Thirty-eight missing, 28 dead as two vessels sink off Sri Lanka

     Members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam attacked a convoy of
12 vessels carrying Sri Lanka Army soldiers the night of 22 Feb., just
offshore about 320 kilometers/200 miles north of Colombo, Sri Lanka. About
25 LTTE boats fought with the ships for an hour and initiated the attack by
ramming boats packed with explosives into the Sri Lankan vessels. Two
vessels in the convoy, carrying a total of 108 soldiers and crewmembers,
sank. Sixty-one were rescued, 38 are missing and at least 28 were killed.
Eleven LTTE members were also killed. One of the sunken vessels has been
located. The LTTE is the primary organization fighting for creation of a
Tamil state in what is now northern Sri Lanka. Ethnic Tamils account for 18
percent of Sri Lanka's 18 million people

Fire aboard Adria kills three crewmembers

     The Adria (Romanian-registry 2,075-gt, 2,400-dwt motor dry cargo ship
built in 1977, owned and operated by Navrom S.A.) caught fire at 2355 22
Feb. at 34 degrees 43 minutes north, 07 degrees 11 minutes west. The
location is 80 kilometers/50 miles of Casablanca, Morocco. The Adria was
sailing from Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, to Ravenna, Italy, with general cargo
including baled cotton. It was bareboat chartered with Donau Sealink. The
fire followed an explosion in the engine room. Three crewmembers were
killed and 13 were rescued by two vessels. The ship was last reported
adrift and still on fire.

Royal Australia Navy rescues 11 crew as ship sinks

     The Laura (Noumea-registry 1,283-gt, 90-meter/295-foot motor general
cargo ship) sank in the Arafura Sea on 25 Feb., 600 kilometers/370 miles
northeast of Darwin, Australia. The location is 10 degrees 28.5 minutes
south, 137 degrees 05.5 minutes east. All 11 crewmembers were rescued by
the Royal Australian Navy's Fremantle-class Patrol Boat H.M.A.S. Wollongong
(206), homeported in Darwin, at 0930, four hours before the ship sank.
Earlier, three Australian aircraft dropped liferafts. The Laura was sailing
to Port Vila, Vanuatu, when it experienced engine problems and anchored for
repairs. Heavy seas and 20-knot winds then caused the cargo of bitumen and
cement to shift. The crew includes eight New Caledonian citizens and three
Malaysian citizens.

English Channel collision damages two tankers

     At 0111 25 Feb., the Eagle Memphis (Malaysian-registry 53,483-gt,
motor tanker) and the Oriental Violet (Panamanian-registry 4,989-gt,
9,061-dwt motor tanker built in 1992, operated by New Shipping Kaisha Ltd.)
collided 32 kilometers/20 miles northwest of the United Kingdom's Guernsey
Island in the English Channel. The location was 49 degrees 50.7 minutes
north, 03 degrees 10.9 minutes east. The Eagle Memphis was in ballast and
sustained a holed port ballast tank. It was sailing from Flotta, Scotland,
to Falmouth, England. The Oriental Violet has 4,000 tons of corn oil and
orthoxylene and also sustained port ballast tank damage as well as forepeak
tank flooding and its starboard anchor was stove-in. It was sailing from
Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to Lavera, France. The Eagle Memphis has a crew
of 25 and the Oriental Violet has 18. Weather included a Force 3 northwest
wind, only slight seas and visibility of 16 kilometers/10 miles. The Eagle
Memphis was sailing towards the eastbound lane while the Oriental Violet
was leaving the westbound lane. There are conflicting reports on where the
Memphis Eagle sailed but the Oriental Violet went back to Rotterdam.

Tug sinks in Louisiana

     The Florida Seahorse (Panamanian-registry 258-gt motor tug) sank 26
Feb. in 12 meters/38 feet of water, five kilometers/three miles south of
the channel in Houma, La., The location is 29 degrees 00.87 minutes north,
90 degrees 33.59 minutes west. The five crewmembers were rescued.

Engine room incident disables tanker off Alaska

     The Hekabe (Bermudan-registry 43,386-dwt, 219-meter/720-foot tanker
built in 1977, operated by Bergesen dy A/S), carrying ammonia, lost power
the morning of 22 Feb. while sailing to Kenai, Alaska. A crewmember aboard
is also injured. Winds of 147 kilometers per hour/92 miles per hour and
12-meter/40-foot seas were reported. The tanker was last reported 107
kilometers/67 miles southwest of Amatignak Island, Alaska. The Hekabe was
headed to the Unocal Corp. fertilizer plant at Nikiski to load more ammonia
before returning to South Korea. It currently has 80 tons of ammonia vapor
and 130 tons of liquid ammonia aboard. The ship lost power when weather
conditions caused a spare engine cylinder head to hit the cooling system
about 0715. An engineer, Romeo Parrilla, 32, suffered a broken leg in the
incident and was treated with morphine. Thirty-three other crewmembers were
not injured. U.S. Coast Guard efforts to reach the ship were delayed by
weather conditions.

Scot Trader grounds in Humber River

     The Scot Trader (Bahamian-registry 1,584-gt, 1,900-dwt dry cargo ship
built in 1986, operated by Scotline Ltd.) ran aground in the Humber River
off Brough, England, on 21 Feb. and developed a 50-degree list. The crew
evacuated and the cargo of timber was lightered to barges to enable
refloating of the ship the next day. The Scot Trader was sailing from
Varberg, Sweden, to Goole, England.

Ship suffers transverse hull fracture in the Pacific Ocean

     On 11 Feb., the Great Land (16,559-dwt ro/ro built in 1975, operated
by Interocean Ugland Management Corp.) reported that it suffered a
17-meter/55-foot long transverse hull fracture while sailing in bad weather
from Anchorage, Alaska, to Tacoma, Wash. It is now moored at Todd Pacific
Shipyard Corp. in Seattle.

Tow with 25 barges grounds in Missouri

     The tug B. Ray Miller, pushing 25 coal barges, ran aground 14 Feb. in
the Mississippi River near mile marker 94 at Chester, Mo. Two barges took
on water. The river was closed between mile markers 93 and 95. Two other
tugs broke-up the tow and the river section reopened the next day.

More on Fei Cui Hai

     The Fei Cui Hai (Chinese-registry 18,972-gt, 32,300-dwt bulk carrier
built in 1973 by Lithgows in Port Glasgow, Scotland; owned by Qingdao Ocean
Shipping Co. and operated by COSCO Bulk Carrier Co. Ltd.), which sank the
night of 7 Feb. at 09 degrees 31 minutes north, 110 degrees 33 minutes
east, was classified by China Classification Society. Thirty crewmembers
are missing and four were rescued in the South China Sea off southern
Vietnam. The Fei Cui Hai was sailing from New Mangalore, India, to Nanjing,
China, with 27,499 tons of iron ore concentrate. The ship was launched as
the Bravenes and was later the Silverdon. The last annual servey was in
September and another visit was made in October. The Fei Cui Hai cleared
port state control inspections in November and December in Russia and South
Korea.

Update on Marie Bouanga/Zircone collision

     The Marie Bouanga (Congolese-registry 2,875-gt, 4,100-dwt general
cargo ship built in 1970, operated by Ahlers) collided with the Zircone
(Italian-registry 5,045-gt, 8,091-dwt chemical tanker built in 1993,
operated by Finbeta SpA) on 17 Feb. at 53 degrees 48 minutes north, 06
degrees 21.2 minutes east, off Uithuizen, the Netherlands. The Marie
Bouanga was sailing from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Rotterdam, the
Netherlands, with 2,000 tons of aluminum. The Zircone was sailing to
Rotterdam with caustic soda, gasoline, kerosene and methlyine chloride. The
Marie Bouanga was towed to Delfzyl, the Netherlands, by Smit International.
One of its crewmembers is missing and the ship has damage to its aft port
area near the engine room. Eight crewmembers were taken off by helicopter
while the master and one other remained aboard for the tow. The Zircone has
some bow damage.

Additional information on barge collision with rig in Gulf of Mexico

     The barge Cherokee hit the offshore petroleum platform West Delta 106
in the Gulf of Mexico at 1345 16 Feb. and both caught fire. The rig is
about 24 kilometers/15 miles south of the Southwest Pass at the mouth of
the Mississippi River. The barge was being pushed by the tug Gulf Cajun and
eight crewmembers were injured. Three were evacuated by a U.S. Coast Guard
HH-65A Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans and the
other five were taken by the Gulf Cajun into Southwest pass where they were
transferred to a Coast Guard Station Venice, La., boat. Six people were
aboard the rig. Two were rescued by a helicopter and four used an escape
capsule that was picked up by another vessel. The West Delta 106 is owned
by Walter Oil and Gas and blazed for more than four hours before being
extinguished by three offshore support vessels and the Coast Guard's
"Point"-class Patrol Boat U.S.C.G.C. Point Sal (WPB 82352).

More on grounding of tanker in Table Bay

     The Conquestventure L (Liberian-registry 18,812-gt tanker built in
1980, owned by B&H) grounded off Whale Rock near Robben Island in South
Africa's Table Bay on 18 Feb. Liquid caustic soda spilled from the ship and
reportedly, five cargo tanks had various damage. The tanker was sailing
from the United States to Cape Town, South Africa.

Front Lord in the Azores for inspection

     The Front Lord (Singaporean-registry 149,000-gt, 282,057-dwt tanker
built in 1991, owned and operated by Frontline) has sailed to Ponta Delgada
in Portugal's Azores Islands for a hull inspection. The ship suffered
hairline cracks in its No. 4 port wing tank on 17 Feb. following Beaufort
Force 9 winds and seas up to 10 meters/33 feet for 48 hours in the Atlantic
Ocean. It has 263,000 tons of Brent blended crude oil and was sailing from
Sullom Voe, Scotland, to Galveston, Texas. The oil is for Statoil and the
ship is on spot charter to Navion.

Commander of H.M.C.S. Glace Bay relieved

     The commanding officer of the Canadian Maritime Command's
Kingston-class Maritime Coastal Defense Vessel H.M.C.S. Glace Bay (MCDV
701) has been relieved of command. At 1200 27 Jan., the ship collided with
the Matthew John (U.S.-registry 13.5-meter/44.3-foot fishing vessel
homeported at Gloucester, Mass.), 40 kilometers/25 miles northeast of
Boston. There were no injuries and visibility and weather conditions were
good. The pilothouse and the port gunwale of the Matthew John were damaged
and it returned to port under its own power. In addition, some 80 lobster
traps were lost overboard. Two people, Don Howarth, 39, and Dan Teel, were
aboard. The vessel is insured for U.S.$85,000. The H.M.C.S. Glace Bay had
minor damage. Following a board of inquiry, Lt. Cmdr. Robert Thorpe was
relieved. He is a reserve officer on a full-time contract. The report has
not been made public due to restitution issues. Howarth, the owner of the
fishing vessel, is seeking compensation for money lost while the vessel is
being repaired.

Tassos N grounding blamed on steering failure

     The Tassos N (Cypriot-registry 41,343-dwt bulk carrier built in 1986,
operated by A.M. Nomikos Transworld Maritime Agencies S.A.) grounded on 10
Jan. in the Parmedia Channel in Fremantle, Australia, due to a steering
failure.

U.S. government agencies seeking comment in developing casualty system

     The U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Maritime Administration have signed
a memorandum to cooperate with the maritime industry in developing a
voluntary and confidential incident reporting system. The system will allow
the agencies to analyze and disseminate information in an effort to reduce
the frequency of casualties, the extent of injuries and property damage and
to create a safer and more efficient shipping system and work environment.
The two agencies are now seeking individuals and organizations willing to
participate in forming the system. At the Coast Guard, contact Lt. Cmdr.
Scott J. Ferguson, Commandant (G-MOA), U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters,
Office of Investigations and Analysis, 2100 Second St., S.W., Washington,
D.C. 20593. His telephone number is 202-267-0715, facsimile 202-267-1416
and electronic mail address (sferguson@comdt.uscg.mil). Or contact
Alexander C. Landsburg, Program Manager for Systems Safety and Human
Factors, Office of Maritime Labor, Training, and Safety, U.S. Department of
Transportation, Maritime Administration, MAR-250, Room 7302, 400 Seventh
St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590. His telephone number is 202-366-1923,
facsimile is 202-493-2288 and his address is
(alex.landsburg@marad.dot.gov).

One more Deezemeow correction

     The Deezemeow (Belgian-registry 200-ton fishing vessel), which caught
fire 7 Feb. in England's Liverpool Bay, is actually the De Zeemeeuw,
homeported at Ostend. The name is Flemish for "the seagull." The Grampian
Supporter (1,942-dwt offshore support vessel built in 1976, operated by
North Star Shipping (Aberdeen) Ltd.) rescued the five crewmembers.