Several electrical faults in the engine room probably caused a crew member on the 'Stena Germanica' to die while on duty. That was the conclusion of a report on the incident from the National Accident Commission. On June 27, 2022, the ship engineer died on board the ferry, en route from Gothenburg to Kiel. The Swedish investigators believed that he likely died of electrocution and not natural causes as was initially assumed at the time of the death. The electrical installation work might have been faulty from when the vessel was new but went undiscovered because it did not impact the operation of the systems. The engineer was found unconscious next to a ballast pump in the engine room. He had been looking for a water leak. CPR was attempted without success, and the reports assumed that the death was due to cardiac arrest or similar circumstances, which were listed as natural causes. The investigation however identified that about two weeks later, on July 14, another engineer also looking for the cause of a water leak at the ballast pump received a strong electrical shock. Stena hired an electrical company that came aboard on July 15 to investigate the problems in the electrical system, and at the same time reported the incident to the police. They informed the authorities that the first incident which resulted in the death could have been an electrical accident. The investigators reported that the second engineer had leaned forward to feel where the water was coming from when he received a strong electrical shock from a wet solenoid value. At the time, the second engineer was not aware that it was the same position where the first engineer had been discovered. Several different errors caused the component to become energized. A gasket was missing and critically there was no protective grounding on the part. The incoming cables to the solenoid had also been changed which they determined meant that it was energized the entire time the pump was in operation. Because it was outside the ordinary isolated fault system, the problem was not detected. Further, because the value was operating no error messages were recorded. The Swedish Accident Investigation Authority concluded that when the second engineer touched the components looking for the water leak and when he came in contact with the water, he was shocked. They speculated that the first engineer encountered a similar situation leading to his death. The report recommended paying attention to the risks of improperly performed electrical work on board ships. It highlights that only people with the required knowledge of electricity and a ship’s special electrical system should be permitted to work on the systems. They also recommended that Stena review routines for training the crew on accident responses and shortening the time from the alarm till they reach the scene. They also recommend that Stena develop routines for consulting with shoreside medical services in the case of electrical shocks or electrocution aboard one of its ships.
News
DON INDA
On April 17, 2024, at 8 a.m. Salvamento Marítimo was alerted after the skipper of the yacht 'JPK 960 Philauvent-Passecoque' (MMSI:227613780), the 63 year old veteranian Philippe Benoiton, whio was participatin in the 'Saliling Race Cap Martinique', and had left from La Trinité-sur-Mer (France) bound for Fort-de-France (Martinique). He went missing west of Cape Finisterre in strong northwestern winds in the night of April 16. The regatta coordinator informed that they had no news of a participating sailboat, with a reduced course and speed as they were able to discover from its GPS. They couldn't contact him. The double-handed competitors Yann Gindre and Michel Foucart aboard the 'L'Opale - A Chacun son Everest' finally found the yacht,at 7:40 a.m., without being able to confirm the sailor's presence aboard. The CCS Fisterra coordinated the SAR operation with the 'Don Inda' and the helicopters Helimer 401, Helimer 402,Pesca 1 and the Sasemar 102 plane. At 9.19 a.m. the auxiliary boat of the 'Don Inda' located the sailboat and verified that the single crew member was not on board. The engine was running and the tiller was broken. The yacht was towed to the Cee Port in A Coruña. The body of the missing person was located five nautical miles southwest of Cabo Fisterra by the Pesca I helicopter. it waa recovered and transoorted to the Vigo airport, where the National Police was waiting. The response was coordinated by the RCC of Salvamento Marítimo in Fisterra. Reports with photos: https://www.elidealgallego.com/articulo/a-coruna/helimer-coruna-une-busqueda-regatista-desaparecido-alta-mar-4799426 https://www.boatnews.com/story/45745/cap-martinique-transatlantic-race-mourns-death-of-competitor
Port Hedland
Thirty-eight vessels at anchor off Port Hedland, waiting to load iron ore.
Agaete
In a ruling last week, the Court of Justice of the EU rejected an appeal presented by Fred. Olsen S.A. over a sentence dictated by the General Courts of the EU in March 2018, whereby the continued exclusive use of the Port of Agaete on the Island of Gran Canary, by Fred. Olsen, constituted a subsidy by the Government of the Canary Islands to said shipping line.
DEO-JUVANTE
A man was injured in the morning of April 17, 2024, at aroudn 9 a.m. after he fell into the water fromthe 'Deo Juvante' in the port of the IJsseloog sludge depot on the Ketelmeer. The KNRM lifeboats from the Urk staation rushed to the scene of the accident. The man had already been pulled out of the water. After providing first aid,hen was taken to the KNRM Urk boathouse by a Coastguard helicopter. An ambulance was waiting there to take him to the hospital. It is not known what caused the man to fall from the ship. Report with photos: https://www.dedrontenaar.nl/nieuws/112/305890/man-gewond-na-val-van-schip-op-het-ketelmeer
SALVAMAR SPICA
The Australian flagged s/y 'Nessaru' (MMSI: 503162640), with two people on board, suffered an engine failure on April 17 and requested a tow since it cannot find a private trailer. It was adrift 10 nautical miles southest of Almería. The CCS Almería of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the 'Salvamar Spica', which pulled the boat to the dock of the Club de Mar de Almería. Report with photo: https://twitter.com/salvamentogob/status/1780579996681077163
Cancun
Two identical 37-metre, 459-passenger catamarans have been completed by Wight Shipyard Co (WSC). The Incat Crowther-designed vessels will be transported to Cancun, Mexico, for Ultramar early next month.
Rotterdam
The first paperless, instantly financed and fully door-to-door tracked container made its way from Korea to the warehouse of Samsung SDS in Tilburg via Port of Rotterdam on blockchain-based platform DELIVER. ABN AMRO, Port of Rotterdam and Samsung SDS demonstrated that blockchain technology enables interoperability, and that integrated container tracking and tracing, required cargo documentation processing and financing can all be done in a trusted, secure and paperless way.
BAQUEIRO
On April 16, 2024, at aroudn 3 p.m. the 'Baqueiro' suffereded engine trouble and was towed into Castletownbere by the Spanish hospital ship 'Esperanza del Mar' (IMO: 9220536), which was habitually in the vicinity of the Spanish fishing fleet and stepped in to offer assistance. The towing began 120 miles off the Irish southwest coast, and both vessels were due to arrive in Castletownbere on April 17.
LEVIATHAN
On April 10, 2024, at 4.25 p.m. the 'Leviathan', with three crew members on board, had to be towed after being adrift due to an interaction with orcas five miles northwest of the Sisargas Islands (A Coruña). The crew raised the alarm and requested assistance. They detailed that they no longer saw the orcas. Salvamento Marítimo mobilized a Red Cross boat that took them to Malpica de Bergantiños.
Marseille
On 27 June the Corsican Parliament officially approved the upcoming 15-month public ferry service between Marseille and the island, starting on 1 October 2019.
Dar es-Salaam
In one of the biggest pushbacks against Chinese president Xi Jinping’s Belt Road Initiative Tanzania has suspended the construction of the $10bn Bagamoyo port project, citing the onerous financial conditions put in place by Beijing. The project, which broke ground four years ago and was set to be run by China Merchants Holding International, would have been the largest port in East Africa. Tanzania’s president John Magufuli has accused the Chinese project backers of presenting “exploitative and awkward” terms in exchange for financing. Chinese financiers set “tough conditions that can only be accepted by mad people,” Magufuli told local media. “They told us once they build the port, there should be no other port to be built all the way from Tanga to Mtwara south,” Magufuli told a delegation of business people at State House in Dar es Salaam earlier this month. “They want us to give them a guarantee of 33 years and a lease of 99 years, and we should not question whoever comes to invest there once the port is operational. They want to take the land as their own but we have to compensate them for drilling construction of that port,” he said. Magufuli also said the new Bagamoyo port risked undermining the ongoing $522m expansion of Dar es Salaam port that would enable it to triple its current capacity when complete by the end of this year. Source : Splash247