The 'Michipicoten', which berthed in Thunder Bay on June 8, suffered a 13-foot crack in its hull, but the mishap likely wasn't caused by an underwater collision as originally thought, the U.S. Coast Guard said on the evening of June 10. The 'Michipicoten' was en route from Two Harbors to Thunder Bay on June 8, when it began taking on water. Half of the ship's 22 crew members were evacuated, and the vessel then limped on to Thunder Bay, listing at 5 degrees, under its own power. It was accompanied part of the way by another bulk carrier, the 'Edwin H. Gott', with the assistance of the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Border Patrol and Park Service boatsAn underwater collision still can't be 100 % ruled out, but there was no evidence to indicate the ship struck a submerged object. The gash in the ship's hull was likely due to a stress fracture. Divers found a 13-foot foot crack below the water line in the general area of the bow. The crack varied from one-half inch to one inch wide. A ballast tank flooded due to the crack, as did the centerline void. Temporary patches wee being installed on the ship in Thunder Bay to make it seaworthy again.. The vessel is then expected to sail under its own power to another port where more extensive repairs will be made. The 'Michipicoten' was berthed at the Keefer Terminal in Thunder Bay while investigators from the U.S. and Canada tried to figure out what has happened. Report with photo and video: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/coast-guard-lake-superior-freighter-has-13-foot-crack-but-likely-not-from-collision/ar-BB1nYAxt?item=flightsprg-tipsubsc-v1a?season=2024/
News
FD ATHINA
On Jjune 10, 2024, at noon, the Port Authority of Aegina was informed by the Master of the 'Flying Dolphin Athina' about a damage to the starboard side main engine on its scheduled route from the port of Agistrio to the ports of Aegina and Piraeus, with 77 passengers. on board. 11 passengers were bound for the port of Aegina and 66 passengers were bound for the port of Piraeus. 20 passengers were to board the hydrofoil in the port of Aegina. All passengers were forwarded to their destinations by the owner company.
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.
OCEAN VIKING
The 'Ocean Viking' has rescued 64 people in distress during two missions off the coast of Lybia on June 8. Among them were 12 unaccompanied minors. The 'Ocean Viking' got assigned the port of Marina di Carrara, more than 1,000 km away, to disembark them with an ETA as of June 12. The main countries of origin of the migrants were Bangladesh, Eritrea, Pakistan and Ethiopia. One body floating at sea was spotted and recovere during the two rescue operations.
KING SARON
On the morning of June 10, 2024, the 'King Saron' suffered a mechanical breakdown while serving the scheduled route from Rhodes to Symi. There were 396 passengers on board. The Port Authority of Rhodes was informed by the Master of the catamaran about a rise of the temperature in the port side main engine. The ship returned under its own power to the port of Rhodes, where the passengers disembarked safely. The Central Port Authority of Rhodes banned the ship from sailing until the repair of the damage and the presentation of a certificate of class maintenance by the monitoring classification society.
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.
DALI
As part of the Unified Command response to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Navy Supervisor of Salvage and Diving today restored the Fort McHenry Federal Channel to its original operational dimensions of 700 feet wide and 50 feet deep for commercial maritime transit through the Port of Baltimore. Since March 26, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Navy Supervisor of Salvage and Diving worked to clear Key Bridge wreckage and move the 'Dali' from the Federal Channel. Following the removal of wreckage at the 50-foot mud-line, the Unified Command performed a survey of the Federal Channel on June 10, certifying the riverbed as safe for transit. Surveying and removal of steel at and below the 50-foot mud-line will continue to ensure future dredging operations are not impacted. The Unified Command had safely moved the 'Dali' on May 20 and widened the Limited Access Channel to 400 feet May 21, permitting all pre-collapse, deep-draft commercial vessels to transit through the Port of Baltimore. Now, the fully operational channel enables the flexibility to regain two-way traffic and cancel the additional safety requirements that were implemented because of the reduced channel width. Fully restoring the Federal Channel to its original width and depth involved the removal of about 50,000 tons of bridge wreckage from the Patapsco River. At its highest point, the Unified Command, consisting of six agencies, led the response efforts among about 56 federal, state, and local agencies, represented by 1,587 individual responders. Additionally, about 500 specialists from around the world operated a fleet of 18 barges, 22 tugs, 13 floating cranes, 10 excavators, and four survey boats. Subject matter experts from all over the U.S. also provided essential technical knowledge to the Unified Command. The wreckage will continue to be transported to Sparrows Point for follow-on processing. Follow-on work in the channel from this point on is part of routine maintenance, ensuring future dredging operations will not be impacted.
KM.UMSINI
On June 9, 2024, at 4.20 a.m. WITA a fire broke out aboard the KM 'Umsini' at the at the former Soekarno-Hatta Makassar Port Pier in Makassar Harbour, caused by sparks from the auxiliary engine no. 3 on deck 2. The fire was extinguished at 9.30 a.m. All 1677 passenghers were safely evacuated, no injruies were reported. The South Sulawesi (Sulsel) Police Labfor and Inafis Team and the KNKT (National Transportation Safety Committee) launched an investigation on June 10. Reports with photos and video: https://makassar.kompas.com/read/2024/06/10/214139678/km -umsini-in-Makassar-port-burned-fire-emerging-from-a-motorcycle-help#. https://www.kompasiana.com/daeng2011/6667b3c834777c6e2e1ed932/kisah-km-umsini-yang-terbakar#google_vignette https://video.okezone.com/play/2024/06/11/1/181633/polisi-olah-tkp-kebakaran-km-umsini-di-pelabuhan-makassar
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.