Maritime news

On the June 17, one Canadian and two Americans have been rescued from a ship that started taking on water this morning 150 n.m. south south west of American Samoa.

The primary report was obtained via Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) Honolulu shortly after 4:30 a.m., with the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) obtaining a transmission from the emergency locator beacon (EPIRB) of the damaged ship just before 8:00 a.m.

The ship's crew members of MV Horizons, was communicating via satellite phone and email with a contact in Tonga and emerged the ship was taking on water and expected to sink. Life rafts were deployed alongside, in case it became necessary to abandon the vessel, with the crew members equipped with a handheld VHF radio to keep communications.

Dave Wilson, who is Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator of the RCC of New Zealand told that 3 ships were dispatched to the scene of the accident with charter fishing ship MV Last Stall the 1st to arrive, rescuing the crew members at around midday.

An RNZAF P3 Orion was also directed to scene and due to arrive at around 2:00 p.m. but was recalled following the rescue operation.

The MV Horizons vessel remains afloat at this stage and a navigation warning is going to be issued alerting shipping in the region. It's not known what is the cause of the ship's accident but it is expected to sink.  The damaged ship is registered in the Cayman Islands and is believed to be a long-range support ship for fishing charters.

The MV Last Stall vessel is continuing to Tonga with the rescued crew members onboard, a journey expected to take around 2 days.

by VesselFinder

According to U.S. news an offshore supply vessel struck a production platform in the Gulf of Mexico on 14th of June, 2013 and sank. All twenty people aboard the offshore supply tug were safely transferred to another vessel.

Petty Officer of Coast Guard, Ivan Barnes reported that none of the 16 passengers or 4 crew members on the vessel was injured. The accident occurred shortly after 9:15 a.m. about 15 nautical miles west of Southwest Pass near the mouth of the Mississippi River.

The Coast Guard reported a boom was used to contain a small amount of fuel that obviously spilled from the offshore tug boar and left a sheen on the surface.

The boat was operated by B&J Martin Inc  of Galliano.

by VesselFinder

The port of Oakland  has implemented a sensor at the Ben E Nutter Terminal (Berth 38). This action will help mariners to be more informed at times of low visibility.

Oakland acting maritime director, Jean Banker explained:
"It provides good data and consistent results without being dependent on human observation. The equipment is also designed to be operationally reliable even during the harshest weather,".

This technology is only installed at the port of Oakland and Mobile, Alabama. Such innovations are used in aviation and now is now being implemented to seaports.
Chief port wharfinger Chris Peterson announced:
"Adding this capability provides information to the San Francisco Bar Pilots, the coast guard and other mariners on the bay for safer and more efficient navigation."

by VesselFinder

 KOTUG, international maritime service provider has launched on ceremony the new generation RotorTugs in Bremerhaven, Germany. The new vessel is named RT Ambition  and is long 32m, has width of 12m, 6.456 BHP and a bollard pull of 84 tons. The vessel was built at ASL Shipyard Singapore and it is a part of 14 sister vessels, some of them are built in Niigata Shipyards Japan.

RT Ambition is helping seagoing ships in the port of Bremerhaven since December 2012. The RotorTug is extremely manoeuvrable because of the 3 propulsion units. The number of RotorTugs in the fleet of KOTUG in Bremerhaven is 9.

The christening ritual of the RotorTug was performed by the sponsor - Lady of RT Ambition Mrs. Claire Knegtel. She is the wife of Mr. Dorus Knegtel, KOTUG’s former COO.

by VesselFinder

5 people have been injured in vessel fire, which lead to evacuation of all the passengers.

On 14th of June, 2013, a fire broke out on the Nissos Mykonos that had 174 guests and 74 crew members in total aboard, in the eastern Aegean Sea, 1 nautical mile off the port of Karlovassi on Samos. The fire broke out in the passenger ship's smokestack while it was floating among Samos and the island of Ikaria.

Due to fire 5 people had to be transported to a hospital and treated for respiratory problems. The 4 women and 1 man that needed treatment for smoke inhalation were given 1st aid by doctors on the vessel and after that transported to Samos by a Coast guard launch.

The remaining people onboard the damage passenger ship Nissos Mykonos were taken aboard the ferry Panagia Theotokos and have since been safely transported to Karlovasi. The rescue operation was coordinated by the Harbor Master of Samos. From the very 1st moments of the fire onboard, next to the damaged passenger ship Nissos Mykonos were 3 freighters, a passenger liner and a ship of the port authority.

The fire was put out by the crew members of the passenger ship Nisson Mykonos. A tug vessel was sent to the scene and the vessel due to enter port once it was declared safe. The Nissos Mykonos passenger vessel was coming Piraeus where it had floated at noon and was heading for Samos with stops at the islands of Syros, Mykonos and Ikaria. It was the vessel's 1st journey on that route this season. The cause of the accident and the extent of damage was yet unclear. The passenger ship was continuing its way towards Samos, while ships of the Coast Guard were heading for the area.

by VesselFinder