At a dual ceremony held at the Hatteras Village ferry docks on May 20, 2024, the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s (NCDOT) Ferry Division and the U.S. Coast Guard honoured the crew of the 'Hatteras' for their rescue of two men and their dog on Jan 12, 2024. Captain Bill Davis, Chief Engineer Robbie Meekins, Oiler Amanda Przygodzinski, and the crew members Gerald Huneycutt, David Butler, and Calob Fulford were onboard the 'Hatteras', tying up the ferry at the Ocracoke-South Dock Terminal, when they noticed two men hanging onto an overturned boat, and swiftly floating out of Hatteras Inlet and toward the Atlantic Ocean. The weather conditions were worsening, the current was strong, and the two men were getting sucked out to sea, Captain Bill Davis sounded the general alarm, and the crew snapped into action. The crew immediately launched a rescue boat and went to the scene, where they found the two men clinging to the side of the vessel, and a dog trapped underneath. The two men had waders on, and were having trouble staying afloat. The strong current combined with the frigid 52-degree water temperature made the situation critical. Due to the crew’s rapid response and training, it didn’t take long for the team to pull both victims and the dog out of the water, and shuttle them back to land, with no injuries reported. In addition to the NCDOT’s Extra Mile Award, Corrie Sergent, Deputy Commander for U.S. Coast Guard Sector North Carolina, also presented the crew with the Certificate of Merit and Recognition of Notable Services that have Assisted Greatly in Furthering the Aims and Functions of the Coast Guard. Multiple agencies and community members were in attendance at the ceremony, including the majority of Coast Guardsmen from Station Hatteras Inlet. Report with photos: https://islandfreepress.org/outer-banks-news/six-member-ferry-crew-honored-by-ncdot-u-s-coast-guard-for-heroic-january-rescue/
News
VENTURA
Nearly 250 passengers were affected by gatro illness aboard the 'Ventura' off the Canary Islands. Although health measures have been taken to stem the gastroenteritis pandemic, some vacationers have had to isolate themselves in their cabins. Nearly 3,000 passengers and 1,200 crew members were on board the cruise ship. To contain the disease, vacationers had to follow strict health protocols The 'Ventura' had left the port of Southampton, UK, on May 11 for a 14-day cruise around the Spanish islands. During the last four days, things have gotten complicated. Enhanced disinfection has taken place at the port of Tenerife. The measures put in place involved the closure of on-board laundries and a ban on serving passengers at buffets. There would have been 150 of them isolating themselves in their cabin. Staff brought them food and bottles of water during her isolation. The testimonies collected from passengers seem to point towards a virus present on board before their boarding.
Rio de Janeiro
The Mexican tank m/v ’Irmã Dulce’, 72900 dwt (IMO: 9548691), which was under construction at Estalairo Maua in Rio de Janeiro, suffered water ingress in the engine room and aft peak in the night of May 4, 2020. The stern came to rest on bthe bottom at a water depth of four to five meters. The accident was apparently caused by a leaking valve. In the afternoon of May 5 divers managed to stabilize the ship. It was the second of a series of four for Transpetro and was launched in 2014. The order for all three ships still under construction was later canceled. The Panamax had currently been 95% completed. Report with photo: https://splash247.com/near-complete-brazilian-tanker-newbuild-sinks-at-pier/ .
Port Elizabeth
On May 2, 2020, at 08.50 a.m. the NSRI Port Elizabeth duty crew and EC Government Health EMS were activated by the Transnet National Ports Authority to respond to rendezvous with a bulk carrier approaching Port Elizabeth from Cape Town to attend to a 52 year old Iraqi crew member onboard the ship suffering an emergency medical condition, not Covid-19 related. The sea rescue craft 'Spirit of Toft' was launched accompanied by an EMS rescue paramedic and rendezvoused with the ship seven miles East of Cape Recife. The EMS rescue paramedic and an NSRI rescue swimmer were transferred onto the ship and the patient was found to be in a critical condition. The paramedic took over emergency medical treatment from the ships medical crew and the patient, secured into a stokes basket stretcher, was transferred onto the sea rescue craft and the EMS paramedic and NSRI medics continued with medical care onboard the sea rescue craft while the patient was brought to the NSRI Port Elizabeth sea rescue base and in the care of paramedics he was transported to hospital by EMS ambulance. Despite extensive efforts by hospital medical staff the patient passed away.
ICGS ABHINAV
Despite challenging conditions, the ICGS 'Abhinav' successfully pumpe outd the engine compartment of the Indian fishing vessel 'Gurovayoorappan' with 13 crew members on board, responding to a distress call 30 nautical miles off Chavakkad, Kerala. Following the rectification of defects, the ship safely entered Munambam fishing harbour on May 21, 2024. Report with photo: https://news.abplive.com/kerala/kerala-indian-coast-guard-rescues-13-crew-members-from-sinking-fishing-boat-gurovayoorappan-1689383
SEA-EYE 4
The 'Sea Eye 4' rescued 52 boat people in the central Mediterranean on the evening of May 20. Two people required emergency medical care. The operation took place in the Maltese SAR zone. On the afternoon, the ship received an emergency call from the rescue ship 'Mare*Go', which had found the unseaworthy and overcrowded fiberglass boat and was able to equip the occupants with life jackets and stabilize the boat. Since the weather was threatening to worsen, the 'Sea Eye 4' was notified, which arrived at the scene after about a two-hour voyage. Upon arrival, the boat was no longer able to reach a safe port under its own power. Two of the migrants were initially unable to get on board independently due to severe pain and had to be hoisted out of the boat using a rescue seat. Fortunately, the initial suspicion of a head or spinal injury was not confirmed during the examination in the on-board hospital, and the condition improved over time with pain medication. At around 10:30 p.m., the 'Sea Eye 4' had successfully completed the evauation. Most of the castaways wree from Syria. The weather conditions deteriorated significantly during the night, but despite of this, Ravenna has been assigned to disembark the migrants, which meant five more days on the Mediterranean with an ETa as of May 25. Several patients complained of painful bruises that they sustained during the turbulent crossing in the overcrowded boat. Due to the bad weather and high waves, many of those rescued also were suffering from seasickness. The health checks that have been carried out so far and have revealed no further serious illnesses.
Libreville
22 and 36 nautical miles Northwest of Libreville the latest acts of piracy occurred in positions 00° 30.50’N 009°06.21’E and 00° 55.24N 009° 08 09E and involved two fishing trawlers named 'amerger II' and 'Amerger VIIÄ – the first taking place 20 nautical miles off Libreville and the second 36 n.miles off Libreville. Both incidents involved a single speedboat described as a skiff powered by three engines and having 13 pirates on board. The pirates were reported as being English-speakers which gives rise to suspicions of them being of Nigerian origin, despite this being some distance from Nigeria. The boarding of each trawler resulted in three of the crew from each vessel being kidnapped. The nationalities of those kidnapped are reported as three Indonesian, two Senegalese, and one South Korean.
Durban
On May 3, 2020, at 10.15 a.m. the NSRI Durban launched the sea rescue craft 'Alick Rennie' to transport a ShipsMed doctor to a bulk carrier at the outer anchorage off-shore of the Port of Durban. The Port Health Authorities had arranged for the doctor to take sample swabs from a crewman onboard the ship, which is due to enter Port, for Covid-19 laboratory testing prior to the ship being granted permission to enter Port. Observing all Covid-19 Department of Health and Port Health Authority safety regulations and protocols on arrival at the ship the doctor was transferred onto the ship and sample swabs were collected from the crewman. The doctor returned to the sea rescue craft accompanied by the samples that he had collected and he was brought into Durban Port without incident. Port Health Authorities evaluated the samples to determine safe passage for the ship to enter Port. The operation completed at 11.40 a.m.
DALI
On May 22 Maryland Governor Wes Moore said the 'Dali' will be in Baltimore for four to six weeks, while crews remove pieces of the bridge, damaged containers and parts of the roadway still on board. They will also make a number of temporary fixes. Once this is done, it will be sent to Norfolk. He did not specify which shipyard will receive the ship. The crew members now have the chance to spend some time off the ship for the first time since the initial collapse. After the ship was removed, there is now a 400 foot wide by 50 foot deep channel for 24/7 operations at the Port of Baltimore. The Coastguard was working to expand this further, while clearing additional rubble from the bottom of the channel.
K.BURKOVSKIY
The 'Safron Danilov' (IMO: 9069970) and the 'Kapitan Burkovskiy' sank after failing to cope with ice drift during the winter lay up near the village of Zhigansk on the Lena River in Yakutia on May 21, 2024. There were no reports of injuries. Investigators and criminologists were working on the site, who must give an official assessment of the emergency situation and the reasons why the ships went to the bottom. Report with photo: https://unn.ua/en/news/failed-to-cope-with-ice-drift-two-motor-ships-sank-in-russia
Port Elizabeth
On April 30, 2020, at 11.15 a.m. the NSRI Port Elizabeth duty crew were alerted by TNPA (Transnet National Ports Authority) requesting assistance to evacuate a Filipino crew member of a bunkering tanker at anchorage off-shore of the Port of Port Elizabeth. The man required transportation to a dentist as soon as possible and considering the Covid-19 lockdown the Port Health Authorities advised the tasking of NSRI to carry out the operation, taking into consideration that NSRI are well prepared for all Covid-19 Department of Health protocols, regulations and precautions. At 1 p.m. the sea rescue craft 'JLT Rescuer' was launched and rendezvoused with the tanker thre miles off Port Elizabeth in calm seas. The patient was transferred onto the sea rescue craft and he was brought to shore and transported to a dentist appointment by the ships agent. At 3.30 p.m. the patient returned to the Port of Port Elizabeth and he boarded our sea rescue craft JLT Rescuer and we transported him back to the ship and returned to base without incident.
Grenaa
After the gas explosion aboard the Danish dredger vessel ‘Grete Fighter‘, 582 gt (IMO: 7944762), on April 23 in the port of Grenå,the Grenaa Shipyard has not yet received a report from the Labor Inspectorate on the cause of the accident which was thought to be be due to gas emissions or diesel fumes. However, the yard has already chosen to tighten security in several areas. On April 28, a joint meeting was held where staff and management discussed what they could do to be 100 percent sure the accident cannot recur. It was decided to buy a lot of technical equipment to prevent such an explosion in the future, and some new procedures for this type of work will be intrduced. The two survivors of the accident were in critical condition.