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 "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.

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 Tampa Fire Rescue responded to a report of an injured worker aboard the "Black Powder" in a drydock on the Ybor Channel on Dec 12, 2018, near 1616 Penny Street. The worker was trying to put out a small fire on the vessel and was overcome by smoke. Shipyard workers worked quickly and were able to get the man away from the affected area on the ship prior to firefighters’ arrival. Firefighters were able to secure the man in a stokes basket, and he was lifted to an adjacent dry dock ship using the onboard crane. The patient was lowered onto the deck of the ship and transferred by ambulance to the Tampa General Hospital. His injuries appeared to be non-life threatening. Report with photo: https://www.wfla.com/news/hillsborough-county/man-rescued-from-ship-at-port-tampa-bay-after-being-overcome-by-smoke/1655779497

In the morning of Dec 13, 2018, the "Epsilon", 1399 ts (ENI-No.: 01823394), being loaded with 1050 tons of steel plates and coming from Ghent, ran onto the Western harbor dam of the Eastern foreport of Terneuzen. The tug "Multratug 27" was quickly on site and was able to pull the ship off almost immediately. The barge was moored in the East Port for inspections during which a leak in the bow was found. The subsequent water ingress could be coped with the ship's own pump. Later the offshore tug "Multrasalvor 5" (IMO: 8871625) assisted with additional pumps. At 9 a.m. the tug picked up divers in the ferry port which will temporarily seal the leak so that the ship can proceed to its destination Montereau and unload its cargo before permanent repairs are effected. Dutch reports with photos and video: https://www.tugspotters.com/app/content/2018/12/multratug-27-haalt-geladen-binnenvaartschip-van-dam-oostbuitenhaven-te-terneuzen/ https://www.omroepzeeland.nl/nieuws/109928/Binnenvaartschip-lek-na-vastlopen-op-dam https://www.bndestem.nl/zeeland/binnenvaartschip-loopt-vast-op-strekdam-bij-terneuzen-en-slaat-lek~a09fb287/

The engine repairs of the "Solong" at the Norderyard and subsquently the Blohm & Voss Yard in Hamburg have been completed on Dec 13 after nearly three months. The ship left the yard in the early morning and berthed at warehouse 77B in the Ellerholz Port in Hamburg at 6.15 a.m.

The "Algoma Buffalo" suffered a main engine failure when approaching Lock No. 8 of the Welland Canal, Ontario, in position 42 53 35.2 N, 79 14 50.5 W, on Dec 11, 2018, at 7.05 a.m. The vessel was secured alongside and the crew carried out repairs. There were no injuries, no pollution, or damage to the dock.

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.

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.

The firefighters in Grand Bank fought a fire aboard the "Marcel Angie II" for ten hours on Dec 11, 2018. It broke out at the town's wharf at 9.55 a.m. The fire was burning out of control when they got there, with flames shooting out of either the engine room or the wheel house. The fire fighters spent the morning fighting the fire on board the boat, but had to pull back due to the chemical smoke coming from melting fibreglass. As the toxic smoke was getting intense and the chief was losing visibility of some of the firefighters on deck, he decided to pull them off for safety reasons and began to fight the fire on shore. The ship was tied up at the wharf while some renovations were being done. It had just bunkered four tons of diesel and had about 100 litres of hydraulic fluid on board. The size of the firefighters' equipment, coupled with the confined space of the engine room, meant they were unable to get inside. Some fuel leaked into the water and caught fire, but was quickly doused by flame-retardant foam. Firefighters put a boom around the boat to prevent fuel from spreading. By the evening, the vessel listed to starboard side and settled to the bottom, with most of the vessel hidden below the water. The firefighters had an easier time putting the fire out once the vessel tipped over, but remaining hot spots on the deck of the wheel house were smouldering until 7 p.m. The Canadian Coastguard arrived later in the night and took control of the scene. Divers were at the wharf in the morning of Dec 12 to examine the hull for any leaks. The fire fighters were able to prevent the fire from damaging the wharf. On Dec 12 a mobile crane and divers were on site to attach lifting bags. Once afloat, the wreck was to be towed to Fortune where a syncro lift was available to pull the ship out of the water. Reports with photos: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/fire-sinks-grand-bank-boat-1.4942293 https://www.thelabradorian.ca/news/regional/coast-guard-monitoring-clean-up-and-removal-after-boat-fire-at-grand-bank-267738/

74 passengers were evacuated from the "Aurora Explorer" after a rope drifting from a fish farm fouled the propeller in the afternoon of Dec 12, 2018, during a whale safari at Skjervøy. The accident happend in calm seas, and the patrolboat "Heimdal" of the Norwegian Coastguard 'was nearby. There was a total of 81 people on board, among them a crew of seven. The Coast Guard ordered the evacuation of the catamaran, and the speedboat "Kvænangen", 144 gt (IMO: 9353929), was called, and the passengers, donned with life vests, they were transferred onto the other ship which transported the tourists to Skjevøy. The operation took about two hours. The tourists returned to Tromsø by bus. At 7 p.m. the crew managed to remove the rope from the propeller from the rope and headed to Tromsø at 20 knots speed. On July 15 the ship had allided with a dock in Barentsburg. 34 people were injured. The cause of the accident was an increase of speed of the engine when the ship was about to dock. Norwegian report with photos: https://www.nordlys.no/turisme/nord-troms/bat/turistbat-evakuert-etter-at-den-fikk-tau-i-propellen/s/5-34-1023746

The "Glovis Maple", being moored in position 20 55 12 N, 107 17 41 E, at the Cam Pha anchorage was boarded by an unknown number of perpetrators armed with knives on Dec 9, 2018, at 11.10 p.m.from a wooden boat through the anchor chain hawse pipe by removing the cover. They broke the forecastle entrance padlock including the Niger lock, removed the additional securing lashing, stole ship's property and escaped. No crew members were injured during the incident.

On Dec 12, 2018, at 10.30 a.m. the "Johann Strauss" suffered engine damage and went adrift on the Rhine near Koblenz with 167 persons on board. It was threatened to drift against a pole of the freeway bridge of the A 48 at Bendorf in spite of having dropped both bow anchors. Only meters before crashing into the bridge the disabled cabin cruiser could be taken in tow by the tank barge "Eiltank 19" and was secured. Jointly with another tank barge, the "Tripolis", the ship could be pulled to the quay in Bendorf. One of the tank barges suffered slight damages during the manoever. The water police Koblenz, the fire brigade and the Red Cross attended the ship. Rhine traffic was barred for one hour. After a repair of some hours, the "Johann Strauss" proceeded to Rüdesheim. German reports with photos and video: https://www.merkur.de/welt/schiff-mit-ueber-150-menschen-kollidiert-fast-mit-rheinbruecke-zr-10848034.html [https://rp-online.de/panorama/deutschland/bendorf-bei-koblenz-schiff-mit-166-menschen-kollidiert-fast-mit-brueckenpfeiler_aid-35074113 https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/rheinland-pfalz/koblenz/Zusammenprall-von-Hotelschiff-mit-Gueterschiff-Havarie-auf-dem-Rhein-bei-St,koblenz-havarie-gueterschiff-hotelschiff-100.html

The "A2B Comfort", having arrived from Moerdijk with a crew of 11 on board, suffered a broken engine cooling hose six nautical miles east of Spurn Point, in position 53 37.788 N, 000 11.620 W, enroute to the Immingham Docks in Grimsby on Dec 11, 2018. The hose was replaced and tugs were on standby if required. At 11.10 p.m. the shp was safely berthed in port.

In the morning of Dec 8, 2018, the Port Authority of Mytilene was informed that a 57-year-old passenger iavboard the "NIssos Samos", whhich was coming from Piraeus and Chios, fell ill and lost consciousness. When the ship arrived at the port, the victim taken by an ambulance to the General Hospital of Mytilene "Vostanio", where he was pronounced dead. The Central Port Authority of Mytilene, which carried out the preliminary investigation, a necropsy was ordered.

picture from Aliaga https://www.instagram.com/p/BrUG35vhOC8/

The "W.B. Yeats" has been handed over to Irish Ferries on Dec 12, 2018. The ship, originally due to have been delivered in July, and subsequently delayed until September, was finally expected to arrive in Dublin next week. The delays and cancellations disrupted the holiday plans of around 19,000 customers. The setback was due to what German shipbuilder Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft & Co.KG described this summer as delays in the delivery of interior components for public areas and on the electrical system installation in the hull and deckhouse. Sailings between Dublin Port and Cherbourg are now available to book for 2019, with the new ship set to begin serving the route from mid-March. It will provide passengers with a unique and memorable cruise-style travel experience and can accommodate 1,800 passengers across 440 cabins, including luxury suites with stunning private balcony sea views and a dedicated butler service. Décor will feature famous works of literature from Yeats and other well-known artists and entertainment is provided at The Abbey and The Peacock cinema.

On the Waal near Doornenburg the "Roos", 688 ts (EU-No.: 06003217), suffered severe water ingress in the morning of Dec 13, 2018. The ship was loaded with iron slag. It was berthed in the port of Tolkamer at 9 a.m. where rescue services attended to dewater the vessel. It was coming from Mannheim and had left the port of Wesel at 6.15 a.m. Dutch report with photo: https://www.omroepgelderland.nl/nieuws/2392928/Schip-in-nood-op-Waal-bij-Doornenburg

Saurabh Kumar Singh, the Indian captain of the "SG Pegasus" was found drunk on board his ship moments before it was due to leave Port Taranaki with a cargo of methanol on Dec 11, 2018, at 11 p.m. The tanker was to be guided out of the harbour when the pilot suspected the master had been drinking and alrted police and Maritime New Zealand. When the officers arrived, Singh was breathalyzed. He returned a reading of 881 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath with the legal limit being 250 mcgs. The tanker could not leave towards Port Nelson until around Dec 12 at 3 p.m. once a replacement master was put on board with Singh losing his job. A fine of $1000 plus court costs was imposed to be paid until Dec 13.

Coming from Montreal, the "Taiga Desgagnes" suffered a main engine failure and had to anchor off Lanoraie, Quebec, in pos 45 57 06.4 N 73 13 03.5 W on Dec 10, 2018, at 4 p.m. The crew carried out repairs and the vessel resumed its voyage to Sint Eustatius, ETA Dec 17.