Van Oord, the renowned, globally operating dredging, marine and offshore contractor from the Netherlands has engaged the Sietas shipyard in Hamburg for the final fitting-out and commissioning of its new flexible fallpipe vessel, “Stornes”. This special offshore vessel was transferred to the port of Hamburg from the Chinese Yantai CIMC Raffles Offshore Ltd.. She docked at the fitting-out pier of the Sietas Group’s Norderwerft shipyard today. Over the next weeks, experts from both the Sietas and Norderwerft shipyards and the vessel’s owners and operators, Van Oord, will carry out the necessary work before the “Stornes” sets out for her first assignment.

The plan to turn the vessel around on Aug 11 and and tow it away had to be postponed because the owner had not collected the necessary permissions from government agencies. After days of deliberations with the directorate general of shipping, "Pavit"'s Dubai-based owner, the M/s Pavit Shipping Lines, had appointedGreat Offshore Limited and Titan Salvage to pull off the ship. It did not speak to other government departments. Since the salvage operation requires shifting of sand from the beach and cordoning off the area, the owner had to take permissions from the collector, the maritime board, the customs and the local police. If the permissions do not come by Aug 12 , the salvage operation will have be put off for another 10 days because of unfavourable tide patterns. Since the permissions have not comeyyet, salvors will carry out work like straightening the ship and carrying out safety and security risk assessment in the next few days.

The plan to plug the oil leak in the "Rak Carrier" had to be postponed on Aug 11 due to unfavourable weather conditions. An Oil and Natural Gas Corporatio-diving support vessel has reached the site and marked the wreck with three markers. An aerial survey conducted by the Coast Guard showed that the bulk carrier is still losing oil, though its spread is now restricted to 3 sq km around the vessel. The rate of leak even now is half a ton per hour. Patches of oil were spotted up to eight nautical miles from the wreck. The Coast Guard estimated that 150 tons of oil have leaked from the sunken ship. Fresh patches of oil were also spotted on Aug 11 near INS Kunjali, Colaba, and about five nautical miles from the Mahalaxmi temple. This is in addition to areas such as Juhu, Gorai, Dadar, Khar Danda , Uttan, Alibaug and Kihim that have been hit by the spill in the last few days. The ship's insurance company has been asked to submit a de-bunkering plan to remove the remaining oil onboard. The Coast Guard has stopped spraying oil spill dispersants on the spill. The "Samudra Prahari", "Varuna" and "Kamala Devi". Experts of the National Institute of Oceanography took water samples.

The Philippine Coast Guard on Aug 12 claimed that human error could have caused the sinking of the "Bulk Carrier 1". It was possible that the ship officials did not follow the rules of the road or the navigation at sea. By noon the PCG was continuing its search for the missing apprentice engineer. They were also monitoring the oil sheen from the sunken ship. The PCG since Aug 10 surrounded it with their oil spill boom and sprayed the affected area with oil dispersant to prevent the oil sheen from reaching the shoreline. It was estimated that there are still six tons diesel oil inside the fuel tank but there is a big chance that it would evaporate. The rains also helped in removing the oil sheen.

On Aug 11 additional oil spill equipment was delivered to the area north of Mauritius by a tug of the Mauritius Ports Authority (MPA) where the "Angel 1" was stuck since three days. On Aug 12 a generator was to be delivered by helicopter to the "Angel 1" which will allow it to pump water out of its machine room which is submerged under 8 feet of water. A problem was its weight of 1.5 tons which exceeds the capacity of the largest helicopter on the island, the Dhruv, the only twin-engine police helicopter. An AC generator weighing less will be delivered on board the "Angel 1" in the morning. It then remains on the expertise of the MPA and the National Coast Guard to determine whether the ship must be relieved of its 32,000 tons of rice and its 1000 tonnes of fuel before towing. French report with photo: www.lexpress.mu/s...

Police launched an investigation aboard the "Galan2 after its collision with the German flagged,two masted schooner "Carola" in the Lübeck-Gedser-channel about three miles off Dahmeshoeved in the Baltic Sea on Aug 11. It it possible that the cargo ship would have had to give way. The "Carola" which suffered severe bow damage was towed to Heiligenhafen upon Fehmarn by the lifeboat "Hans Hackmack" of the DGzRS which had got the alarm at 2.05 p.m. and meanwhile kept above water by its small boat "Emmi". Also the multipurpose ship "Scharhoern" was on scene. The 8 youth from Neumünster were met by their parents in Burgstaaken in the afternoon after their evacutation by the "BP 23 - Bad Dueben" with the help of a lifeboat. The pathfinders were underway to Kühlungsborn to undertake biological research guided by the organisation "Klima Sail“. The s/v-crew and the accompagnying 2 adults emained on board during the transit. German report with photos: www.ln-online.de/...

he "Katy B" was escorted to a repair facility at Hemiksem on Aug 11, escorted by a police lazunch. Before, a crane had discharged the whole cargo of fertilizer. Dutch report with photos: www.gva.be/antwer...

Turanor PlanetSolar, a ship powered entirely by solar energy, is coming to Hong Kong next week, China Daily reports. The multihull vessel topped by a large array of photovoltaic solar panels was constructed by Knierim Yacht Yard, in Kiel, Germany. Built in 14 months, the biggest ever solar boat is touring the globe, promoting renewable energy and environmental protection. After setting out from Miami, then sailing to Cancun and Brisbane, Hong Kong is her fourth stop. The crew will hold a public exhibition and a series of conferences with leaders in solar mobility at each stop.

Coast Guard probers said the collision between two vessels off Sarangani province Tuesday night could have been due to human error. PCG commandant Admiral Ramon Liwag said the weather was good and the vessels had no mechanical problem when the accident happened. Liwag was puzzled by the collision of MV Bulk Carrier I and the Monrovian-registered container vessel MV HS Puccini. www.journal.com.p...

For nearly three days from June 26, as 999-tonne tanker MT Pavit rolled and pitched ominously in stormy seas off the coast of Oman with its engine refusing to fire, the 13-member crew on board were apparently given repeated technical advice and suggestions from the ship’s Dubai-based operators over satellite phone and e-mail. The manager-operator firm, Prime Tankers, has slammed the master for choosing to abandon what they claim was an absolutely sea-worthy vessel “hastily, in panic” even before a tug boat could be sent for help. More at www.indianexpress...