Maritime News Archives - Page 23 of 32

Cargo ship Alushta ran aground in Russia

The general cargo ship Alushta ran aground in Russian Onega Lake. The vessel was on route from Perguba to Lyskovo, when hit a mud bank, which was not still updated on the chart. The ship's hull got serious damages, but no spillage and pollution was reported in the region. The general cargo ship Alushta was loaded with gravel cargo, which should be discharged in Lyskovo. The ship was not able to refloat by itself, so the salvage operations with two tugs were held, but some part of the cargo should be discharged to lighten the vessel. The damages of the hull will not cause the sinking of the vessel, but definitely their repair will cause serious delay in ETA of the ship.

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Asia Star ship is missing after distress signal in South China sea

The cargo ship Asia Star is missing after a distress signal sent on 22nd July 2012. The vessel was on route from Dalian to Borneo, Malaysia, when due to engine failure sent distress signal to CG Station in Luzon, Philippines. The known position of the ship Asia Star was 11 nautical miles west of San Fernando City in Luzon, Philippines. The coast guard sent a tug to the vessel, which arrived to the scene and saw the drifting ship, but because of the bad weather, the tug returned into the port and was not able to tow the ship. Since this moment, there is no contact and no information for the cargo ship Asia Star. The heavy sea and the strong winds, made the shipping in South China sea really terrible and dangerous, which caused missing of two cargo ships and several boats. The coast guard informed the vessels in the region to be careful and to watch for any signs and information for the cargo ship Asia Star, which might have sunk or still drifting in distress…

Cargo ship Ashraf is missing in South China sea

The cargo ship Ashraf is missing since 21st July 2012. The last known position of the ship was in South China sea on 12 nautical miles off Botolan, Luzon. The vessel sent distress signal for engine failure and started drifting, during a heavy storm in the sea. The resque boat was sent to the scene of the distress signal, but this was not in position. There were no visual signs of the vessel and no radar and radio contact. The rescue boat returned to the port of Luzon and warning to all cargo ships in the vicinity was sent. The cargo ship might be in disaster or even sank, because the storm and the bad weather in the region caused serious programs for the shipping in South China sea.

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The fire on MSC Flaminia is growing

The fire on board of MSC Flaminia is growing and now includes 1200 TEU from the cargo on board. The salvage operations of the large container ship, which exploded in the mid Atlantic, started a few days ago, but the firefighting tugs are still no able to get control of the fire. The ship MSC Flaminia is drifting with 8.2 degrees heel to starboard, due to the burning containers and fire fighting equipment on board. On the scene of the accident now there are 3 tugs - Fairmount Expedition, Anglian Sovereign and Carlo Mango, which deluge the fire with water. On board of the container ship were boarded also 4 people, who are trying to re-activate the firefighting system of MSC Flaminia and also boarded additional equipment. The salvage operations are head by SMIT company, which has open agreement for the rescue operations of the container ship. According to information from them, the superstructure, stern and bridge are no affected by the fire, but now more than…

Explosion and fire on offshore supply vessel in Nigeria caused death of 30 people

Explosion and fire started on board of offshore supply vessel in Abuloma Jetty in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The explosion was heavy, without any warning from the firefighting system and caused the death of more than 30 people. All the crew members and some guests on board were killed after the explosion and fire. Only 3 people survived after the accident, but they are really highly injured and were transported in the local hospital. The explosion was caused by short circuit during maintenance works in Abuloma Jetty in Port Harcourt, while the ship was berthed. On board of the vessel there were a lot of girls from the local city, who were making company so the offshore workers.

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Container ship Olivia was hijacked in Guinea

The German container ship Olivia was attacked and robbed by pirated, while drifting off Guinea. The ship was attacked by group of armed pirates, who enclosed the ship with fast motor boat. A group of men heavily armed with guns, knives and grenades boarded the vessel and took the crew as hostage in one of the mess rooms. Some of the pirates entered into the bridge and kidnapped the Second and Chief Officer. When the ship was over the full control of the pirates, they robbed the vessel, taking money, mobile phones, technology and even the ship's safe. After the robbery the group left the vessel to the boat and left the scene of the accident. There are no injured people from the crew of container ship Olivia during the accident, as they fully assisted the pirates.

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Biostar ship ran aground in Norway

The Norwegian general cargo ship Biostar ran aground in North sea. The accident happened western off Vibransoy island in Haugesund, Norway. The ship was operating in the region, fully loaded with cargo, when due to navigation mistake of the duty officer ran agound in mud bank of Vibransoy island. The vessel was not able to refloat by itself, but with the support of a harbor tug was towed to safety. The general cargo ship Biostar returned to the closest port, where an inspection found several damages to the hull, stern, bow and rudder. The ship was kept in the port for repair and maintenance after the collision. The vessel is is good condition, in spite of the several damages, which has in the accident. There are no injured people and no pollution in the scene of the collision.

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Tug and barge sank in Lake Huron

The barge Arthur J sank in Lake Huron, capesizing the tugboat Madison. the both vessels were operating on 5 nautical miles off the entrance to the St Clair River. Both vessel has total about 7.0 tons of fuel and a small volume of luboil, so the local authorities made special construction to restrict the spillage and the water pollution. The both ships are operated and owned by the US company MCM Marine Inc and the reason for the accident is still unknown. According to the Coast Guard, the ships sank due to engineering problem in the dredge barge. The vessel's hull broke and while sinking capesized the towing tug Madison. The accident happened close to the shore and there were no serious injured people, but the water pollution might cause serious problem to the Lake Huron eco-system.

Berge Stahl bulk carrier

Berge Stahl is the largest bulk carrier of the world. The vessel is impressive with giant measurements and really large cargo capacity. We should mention that only a few ports in Europe and even all over the world, can accept such large carriers. Berge Stahl is owned by Bergesen d.y. ASA and operated by Berge Bulk Norway. The ship has length of 343.00 m, beam of 65.00 m and maximum summer draft of 23.00 m. The deadweight of this large bulk carrier is 364,767 DWT and the gross tonnage is 175,720 GRT. The cargo capacity of the vessel is over 220,000 cubic meters for carrying grain. The design of the bulk carrier Berge Stahl allow it to carry heavy and light cargoes. The vessel has various compartments with different sizes, as the odd numbers are smaller than the even ones. The special design allow the ship to carry heavy bulk cargoes, which have higher density and high mass. Such structure is used usually in many bulk carriers, but never before in such large …

MSC Flaminia salvage operations started

Towing and salvage tugs arrived on the position of the explosion of the container ship MSC Flaminia and started the operations for fire fighting and rescue of the large vessel. Meanwhile, second explosion on board of the MSC Flaminia was reported by the salvage tugs, which was seen from the burning cargo hold. According to the latest information neither the superstructure, not the engine room and bridge were directly affected by the fire on board, so the rescuers are highly optimistic that the fire will be extinguished and the ship will be saved. The plan for the rescue of the ship include boarding of engineer on MSC Flaminia, who should re-activate the fire fighting system on board and with the support of the tug to extinguish the fire on board and to get the control of the vessel. The salvage operation is still not started and the container vessel is drifting to European coast about 1000 nautical miles off.

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