Tag: grounding

The captain got stuck in the bathroom because of a jammed lock A Finnish ferry has run aground while its captain was stuck in the bathroom.One member of staff managed to slow the island-hopping tourist ferry down, but the vessel, carrying 54 passengers, slammed onto a rock near the shore of Helsinki, the Finnish coastguard said Friday.The captain got stuck in the bathroom because of a jammed lock and yelled for help, the coastguard said.Some passengers were bruised and tableware was broken in the incident. The coastguard is investigating whether the captain's actions amounted to criminal endangerment."He was stuck in the toilet. As soon as the staff member got the door open, it was too late," said Jan Sundell, head of investigation.Source: Reuters

None of the crewhave been injured A ship laden with gravel has run aground in the entrance of Littlehampton Harbour in West Sussex.The coaster vessel, Mungo, became stranded in the mouth of the River Arun at about 1500 BST on Wednesday.A coastguard rescue team, Shoreham RNLI lifboat and a tug boat have been sent to the scene. None of the four crew and two pilot staff have been injured.Littlehampton Harbour Board said they would attempt to refloat the ship at next high water on Thursday.Alan Waters, of Solent Coastguard, said: "There are four crew and two pilots on board the vessel."None of them have sustained injuries and all will remain onboard for the time being."Once the tug has arrived on scene we will reassess the situation in conjunction with the Littlehampton Harbour Master."A spokeswoman for Littlehampton Harbour Board said: "At the time of the incident, the vessel was making a routine entry to Lton Harbour and first indications are that she may have suffered a possible failure of her steering."Currently the entrance is partially blocked but navigable with care.""Attempts will be made to refloat the vessel at the next high water."Source: BBC News

The captain was brought to shore where a blood sample was taken Underway from Sczcecin to Gothenburg, carrying a cargo of sodium silicate, the "Alva" ran aground north of Landskrona in the morning of Aug 17, 2011, at 4 a.m.The 63-year-old Latvian captain on board the freighter was arrested later. The ship had failed to change course as it passed the island of Hven in the northbound direction. When the Swedish Coastguard proceeded with the "KBV 003" and subsequently boarded the ship, they smelt alcohol on the bridge, and a subsequent alcohol meter test captain confirmed that he had been drinking alcohol.The captain was later brought to shore where a blood sample was taken. Three divers started to assess the damage, and if the Swedish authorities give permission, it is then up to the company and the insurance company to prepare a salvage plan.The freighter has a six-man crew and was the third this year to run aground in the Øre Sound.Source: Vesseltracker

No pollution or injuries were reported Personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard and the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation responded to the grounding of the 670-foot motor vessel Federal St. Laurent, which ran aground near Massena, N.Y., along the St. Lawrence Seaway, at about 8 p.m. EST Monday.No pollution or injuries were reported, and it has been determined to be safe for maritime traffic to pass the location where the vessel grounded.After the Coast Guard was notified, investigators from Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Massena, N.Y., and SLSDC arrived on scene and verified the crew performed soundings and draft checks of the Barbados-flagged bulk carrier. The MSD Massena investigator found the vessel grounded near the bow well away from the vessel's fuel tanks, eliminating any potential for pollution.Federal St. Laurent, carrying titanium slag, was aground south of the channel 0.1 nautical mile east of Buoy 51 and4.4 nautical miles west of Eisenhower Lock.The vessel has since gotten underway and is safely at anchorage where an underwater hull survey will be conducted.The grounding of the Federal St. Laurent is under investigation and the cause will not be known until the investigation is complete.Source: USCG

13 crew on board A Dutch cargo ship has freed itself after running aground off the coast of west Cornwall.The 9,000-tonne Karin Schepers got into difficulty east of the Pendeen lighthouse, near St Just, at about 05:00 BST, coastguards said.The vessel, with 13 crew on board, was sailing from Cork in the Republic of Ireland to Rotterdam in the Netherlands. It has resumed its course.Police and coastguard search teams were called in to assist.A rescue helicopter from RNAS Culdrose was also sent to the scene.Source: BBC

Having a 15-man skeleton crew on board The "Phoenix" went aground in heavy seas in Christmas Bay near Durban, South Africa. The 40-year-old, 164m oil tanker Phoenix was on her way from West Africa to a scrapyard in India and had a 15-man skeleton crew on board.She was under the control of a skeleton crew as it was headed to India to be scrapped. As the vessel encountered rough seas, the crew dropped anchor to ride out the bad weather.However, the anchor line broke and the vessel began to drift towards shore. The "Smit Amandla" attempted to connect a towline to pull the "Phoenix" to deeper water, but the weather conditions made it impossible.Waves were 4 to 6 meters and winds reached up to 30 knots. Pushed by the waves, the vessel struck bottom some 200 meters from the shore.The RNSI responded sending out three helicopters who airlifted all 15 crew to safety. The company Smit Amandla Salvage has already begun operations, but it is likely the vessel will be cut for scrap where it currently rests.Source: Vesseltracker

Traffic on the Mississippi was not impeded by the grounded vessel Donjon-SMIT, LLC, was notified that a client vessel was aground in the Mississippi River just above Cubit's Gap, about 10 miles below Venice, La.Traffic on the Mississippi was not impeded by the grounded vessel. Donjon-SMIT, an OPA-90 salvage and marine firefighting provider, was placed on standby pending the results of efforts to refloat the vessel with tugs.Approximately midday on June 14, the vessel's salvage response plan was activated, and Donjon-SMIT mobilized its personnel and assets to refloat the vessel.Within a few hours of activation of the salvage plan, one of Donjon-SMIT's Rapid Response Assessors was on scene to conduct the initial onsite salvage assessment. Donjon-SMIT's salvage team arrived shortly after, and efforts began to conduct a damaged stability assessment and to utilize tugs to refloat the vessel."The vessel was broadside into the current, so there was a very real concern that the situation could worsen quickly," said Paul Hankins, President of Donjon-SMIT. "We were also worried about the rapid silting around the vessel."Overnight on June 14 and into the morning of June 15, four and eventually five tugs were used to scour the buildup of silt around the vessel ...

There was no report of any injury or pollution A ferry ran aground north of Pulau Tekong Tuesday morning after experiencing engine trouble.The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said it was informed at 11.25 am Tuesday that the Belize-registered passenger ferry, FB Falcon Princess, had beached north of Pulau Tekong about 1.8 km west-southwest of Johor's Tanjung Belungkor Ferry Terminal.The incident occurred within the Singapore port limit.The passenger ferry was on a scheduled trip from Changi Ferry Terminal to Tanjung Belungkor Ferry Terminal.At the time of the incident, there were 24 passengers and 11 crew onboard.MPA said all passengers were safely transferred to Tanjung Belungkor Ferry Terminal using another boat.There was no report of any injury or pollution.Vessel traffic remains unaffected.MPA said it has issued navigational broadcasts to inform ships in the vicinity of the incident and to keep clear.MPA said it is investigating the incident.Source: CNA

It went aground off Xiamen last week CMA CGM is working with Chinese authorities in a bid to save a post panamax containership that went aground off Xiamen last week.The 11,400-teu CMA CGM Libra (built 2009) ran aground on a hard sandy bottom on 19 May shortly after departing Xiamen Port.The ship is said to have around 6,000 containers onboard and was headed for Hong Kong before scheduled calls at various ports in Europe.Unconfirmed reports say the Hyundai Heavy Industries-built ship is running in the FAL1 service between China and Western Europe.Reports say the casualty is hard-a-ground, has developed a 10 degree list and is substantially out of her free floating draught.Hull interests have agreed a Lloyds Form Contract (LOF 2000) with Shanghai Salvage, reports marine insurance and admiralty solicitors Waltons & Morse.On the insistence of the local authorities, bunkers will have to be removed before any containers are lightened to aid refloatation, the London-based firm says.Latest reports are that Shanghai Salvage has now discharged around 75% of the bunkers aboard the Maltese-flagged containership.Although the ship owners have yet to formally declare General Average, such a declaration is expected imminently, Waltons & Morse said.Albatross Adjusters Limited in Cyprus are on ...

Causing losses of at least $900,000 Sandbanks preventing ships from entering Barranquilla are causing Colombia's main maritime port losses of at least $900,000, several Colombian media reported.Two ships have run aground on sandbanks near the entrance to the Caribbean port, forcing at least between four and six other cargo ships to wait for them to be freed before being able to unload. Without docking ships, Barranquilla port is losing almost a million dollars.El Heraldo newspaper from Barranquilla reported, that each ship represents approximately $150,000 income for the Port Authority of Barranquilla, if each boat carries 27,500 tons valued at $6 each.With between four and six boats waiting unable to dock, the Port Authority is losing between $600,000 and $900,000. This figure does not include losses to port-related industries.According to Cartagena newspaper El Universal, Greek ship "Chirios Wind" has been stuck for four days while "Magnum Power" has spent 10 days on a sand bank -four tugs have failed to refloat it.This has lead to the manager of the Port Authority of Barranquilla Luis Fernando Arteta declaring an emergency and calling for dredgers to be contracted to get rid of the sand banks that have formed at entrance of the port.Arteta ...