On May 14, 2024, at noon, the Port Authority of Ios was informed by teachers of the High School of Thira who were making a day trip from Thira to Ios, about an incident with six students suffering injuries on board the 'Dionisios Solomos'. The ship was on a scheduled route from Thira. The injuries were caused by a fall on the escalators while the ship docked in the port of Ios. A 14-year-old boy was taken to the Ios Health Center for first aid, from where he was discharged the same day. The students, after the end of their excursion to Ios, boarded another ship bound for Thera. A preliminary investigation was carried out by the Port Authority of Ios.
News
CGC PAUL CLARK
The US Coast Guard intercepted two separate boats packed with Cuban migrants trying to set foot in Florida aboard tiny vessels ill-suited for the high seas. The first boat was spotted about 12 miles south of the Marquesas Keys near Key West on May 10, 2024, with 15 Cubans on board. On May 12, authorities in Key West were tipped off by a good Samaritan that another boat with migrants was in the ocean about 26 miles south of Marathon. The Coast Guard Cutter 'Valiant' plucked eight Cubans from that boat and sent them home. The crew of the 'Paul Clark' repatriated 23 migrants to Cuba on May 14. Report with photo: https://nypost.com/2024/05/14/us-news/coast-guard-catches-23-cuban-migrants-headed-to-florida-and-sends-them-back-home/
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.
NORTH AMERICAN
On the morning of May 14, 2024, the 'North American' sank at a pier on the Lake Washington Ship Canal in Seattle. Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound received a call at 07.30 a.m. after the crabber had partially sunk on the south side of the canal, east of the Ballard Bridge, with only the stern still protruding from the water.Responders from the Seattle Fire installed an oil containment boom around the vessel to prevent pollution, and a dive team started working on plugging vents and reducing the risk of fuel discharges. A second layer of boom has been deployed to further reduce the chance of a fuel slick escaping from the vessel, which can carry up to a maximum of 32,500 gallons of diesel, The actual amount aboard at the time of the sinking may be lower. The Global Diving and Salvage was the pollution response contractor for the incident, and its team will be removing the remaining petroleum on board and transferring it to storage tanks on shore. The Coast Guard is monitoring the progress of the response, and an investigation into the cause of the sinking is under way. Reports with photos: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3775064/coast-guard-other-agencies-respond-to-sunken-vessel-in-seattle/ https://maritime-executive.com/article/pioneering-crab-boat-f-v-north-american-sinks-at-the-pier
HAFNIA PACIFIC
On May 1, 2024, at 03.50 a.m. the 'Hafnia Pacific' was boarded by three perpetrators, who were armed with knives and machetes, at Belawan Anchorage in pos. 3° 55.10' N 98° 44.81' E. The crew was threatened by the intruders, who stole torch, walkie talkie and two fire hose nozzles and then fled the vessel. On May 5 the ship berthed in Port Klang.
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.
CG VALIANT
The US Coast Guard intercepted two separate boats packed with Cuban migrants trying to set foot in Florida aboard tiny vessels ill-suited for the high seas. The first boat was spotted about 12 miles south of the Marquesas Keys near Key West on May 10, 2024, with 15 Cubans on board. On May 12, authorities in Key West were tipped off by a good Samaritan that another boat with migrants was in the ocean about 26 miles south of Marathon. The Coast Guard Cutter 'Valiant' plucked eight Cubans from that boat and sent them home. The crew of the 'Paul Clark' repatriated 23 migrants to Cuba on May 14. Report with photo: https://nypost.com/2024/05/14/us-news/coast-guard-catches-23-cuban-migrants-headed-to-florida-and-sends-them-back-home/
DALI
The 'Dali' had electrical problems the day before it left the Port of Baltimore when it was docked, according to a preliminary report released on May 14 by investigators at the National Transportation Safety Board. The 'Dali' experienced a blackout during in-port maintenance on March 25, the NTSB wrote in its report, when a crew member mistakenly closed an inline engine exhaust damper. The NTSB says it's still not clear how that incident relates to what happened early the following morning, when the 'Dali' lost power twice in the minutes before it crashed into one of the bridge's supports. The NTSB is still investigating the electrical configuration following the first in-port blackout and potential impacts on the events during the accident voyage. Investigators at the NTSB have analyzed samples of the fuel that was being burned at the time of the accident, as well as other fuel tanks on the vessel. But those results did not identify any concerns relating to the quality of the fuel. The NTSB is working with the Maryland Transportation Authority to assess its other bridges and to determine whether pier protection measures need to be improved. The MDTA is studying options for upgrades to the existing protection system around both spans of the Bay Bridge that connect Annapolis to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The NTSB investigation of all aspects of the accident is ongoing. Link to the report: https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/Documents/DCA24MM031_PreliminaryReport%203.pdf
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.