Desmond (Des) Hurley, 29, a crew membe rof the the 'Breizh Arvor II', fell off a ladder on Dec 14, 2023, fracturing his upper neck, which led to cardiac arrest and instant death, an inquest has heard. The Coroner’s Court in Bantry, Co Cork, heard he lost his balance while on a ladder in the accommodation deck of the family-owned fishing vessel. The ship had been fishing at the Porcupine Bank off the southwest coast of Ireland when the accident occurred. Coroner Frank O’Connell said unfortunately, it was a case “of lightning striking”, leading to a “one in a million death.” Mark Hurley, who is a brother of the deceased, said he asked Desmond to take over at the wheelhouse at close to midnight on Dec 13. Desmond went downstairs to change his jumper. Mark went looking for his brother when he did not come back up from the accommodation deck in a matter of minutes. He went looking for him in the accommodation deck and saw his brother lying on the floor. He and another crew member administered CPR on Des, but to no avail. Des had sustained a mark on his forehead. Mark, in his role as skipper, instructed the crew to haul in their nets so they could return back to shore. Mark contacted the Valentia Coastguard. He then called Medico to speak to a nurse. The crew member Haralambie Floren said he had experience in first aid and assisted Mark with CPR on Des, however, the administering of CPR was difficult because of sea swells. Sergeant Stephen O’Sullivan, who was on duty at Castletownbere Garda Station onthat day, said they were informed a death had occurred at sea. The fishing vessel returned to Castletownbere the same evening. Having accessed the scene, his opinion was Des probably slipped on a step as he made his way back up the timber stairs of the accommodation deck, having retrieved his jumper. Des possibly hit his head off the door frame of the room. Scenes of crimes investigators assessed the scene as a formality as there was no suggestion of anything untoward having happened. The Marine Casualty Board and the HSE were contacted as a matter of course. Dr Margaret Bolster carried out an autopsy on the body of Mr Hurley at the morgue in Cork City and found he sustained a fracture of the upper neck bone. She indicated the injury had caused Des’s heart to stop. In conclusion, coroner Frank O’Connell noted there was “strong circumstantial evidence” Des lost his footing on the ladder, sustained a neck injury and suffered cardio respiratory failure, concluding the death had occurred as a result of “extreme bad luck”.
News
ABEILLE NORMANDIE
A body was discovered off the coast of Ambleteuse in the English Channel on the morning of Sep 17, who could be a migrant. The crew of a fishing vessek spotted the body. The 'Abeille Normandie' then intervened to recover the body and bring him ashore. It was probably the body of an migrant, according to the maritime prefecture. He in a state of decomposition, making it impossible to determine whether it was a person reported missing during the sinking of a boat that left eight dead on the night of Sep 14 off the coast of Ambleteuse. However, the maritime prefecture did not rule out that the body was that of a migrant who disappeared during a shipwreck of Sep 3 off the coast of Wimereux that left 12 dead.
Barranquilla
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Burgas
Gypsies from the poorest country in the EU - Bulgaria, have attempted to board unnamed motor vessel at Port of Burgas outer anchorage, Maritime.bg reported. The information has been confirmed by the authorities in the country. The regional governor of Burgas has appointed an urgent investigation into the so-called first piracy act in the Bulgaria's European waters. According to Maritime.bg, the attackers were not caught after their approach to the ship was detected by local services. An unknown number of gypsies are said to have sailed in a speedboat and had a ladder to board the unnamed motor vessel, under cover of the night ten days ago. A few years ago, the Libyan GNMT accused Bulgaria of supporting a "purely pirate act" when, under unknown and highly dubious circumstances, the company lost control of motor tanker BADR. The case unfolded again near Burgas. Report in Bulgarian: https://www.maritime.bg/75948-2/
SHINGLE
The sinking of the 'Shingle' in Killala Bay as an artificial reef was scheduled to take place on Sep 18 at 3.30 p.m. lThe ship had eft New Ross Harbour on Sep 15 and arrived in the bay on the afternoon Sep 17. The fish carrier was seized by Customs officers at Drogheda Port as part of a €14m tobacco seizure in 2014 and was held by the Revenue Commission. It remained in the dry dock at New Ross ever since. The Killala Bay Ships 2 Reef Ltd. invested up to €35,000 into the project, and they have also received €50,000 in funding from Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) towards it. The ship has since undergone thorough preparations including environmental procedures making it eco-friendly and fit for purpose as an artificial reef. The go-ahead to sink the vessel was given in July whenthe Mayo County Council granted planning permission for the preparation, transportation, positioning and placement of the vessel on the seabed as Ireland’s first artificial reef, Iit is hoped that the project can bring a boost in diving tourism to the west of Ireland as well as promoting local marine ecology. Report with video: https://www.westernpeople.ie/news/watch-smuggling-ship-heads-for-mayo-bay-ahead-of-scheduled-sinking_arid-31927.html
Cartagena
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Ulsteinvik
On June 8, 2021, the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC RESOLUTION (IMO 9880685) was docked out at the Norwegian Ulstein shipyard. Full article + photo gallery: https://www.cruisedeck.de/national-geographic-resolution-ausgedockt/
DALI
Families of three of the workers who died when the 'Dali' plowed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in March announced on Sep 17 that they will take legal action to hold the owners of the vessel legally liable for the deadly collapse. The families of three of the six victims asked a federal court to prevent the Grace Ocean Private Ltd., the Singapore-based company which owns the Dali, from escaping legal liability with regard to the maritime disaster. In April, Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., as manager of the 'Dali', had filed a petition for exoneration from or limitation of liability in the federal district court in Maryland over the incident. Should the federal district court in Maryland allow the case to proceed, the victims' families could pursue legal action to obtain monetary compensation for the deaths of their relatives. The Gupta Wessler LLP was planning to file the motion to hold the Grace Ocean Private Ltd. legally liable before a deadline on Sep 24, which was triggered following the April petition. A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that a crew member of the 'Dali' accidentally disabled the vessel’s equipment during in-port maintenance while it was moored at the Seagirt Marine Terminal in Baltimore on March 25. The ship experienced a second blackout due to insufficient fuel pressure for the online generator.
PELICAN OF LONDON
On Sep 12, 2024, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published its report into the drowning death of a cook on board the 'Pelican of London' on Oct 2, 2023, in the port of Sharpness (Gloucestershire), which could possibly have been prevented. The cook fell between two stools after a night out when he boarded the ship via the gangway upon his return. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch investigated and made recommendations in a safety bulletin. The sailing training vessel was moored at the quayside in Sharpness for maintenance. Mark Glover (64) was a volunteer cook. He had been ashore that evening and had probably been drinking. Upon his return, Glover, an experienced seaman, tried to board the ship via the gangway. However, he lost his balance when he tried to take the last step of the gangway onto the ship. He was not reported missing until the next morning. On the afternoon of Oct 3, police divers found his body in the water at the quay. The MAIB noted that there were no specific rules on board the ship regarding the use of alcohol and drugs. The crew members had no guidelines on how much alcohol was still acceptable and when it was no longer responsible to come on board in an apparent state. The gangway was a second risk factor. The mandatory safety rope as a hand guide was not adequate: the rope was too slack. Furthermore, the net to catch someone who unexpectedly fell was not properly installed. It served more as a slide than as a safety net For good safety, the handrail must be at least one metre high. The safety net under the gangway must be carefully installed under the entire span between the quay and the ship. Full report: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66dee82b0f4ba0621b08665c/2024-10-PelicanOfLondon-Report.pdf
Papenburg
Ocean Residences, based in Malta, will have their residence ship called NJORD constructed by Meyer. The ship is to be 290 meters long and equipped with 118 apartments. An oceanographic and atmospheric laboratory with high-quality technical equipment is also to be set up on board the M / Y NJORD. These include drones and a telescope. Scientists and experts are supposed to collect data on environmental, marine and air conditions and create new maps of the ocean floor while traveling around the globe. All collected data should be made available to the general public. Ocean Residences originally planned to have this ship built by Brodosplit and the Norwegian Kleven shipyard Images: https://www.cruisedeck.de/meyer-werft-sichert-sich-neubau-auftrag-von-ocean-residences/
Ashdod
The Israel-Palestine conflict has crept into the maritime sector. The two Israeli ports Ashdod and Ashkelon had to be closed after rocket attacks on port infrastructure as well as other port complexes in the region. Vital Israeli port infrastructures in the Ashdod and Ashkelon area were hit in spite of the air defense system iron dome. The port of Ashdod siffered widespread damage. The cargo ships 'Mona' (IMO: 9101534) and 'Ahmet Onel' (IMO: 8420361), were nearly hit by rockets. In a separate incident, the military wing of Hamas - the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigade - has declared that they have bombed an Israeli Gas Platform off Gaza, which has been continuing to burn ever since.