Daily Vessel Casualty and Piracy Report

 

 

Edited By Christoph M. Wahner, Esq.

 

 

 

The historic dangers of carriage by sea continue to be quite real. Shippers must be encouraged to purchase high quality marine cargo insurance from their freight forwarder or customs broker. It's dangerous out there. Buy the cargo insurance, before the loss!

 

 

Many container vessel incidents go unreported until some complaint by cargo interests. Please report events and send photos to us in confidence. Our reporters remain anonymous upon request.

 

 

Drop us a line and we will properly inform the industry.

 

 

Casualty Reports Archive

 

4 SECOND QUARTER (APRIL - JUNE) 2009 MARITIME LOSSES AROUND THE WORLD ARE BELOW

 

 

VESSEL LOSS DISPATCHES FOR JUNE 2009

 

Danish royal yacht Dannebrog was struck by sailing vessel with a likely intoxicated skipper on June 17. The sailing vessel fled the scene but the skipper was later arrested at Svanemøllen Marina, Copenhagen. (Sun. June 28 2009).

 

376-ft, 4-masted Russian barque Kruzenshtern limped into Charleston harbor with a broken foremast on June 22. The damage was incurred during a fierce thunderstorm nearly halfway through its trip from Bermuda to Charleston for a Harbor Fest. No injuries reported, but the vessel was forced to retire from the third leg of the Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge, a trans-Atlantic regatta that started in Vigo, Spain. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Sun. June 28 2009).

 

1,800-ton oil tanker Nhat Thuan (built 1973) exploded and sank off the southern coast of Vietnam on June 17. The vessel was at anchor 3.5-nm off Vung Tau. Spill reported, 3 of 13 crew reported missing. The vessel is said to be insured with the Bao Long Insurance JS Company. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Sun. June 28 2009).

 

Container M/V Safmarine Meru, Port Elizabeth to Cape Town, lost 21 containers in heavy weather near Cape Town on June 23. A navigation warning has been issued to all vessels along the South African coast. Safmarine appointed Svitzer Salvage to locate and recover the lost containers. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Sun. June 28 2009).

 

Tall ship Sören Larsen suffered storm damage 200 miles east of New Zealand on June 1. No passengers were aboard at the time. Some crew suffered minor injuries. The vessel returned safely to Whangarei for repairs. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Sun. June 28 2009) and our Correspondent Steve Randall (Mon. Sept. 14 2009).

 

653-ft Swedish freighter Otello (IMO-No: 9316141) allided into a pier at the Port of Hueneme, California, on June 25. The vessel suffered a large gash from the incident; the pier was also damaged. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Sun. June 28 2009).

150,149-dwt Panama-registered COSCO bulker CHS Star collided with 100,000-dwt Cambodian ship Surf off Tianjin, ROC, on June 20. CHS Star reported damaged but no spill or injuries reported. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Sun. June 28 2009).

 

Oil tanker Colombo Queen, with 39,000 liters fuel oil, ran aground in heavy weather off the southern Taiwanese coast on June 20. The 9 crew abandoned ship by life raft and were rescued by local coast guard. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Sun. June 28 2009).

Passenger ferry Faith, Dar-es-Salaam to Zanzibar in Tanzania with over 50 aboard, capsized and sank on May 29. 20 people reported killed and 15 others missing. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Sun. June 28 2009).

8,257-gt inter-island ferry Mandiri Nusantara caught fire and sank in the Java Sea, Indonesia, on May 31. 350 people reported safe, 10 reported missing. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Sun. June 28 2009).

 

2,659-gt Turkish-flagged dry cargo vessel İlke Mete (IMO NO: 8202965) ran aground after rudder failure in front of Anadoluhisarı in the İstanbul Strait on June 16 at 0855LT. The vessel was refloated the same day. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Sun. June 28 2009).

Tug boat Capt. Mack took on water and sank in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, on June 24 at 1730LT. The 2 crew were rescued without report of injury. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Sun. June 28 2009).

 

Panamanian-flagged tanker M/V Kriti Jade suffered mast contact with bridge structures in San Francisco on June 26. Damage is believed to be minor/cosmetic, but the vessel was ordered to anchorage for boarding. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Sun. June 28 2009).

N35-m Seychelle islands research vessel Indian Ocean Explorer (built 1956 as research vessel Süderoog) was torched by pirates off the coast of Somalia on or about June 24. The vessel had been captuered between March 28 and 31 in the Indian Ocean. The 7 crew were released on June 23. Reportedly, the torching was because the vessel interests paid only US$450,000 and not the US$1-mil demanded. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Sun. June 28 2009).

 

Barge GTO XVIV ran aground in heavy weather at Three Sisters Rocks, west of Knysna Heads, South African coast, on June 24. The barge was being towed by the tug Hako 18 when the tow was lost. From our Correspondent John Szalay (Fri. June 26 2009).

 

Unmanned barge Margaret, bound for Rotterdam with a cargo of 13 river barge hulls, ran aground in heavy weather along a rocky shore at Jacobs Baai north of Saldanha Bay, South African coast, on June 24. The barge was being towed by the tug Salvaliant when the tow was lost. From our Correspondent John Szalay (Fri. June 26 2009).

 

3,775-dwt cargo M/V Volgo-Don 5054 (IMO 8871704) ran aground on Kama river, Russia, at km-mark 2,451, on June 23 at 2300LT. No damages reported and the vessel was refloated on June 25 with the assistance of M/V Volgo-Don 173. From our Moscow Correspondent Mike Voitenko (Fri. June 26 2009).

 

3.152-dwt M/V Turkmenistan (IMO 8891924) wrapped propeller in buoy chain in the Volga-Caspian Channel on June 22. A salvage agreement was signed with SKU ASPTR. From our Moscow Correspondent Mike Voitenko (Fri. June 26 2009).

 

382-dwt ferry Kerchenskiy-2 (IMO 7741017) allided with berth no. 6 in Kavkaz port, Kerch Strait, at 0915LT on June 23. Damages to vessel and berth nos. 5 and 6 reported. 2 passengers injured. From our Moscow Correspondent Mike Voitenko (Fri. June 26 2009).

 

4,012-GT Malta-flagged tanker M/V Montauk (IMO 9310367) ran aground on the embankment of the Gent-Terneuzen Canal near the bridge Sluiskil, Netherlands, on June 24. Tug Evergem responded to the scene, but the vessel was refloated under own power. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Thurs. June 25 2009).

 

15.13-m Dutch pusher tug Orion caught fire at the shipyard Van Grevenstein on June 22. The fire was controlled by response teams. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Thurs. June 25 2009).

 

Antigua-Barbuda flagged cargo M/V Sylvia (IMO 9454383) allided with a berthing pontoon of in Ridderkerk on June 24. The pontoon was completely destroyed. The incident was attributed to rudder failure. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Thurs. June 25 2009).

 

3,277-mt Russian cargo vessel Navigator (IMO9463463), enroute Astrakhan, Russia to Enzeli, Iran, with cargo of steel, was detained by boat no. 307 of the Kazakhstan Cost Guard on June 22 at 1603LT. This is the first time Kazakhstan arrested a Russian vessel in the Caspian Sea for violating territorial waters. From our Moscow Correspondent Mike Voitenko (Wed. June 24 2009). UPDATE>> The vessel was released and proceeded to Enzeli, Iran, as scheduled on June 23. From our Moscow Correspondent Mike Voitenko (Fri. June 26 2009).

 

Hijacked M/V Marathon suffered one fatality and one casualty, as confirmed on June 22 upon the Somali pirates' release of the vessel. 1 of 8 Ukranian crew died of unknown causes several days or even weeks before the vessel's release. Another crew member, a cook, was wounded in the leg during confrontation with the pirates. From our Moscow Correspondent Mike Voitenko (Wed. June 24 2009).

 

109.94-m inland tanker M/V Eiltank 124 (ex-Raab Karcher 124) allided with the city bridge in Kampen, Netherlands, on June 18. The vessel's wheelhouse, which had not been lowered as required due to technical failure, was destroyed in the incident. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Wed. June 24 2009).

 

60.13-m Dutch inland water craft Wico sank at its berth in Antwerp, Belgium, on June 17 at 1900LT. The incident was attributed to shifting cargo causing the vessel to capsize. Oil spill was reported. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Wed. June 24 2009).

 

Cement tanker M/V Nemo sank while entering the Royers lock in Antwerp, Belgium, after it suffered water ingress from an allision. The crew of 2 were rescued out of the water and the lock was closed to traffic. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Wed. June 24 2009).

 

Norwegian cargo M/V Nyfjell (IMO 7602584) allided with the Nordhordland Bridge at 2230LT. Damage to vessel and bridge was reported. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Wed. June 24 2009).

 

112-m Romanian inland water craft Mercur 202 (IMO 704643072) allided with the Nibelungen bridge on the Danube river in Linz, Austria, on June 20 at 1000LT. The ship was able to free itself after 25 minutes and continued its voyage. The incident was attributed to human error. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Wed. June 24 2009).

 

Gibraltar-flagged cargo M/V Beluga Majesty (IMO-No. 9301093) ran aground on the Ems river between Borkum and Eemshaven on the Mövensteert, Germany, on June 5. The vessel was refloated at high tide with assistance of two dutch tugs. Divers surveyed the hull on June 6 and made repair. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Wed. June 24 2009).

 

Spanish Royal Carribean Cruise Lines cruise ship Ocean Dream, operated by Pullmantur Cruises, was quarantined by Venezuelan authorities for fears of the H1N1 flu virus. The vessel docked in Grenada on June 15 but no one was permitted to leave because of reports of flu-like symptoms aboard. The ship's next destination was Barbados on June 16, but health officials refused to let the ship dock for the same reason. The ship is docked off the Venezuelan island of Margarita and the 1,200 people aboard will not be allowed off for a week, according to Venezuelan officials.