DUTCH RUNNER

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Latest news

Dutch Runner is heading home

The Dutch Runner is heading home. After three years of sitting unmanned and empty at the Port Hawkesbury pier, and after a dust-up between the new crew, its union and the ship’s owners, the 84-metre bulk carrier should be en route to Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic, sometime this month. “We’re trying to get out of there before the winter,” said Bomboy Pascual, general manager for Samee Shipping and Logistic Corp. “We’ve been there for three years, and if there is anyone who wants to be out of there, we are the ones. We are paying dock fees for nothing.” The ship, which carries a Panamanian flag, will go into dry dock in Santo Domingo, Pascual said. “It needs painting and it needs to be classed,” Pascual said. “The class certificates expired four years ago.” First, though, a new crew will have to be brought in. According to Karl Risser of the International Transport Workers Federation, quoted in a union-backed publication, five sailors living on the Dutch Runner complained that they were unpaid and living in poor conditions. A photo cutline with the story implies that the sailors had been on the boat for nine months. http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1415393-controversy-dogs-cargo-ship-in-port-hawkesbury

Dutch Runner pulls out of Labrador service

The "Astron" is taking over freight delivery on the Labrador North Coast after the operators of the "Dutch Runner" advised the Department of Transportation and Works that they were pulling the vessel out of service for the remainder of the shipping season. The provincial government initially said on Oct 24, 2011, that the "Astron" would be added to the route as back up to the "Dutch Runner" after concerned residents in coastal Labrador complained about the backlog of freight. On Nov 29 the Department of Transportation and Works said the operators of the "Dutch Runner" intended to pull the vessel out of service this weekend which putted the contractor in a position of default of its obligations under the contract. Residents of the Labrador North Coast have been concerned about the "Dutch Runner"'s ability to provide service since the beginning of the season. The Transportation and Works Minister was disappointed with the service during this shipping season and said he understood the frustrations of North Coast Residents. Residents and business owners who rely on the shipping service will receive all necessary freight before the end of the season. The shipment of goods to the Labrador North Coast will continue as long as ice and weather conditions allow.

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The "Dutch Runner" was drydocked in a floating dock at Tuzla on May 1, 2011. The 2½-year drydocking was due November 2010, and GL's date limit was May 20. During a port state inspection at Rotterdam in December she was detained for three days with 27 defects, including deck and bulkhead holes through corrosion and problems with main engine and auxiliaries. These defiencies are to be fixed in Istanbul.