General cargo vessel Huelin Dispatch hit a rock 1.5 mile SW of Alderney island, Channel Islands, English Channel, at around 19:00 UTC Sep 21 2012. Vessel suffered an underwater hole in the stern area. Huelin Dispatch was on maiden voyage from Southampton to the Channel Islands, reported BBC. Leak was sealed, and vessel was refloated in less than an hour, to proceed to Falmouth, where she is to be dry docked. Maritime Bulletin www.odin.tc

Prosecutors and police started investigations on board the "MSC Flaminia" on Sep 19. Together with Water Police Stade officials, representatives of the Federal Bureau of Maritime Casualty Investigation (BSU) and the Maritime Accident Command the proceedings regarding the aspects of "death investigation", "missing matter" and "arson" were discussed. A 41-year-old sailor is currently still treated with severe burns in a Portuguese specialty hospital, the other two 30 and 41 year old sailors were released after several days of treatment and returned home. The evidence indicated that there was no hope of finding the still missing 51-year-old Filipino sailor nor his body. He was last seen by witnesses in a region with devastating fire damage. A daughter of the missing sailor gave a voluntary saliva sample in case a DNA analysis for identification of the missing person is possible. During the survey also the data of the ship's computer system were backed up. The investigation is ongoing. German report with photos: www.presseportal....

RCMP have determined the death of a 30-year-old man from Quebec City, who was working aboard the "Umiavut" was a homicide. The police investigation began Sep 16 when the man was found dead on board the vessel. The homicide occurred while the vessel was traveling in the waters off the coast of Labrador. The RCMP Major Crimes Unit is investigating the death in conjunction Labrador district investigators and forensic identification Specialists. There have been no arrests and the cause of death is not being released. The vessel is now en route back to Montreal.

The owners of the "Champion" have been alleged for illegal dumping in the Pacific Ocean more than two years ago. Representatives of the Champion Tankers A/S out of Bergen, Norway, and an individual named Robert Ruzic, didn’t appear in Victoria provincial court on Sep 20, 2012, despite being scheduled for a first appearance on four charges related to illegal dumping at sea. Ruzic, the ship, Champion Tankers and its parent company, Champion Shipping A/S, face two charges of improper disposal of a substance at sea, and two charges of improper deposit of substances harmful to migratory birds. The ship allegedly dumped fish oil and an unidentified oily substance about 135 miles west of Vancouver Island, in waters frequented by migratory birds, and within the exclusive economic zone of Canada, according to court documents. The charge document doesn’t indicate how much liquid the ship is accused of dumping. All charges are dated July 29, 2010, and were sworn by federal Crown in July this year. The Canadian Coast Guard, which would have likely recorded the alleged offenses, and Environment Canada, the agency that investigated the case and forwarded its evidence to the Crown, haven’t responded to requests for more information. The case is due back in Victoria provincial court on Oct. 11 for a plea hearing.

A crewmember from the "Serenade of the Sea" went over board on Sep 21, 2012, in strong winds and rough seas. The ship was 7 km off Italy near the city of Ancona. At the time of the incident, the water temperatures were reported to be 20 Celsius. The crew member jumped from deck 11 just before 4:30 a.m. LT. A search was launched and continued for 8 hours. The Italian and possibly Croatian Coast Guards were involved in the search.

On Sep 17 the removal of the grain aboard the "Ocean Breeze" started assisted by the barge "Bertina". About 12000 tons of on the whole 33000 tons are to be unloaded before a salvage may be attempted. The cargo is being transferred directly to the "Bertina" instead of taking it onto the beach of Llolleo, as was originally planned. The salvaged grain will be transferred to Puerto Central where the company in charge will determine the next steps. Until Sep 21 about 700 tons were taken to San Antonio. Spanish reports with photos: www.soychile.cl/S... www.mundomaritimo...

The Coast Guard rescued four men from a life raft after they abandoned the "Moonlight Maid" more than 30 miles south of Resurrection Bay in the evening of Sep 20, 2012. Coast Guard Sector Anchorage watchstanders received a mayday call on marine VHF radio channel 16 at 9:01 p.m. from the crew of the 110-foot fishing vessel. The crew reported that the vessel was sinking and they were donning survival suits and entering their life raft. Sector Anchorage watchstanders directed the launch of a Kodiak-based MH-60 Jayhawk elicopter crew to rescue the men in distress. The helicopter crew located the four individuals in their life raft at 10:51 p.m. The helicopter crew safely hoisted the fishermen and took them to Seward where they were transferred to emergency medical personnel. There were no reported injuries. The vessel was carrying approximately 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel. A Coast Guard helicopter crew will conduct an over flight to check for debris and pollution. Sector Anchorage response department will conduct an investigation into the incident. Weather at the time the vessel sank was reported as 20-30 mph winds and 13-foot seas

The "Fjordbas" ran aground in Sund in the afternoon of Dep 21, 2012. It was used as a replacement ferry for the "Sundferja" which was out of service due to a technical mishap. The vessel got stuck near the ferry quay at Bjelkerøy and ran into the quay so that there was damage to the pier and a pleasure boat. There were two passengers on board and a crew of two. All were in good condition. The lifeboat "Gerhard Jebsen" pulled the ferry off at 4.05 p.m. The ferry then went to Hjellestad, where the cars were driven off and the hull surveyed. Norwegian report with photos: www.bt.no/nyheter... vestnytt.no/forsi...

On Sep 21 at 6 a.m. four tugs were finally able to pull the "Mærsk Giant" out of the port of Hirtshals. The rig will be towed to the Norwegian sector of the Northsea. It was completed ten days ahead of schedule, but severe weather has kept it in port for a week. The rig has stayed in Hirtshals since June 28 for overhauls and upgrading which cost Maersk Drilling 400 million Euro, but has also extended rig's lifespan by 10 years. The "Maersk Giant" has drilling contracts in the North Sea until 2014

beached at Alang 20.09.12