurance
Cutter U.S.C.G.C. Courageous (WMEC 622) observed an overloaded
15-meter/50-foot yola. The cutter sent a boat to the yola, which capsized
shortly after. Three people were killed, one is missing and 108 were
rescued. The rescued were taken to the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization
Service in San Juan.

South China Sea sinking kills one with three others missing

     The Raja Emas (Malaysian-registry) sank in bad weather off Borneo on
18 Feb. A Malaysian citizen drowned and three others, including two
Indonesians, are missing. Nineteen others stayed aboard the sinking ship
for five hours before swimming to a nearby lighthouse. They were rescued by
a helicopter and taken to a nearby town. The ship sank in the South China
Sea at the mouth of the Rajang River in the Malaysian area of Borneo. It
was sailing from Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia to Sarikei. Aboard were 13
crewmembers and 10 passengers, including the son of the chairman of the
firm that owned the vessel.

African Star abandoned off western Africa

     The African Star (Panamanian-registry 2,195-gt, 2,743-dwt refrigerated
ship built in 1968, operated by Laskaridis Shipping and managed by Unifleet
Management), sailing from Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, with frozen tuna, was
abandoned 16 Feb. after an engine room fire. It was last reported at 07
degrees 40.2 minutes north, 13 degrees 41 minutes west. The 19 crewmembers
were rescued by the Fermanagh Reefer, and later went aboard the Platon
Reefer headed for Lome, Togo. The former ship also carried tuna.

Finno takes on water, lists off Norway

     The Finno (Maltese-registry 1,097-gt, 1,384-dwt general cargo vessel
built in 1970, owned by Paal Wilson and Co. and operated by Continental
Shipmanagement A/S), carrying coke from Leith, Scotland, to Finasnes,
Norway, developed a list to port after taking on water at 61 degrees 12
minutes north, 02 degrees 07.4 degrees east on 18 Feb. The location is west
of Norway. The ship was to be taken in tow by the Far Sea
(Norwegian-registry 1,900-gt tug built in 1991, operated by Farstad
Shipping A/S) to Floroe, Norway, but the ship has not been seen since the
six Polish crewmembers abandoned the ship and were taken to Floroe.

Stubborn chemical fire aboard ship in Kenya

     The Oyster Bay (Hong Kong-registry 18,863-dwt dry cargo ship built in
1973, operated by Haverton Shipping Ltd.) caught fire 16 Feb. at Mombassa,
Kenya. Chemical fire experts from the United Kingdom have been flown to
Mombassa to fight the fire on behalf of the ship's insurers, Lloyd's of
London. Efforts to extinguish the fire, which began in cargo hold No. 4,
have so far been futile, as the burning chemicals are restarted by sea
water. Among the cargo is hydrogen peroxide, and some cargo was destined
for Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Overseas Valdez grounds off Texas

     The Overseas Valdez (U.S.-registry 20,998-gt 39,036-dwt tanker built
in 1968, owned by Valdez Tankship Corp. and operated by Maritime Overseas
Corp.) ran aground at 2230 12 Feb. about eight kilometers/five miles
southeast of Galveston, Texas. The ship's rudder became entangled in a
Houston Ship Channel buoy chain. Part of its cargo of 3.8 million
liters/one million gallons or 274,000 barrels of heating oil was
transferred to the tank barge MSRC-570 (U.S.-registry) on 13 Feb. The ship
was refloated at 1130 14 Feb. and was escorted 32 kilometers/20 miles
offshore for an inspection and survey before sailing for Boston.

U.S. Coast Guard asists landing craft under tow

     U.S. Coast Guard personnel from Coast Guard Station Cape Cod Canal in
Sandwich, Mass., rescued two people at 1400 19 Feb. after their
14-meter/45-foot amphibious landing craft began taking on water 1.6
kilometers/one mile north of the Cape Cod Canal's east entrance. Dennis
Caddrette, 56, and Michael Tribou, 29, were aboard the craft, under tow by
the tug Elizabeth. A Coast Guard 13-meter/44-foot motor lifeboat rescued
the two and set-up pumps. The craft was towed towards Scusset Beach and run
aground 45 meters/150 feet from the beach. Also responding was a
12-meter/41-foot utility boat and a helicopter. The landing craft was being
towed from Buzzards Bay to Wareham and is owned by the Wareham River Trust.

Ship disabled by broken gearbox

     The Tramp (1,181-gt vessel built in 1978), sailing from Safi, Morocco,
to Newport, Wales, was disabled at 49 degrees 41 minutes north, 05 degrees
39 minutes west on 19 Feb. by a broken gearbox. The ship was carrying 1,650
tons of fertilizer. The Svetlomor-3 (Russian-registry tug built in 1988) is
sailing to the vessel.

Hellespont Prosperity anchors with engine problems

     The Hellespont Prosperity (Liberian-registry 46,450-gt, 89,467-dwt
tanker built in 1975, operated by Hellespont Steamship Corp.) anchored 21
Feb. at 56 degrees 12 minutes north, 07 degrees 12 minutes east, west of
Denmark. The ship, sailing in ballast from Wilhelmshaven, Germany, to
Ventspils, Latvia, suffered engine problems and drifted.

TPAO update

     One ship was damaged 13 Feb. after an explosion and fire aboard the
TPAO (Turkish-registry 86,595-gt, 163,308-dwt tanker built in 1977 and
homeported in Istanbul, Turkey; owned and operated by Ditas Deniz) at Tuzla
Dockyard at Istanbul. The accomodations area of the Klazina C. (1,548-gt,
2,554-dwt bulk carrier built in 1983, operated by Carisbrooke Shipping
P.L.C.) was damaged. The TPAO arrived at the yard for repairs 5 Feb. and
was carrying 500 tons of fuel-oil and 25 tons diesel. Twenty-seven people
were injured, 19 of them firefighters.

Another charged in Samaina/H.S. Antipliarchos Kostakos collision

     Ensign Mihail Dimoulkas, Greek Navy, was charged 14 Feb. with loss of
a vessel through negligence and negligent manslaughter. Dimoulkas was on
the bridge of the Antipliarchos Lascos-class Guided-Missile Patrol Boat
H.S. Antipliarchos Kostakos (P 25) at 1845 4 Nov., when the ship was hit by
the Samaina (Greek-registry 3,783-gt, 810-dwt ro/ro and passenger ferry
built in 1962, owned and operated by Arkadia Lines Naftkik Eteria) off
Vathi, Samos Island, Greece. The naval vessel sank and three petty officers
and a warrant officer are missing. The Samaina, sailing from Vathi to
Karlovasi, did not suffer any serious damage and none of the 71 passengers
and 51 crew were injured. According to witnesses, the ferry suddenly
changed course to port and hit the starboard area of the warship's stern.
The H.S. Antipliarchos Kostakos sank in 151 meters/495 feet of water about
one kilometer/0.6 miles from Samos. Dimoulkas was also charged with
violating regulations for avoiding a collision. He reportedly did not
inform the commanding officer of the ferry's position, even though there
were standing, specific orders to do so. On 12 Feb., Matthaios
Pnevmatikakis, the master of the Samaina, was charged with negligence,
violations of regulations to avoid collision and four counts of involuntary
manslaughter.