The 'Ocean Viking' has rescued 35 Bangladeshis who were on a boat in distress off the coast of Malta on May 20 at 2 a.m. GMT. The migrants, all men who had set off from Benghazi to Sicily on a fiberglass boat in the joint search area between Malta and Italy. The castaways had spent at least two days and two nights at sea. Italian authorities have assigned the port of Ortona to disembark the migrants with an ETA as of May 22.
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SD SOLENT RACER
On the morning of May 20, 2024, the 'SD Solent Racer' sufferered a serious engine fire at the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour. The polot boat was bringing pilot back after taking the HMS 'Iron Duke' out. The fire was eventually extinguished by the crew. The vessel was brought back in alonside an MoD Police boat with Serco tugs being on standby. Video: https://x.com/i/status/1792504272271061301
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.
HARMONY OF THE SEAS
The US Coast Guard medevaced an 85-year-old man from the 'Harmony of the Seas', which was sailing 24 miles off Galveston, Texas, on May 20, 2024. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders received a medevac request at 6:30 p.m., stating an 85-year-old male passenger had sustained a head injury due to a fall aboard the vessel. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon, who recommended a medevac. An already-airborne Coast Guard Air Station Houston MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew was diverted to conduct the medevac. The helicopter crew arrived on scene, embarked the passenger and transported him to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston in stable condition.
MICHEL
On May 18, 2024, at around 4:00 a.m. LT the cargo m/v 'Mohammed Z' (IMO: 8805078) with 11 crew members, including nine Syrian and two Egyptian nationals, on board sank en route from Istanbul Anchorage to Sulina about 26 nautical off the city of Sfântu Gheorghe in the Black Sea after a collision with the 'Michel', which was en route from Odessa to Varna with a cargo of steel pipes. The Romanian authorities launched an SAR operation and notified two merchant vessels sailing in the area to assist. The 'Michel' rescued eight castaways and took them to Constanta for medical treatment. One of them was suffering from two injuries and has been admitted to the hospital. The Romanian authorities have also deployed a helicopter from the Romania Air Force and two rescue vessels, the 'Artemis' and 'Apollo' from ARSVOM to search the three missing crewmembers. Two police boats have also joined the search. According to a port inspection conducted in Egypt, the vessel had deficiencies, including inoperative safety lamps and improperly maintained life buoys. An investigation into the accident was ongoing with the cooperation of the rescued crew members. The 'Michel' arrived in Varna with structural bow damages on May 19 at 7.20 a.m. UTC.
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.
BIRGER JARL
The municipal real estate company Älvstranden Utveckling AB has rejected a berth for the 'Birger Jarl' in Gothenburg. At the end of April a couple of investors from the Gothenburg area annonuced that they wanted to buy the classic shipfrom the current owner Leif-Ivan Karlsson, who has had the vessel lying in Lunde harbor in the Kramfors municipality since 2022.
EVER FELICITY
On the morning of May 20, 2024, at around 7.40 a.m., two stevedores, a 57-year-old worker from Ishinomaki City and a 53-year-old worker from Osaki City, were found collapsed on the 'Ever Felicity', which was berthed at the at Hibarino Kita Pier in the Ishinomaki Port in the Miyagi Prefecture. A crew member had alerted the fire department. The two were taken to the hospital due to carbon dioxide poisoning. The 57-year-old man, who was found unconscious, was in a serious condition. It was believed that the two people collapsed due to lack of oxygen while entering the ship's cargo hold to load cargo. Palm shells used as biomass fuel were piled up inside the hold. The Ishinomaki Coast Guard Station started conducting a detailed investigation into the cause of the accident and whether there were any safety issues. Report with photo: https://www.msn.com/ja-jp/news/national/%E9%85%B8%E6%AC%A0%E7%8A%B6%E6%85%8B-%E7%9F%B3%E5%B7%BB%E6%B8%AF%E3%81%AE%E8%B2%A8%E7%89%A9%E8%88%B9%E3%81%AE%E5%80%89%E5%BA%AB%E3%81%A72%E4%BA%BA%E3%81%8C%E5%80%92%E3%82%8C1%E4%BA%BA%E6%84%8F%E8%AD%98%E4%B8%8D%E6%98%8E-%E5%80%89%E5%BA%AB%E5%86%85%E3%81%AB%E3%81%AF%E3%83%90%E3%82%A4%E3%82%AA%E3%83%9E%E3%82%B9%E7%87%83%E6%96%99%E3%81%AE-%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A0%E3%83%A4%E3%82%B7%E6%AE%BB-%E5%AE%AE%E5%9F%8E/ar-BB1mGAy9
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.