News

The cook of the "SMN Explorer" was crushed to death when a hatch cover fell on top of him, an investigation found. Alfred Ismaili, 36, an Albanian national, died on the ship at King's Lynn on Feb 1, 2018, while helping to load cargo slings. Locking pins had been removed from the heavy hatch, which fell on to him as he climbed up it. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch report criticised the safety culture and lack of supervision on the vessel which was on charter to Scotline. It had arrived with its cargo of timber at the Alexandra Dock in Norfolk on Jan 31. The following day, after the crew had finished unloading, Mr. Ismaili announced lunch was ready, however, the decision was taken to finish stowing the cargo slings before eating. Mr Ismaili stayed on deck to help so that lunch would not get cold. As he climbed the hatch cover to grab some slings, it then fell on him, trapping him. Crew members were unable to lift the nearly one-tonne hatch and had to call a crane driver to assist. He was given first aid, but paramedics, who arrived shortly afterwards confirmed him dead at the scene. Post-mortem tests concluded he died from a severe blunt force injury to the chest. The MAIB investigation into the accident said the cause was an "improper attempt to save time and avoid discomfort in conjunction with improper performance (the removal of the locking pins before the crane hook had been attached)." Mr. Ismaili also had a blood alcohol level of 75mg per 100ml which was 50% higher than the limit set for seafarers, which could have affected Alfred's judgement. The safety culture on board SMN Explorer was weak, and inadequate procedures were in place for using the hatch. Since Mr Ismaili's death, Sky Mare Navigation, the Explorer's management company, has addressed the procedural issues and provided further crew training The MAIB has recommended the company takes action to improve the management and maintenance of its lifting systems and takes further action to improve the safety culture on all its vessels.

The "AS Laguna", being en route from Rotterdam to Algeciras with a crew of 17 on board, suffered a main engine fault due to a problem with automatic electronic systems in position 50 13 56.4 N, 001 28 26.4 W, on Dec 12, 2018, at 1.30 p.m. The vessel was carrying 4.500 net tonnes of cargo in containers. After the high pressure injection valve was replaced at 3.30 p.m., all defects have been rectified, and the vessel resumed its voyage with an ETA as of Dec 16.

In the morning of Dec 13, the "Nissos Rodos" suffered a mechanical damage at the port of Chios. On board the ferry, serving the rooute Piraeus-Chios-Mytilene were 238 passengers, 69 trucks, 30 vehicles and 13 motorbikes. Attempts were made to rectify the damage so that the ship could continue on its scheduled route to Mytilene. The "Nissos Rodos" served an extraordinary route to Chios from Piraeus to transfer 235 passengers to Samos island to Mytilene and 40 trucks that had been stuck in Chios since the morning due to the damage to the ship. The ferry left Piraeus at 1 p.m. and was estimated to arrive at 8.30 p.m. in the port of Chios from where she will directly depart wto Mytilene. From there, a return sailing to Chios will take place on Dec 14 at 4.30 a.m.

Repairs to the propeller shaft, ball bearings and oil seals of the "Voyage Symphony", which were damaged when its engine got overheated causing the engine to be shut down, were completed in Gogha, Bhavnagar, and subseuquent trials were successful. An official of the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) was present during the sea trials. The ferry was to resume operations in Gulf of Khambhat on Dec 14. Actually the ship was anchored off Gogha in pos. 21° 40.74' N 072° 17.66' E. An investigation had revealed that a piece of plastic had been sucked into a pipe causing the engines to overheat.

The "Sharon M I" suffered an electrical failure, while pushing the barge "Huron Spirit" on Lake Huron in pos 44 55 42.9 N 83 07 44.7 W on Nov 28, 2018. The tug anchored east of Alpena, where crew carried out repairs ,and the vessel resumed its voyage on the Great Lakes. The "Huron Spirit" arrived in Detroit, on Nov 30.