Tag: accident reports

Baltic Sea , ship accidents

IMO Secretary-General launches Accident Zero initiative with IALA

Report of Marine Accident, Injury or Death When in US Waters

By the Zanzibar government Zanzibar government reported on Tuesday that a total of 128 people have been confirmed dead in Tanzania's ferry accident which occurred two weeks ago while 16 people are still unaccounted for.The office of Zanzibar's Second Vice President made the announcement two weeks after the ferry MV Stagit capsized while heading to Zanzibar from Dar es Salaam due to strong wind.The accident has prompted Zanzibar's government to delegate the Ministry of Finance, Economic and Development Planning to locate funds to buy a new passenger and cargo ship to minimize the potential risks of buying used ones.The captain and the owner of the ill-fated ferry have been charged before a local court shortly after the accident involving the ferry carrying 290 people including nine crew members.So far, 146 people have been rescued alive including 15 foreign tourists from the U.S., Belgium, Germany and Holland.Zanzibar's Minister of Infrastructure and Communication Hamad Msoud Hamad stepped down two days after the accident following the pressure from the MPs who blamed him for the two deadly accidents that occurred in less a year.Another ferry accident in September last year in the waters near northern Unguja killed over 200 passengers, including many children ...

Accident prevention: dealing with the human factor Accident investigation is a painstaking and often painful process and, more often than not, the outcome is a raft of new policies and measures to avoid reoccurrence. Yet, if well thought out and established company procedures are followed in the first place, tragic consequences can be avoided.In response to the renewed focus on training in this area Videotel has launched a new training series, Leadership and Team Working Skills, which takes as its foundation the importance of good resource management and how it can be achieved."With continuing improvements in technology, human factors feature more and more frequently in the causal chain," explains Nigel Cleave, CEO of Videotel Marine International. "Forty years ago, the average cargo ship was manned by 40-50 crew - nowadays, even on VLCCs, we are seeing crews numbering in the low twenties. Individuals are required to operate ever more efficiently adding further pressure on board. This series addresses many of the key issues defined by the STCW and SOLAS conventions, which provide a framework for safe and effective working practices."Produced in conjunction with The Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association (Bermuda) Ltd Leadership and Team Working Skills is aimed at all sea-going ...

Ship owners have cut their spending on safety As the world's shipping market slumped to its lowest point this year, ship owners have cut their spending on safety, resulting in a growing number of maritime accidents in recent months, maritime officials said.The Maritime Safety Administration has launched a three-month campaign to improve safety by checking crew numbers and qualifications on all domestic cargo and passenger ships with 5,000 gross tonnage or less, beginning on April 16.Huang He, deputy director of the administration, said the move followed an unusually high number of accidents involving ships in coastal waters or offshore since February.Two of the accidents happened in a period of three days, between Feb 16 and 18, near Shantou, in Guangdong province, and Quanzhou, in Fujian province. Eight people were killed and five were reported missing."Our investigations found that both ships lacked even the minimum number of crew members, and some of the sailors had no qualifications for their current jobs," he said.The situation was not limited to a number of individual cases, he said, adding that it appeared to be widespread.An administration official said that some small ship owners had fired sailors, and as a result, the ships did not ...

The Captain dozed off with the ship on autopilot Interrogation has shown that the captain of a 130-metre cargo ship that hit rocks in Messina at the weekend dozed off with the ship on autopilot.Under interrogation by magistrates, the commander of the Hc Rubina - 41-year-old Ukrainian Sergy Kryvodud - said he only awoke when the vessel was too close to shore to avoid a collision.The ship is grounded, yards from people's homes, in the port's Ganzirri district. Warnings from the coast guard, which detected the ship's approach on Saturday night, were initially ignored. When Mr Kryvodud woke there was only time to slow the ship and reduce the impact. He is suspected by prosecutors of causing a shipwreck and violating marine law.Source: The Indipendent

Three people are still missing At least 10 people have been killed and three people are still missing in ferry accident that occurred on a ferry running from the port city of Pathein, 130km west of Yangon.State media reported that the "Pathein Thu" sank at around 2 pm on Tuesday as it was about to dock at a jetty near Ngapudaw Township. It had just completed the 30 km journey from Pathein Township on the Pathein River, which lies around 135 km west of Rangoon.The cause of the accident is still being investigated but there are accusations that rough conditions and overcrowding could have been to blame.A senior police spokesman from Ngapudaw Township told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that at least five women and one child were amongst the dead."The police are continuing to search for survivors and have been joined by volunteers from the public," he said. "There was a big wave at the time so the flow of water was very strong. When the ferry stopped suddenly and turned to approached the jetty the wave hit so it lost control."There were around 100 passengers on board and residents of Ngapudaw Township claimed that this meant the vessel was ...

More than 100 people are still missing from the MV Rabaul Queen Papua New Guinean authorities Saturday began retrieving the bodies of those killed when a crowded ferry sank two days ago in what is thought to be among the nation's worst sea accidents.More than 100 people are still missing from the MV Rabaul Queen, which went down about nine nautical miles off the coast early Thursday. Air and sea search efforts were ongoing despite rough weather."Four bodies were picked up from the water," rescue coordinator Captain Nurur Rahman from PNG's National Maritime Safety Authority told AFP."The water at this time is still rough which is slowing down a little bit the search and rescue. We haven't found any survivors today."Rahman said the bodies were discovered, along with debris from the wreck, about 50 nautical miles southeast of where the vessel sank.The authority said the 246 people rescued in a joint rescue operation with neighbouring Australia were undergoing medical assessment at the Angau Memorial Hospital in Lae, a major coastal gateway and the doomed boat's destination.As the search effort involving seven fixed wing aircraft, three helicopters and seven boats continued, some families in Lae were still hoping to find their ...

116 survivors from the ferry Rabaul Queen Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President: Koichi Muto) announced that the MOL-operated containership MOL Summer rescued 116 survivors from the ferry Rabaul Queen, which sank about 17 km east of Papua New Guinea.According to local reports, the Rabaul Queen with about 350 passengers aboard was under way from the port of Kimbe on New Britain Island to Lae in Papua New Guinea.On the morning of Thursday, February 2, the Rabaul Queen sank near Fischhafen, shortly after transmitting a distress signal, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).The MOL Summer, under way from Hong Kong to Brisbane, was dispatched by AMSA to serve as on-scene coordinator for the rescue operation, and pulled 116 survivors from the water, transferring them to AMSA at Lae early on Friday (JST).Meanwhile, eight other merchant vessels near the scene helped with rescue activities at the request of AMSA. In all, five vessels, including the MOL Summer, rescued a total of 246 people.MOL hopes the remaining passengers and crew from the Rabaul Queen will be swiftly rescued and brought to safety.Source: Mitsui O.S.K. Lines