Up to 283 may be dead in Mediterranean

     As many as 283 people from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka may have been
killed on 25 Dec. in a collision between two vessels in the Mediterranean.
Most of the people aboard the two vessels were reportedly illegal migrants,
and so reporting was avoided. Information regarding the incident is unclear
and should be regarded with caution. Italian personnel searching the area
between Sicily and Malta have not found anything and the search was halted
on 6 Jan. Those from Sri Lanka said they paid U.S.$8,000 each in Colombo
for an airline ticket to Cairo, Egypt, and then a voyage to Europe. The
Indians and Pakistanis said they had paid U.S.$5,000 each. According to
information compiled by Greece, on 9 Dec., the Friendship
(Panamanian-registry) reportedly sailed from Alexandria, Egypt, for Europe
with more than 250 people aboard. On 12 Dec., the passengers boarded the
Yioham (Honduran-registry) which already had 215 migrants aboard. On 25
Dec., the Yioham's master, a Lebanese resident of Athens, Greece, Youssef
al-Halal, transferred 312 passengers to a smaller vessel between Malta and
Sicily. The smaller vessel had been stolen from Malta on 24 Dec. During the
transfer, the Yioham collided with the other vessel, which sank. According
to the migrants, only 29 people were rescued by the Yioham. The Yioham
arrived at Nafplion, Greece, on 29 Dec. Some 107 people were taken to a
warehouse at Ermioni and told to wait for trucks to pick them up. After a
day, they left the building to find food and were spotted by local
residents. They were arrested by Greek security personnel but 65 others who
were not taken to the warehouse escaped. The 107 taken into custody are in
Argos, Corinth, Tripolis and Nafplion. On 10 Jan., a public prosecutor in
Nafplion, Yannos Provataris, charged 12 people based on testimony from
those at the warehouse. They include Dionysis Avgerinos, a Greek citizen;
Mihalis Fanourakis, a Greek citizen who was a mechanic on the Yioham;
Antonis Sfakianakis, another Greek citizen who was a Yioham mechanic;
Eftyhios Zervoudakis, a Greek sailor; Halal; Marcel Barbara, a Pakistani
living in Malta; two Indian citizens and four others. The four Greek
citizens have been charged with murder.

Sinking on Chinese river leaves at least 33 dead

     Between 33 and 42 people were killed and 20 to 30 were rescued when an
overloaded passenger ferry sank after colliding with another vessel in
heavy fog in China on 3 Jan. The owners of the two vessels have been taken
into police custody. The vessels collided on the Tuojiang River in Sichuan
Province. Local police say that the ferry's master was unable to see two
vessels ahead, and after avoiding one, collided with the other. The
passenger ship had a capacity of 42 people. The other vessel had 40 tons of
sand, 15 tons over its capacity.

Sinking between Sardinia and Sicily kills four, one missing

     The Onur K (Turkish-registry 1,800-dwt, 69-meter/226-foot vessel) sank
144 kilometers/90 miles south of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy, at 0315 8 Jan.
Four of the 11 crew aboard were killed and one is missing. The ship sank
between the Italian towns of Trapani, Sicily, and Cagliari, Sardinia, in a
storm with conditions of Beaufort Force 6 to 7 (22 to 33 knot winds and
seas of 2.9 meters/9.5 feet to 4.11 meters/13.5 feet). Five crewmembers
were rescued by the Torres (3,957-dwt passenger ferry built in 1979,
operated by Tirrenia Soc. Navigation) which was sailing from Trapani to
Cagliari. The sixth, Hjbraim Barut, 23, was found in a lifeboat six hours
later by a helicopter from Palermo. One of the rescued has been
hospitalized. Also responding was the Italian Navy lead ship of the Minerva
(F 551)-class Corvette from Augusta, Sicily, two patrol boats from Cagliari
and a total of three helicopters and one fixed-wing aircraft. According to
Claudio Bavassano (sateco@mbox.vol.it), the Onur K was carrying 1,500 tons
of zinc dust from Canakkale, Turkey, to Piombino, Sardinia. The ship
quickly sank after the cargo shifted.

Kargat sinks after fire kills two crewmembers

     The Kargat (Russian-registry 2,581-gt stern-trawling "fish factory"
built in 1971) suffered a fire after leaving Pusan, South Korea, for the
Sea of Okhotsk on 30 Dec. During attempts to extinguish it, two crewmembers
were killed and 300 tons of water were taken aboard. After developing a
severe list, the remaining 58 crew abandoned the ship in liferafts and were
rescued by a Dutch-registry dry cargo ship. The M/V Kargat subsequently
sank in the Sea of Japan at 38 degrees 54 minutes north, 132 degrees 39
minutes east.

Miss Hillary sinks off North Carolina killing two

     The Miss Hillary (fishing vessel) sent out a distress call on 27 Dec.
off Harkers Island, N.C. The vessel was overdue from a voyage from Harkers
Island to Cape Lookout Bight. The U.S. Coast Guard sent a 13-meter/44-foot
motor lifeboat from Group Ft. Macon; an HH-60J Jayhawk and HC-130H Hercules
from Air Station Elizabeth City; and the "Point"-class Patrol Boat
U.S.C.G.C. Point Martin (WPB 82379). They were assisted by North Carolina
State Park rangers. Joining the search 29 Dec. were a Coast Guard Auxiliary
aircraft, a North Carolina Marine Fisheries vessel and several civilian
vessels. One of the civilian bessels found a body about 24 kilometers/15
miles southeast of Beaufort Inlet and the U.S.C.G.C. Point Martin found a
second body shortly after.

Nakhodka breaks in two, large oil spill comes ashore in Japan

     The Nakhodka (Russian-registry 13,157-gt, 20,471-dwt tanker built in
1970, operated by Primorsk Shipping Co. and owned by Prisco Traffic Ltd.)
broke in half 2 Jan. The crew abandoned the ship at 0250 in the Sea of
Japan, about 130 kilometers/80.6 miles northeast of the Oki Islands,
Shimane Prefecture, Japan. Conditions in the area when the ship sank
included six-meter/20-foot seas and fog. Thirty-one of the 32 crew were
rescued after they boarded lifeboats and were spotted by two Japanese
Maritime Safety Agency aircraft about 0935. The 31 were aboard three
lifeboats, while two others had capsized. Master Valery Melnikov is
missing. The ship developed a 20 degree port list before it broke apart.
The Nakhodka carried 19,000 tons of grade C heavy fuel, or 19 million
liters/five million gallons or 133,000 barrels. A slick formed near the
stern of the ship, which is in 1,800 meters/5,900 feet of water about 10
kilometers/six miles from where the ship broke apart. Oil came ashore 7
Jan. in seven areas along a 100-kilometer/62-mile area of beach between
Kyogamisaki, Kyoto Prefecture and Oshima Lighthouse near Mikuni, Fukui
Prefecture. The slick was 10 kilometers/six miles wide, and was first
reported when a 300-meter/1,000 foot wide slick came ashore at Oshima
Lighthouse. The bow of the tanker came ashore 7 Jan. near Oshima Lighthouse
and Nippon Salvage has been hired to secure it. As of 9 Jan., oil was
reported along a section of coast 450 kilometers/280 miles long, spanning
six prefectures from Kyoto to the Noto Peninsula. It was estimated that
3,700 tons of grade C heavy oil has spilled, or 3,660,000 liters/962,000
gallons or 26,000 barrels. Given the amount of oil seen, this figure is
generally regarded as too low. Maritime Safety Agency ships and aircraft
have been dumping detergent-type chemicals to disperse the slick, but
without results so far. As a result, most of the clean-up has involved
scooping oil from beaches. On the afternoon of 9 Jan., 150 personnel of the
Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force arrived from Kanazawa to assist 800
people already working on the spill ar Mikuni, including 400 from a local
fishing union. Prisco Traffic has obtained equipment from the Petroleum
Association of Japan for clean up. In addition, some 14 Maritime Safety
Agency vessels and six aircraft are involved and Russia is sending a
vessel. The Japanese Transport Ministry sent the Seiryu Maru (3,526-tons,
built in 1978), the largest pollution response vessel in the country, to
Wakasa Bay off Kyoto Prefecture to prevent further spreading of the oil.
The vessel began operations early 9 Jan. about 30 kilometers/19 miles off
the Tango Peninsula. Abalone, seaweed and turbine shell harvesting will
likely be decimated. Several birds have been killed or found coated in oil.
The Nakhodka was sailing from China to Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula and the
sinking of the Nakhodka is threatening electricity supplies on the
peninsula, which has a population of 400,000. Current fuel supplies will
end 12 Jan. Industrial users were to be cut off and residential areas were
to be without electricity for four to five hours per day until the arrival
of the next tanker with 20,000 tons of fuel on 18 Jan. In addition, the use
of diesel fuel by businesses without permission was to be banned. However,
Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin said 6 Jan. no cuts would be
made. Instead, Russian military supplies were to be used, and additional
money has been provided to local governments. The Nakhodka has hull
insurance by Zaschita, with Ingosstrakh Insurance Co. Ltd.'s Black Sea and
Baltic General Insurance Co. Ltd. reinsuring 85 percent of the risk.
Protection and indemnity insurance is provided by U.K. P&I Club. In all,
the ship and its cargo were insured for up to U.S.$500 million. Hugh Parker
from the International Tanker Owners' Pollution Federation Ltd. has been
sent to Tokyo to advise on clean-up. On 10 Jan., Prisco Traffic said it
would pay for all operations.

Two rescued after almost a month at sea

     Two men were rescued the morning of 6 Jan. after their vessel, the
Lady Aud (15-meter/48-foot fishing vessel) sank 9 Dec. The two spent almost
a month aboard a six-person liferaft. Richard Enslow Jr., 20, and David
Summers, 25, of Mililani, Hawaii, were treated at Kauai Veterans Hospital
at Kauai for slight dehydration and Summers had a dislocated shoulder. The
Lady Aud, owned by Enslow's father, sank while sailing back to Honolulu.
The vessel quickly lost its battery and an E.P.I.R.B. failed. A five-day
search by the U.S. Coast Guard did not find anything. Fearing they would
not been rescued, they carved messages into plastic paddles. The two caught
fish and saved rainwater as the liferaft was tossed in several strong
storms. On what they believe was 1 Jan., Enslow and Summers were thrown out
the raft when something overturned it. Most of the supplies, including an
air pump, were lost and the two had to blow air into it every 20 minutes.
On 6 Jan., the fishing vessel Kekoa found the two near Niihau Island. They
had enough water for one more day.

F.E. Trader suffers fire in South China Sea, crew saved

     The F.E. Trader (Panamanian-registry 5,138-gt general cargo vessel)
suffered an engine room fire 9 Jan. and was disabled, taking on water, at
06 degrees 43.5 minutes north, 115 degrees 11.8 minutes east, in the South
China Sea off Malaysia. The crew was rescued by the Sang Thai Apollo
(12,201-dwt bulk carrier built in 1976, operated by Sang Thai Group of
Companies).

Lawas Mewah abandoned, crew rescued

     The Lawas Mewah (Malaysian-registry 995-gt general cargo vessel) began
taking on water and was abandoned 10 Jan. at 01 degrees 47 minutes north,
108 degrees 17 minutes east, off the Kalimantan Region of Borneo,
Indonesia. The 16 crew were rescued by the Mercury Pearl (3,162-dwt bulk
carrier built in 1970, operated by Ceres Hellenic Shipping).

Ten rescued as ship sinks following colllision in the Black Sea

     The Mehmet Kirbas (Turkish-registry 964-gt dry cargo ship operated by
Erdem Gemi) sank early 4 Jan. between the Turkish towns of Akcakoca and
Karasu after colliding in heavy fog with the Nergis Erdem (Turkish-registry
1,783-gt, 3,051-dwt bulk carrier built in 1979, operated by Erdem Gemi).
All 10 crew of the Mehmet Kirbas were rescued by the Nergis Erdem. The
Mehmet Kirbas was sailing from Eregli to Darica with 1,600 tons of slag.

Russian-registry tanker rescues eight after tug sinks

     During Typhoon Fern on 26 Dec., the tug Mr Bill (U.S.-registry) began
taking on water in the Western Caroline Islands, about 136 kilometers/85
miles north-northeast of Yap Island, Micronesia. The eight aboard (six men,
one woman and a 5-year-old girl) abandoned the vessel in a liferaft shortly
before it sank. They activated an E.P.I.R.B. broadcasting on 406 Mhz, and
were located by a U.S. Navy P-3C series Orion aircraft from Kadena Air
Base, Okinawa, Japan. Using the Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue
system, the Mekhanik Ilchenko (Russian-registry 29,990-dwt tanker built in
1986, operated by Novoship U.K. Ltd.) rescued the eight and arrived in
Taiwan on 2 Jan. The Mr Bill was sailing from Guam to Yap Island.
Conditions included gale force winds and 9.1-meter/30-foot seas.

Four rescued from vessel sinking off Washington

     The fishing vessel Lee Rose broadcast a message on 29 Dec. that it was
taking on water 14 kilometers/nine miles off Gray's Harbor, Wash. Two U.S.
Coast Guard motor lifeboats from Coast Guard Station Gray's Harbor and an
HH-60J Jayawk from Coast Guard Air Station Astoria, Ore., escorted the
vessel as it attempted to reach the port. However, weather conditions
worsened, and the Lee Rose was abandoned. The four crewmembers, wearing
survival suits, jumped into 3.7-meter/12-foot seas with 50 knot winds and
low visibility in heavy rain and hail. The motor lifeboats rescued all four
in less than 10 minutes.

Two racing in Vendee Globe race rescued after yachts capsize

     Two people were rescued 9 Jan. in the Southern Ocean between Australia
and Antarctica after their racing yachts capsized. Both Tony Bullimore, 56,
of the United Kingdom, and Thierry Dubois, 29, of France, were racing in
the solo around-the-world Vendee Globe race when their yachts, the Global
Exide Challenger (20 meters/66 feet) and the Amnesty International,
respectively, capsized late 5 Jan. in a storm. Just after 1300 6 Jan., a
Royal Australian Air Force P-3C Update II series Orion from the No. 92 Wing
at R.A.A.F. Edinburgh, New South Wales, located the two yachts about 2,600
kilometers/1,600 miles southwest of Perth. Bullimore remained inside his
yacht and was not seen, while Thierry was found on the overturned hull of
the Amnesty International. The aircraft dropped a liferaft which Dubois
boarded. Conditions included winds up to 110 kilometers per hour/68 miles
per hour and seas up to 12 meters/39 feet. Both water and air temperatures
were at or below freezing. On 9 Jan., the Royal Australian Navy lead ship
of the H.M.A.S. Adelaide (01)-class Frigate, based at Fleet Base West,
H.M.A.S. Stirling, near Fremantle, arrived in the area. A helicopter from
the ship rescued Dubois, while a boat was sent to the Global Exide
Challenger and Bullimore swam out from underneath the capsized yacht. He
suffered from hypothermia, dehydration, frostbite and lost a finger.
Bullimore said he slept in a sealed area of the bow and ran out of fresh
water two days before. Dubois suffered from slight hypothermia. One Vendee
Globe sailor remains missing. Gerry Roufs, 43, of Montreal, Quebec, Canada,
has not been heard from since just after midnight 8 Jan. and is aboard the
18-meter/59-foot LG2. Roufs was last reported in the expanse of water
between New Zealand and Chile, and the Chilean Navy has requested vessels
to search for Roufs. The Mass Enterprise (Panamanian-registry 69,555-dwt
bulk carrier built in 1993, operated by COSCO (Hong Kong) Shipping Co.
Ltd.) has diverted course to search, as has another Vendee Globe sailor,
Isabelle Autissier.

Fishing vessel suffers fire in Alaska

     The Debra D. (U.S.-registry 182-gt fishing vessel) suffered a fire at
Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on 1 Jan. The vessel's superstructure was destroyed
but the hull is reportedly intact.

North Korean-registry vessel suffers fire off Japan

     The Komalsan 3 (North Korean-registry 654-ton vessel) caught fire 7
Jan. off Hyuga, Miyazaki Prefecture. Japan, None of the vessel's 36
crewmembers were injured. The fire began in a cargo hold while the ship was
anchored about 500 meters/1,600 feet off the Port of Hososhima. The
Komalsan 3 arrived in Japan at the end of December, reportedly carrying
pine needles used to grow tobacco.

U.S. Coast Guard vessel suffers fire

     Aboard the U.S. Coast Guard "Point"-class Patrol Boat U.S.C.G.C. Point
Warde (WPB 82368) on 30 Dec., a flammable liquid caught fire in the engine
room as the vessel was 82 kilometers/51 miles off Beaufort Inlet, N.C. The
halon fire supression system activated and extinguished the fire. The
generator and one of the two diesel engines was restored and the vessel
sailed to Coast Guard Group Ft. Macon.

Ship with 290 aboard disabled in the Pacific

     The Maasmond (St. Vincent and the Grenadines-registry 1,055-gt,
64.0-meter/210-foot converted dry cargo ship built in 1971, operated by
Malcolm Burns Reid and homeported at Kingstown) suffered an engine room
fire in the central Pacific the night of 7 Jan. with 290 people aboard. The
ship was adrift as of 8 Jan. about 770 kilometers/480 miles east of Tarawa,
Kiribati. The ship was located by a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K Orion
from No. 5 Squadron, R.N.Z.A.F. Base Whenuapai. The Maasmond told the
aircraft that there was enough food and water aboard for five days. The
nearest island is two days away. The ship has partial electric power but no
propulsion as a fire in an engine room switchboard disabled the electrical
systems. Waysang Kumkee, a Kiribati businessman who chartered the ship,
said that the Maasmond's insurers would pay for a tow back to Tarawa.
Kumkee chartered the ship to carry 290 passengers and 400 tons of cargo,
including rice and canned food, to Christmas Island from Tarawa. The ship
has had propulsion problems before. In 1992, it underwent repairs for 10
weeks after sailing in cyclones on a cruise through the Pacific.

Barge sinks after Mississippi River tows collide

     On 28 Dec., the tug Jim Ludwing, pushing 19 barges, collided with the
tug Harry Mack, pushing 14 barges, at mile marker 778 on the lower
Mississippi River, near Osceola, Ark. One of the barges from Harry Mack's
tow, carrying 1,500 tons of salt, sank in 7.6 meters/25 feet of water. The
river was closed until the barge was located and marked by the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers the next day.

Barge breaks in half off Alaska

     The stern half of a 122-meter/400-foot barge broke off during a
1,300-kilometer/800-mile voyage from Prince William Sound, Alaska, to
British Columbia, Canada, last week. The barge's stern broke-off somewhere
near Kayak Island, Alaska. The incident was not discovered until four days
later, when another vessel notified the Crowley Marine Services tug towing
the barge that there was structural damage. The barge was carrying empty
railcars from the Alaska Railroad. The break was clean and occurred in calm
weather. The other half was found over the weekend floating at the entrance
to Prince William Sound, and was towed to Whittier, Alaska, on 6 Jan.
Incredably, none of the railcars were lost.

Russian-registry vessel runs aground in Antarctica

     The Professor Khromov (Russian-registry 1,800-gt, 620-dwt, Akademik
Shuleykin-class hydrometerorological reporting ship built in 1983, operated
by the Russian Far Eastern Hydrometerorological Scientific Research
Institute), homeported at Vladivostok, Russia, ran aground on rocks in
Antarctica late 4 Jan. The ship was towed off by a Chilean Navy vessel on 5
Jan. The Professor Khromov ran aground in the Neumayer Channel off the
Antarctic Peninsula, between the Anvers and Wiencke Islands. All 36
passengers and some of the crew went aboard the Alla Tarasova
(Russian-registry 1,465-dwt passenger ship built in 1975, operated by
Murmansk Shipping Co.) to continue their voyage. The passengers, mostly
scientists, are from several countries, including Canada, Germany, Russia
and the United States. The Professor Khromov is sailing to Punta Arenas,
Chile, for hull repairs.

The Hua Chuan runs aground twice in the Philippines

     The Hua Chuan (Panamanian-registry 5,332-gt, 10,091-dwt bulk carrier
built in 1975, operated by China Ocean Shipping Co. and owned by Hong Kong
Ming Wah Shipping Co. Ltd.) has ran aground twice recently in the
Philippines. On 25 Dec., the ship, sailing from Indonesia to Japan with
7,000 tons of coke, was forced aground during bad weather. It was repaired,
but while sailing for Japan again on 5 Jan., ran aground again near San
Fernando, La Union.

Kagoro runs aground in the Elbe River

     On 4 Jan., the Kagoro (22,564-dwt ro/ro built in 1978, operated by
Acomarit (U.K.) Ltd. and owned by OT Africa Line Ltd.) ran aground at the
mouth of the Elbe River while sailing to Hamburg, Germany. The ship
suffered steering problems. Kooren was contracted to refloat the ship but
could not respond because its tugs were handling ship assist duties. Four
Bugsier and Wulf tugs, with a large emergency tug, took the Kagoro in tow
to Cuxhaven, Germany, after a 20-hour delay.

Stolt Confidence aground off Singapore

     The Stolt Confidence (Liberian-registry Innovation-class 22,000-gt,
37,000-dwt chemical tanker built in 1996 in Denmark, operated by Stolt
Parcel Tankers), sailing from Antwerp, Belgium, to Singapore, ran aground
off Singapore on 6 Jan. The ship was refloated at high tide with some hull
damage, but none of the tanks were breached.

Chevron Mississippi suffers steering problems in Prince William Sound

     The Chevron Mississippi (U.S.-registry 72,482-dwt tanker built in
1972, operated by Chevron Shipping Co.), using its backup steering, was
escorted by three vessels into Valdez, Alaska, on 7 Jan. after being
disabled. The ship, which was arriving to load oil, suffered steering
problems near the entrance to Prince William Sound. The ship was repaired 8
Jan. and left Valdez on 9 Jan. An electrical problem was cited as the
cause.

Baneasa under tow to Oregon

     The 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) was disabled 25 Dec. about 130 kilometers/81 miles
south of Atka Island, Alaska. The vessel's rudder stuck at hard right. The
Baneasa, with a crew of about 30, was not carrying any cargo but had 4,200
barrels of heavy fuel oil and 800 barrels of diesel fuel aboard. The U.S.
Coast Guard Hamilton-class High-Endurance Cutter U.S.C.G.C. Midgett (WHEC
726) acted as a power rudder/sea drogue while the vessel was being towed by
the tug Agnes Foss. The tow was later taken over by another tug, which is
towing the Baneasa to Portland Shipyard at Portland, Ore.

Jutha Jessica update

     Jutha Maritime Co. announced 3 Jan. that the Jutha Jessica
(Thai-registry 6,677-gt, 13,579-dwt general cargo vessel built in 1972 by
Nakskov Skibs Entrepriser A/S, operated by Jutha Maritime Co.) was insured
for 50 million Thai baht with South East Insurance Inc. The ship ran
aground on a rock outcropping in high winds at 1340 1 Jan. as it entered
the Port of Pusan, South Korea, to avoid a storm. The ship subsequently
broke in half and sank. Twenty-four crewmembers, including the master, were
rescued. Some suffered minor injuries. Five crewmembers are missing
including Third Mate Nantapol Punuch, Deckhand Lert Thamphisn and Cooks
Banpot Naisantad, Tosaporn Anantasakdisetonn and Sambat Chum Choen. All are
Thai citizens. The Jutha Jessica left Nagoya, Japan, with 2,000 tons of
steel pipes on 28 Dec. and anchored off Pusan on 30 Dec.

Bright Field removed from New Orleans

     On 6 Jan., six tugs pulled the Bright Field (Liberian-registry
36,120-gt, 68,200-dwt, 23,035-nt bulk carrier built in 1988, operated by
COSCO (Hong Kong) Shipping Co. Ltd.) from a New Orleans dock housing the
Riverwalk mall and hotel complex, behind Cafe du Monde. At least 116 people
were injured and the dock and structures were severely damaged during an
allision 1430 14 Dec. Some 15 shops and 456 hotel rooms were destroyed. The
bow of the ship ran aground beneath the Poydras Street Wharf. During the
removal of the ship, some rooms at the Hilton Hotel were emptied and
residents of One River Place Condominiums were advised to stay away. The
Riverwalk and the Mississippi River were closed. The Bright Field was
escorted 30 kilometers/18 miles and two hours downriver to Violet, La., for
repairs. Altough the ship's Sulzer 6RTA62 engines were idling, propulsion
was provide by three tugs to starboard, one on the bow and two on the
stern. More than 5.7 million liters/1.5 million gallons of water flooded a
cargo hold after the aciddent and 4.6 meters/15 feet of hull under the bow
was damaged.

Deadline for claims in Rhode Island spill extended

     The deadline to file claims stemming from an oil spill off Rhode
Island has been extended from 30 Dec. to March. The North Cape
(U.S.-registry 100-meter/340-foot long single-hull tank barge built in
1976, owned by Eklof Marine Corp.), with 15.2 million liters/four million
gallons of No. 2 fuel oil, ran aground off Moonstone Beach near South
Kingstown, R.I., on 19 Jan. Damage to nine tanks leaked 3.15 million
liters/828,000 gallons into Block Island Sound. The barge was being towed
from the IMTT Terminal, Bayonne, N.J., to Providence, R.I., by the Scandia
(U.S.-registry 35.1-meter/115-foot long, 4,000 horsepower tug built in
1969, owned by Eklof Marine) when an engine room fire began at midday in a
storm. The six crew were rescued. Both tug and barge went aground. The
barge was refloated Jan. 26 and the tug in mid-February. Direct clean-up
costs are estimated at U.S.$10 million.