Capsizing off Japan leaves three dead, two missing

     The Antelope (Honduran-registry 1,165-gt motor vessel built in 1979),
sailing from Shimizu, Japan, to South Korea with aluminum coils, capsized
and sank 47 kilometers/29 miles south of Cape Irago, Japan, at 0010 5 Feb.
in a storm. The location is 34 degrees 18 minutes north, 137 degrees 25
minutes east. Of the crew, six were rescued and two are missing. However,
three of the six later died. The crew included five Myanmar citizens and
three South Korean citizens.

Gulf of Alaska sinking kills one, one missing

     The U.S. Coast Guard rescued three crewmembers of the La Conte
(23-meter/77-foot wooden fishing vessel built in 1919) early 31 Jan. after
the vessel sank 128 kilometers/80 miles southeast of Yakutat, Alaska, in a
storm. The master, Mark Morely, 41, of Sitka, Alaska, was killed. A fifth
crewmember, Dave Hanlon, 47, of Hansoon, Alaska, is missing. Mike Decappa,
Dob Doyle and William Mork suffered mild hypothermia. The LaConte was owned
by Scott Echols, who said that the vessel had modern propulsion was in
excellent condition. Weather conditions included 50 to 60 knot winds,
gusting to 71 knots and seas of 15 meters/50 feet. The crew was in the
water five and a half hours before a U.S. Coast Guard HH-60J Jayhawk could
rescue them.

Thirteen rescued, one killed after containership sinks off Portugal

     The Delfin del Mediterraneo (Spanish-registry 4,614-gt, 6,332-dwt,
100-meter/328-foot motor bulk carrier built in 1979, operated by Tramp SL)
capsized and sank 400 kilometers/248 miles off Cabo San Vincente, Portugal,
on late 2 Feb. The location was 35 degrees 34 minutes north, 13 degrees 04
minutes west. Thirteen crewmembers were rescued from three lifeboats by
Spanish government personnel and one person, Chief Engineer Angel Gomez,
was killed. The ship was sailing from Gijon, Spain, to Spain's Canary
Islands under charter to Contenamar. It has been reported that containers
were torn loose and damaged the Delfin del Mediterraneo as the fell
overboard. Helicopters from the British Royal Navy's Aviation Support Ship
H.M.S. Argus (A 135) rescued the crew. Three other ships were involved in
searching for the crew, the Canadian Maritime Command's Halifax-class
Frigate H.M.C.S. Toronto (FFH 333), the Royal Netherlands Navy's lead ship
of the H.N.M.S. Tromp (F 801)-class Guided-Missile Destroyer and the U.S.
Navy's Oliver Hazard Perry-class Guided-Missile Frigate U.S.S. Robert G.
Bradley (FFG 49). The four ships are part of a North Atlantic Treaty
Organization naval group. Dozens of containers and other debris were found
floating in the area, which including rough weather. During the search, a
searchlight aboard the H.M.C.S. Toronto was knocked out.

Dogruyollar IV sinks

     The Dogruyollar IV (Turkish-registry 1,241-gt, 2,100-dwt general cargo
ship built in 1979, operated by Demir Finansal Kiralama A.S.) sank on 2
Feb., 48 kilometers/30 miles southeast of Cape Carbonara, Sardinia, Italy.
The sinking was roughly at 38 degrees 43 minutes north, 09 degrees 51
minutes east. The 11 crewmembers were rescued. The Dogruyollar IV was
sailing from Canakkale, Turkey, to Porto Vesme, Italy, with zinc and lead
concentrate.

Cristallo suffers fire

     The Cristallo (British-registry 5,038-gt, 8,091-dwt chemical tanker
built in 1991, operated by Finbeta SpA) had a fire in its mess room on 5
Feb. at 59 degrees 50 minutes north, 25 degrees 24 minutes east. It was
sailing from Oulu, Finland, to Kotka, Finland, and after the fire was
extinguished, called at Kotka.

Diesel spill from barge in Maine closes Fore River section

     A section of the Fore River in Portland, Maine, was closed after a
barge leaked 330 barrels of No. 2 diesel oil at the Star Enterprise
Terminal in South Portland at 0235 4 Feb. A leak from a cargo tank aboard
the barge RTC-503 was found while the fuel was being unloaded at the
terminal.

Three groundings in Florida due to storm

     Three vessels ran aground off Florida on 2 Feb. in a storm. The
Pacific Mako (6,879-dwt, 130-meter/428-foot ro/ro built in 1972, operated
by Seaboard Ship Management) ran aground on a reef three kilometers/two
miles north of the entrance to Port Everglades, Fla., at 2045. It was
refloated at 2140 3 Feb. by the tug Fort Lauderdale of Hvide Marine Inc.
after the ship's port anchor chain was cut. It had become tangled with the
starboard anchor chain. The ship will be towed to Freeport, the Bahamas.
The grounding apparently was due to a steering problem. A
62.8-meter/206-foot dredging barge ran aground about 46 meters/150 feet off
Boca Raton, Fla. The tugs Miss Robin and Vigilant have secured the barge
and will attempt to refloat it. Resolve Towing is involved in the salvage.
The Meridian will be towed to West Palm Beach, Fla. The barge grounded
after it broke loose from the anchorage area during the storm. It has 18
crewmembers. Finally, the 20-meter/65-foot tug Ruth Marine ran aground on
Boynton Beach, Fla. At last report, some 17,100 liters/4,500 gallos of fuel
was being lightered from the tug. The tug grounded after a line tow a barge
in tow snapped and tangled in its propellers. The three crew jumped
overboard and swam to shore. Also, a U.S. Coast Guard HH-60J Jayhawk
helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla., rescued the three
crew of a 15-meter/50-foot fishing vessel some 96 kilometers/60 miles west
of Fort Myers Beach, Fla., at 0600 2 Feb. They were taken to St.
Petersburg, Fla.

Northumbria Lass grounds outside Belfast

     The Northumbria Lass (641-gt, 51-meter/167-foot general cargo ship)
ran aground at 0500 3 Feb. at Belfast Lough near the Bangor breakwater
outside Belfast, Northern Ireland. The vessel was not carrying any cargo
and has a crew of six. The area where the ship is aground is mostly sand.

Passenger ship runs aground in Bosporus Strait

     The Cuba (Russian-registry 2,583-gt passenger vessel), under tow from
Bulgaria to Izmir, Turkey, for scrapping, ran aground at 0500 1 Feb. near
Tarabya, Turkey, after the tow separated.

Flooding fishing vessel assisted off North Carolina

     The fishing vessel Jenny Rae V began taking on water late 1 Feb., 96
kilometers/60 miles east of Wilmington, N.C. With the help of the fishing
vessel Fighting Lady, the crew was able to stop the flooding. A U.S. Coast
Guard helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., brought
a pump to the vessel. The Coast Guard's "Point"-class Patrol Boat
U.S.C.G.C. Point Warde (WPB 82368) towed the Jenny Rae V to Morehead City,
N.C.

U.S. Coast Guard tows fishing vessel to Cape May

     The Luke J (20-meter/67-foot fishing vessel homeported at Wildwood,
N.J.) began flooding 2 Feb., 86 kilometers/54 miles east of Barnegat, N.J.,
due to loose bolts near the propeller shaft. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter
from Coast Guard Air Station Brooklyn, N.Y., lowered a pump to the vessel,
which has a crew of four. The Coast Guard's "Point"-class Patrol Boat
U.S.C.G.C. Point Franklin (WPB 82350) later towed the Luke J to Cape May,
N.J.

Fishing vessel drifts after engine failure

     The Ama Asaba (Senegal-registry 289-gt fishing vessel) drifted 3 Feb.
after a propulsion failure. The vessel was reported at 09 degrees 36
minutes north, 16 degrees 56 minutes west.

Additional information on the Kirre

     The Kirre (Estonian-registry 1,798-gt, 82-meter/270-foot motor vessel
built in 1970), sailing from Riga, Latvia, to Seaham, England, with 1,000
tons of timber, had a cargo shift in rough weather 30 Jan., 72
kilometers/45 miles off Klaipeda, Lithuania. The Kirre had a 10-degree
starboard list and 40 percent of its cargo was dumped overboard to prevent
capsizing. The ship sailed to Klaipeda and none of the 12 crew was injured.

Barbaros Oktay refloated

     The Barbaros Oktay (Turkish-registry 10,056-dwt bulk carrier built in
1975, operated by Kiran Gemi ve Makine Sanayi-Turgut Kiran), which ran
aground 28 Jan. 150 meters/490 feet off Cape Ammoglossa, Kos Island,
Greece, was refloated 31 Jan. by Greek tugs. The ship left Novorossiysk,
Russia, and was sailing with cargo to Haifa, Israel.

Charges filed in sinking of the Dystos

     Charges were filled 3 Feb. against the Hellenic Shipping Registry and
AGET/Heracles Shipping Co. over the loss of the Dystos (Greek-registry
6,197-dwt bulk carrier built in 1972, owned and operated by Heracles
Shipping). The Dystos capsized 29 Dec., 1996, off Kimi, Evia Island,
Greece, in bad weather and sank 2 Jan., 1997. Seventeen crewmembers and
three relatives aboard were killed. One person survived. The ship was
carrying 5,300 tons of cement from Volos, Greece, to Piraeus. The charges
"against all persons responsible" are for manslaughter, causing a shipwreck
through negligence, making a false declaration for the purpose of
unlawfully deriving benefit and moral complicity in an unlawful act.
According to a report by four people filed with the court, the ship sank
due to overloading, the presence of metal plating on the deck and stern,
inadequate fitting of hatches, defective and illegal maintenance and bad
weather.

More on the break-up of the Flare

     The Flare (Cypriot-registry 16,947-gt, 29,222-dwt, 9,549-nt,
180.8-meter/593.2-foot bulk carrier built in 1972 at Hakodate, Japan; owned
by ABTA Shipping, operated by Trade Fortune Inc. and managed by Norfolk
Shiptrading) broke-up 16 Jan. at 46 degrees 57 minutes north, 56 degrees 51
minutes west. A Canadian Air Command CH-113A Labrador helictoper rescued
four crewmembers from a capsized lifeboat but 15 others were killed and six
are missing. Among those dead and missing are four Greek citizens including
master Zannis Georgoulis, first mate Polychronis Psomas and cook Ioannis
Venardis as well as several Romanian citizens. One of the survivors had a
broken arm and all had hypothermia. They included three Philippine
citizens, including Peter Soriano, and one citizen from the former
Yugoslavia, Petra Markovic. The four were treated at St.-Pierre, St. Pierre
and Miquelon, a group of French islands south of Newfoundland. The Flare
broke-up 80 kilometers/50 miles southwest of the islands, with the aft
section sinking. The forward section drifted towards Cape Breton Island,
Nova Scotia, until it sank late 20 Jan. The ship was sailing from
Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to Montreal to load grain.

     According to the survivors, a loud crack was heard at 0430 after which
a distress call was sent and received by the Canadian Coast Guard's
facility at Stephenville, Newfoundland. Photographs of the aft section
before it sank show a clean break, which some have speculated was caused by
a fast-running brittle crack. Weather included four-meter/13-foot seas and
winds of about 40 knots. About half of the crew, including the officers,
were new to the Flare, having joined the ship in Rotterdam.

     The International Transport Workers' Federation has said that the crew
was covered by an agreement with a Cypriot labor union and it will pursue
claims that may total U.S.$50,000 per person. The Flare was insured with
the U.K. P&I Club and had hull insurance in the London market.

     According to the ship's classification society, Lloyd's Register, the
Flare was in class when it broke-up and was surveyed in November. On 28 May
the Flare passed a port state control inspection in Toronto after
delivering sugar. It subsequently was inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard in
New Orleans and San Francisco. The Flare was detained at Newport, Wales,
for four days in October after a port state control inspection found "badly
corroded lifeboat davit blocks." It had a special survey under Lloyd's
Register's Enhanced Safety Program in January 1996 after extensive steel
renewal. The Flare is the first bulk carrier classed by Lloyd's Register to
be lost since June 1994.

Navios Enterprise owners to pay two-thirds of collision cost

     The London High Court has ruled that the owners of the Navios
Enterprise (68,261-dwt bulk carrier) must pay two-thirds of the costs that
resulting from its collision with the Puritan (Liberian-registry 9,649-dwt,
580-TEU containership built in 1983, operated by F. Laeisz Schiffahrts GmbH
& Co.) in the Gulf of Mexico in 1992. The owners of the Puritan will cover
the rest of the U.S.$6.5 million cost. The ships collided during Hurricane
Andrew with 140-knot winds and 15-meter/49-foot seas.