The US Coast Guard and numerous state and local agencies responded after the 'MSC Michigan VII' suffered a malfunction with the systems controlling the propulsion on the Cooper River while outbound from the North Charleston Container Terminal en route to Savannah. Coast Guard Sector Charleston command center watchstanders received a report at 12:17 p.m. from the Charleston Harbor Pilots dispatch of the container ship. As a precaution, local law enforcement closed vehicle traffic to the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge and Fort Moultrie Beach was evacuated. The bridge reopened once the vessel safely passed underneath. Coast Guard response boats and other government agency partners launched numerous assets on the water and the shore to assist with alerting the public and clearing vessel traffic in the ship channel. The vessel transited out of the Charleston port and is currently anchored 8.5 miles offshore. The vessel has been issued a Captain of the Port order to remain anchored until further notice. On June 6 at 9 a.m. UTC it berthed back in Charleston at the Union Pier Terminal. Sector Charleston watchstanders received reports of damage along the vessel’s route believed to be caused by its wake. Vessel and facility inspectors were currently conducting damage assessments throughout the port. Two boaters on a different vessel were injured when their vessel was pushed onto rocks because of the cargo ship’s wake. The boaters were picked up and EMS took them to an area hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. The incident was under investigation. Reports with photos and video: https://newsable.asianetnews.com/world/south-carolina-collision-scare-out-of-control-cargo-ship-forces-closure-of-iconic-ravenel-bridge-watch-snt-sen6ze https://abcnews4.com/news/local/biker-recounts-tense-moment-as-cargo-ship-misses-collision-near-ravenel-bridge-south-carolina-wciv-abc-news-4-2024 https://www.live5news.com/2024/06/05/container-ship-stuck-full-throttle-prompted-temporary-ravenel-bridge-closure/
News
DALI
The crane barge 'Chesapeake 1000' lifted the last large piece of the Francis Scott Key Bridge blocking the Patapsco River’s main shipping channel on the morning of June 4. The lift followed extensive operations to free the section of steel from the mudline, and marked the end of operations to cut and haul out a large section of the Key Bridge that had fallen onto the 'Dali'. The Key Bridge Response Unified Command crews were now set to use dredging buckets and a large salvage grab to pull smaller chunks of debris out of the water before reopening the full 700-foot-wide channel in and out of the Port of Baltimore. The full marine route is expected to open sometime between June 8 and June 10 after surveys to ensure no debris remains in the federal channel. Opening the main channel will mark a return to normalcy for maritime traffic into the port. A 400-foot-wide section of the main channel has allowed 24/7 cargo vessel access into the Baltimore harbor for about two weeks, opening after crews refloated the 'Dali'. Over the past several weeks, Unified Command crews have been cutting a 10-million-pound bridge segment into large pieces and lifting them out of the river using the Chesapeake 1000 crane. The large piece of steel truss, dubbed “Section 4,” is the same segment of bridge that had pinned down the 'Dali' for 55 days. The first segment, which weighed in at 140 tons, was lifted on May 24 and taken to Sparrows Point for processing. A second, 470-ton segment was lifted over the weekend, and the third and final — estimated to weigh around 400 tons — was picked up and transported on the morning of Jime 4. The final lift required approximately 200 tons of steel to be removed through smaller cuts, shaking and hammering in order to remove the larger piece from the water. Report with photo: https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/06/04/third-key-bridge-segment-lifted/
SALVAMAR FOMALHAUT
On June 5, 2024, the motor boat 'Mar i Cel' suffered an engine failure in front of Tamarit with two crew members on board and requested a tow. The CCS Tarragona of Salvamento Marítrimo mobilized the 'Salvamar Fomalhaut' to assist, which pulled it to Comarruga, where it was safely moored. Report with photo: https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/1798387698534875317
LIDA SUZANNA WD8
The owners of the 'Lida Suzanna', which allegedly damaged an undersea fibre optics cable, stretching 219 kilometersm between Dublin at Lytham St. Anne's near Blackpool, and providing internet and telephone connection between Ireland and Britain on Jan 26, 2015, were being sued in the High Court over the €800,000 cost of repairs by the Virgin Media Wholesale Ltd. The vessel was allegedly involved in scallop fishing which involves dredging the seabed. Virgin, which has registered offices in Hampshire, is seeking damages and a declaration that a maritime lien. It also seeks an order for its sale if necessary. The defendants deny the vessel was responsible for causing damage to the cable and requires proof of this. It is also contended that Virgin is the author of its own misfortune by not taking sufficient measures to bury or protect its cables. Alternatively, it claims Virgin was contributorily negligent. There was also an alleged failure to protect its cables in an area of fishing ground established centuries past. The defendants said they were doing nothing more than the lawful exploitation of fishing rights and Virgin has no entitlement to expect or demand that fishing be modified, or stopped by reason of the laying of its cable. The cable was installed in 1998 by Virgin's predecessor NTL. It is one of two cables, the Sirius South and the Sirius North, running between Ireland and Britain and if one is damaged, Virgin can switch to the other. There have been 18 instances of damage involving trawlers since it was installed. Opening the case on behalf of Virgin on June 4, 2024, Edward Farrelly SC said it was their case that the defendants should have been or ought to have been aware of the location of the cable which is marked on industry-recognised charts and Ireland's Marine Atlas. Merchant shipping regulations place a statutory duty on the vessel to carry publications which would have alerted it to the location of the cable. It is further alleged there was a failure to ensure the skipper and/or crew were adequately aware of and/or educated about the location of subsea cables. The case continues before Mr Justice Denis McDonald.
SALVAMAR DIPHDA
On June 5, 2024, the motor boat 'Hot Toddy II' suffered an engine failure with six people on board near Cala Blanca-Portixol, Jávea. The boat was threatened to drift aground and requested assistance. TheCCS Valencia of Salvamento Marítimo mobilized the 'Salvamar Diphda', which took the boat in tow and pulled it to La Fontana, where it was safely moored. Report with phto: https://x.com/salvamentogob/status/1798363390441902545