Maritime News Archives - Page 24 of 32

Skagit ferry capesized off Zanzibar

More than 100 people are missing, when the ferry Skagit capsized on route between Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania and Zanzibar with 281 passengers on board. The rescue boats and helicopters saved more than 150 people with slight injuries and recovered 25 bodies in the waters of Indian Ocean. The local authorities report that more than 100 people are still missing and the search and rescue operations were not able to find them. The accident happened, when strong winds and waves hit the board of the ferry and the got a water ingress into the compartments. The ship Skagit lost stability and capesized with all the people on board. According to the witness evidences the passengers and the crew had no time for reaction, as the ship sank for a minutes. The local authorities continue the search and rescue operations in spite of the bad weather and heavy sea.

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Somali pirates released 25 hostages

The crew members of the Taiwanese fishing boat Shiuh Fu No 1, which was hijacked by Somali pirates was released yesterday and taken to safety. The boat was attacked 19 months ago in the region of Madagascar island with crew of 13 Chinese and 12 Vietnamese people on board. The crew on board was released, but the fishing boat Shiuh Fu No 1 had run aground and was not able to re-float. The 25 crew members were taken from a Chinese navy ship to Tanzania, from where were transfered in Taiwan. The negotiations with the Shiuh Fu Fishery company, which is operating with the fishing vessel, started a few weeks after the hijacking of Shiuh Fu No 1, but were heavy and both sides did not meet any agreement. Finally on 17th July 2012, the hostages were released by the Somali pirates and taken to safety.

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Saga Ruby will be retired

The last cruise ship built in Great Britain will be retired after more than 40 years operating, more than 4 million nautical miles and more than 660 berths. This is the cruise ship Saga Ruby, which is known as the latest British ship, built in 1973 in Newcastle Swan Hunter shipyard. The cruise ship is operating for the luxury cruise company Saga Cruises and really carry the style of the middle ages. Robin Shaw, the CEO of the company announced that the cruise ship Saga Ruby, will make its final voyage on 7th December 2013. He added that operating of such old ship is really not meeting the required standards, which Saga Cruises has and the company is planning to renew its fleet till 2014. The era of Saga Ruby will finish, as the vessel carried thousands of passengers and will stop operating in the most exciting way. The last voyage of the cruise ship will be 31-night Caribbean cruise, sailing from Southampton. The ship will make some kind of lap of honor, vi…

Estelle Maersk container ship

Estelle Maersk is one of the largest container ships of the world, which has more than 14,500 TEU capacity and operates for the company Maersk Group. The cargo ship is large and modern, combining the best sea practices with modern engineering developments. The container ship Estelle Maersk has length of 397.00 m, beam of 56.00 m and depth of 30.00 m. The vessel has maximum summer draft of 11.40 m, with full cargo capacity on board. The ship has impressive dimensions and improved capacity. The deadweight of Estelle Maersk is 156,907 DWT, while the gross tonnage is 151,687 GRT and the net tonnage is 55,396 tons. The cargo ship was built in 2006 in Odense Steel Shipyard in Odense, Denmark, following the most modern standards of IMO and engineering improvements of the shipbuilder. The container ship Estelle Maersk combines profitability, quality and environmental operations in one really impressive engineering structure. The ship has improved hull design, which…

Italiash fishing trawler Fatima II was hijacked in Mediterranean Sea

The Italian fishing trawler Fatima II was hijacked after mutiny on board. The vessel had 7 crew members on board - 4 Italians, 2 Egyptians and a Tunisian, when an ethnic conflict caused mutiny. The Egyptian and Tunisian seamen killed the fishing ship's master and hijacked the vessel. The other three Italian crew members were forced to board a life raft and were left into the the sea. The accident happened in Mediterranean Sea on position 103 miles off Libyan coast. The Italians, who escaped from the ship phoned to their homes and were found by cargo ship, who carried the seamen to Greece. The three crew members are no injured in good condition, but the fishing ship is missing. The Italian authorities started investigation about the accident together with the North African countries, for searching for the fishing trawler Fatima II. Most probably the ship is somewhere along the North Africa Med coast, as the the coast guards of Tunisia, Libya and Egypt are se…

US Navy ship fired on Indian fishing boat

US navy cargo ship fired to an Indian fishing boat in the Persian Gulf, due to concerns for piracy. The ship Rappahannock, which refuels US Navy ship in the region, passed though the Strait of Hormuz, when a boat enclosed to the ship and disregarded warnings from the vessel. The ship Rappahannock fired with 50-milimeter machine gun to the boat, killing one of the people on board. The accident happened 10 miles off the Dubai's Jebel Ali port, while the ship was passing though the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. The local authorities and Naval Criminal Investigative Service are engaged with investigation of the accident and searching for the reason for the fire. The US navy cargo ship Rappahannock was loaded with fuel oil, when the accident happened, which most probably the main reason for the premature fire. On board of the fishing boat was not found any weapons and arms, but the region is very dangerous for shipping, as almost every day some cargo shi…

PRISCO sold two bulkers to Greek company

The Russian shipowner PRISCO Corp sold its two bulk carrier to the Greek company Navious at total price of 42 million USD. The two vessel PRISCO UDOKAN (IMO:9558907) and PRISCO ABAKAN (IMO:9558892) are sister ships, built in 2009 in the South Korean shipyard Stx Offshore & Shipbuilding. The both bulk carriers have length of 190.00 m, beam of 32.00 m and depth of 10.50 m. The deadweight of the vessels are 57,334 DWT each and the gross tonnage is 33,218 GRT each. The deal is part from the big renovation and restructure of the company, which PRISCO Corp started last year with selling six aframax ships to its rival SCF (Sovcomflot). The company lost the competition for carrying Russian crude oil and lost a lot of its contracts, so during the financial crisis PRISCO Corp was in front of bankruptcy with increasing debts and low value of cargo carried. To survive, the company planned to decrease the value of its fleet and to sale the ships, which are not profitab…

Cruise ship Liberty of the Seas

The cruise ship Liberty of the Seas is one of the largest and most luxury vessels built ever, providing high quality service and really powerful engineering. The ship is owned and operated by Royal Caribbean Cruises, designed with special attention to the entertainment and attractions on board. The cruise ship Liberty of the Seas is 338.91 meters in length, the beam is 56.08 meters and the summer draft is 8.53 meters. The vessel has deadweight of 10,600 DWT and gross tonnage of 154,407 GRT. The giant vessel was built in the shipyard Stx Finland Turku in 2007, according to the latest standards of IMO, MARPOL and best sea practices. The cruise ship has really large capacity and can host 4,370 passengers, providing them high class service, a lot of entertainments and really good accommodations. The guests on board of Liberty of the Seas are served by 1,300 crew members and can visit some of the best tropical destinations of the world.

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One person died during fire on General Cargo ship

The general cargo ship Brielle caught fire, while being on berth in Ensenada port in La Plata, Argentina. The cargo ship was moored and has cargo operations, when a cargo broke our in one of the cargo holds. One crew member died during the accident and six more people are seriously injured. The firefighters needed more than six hours to extinguish the fire on board of cargo ship Brielle. The general cargo ship has 13 crew members, who were from Russian, Ukrainian and Filipino nations. The died person is still unknown, as the authorities do not specify even the nationality of the man. The cargo ship Brielle suffered sufficient damaged in the hull and superstructure, during the fire. Engaged with the fire fighting were two tugs and the shore command with full equipment. The port authorities are still investigating the reason for the fire on board, as still it is unknown if it was started by human mistake or engineering failure.

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MSC Flaminia is still on fire in mid Atlantic

The fire, which started on 14th July 2012 in the cargo holds of MSC Flaminia is still not extinguished. The container ship is drifting in the mid Atlantic and billowing thick smoke, which is seen from the passing cargo ships in the vicinity. All the crew members left the ship, after the explosion on board and the ship is not under control, such as the fire on board. The Falmouth Coastguard sent two fire fighting tugs at the scene of the accident, but their ETA is the afternoon of 17th July 2012. The coastguard and the UK authorities have no other possible actions, as they reported that no investigation can be held before the fire is extinguished and the specialists inspect and check the place of the explosion. The crew members of MSC Flaminia commented that the fire started in cargo hold number 4, where were loaded some containers with combustible bleaching agent calcium hypochlorite.

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