Two charged after Aegean Sea sinking leaves five missing

     Five crewmembers are missing after the sinking of the Don Ricardo
(Antigua and Barbuda-registry 1,056-gt, 1,630-dwt general cargo ship built
in 1967, operated by Wilhelm Tietjen) at 2115 12 Nov. in the western Aegean
Sea between the Greek islands of Kea and Macronissos at 37 degrees 40
minutes north, 24 degrees 13 minutes east. The Don Ricardo collided with
the Muhieddine VII (Syrian-registry 5,198-gt, 7,520-dwt motor dry cargo
ship built in 1969, operated by Muhieddine Shipping Co.) in heavy fog. The
sunken ship left Istanbul, Turkey, with steel plates for Casablanca,
Morocco, on 11 Nov. Four Greek government vessels, a Greek Air Force C-130
Hercules and an Olympic Airways Dornier found two empty lifeboats and a
lifebuoy. The missing are Nikolai Gomenisk, Georij Ivancenko, Stanislav
Kondrasov and Vladimir Krucek from Lithuania and Sergey Balashof of Russia.
None of the Muhieddine VII's 23 Syrian crew were injured. It called at
Laviron, Greece, after the collision and was sailing from Novorossiysk,
Russia, to Beirut, Lebanon, in ballast. On 14 Nov., a Greek prosecutor
charged the master and first mate of the Muhieddine VII, Amin Cangonja, an
Albanian citizen and Saad Markabi, a Syrian citizen, with manslaughter and
causing a shipwreck.

Chittagong channel blocked, one killed, after vessel sinks in collision

     The Bedura-1 or Bandura-1 sank late 10 Nov. after it was in a
collision with the Kota Bintang (Singaporean-registry 8,441-gt, 12,967-dwt
bulk carrier built in 1980, operated by Pacific International Lines (Pte.)
Ltd.) at Chittagong, Bangladesh. Eight of the nine crewmembers of the
sunken vessel were rescued and one is missing. It was sailing from
Chittagong's outer anchorage after lightering cement while the Kota Bintang
was leaving the port for Singapore. The Bedura-1 or Bandura-1 blocked the
channel at the Kornophuli River. The Kota Bintang was detained.

Twenty-three of 24 crew rescued in collision off Japan

     The Chu Hai (Chinese-registry 2,387-gt, 3,200-dwt general cargo ship
built in 1996, operated by China Changjiang Shipping (Group) Corp.) sank 11
Nov. after colliding at 2340 with the Asian Hibiscus (Panamanian-registry
7,170-gt, 8,007-dwt motor ro/ro built in 1983, operated by Tokai Marine
Ltd.) at 33 degrees 56.7 minutes north, 130 degrees 57 minutes east. The
ship sank in the Kammon Strait about 800 meters/2,600 feet west of Moji in
Kitakyushu, Japan. Twenty-three of the Chu Hai's 24 crew were rescued while
Zhang Wanjun, a 24-year-old engineer, was found dead about eight hours
later. Two crewmembers were hospitalized. The Chu Hai was carrying 2,750
tons of steel coils from Oita, Japan, to Nantong, China. Some of the ship's
60,000 liters/16,000 gallons, or 54 tons, of fuel spilled. Oil has been
seen over five kilometers/three miles. Water in the area, 1.2
kilometers/0.74 miles southeast of the Kanmon Bridge between Honshu and
Kyushu, is 20 meters/65 feet deep and part of the Chu Hai is visible above
water. None of the 19 aboard the Asian Hibiscus was injured and the ship
has damage to its port bow.

Sri Lanka sinks suspected weapons-smuggling vessel

     On 2 Nov., Sri Lanka Air Force aircraft attacked and sank a 2,500-ton
vessel suspected of smuggling weapons to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) near Mullaitivu, Sri Lanka. The LTTE said the ship was
carrying "groceries" and that 14 members were killed. The group is fighting
for creation of a Tamil state in northern Sri Lanka.

Whaling vessel reportedly sunk by activists

     A vessel owned by Steinar Bastesen, former leader of the Norwegian
Whale Hunters Association, sank at its dock in Bronnoysund, Norway, on 11
Nov. The Morild, a 14-meter/46-foot vessel, was said to have been in
"excellent condition." Paul Watson, leader of Sea Shepherd, told the
newspaper Verdens Gang in Oslo, Norway, on 12 Nov. that anti-whaling
activists had sunk the vessel. Local police are seeking a small boat and
two people seen near the vessel.

Collision, explosion destroy end of tank barge

     Part of the Calcasieu River near Lake Charles, La., was closed late 31
Oct. after a tank barge carrying JP-5 jet fuel hit the Guardian
(Liberian-registry 98,347-dwt, 244-meter/800-foot tanker built in 1992,
owned by Meridian Trust Co./Meridian Bank and operated by Conoco Inc.),
carrying 2.07 million liters/544,000 gallons of crude oil. The barge
exploded, destroying 12 meters/40 feet of its hull. The barge was one of
two carrying 50,000 barrels of fuel being pushed southbound by the towboat
Ernest H. Doss, owned by Florida Marine Services. The northbound Guardian,
hit 2.4 meters/eight feet above the waterline, did not spill any cargo, but
it had a 29-meter/96-foot by one-meter/three-foot gash. The river was
closed between mile markers 99 and 101. There were no injuries.

U.S.M.S.C. prepositioning ship spills diesel while grounded off Spain

     The U.S. Military Sealift Command's lead ship of the U.S.N.S. 2nd Lt.
John P. Bobo-class maritime prepositioning ship ran aground 6 Nov. in
Spain's Gulf of Cadiz while carrying military equipment to Rota, Spain. The
vessel was refloated 11 Nov. but spilled some 300,000 liters/78,000 gallons
of diesel fuel which evaporated. Andalusia, a Spanish environmental group,
has filed a lawsuit against the ship's master and the Spanish ministries of
defense and transport. The U.S.N.S. 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo is intended to
carry equipment needed for a Marine Expeditionary Brigade of the U.S.
Marine Corps and is part of M.P.S. Squadron One.

Bunga Kertas develops bilge keel crack while carrying light crude oil

     The Bunga Kertas (Malaysian-registry 51,894-gt, 87,768-dwt motor
tanker built in 1986, operated by Malaysian International Shipping Corp.
Bhd.) developed a crack in its bilge keel near the No. 4 6,500-ton port
cargo tank on 9 Nov., near Port Stanvac, Australia. An oil spill of light
crude was first noted at 0640 about three kilometers/1.9 miles from the
Mobil Corp. refinery in Adelaide, Australia. Mobil said the crack was
temporarily patched five hours after the spill was found. A sheen was found
within a 400-meter/1,300-foot radius of the tanker but was contained by oil
absorbant material. The Bunga Kertas was delivering oil from Australia's
Northwest Shelf to the Mobil refinery. The ship was to dock to unload oil
from the No. 4 tank.

Engine room fire aboard the Stolt Spirit in Houston Ship Channel contained

     The Stolt Spirit (Liberian-registry 32,020-dwt tanker built in 1976,
operated by Stolt-Nielsen Inc.) suffered a fire the night of 11 Nov. while
moored in the Houston Ship Channel at the PakTank terminal near Deer Park.
One crewmember was hospitalized briefly for burns and none of the ship's
cargo of staric acid was effected. The channel was closed and then
restricted to one-way traffic during firefighting efforts by the U.S. Coast
Guard and vessels of Channel Industries Mutual Aid. The fire began in the
engine room but jumped barriers and spread. The initial fire was
extinguished but a flare-up forced renewed efforts.

Griffin F.P.S.O. suffers fire

     One of five turbines aboard the floating production, storage and
offloading vessel Griffin caught fire at 0800 10 Nov. None of the 37 people
aboard were injured and the fire was brought under control. The Griffin is
owned by Broken Hill Pty. Co. Ltd.'s BHP Petroleum and 11 non-essential
personnel were evacuated by helicopter. The Griffin is located 70
kilometers/43 miles northwest of Onslow, Australia, in the Giffin petroleum
field. Broken Hill owns 45 percent, Mobil Corp. has 35 percent and Inpex
Alpha Ltd. the rest. It was producing about 65,000 barrels of oil daily
before the shutdown. BHP Petroleum said 13 Nov. that the Griffin would be
repaired in Singapore. Damage includes the turbine that caught fire, two
other turbines and cables and other equipment.

Russian-registry vessel collides with fishing vessel off Japan

     The Georgiy Maksimov (Russian-registry 1,267-gt, 590-dwt, built in
1977) and the Wakafuku Maru (Japanese-registry 8.6-gt fishing vessel,
homeported at Wajima) collided at 0130 9 Nov. off Suzu, Japan. None of the
78 people aboard the Georgiy Maksimov or the two crewmembers of the
Wakafuku Maru were injured. The Georgiy Maksimov was sailing to Toyama,
Japan, and after the collision, called at Wajima. The Wakafuku Maru, which
was sailing to catch crabs, went to Nanao, Japan.

Thirteen rescued from grounded ship off South Africa

     The Aster (Panamanian-registry 3,400-gt, 3,080-dwt dry cargo ship
built in 1972, operated by Trex Shipping Ltd.) ran aground near Umzimbuvu,
South Africa, at 0500 13 Nov. All 13 crewmembers were taken off the ship by
a South African Air Force Oryx helicopter. The ship grounded at Rame Head,
26 kilometers/16 miles south of Umzimbuvu, and reportedly had sailed from
Mauritius.

Ferry grounds in the Philippines

     A passenger ferry has run aground off Cebu Island, the Philippines,
after hitting a concrete jetty of an oil facility.

Bulk carrier grounds in the Detroit River

     The Melissa Desgagnes (Canadian-registry 4,488-gt, 7,405-dwt,
3,168-nt, 108-meter/360-foot motor bulk carrier built in 1975 by
Collingwood Shipyards Ltd. at Collingwood, Ontario; operated by Group
Desgagnes) ran aground 10 Nov. in the Detroit River north of Grassy Island.
It was refloated and sailed to Windsor, Ontario.

Catamaran hits object off British Columbia

     A high-speed catamaran passenger ferry operated by Victoria Clipper
sailed to Seattle on 8 Nov. for repairs after hitting an object near Trial
Island in Oak Bay, British Columbia. The vessel left Victoria, British
Columbia, on an extra sailing at 1730 7 Nov. with 153 passengers when at
1840, it hit something eight kilometers/five miles northeast of Trial
Island.

General cargo ship towed to Spain

     The Olga (St. Vincent and the Grenadines-registry 4,791-gt motor
vessel), sailing from Kemi, Finland, to Iraklion, Greece, with forest
products, had a main engine shaft reverse failure 12 Nov. at 44 degrees 09
minutes north, 08 degrees 55 minutes west. The ship was towed to Ferrol,
Spain.

Fishing vessel suffers engine failure off Massachusetts

     The Lady of Grace (U.S.-registry 25-meter/83-foot western rig trawler
homeported at New Bedford, Mass.), with four aboard, had a propulsion
failure just after 0400 14 Nov., 147 kilometers/92 miles south of Martha's
Vineyard, Mass. The vessel is opertated by James Santos of Dartmouth, Mass.

Master's license suspended in Scotland

     The master of a ship that ran aground on rocks off western Scotland
last year has had his license suspended by a court in Inverness, Scotland,
for a year.

Green Opal salvage delayed

     Salvage of the Green Opal (Panamanian-registry 6,176-dwt bulk carrier
built in 1976, operated by Dooyang Line Co. Ltd.) by Tsavliris Salvage
(International) Ltd. has been delayed. India is requesting that a 73
million Indian rupee/U.S.$2 million customs duty be paid on equipment
brought into the country temporarily for the work. The ship sank in the
Hooghly River, 40 kilometers/25 miles east of Calcutta, India, on 19 June
after colliding with a tug towing a barge. All 20 crew were rescued. The
ship was sailing to Keelung, Taiwan, with 7,000 tons of steel coils and
billets.