Maritime News Archives - Page 8 of 32

Ships Going Green, at Port and at Sea!

GOTHENBURG, Sweden — Something unusual is happening in Swedish waters. Crews docking at the Port of Gothenburg are turning off their engines and plugging into the local power grid rather than burning diesel oil or sulfurous bunker fuel — a thick, black residue left over from refining oil. “I always knew these extremely dirty bunker fuels were helping produce acid rain that falls so heavily over this part of Sweden,” said Per Lindeberg, the port’s electrical manager and an avid fisherman. “I was very happy when we could switch off the ships.” (more…)

General Cargo ship sank off Kerala, India

The Indian cargo ship MSV Arul Seeli sank off the Beypore port in Kerala. The accident happened 21 nautical miles off the port. The general cargo ship was loaded into the port with 150 tons of different types of cargo, such as sand, bricks and even cows. Most probably the ship sank after cargo shift due to the bad weather in the region. On board of the cargo vessel were 8 seamen and 5 of them are still missing. The fishing boats in the scene of the accident saved three lives, but the other 5 seamen were not found. The rescued people were transported into the local hospital with slight injuries. The local authorities started search and rescue operation for the other 5 people, but still have no information for any success. The investigation for the reason of the accident will be performed by the port authorities.

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Ferry hit pier in Lower Manhattan injuring 17 passengers

Ferry hit a dock in Lower Manhattan, which caused injury of at least 17 passengers. The ship was operated by Seastreak Ferries and had about 300 passengers on board. The ship was operating on regular router from New Jersey to Lower Manhattan, while during a berth to Pier 11 at South Street and Gouverneur Lane the ship hit the pier and throw passengers from their seats. The ship has serious damages over the hull, as the whole starboard side is broken over the waterline without water ingress. The reason for the accident was high speed of maneuvering and too aggressive berthing operation by the pilot. All of the injured people were transported to the local hospital and later were let to go home.

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Cruise ship Queen Elizabeth 2 was sold for scrap

The oldest operating cruise ship of the world Queen Elizabeth 2 will be sold for scrap to Chinese Buyers. The vessel was a former flagman of Cunard Cruises and the oldest operating cruise ships, but the project for transforming it to floating luxury hotel failed and the Chinese breakers contracted to buy it for 20 million GBP. The ship is now moored in the commercial port of Dubai, as there was a big project to continue operating as floating hotel, but the O2 Arena calculated it as unprofitable. The cruise ship is one of the most interesting and most beautiful cruise ships built ever, having own old-style classical design same as Titanic. During its career Queen Elizabeth 2 carrier more than 2.1 million passengers and sailed more than 5.5 million nautical miles.

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Wild Heather was sold to Baltic Shipping

The reefer cargo vessel Wild Heather was sold to the Russian company Baltic Shipping. The price of the contract was 7,500,000 USD, which was signed in the beginning of the month in Japan. The ship will join the fleet of Baltic Shipping from 1st January 2013, as it already finalized its time charter for the Japanese operator Shinme Kisen Sangyo. The reefer cargo ship Wild Heather was built in 1998 in the Japanese shipyard Iwagi Shipbuilding, according to the latest technologies and really environmental operations. The cargo ship is in perfect condition and has total capacity for 160 TEU and all can be plugged. The Wild Heather (IMO: 9181144) has gross tonnage of 9,859 GRT and summer deadweight of 10,114 DWT. The cargo ship has length of 150.00 m, beam of 22.00 m and draft of 6.20 m. The future contracts and charters of the ship are still not announced, but most probably the vessel will operated for the fleet of the company in Baltic Sea.

Costa Pacifica hit a buoy in Marseille fairway

Slight accident happened to the cruise ship Costa Pacifica during the entering in port of Marseille. The cruise ship was on voyage from Savona to Marseille and maneuvering though the fairway, when due to the bad weather and strong winds the ship hit a contacted buoy. On board of Costa Pacifica there were 2,000 passengers and about 800 crew members, who did not felt the accident and were not hurt in any way. The ship suffered a big scratch several meters long above the waterline. The local authorities will start investigation of the accident and most probably will fine the master of Costa Pacifica. On board of the ship during the maneuvering were the duty officers, the master and pilots from Marseille port station. Costa Pacifica is one of the largest vessels of Costa Cruises, offering top quality and really luxury cruises. Costa Pacifica is sister-ship of the grievously known cruise vessel Costa Concordia, which sank in the beginning of the year near Gilio …

Passenger ship with 162 students on board ran aground in Japan

The trip cruise ship Ginga ran aground off Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan. On board of the vessel were 162 high school students and teachers, who were on cruise trip around the coast. Due to navigation mistake and hit by the current, the cruise ship ran aground on rocky shoals on 1 nautical mile off Suo-Oshima Town shores. The duty officers on board of the ship Ginga sent a distress signal and the coast guard sent immediately several rescue boats at the scene of the accident. All the passengers and crew members were rescued without any serious injuries. The local authorities and coast guard started salvage operations to tug the vessel and refloat it, but the hull is broken and there is water ingress.

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ST Wind cargo ship got engine failure in Japan Sea

The general cargo ship ST Wind, which is operating under Russian flag, is disabled with engine failure on 50 nautical miles off Olga Port in Russia. The general cargo ship was on route from Tokyo to Vanino port, when a technical malfunction in some of the aggregates caused shortage and broke the main engine. This caused the disability of the cargo ship ST Wind and drifting without control towards coastline. There is no direct danger for the ship, accoridng to the coast guard station, as the harbor tug will arrive at the scene of the accident in a few hours. The ship will be towed to Olga port, where will be repaired and inspected.

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Bulk carrier Double Progress collided with anchored container ship in Malaysia

The bulk carrier Double Progress collided with the anchored container ship E.R. Turku off Port Klang, Malaysia. The Panamax dry bulk carrier, which was loaded with 30,000 tones of coal, was driven by pilot and master for entering into harbor, when the negligence of the situation caused collision with the anchored ship. The current and the wind in the position of the accident were middle, as the weather conditions were good for operations. The collision was minor and both ships had no sufficient damages into their hulls, but the local authorities investigated the accident and fined the guilty master of bulk carrier Double Progress. The operations in the region are not disturbed by the collision and the maritime transport is normalized.

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General cargo ship Rainbow Joy collided with fishing boat in Philippines

The general cargo ship Rainbow Joy collided with fishing boat Raisa off Davao City, Philippines. The accident caused instant sinking of the small fishing vessel and throw all the 11 fishermen in the water. The general cargo ship stopped engines after the accident and performed search and rescue operations to take all the seamen from water.All the 11 fishermen were saved without any serious injuries. The reason of the accident was mistake in maneuvering of the fishing boat, which skipper changed course crossing the bow of the general cargo ship Rainbow Joy. The Philippine Coast Guard and local authorities started investigation of the accident, as the cargo vessel was detained for taking witness evidences from the duty officers and the master.

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