General Cargo Ships

   Fire started in the engine room of the general cargo ship Jul, which is docked for repairs in the Shipyard of Ismajil, Ukraine.The fire started in the engine room during welding works on board and quickly growth to the superstructure. The whole accommodations are destroyed and 2 dock workers died during the accident. The fire also injured two other people, who were trying to extinguish the fire, before growing too much. The fire fighting took more than 10 hours, before the team to get control over it. The general cargo ship Jul got sufficient damages and was seriously hurt and the repair will be delayed with one or two months. The local authorities started investigation over the accident and the shipowner will look for compensation from the Shipyard and dock workers for the damages caused.

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   The general cargo ship Lisa D was detained in Copenhagen after the ship was not answering to the VHF calls. The vessel was on route from Gothenburg to Gdansk, passing through The Sound strait, when the traffic control was trying to get in touch with the officers, but no-one replied. The traffic police forced the ship and armed men from boarded from a fast boat. The policemen made an alcohol test to the crew and found that the captain has over 2 per thousand consistence in the blood, while the helmsman was totally sober. The Lithuanian captain was arrested and if the blood tests find the same consistence of alcohol in his blood can stay 2 months in the Danish prison. The vessel is detained for 24 hours in the port of Copenhagen and will be released after full investigation of the accident.

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   The general cargo ship Vyg ran aground on a beach in Rostock, Germany. The vessel stray from the course, heading directly to the beach. The ship ran aground in the sandbanks, causing minor damages of the hull. The general cargo ship Vyg was able to refloat alone with full stern speed, but was asked from the port authorities to drop anchor nearby and to wait for full inspection of the hull and investigation of the accident. The authorities found that the duty officer and the helmsman consumed large amounts of alcohol and were totally intoxicated. The ship was detained in the Rostock port for further investigation and sanctions from the local authorities. The general cargo ship Vyg was on route from Calais to Klaipeda, fully loaded with cargo, but most probably the delivery will be delayed.

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   Collision in Kiel Canal closed the shipping in the important maritime hub for a few hours. The general cargo ship BBS Star got rudder failure and was left without ability to maneuver, colliding with heavy lift cargo vessel Snoekgracht. The vessel Snoekgracht hit with the bow the portside of the general cargo ship BBS Star, causing serious hole and water ingress into the cargo hold. After the collision the the general cargo ship head to Brunsbuettel for discharging of the grain and full repair and inspection. The rudder will also be repaired, which will delay the arrival of the ship to the destination point. The heavy lift cargo vessel Snoekgracht got slight damage of bow and the forepeak. the ship will be able to continue the voyage without any repairs.

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   The cargo ship Kapitan Skachkov, carrying 4750 tons of sulphur, ran aground in Volga river. The accident happened near the southern European Russian city Astrakhan. The vessel was operating on the river, but hit a mudbank and seriously stuck into the bottom. The main reason for the accident was the low level of the water into the river and ignoring the warnings for dangerous areas in Volga river. The ship was not able to re-float by itself, because of the cargo on board. If the salvage team tries to tug is back into deeper water, the ship might get a hull damage. The port authorities and ship's crew prefered to lighter the general cargo vessel Kapitan Skachkov before start the towing operations. There are no sufficient damages of the hull and no holes into the cargo holds. The port authorities informed in press release that the ship caused no pollution into the river and there are no injured people during the accident.

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   The general cargo ship Yukka, which caught fire near the Turkish port Cide, sank 2 miles off Eregli port. The firefighting tugs extinguished the fire on board, but meanwhile it seriously damaged the hull and decreased the stability of the vessel. The fire started in the cargo holds and engine room and broke the strength of the Ukrainian general cargo vessel. The tugs tried to tow the cargo ship Yukka to the coast, but during the salvage operations the ship got water ingress from the engine room and broke in the middle. With such serious damages the salvage operations were impossible and Yukka sank near the Turkish coast in the waters of Black Sea. The cargo vessel was operating on route from Istanbul to Rostov-on-Don, Russia loaded with ceramics, glass and textile dye. The 13 crew members were rescued and transported to Inebolu, Turkey, as only two officers has minor injuries.

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   The general cargo ship Yukka caught fire on 40 nautical miles off Cide, Turkey in Black Sea. The ship was operating on route from Istanbul to Rostov-on-Don, when a fire started from the engine room and caught whole vessel. The distress signal from the vessel was sent to the coast guard and the crew left the ship on life rafts. Two officers were slightly injured during the accident, but their burns were minor and there is no danger for their health. Meanwhile, the Turkish Coast Guard sent firefighting tugs to the scene of the accident, which extinguished the fire on board and towed the vessel to the port. The crew was evacuated and transported to Cide, where the injured officers will have a medical treatment. The port authorities started investigation for the source of the fire, but as preliminary information the reason was technical malfunction.

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   The cargo ship Bayang partially sank after collision with anchored barge Asian Roger in Manila Bay, Philippines. The Ro-Ro cargo ship was anchored, when due to the strong current and heavy sea dragged the anchor and collided with the barge. The ship got large hole into the portside of the hull with size of about 0.50 m. The cargo ship Bayang got water ingress and submerged, as the hull grounded into the bottom and the vessel partially sank. There is no information about injured people and pollution, but the ship has large capacity of IFO on board, which might spill into the bay. The shipowner and port authorities got all the measures to prevent leakage and water pollution in the region. The local authorities started investigation of the accident and most probably the owned and operator of the ship will be fined for the collision and the sinking.

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   The general cargo ship Stella, which is operating under the flag of Ukraine ran aground Andros island, Greece. The ship hit rocks of a shallow, due to navigation error and oversight of the duty officer to the real ship's position. Too much reliance on navigational equipment often causes such accidents and even can cause ship's sinking. The general cargo ship Stella got got some damages of the hull, but there is no accurate information before the salvage operations complete. On the scene of the accidents was sent to Coast Guard patrol boat, which will try to tug the vessel and refloat it. The general cargo ship Stella was operating under ballast from Chalkis to Romania, where has chartered cargo, but most probably will have serious delay. After refloating of the vessel, the general cargo ship will be towed to the closest port for inspection and repair. There is no pollution and injured people during the accident.

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