The USCG Office of Merchant Mariner Credentialing published Change 1 to Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular 03-14, ‘Guidelines for Approval of Training Courses and Programs’, in response to the recommendations made after the sinking of El Faro.
Last week marked 18 years since the explosion and sinking of the VLCC ‘MT Haven’ off the coast of Genoa, Italy. To date, Haven is not only known as the world’s largest shipwrecks, but also the largest oil spill in the history of the Mediterranean Sea.
In the latest publication of its ‘Lessons Learned’ series, the UK P&I Club described a serious eye injury of a crew member while securing a tow. The Club noted that three crew members were probably not enough to safely manage an operation of this nature.
According to USCG’s statement, on Monday, April 15, a small lugger tug, DeJeanne Maria, sank near Venice, Louisiana after striking a submerged object. The vessel was sailing downriver with two empty barges when she struck an unknown object underwater and began to sink.
About 22 months after it was involved in a heavy collision off Japan, the guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald took another step toward returning to the fleet as a fully ready ship, as it successfully launched and moored pier-side at Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) – Ingalls Shipbuilding shipyard, on 16 April.
A fire broke out in the crew cabins of the bulk carrier ‘Albany Sound’, while the ship was berthed at North Carolina Port, Morehead City, US, on April 14. Ac cording to information, the fire affected only the crew cabins and not other parts of the ship. Morehead City Fire fighters, helped by other departments, went on the incident scene and put out the fire by the afternoon of the same day. Currently, the bulk carrier is berthed at the port.
An explosion took place outside the Port of Los Angeles, on April 15. The explosion led to a fire and destroyed a big rig, as well as various vehicles. According to the relevant authorities, no one was injured due to the explosion. Commenting on the incident, the police said that an industrial accident caused the explosion of the cargo container with cars, as it was heading out of the port.
16th April marks five years after Sewol ferry sinking shocked the global community. Sewol ferry sank on 16 April 2014, in South Korean waters taking the lives of over 300 people, most of whom where kids on a school excursion. Four years later, in August 2018, the official panel investigation on the accident said it could not find exact causes for South Korea’s deadliest maritime casualty since 1970.
NTSB published its report on the fire on board the commercial fishing vessel Ole Betts Sea, on March 18, 2018, in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. The fire lasted for 16 hours, and the vessel eventually sank about 18 miles northeast of the island of Garden Key, Dry Tortugas, Florida. No pollution or injuries were reported. The ship was a total loss valued at $200,000.
An explosion at a Malaysian oil refinery that belongs to state oil firm Petronas, took place on Friday, 12 April. The company was testing its facilities ahead of planned commercial operations later this year. Despite the fire the company noted that only one amongst the personnel sustained scratches and has already been discharged upon receiving medical consultation.
