Ship Accidents & Collisions May 6, 2010

Cargo ship and barge collide; 8 missing

In the early hours of the morning on Tuesday, May 4, a cargo ship and a barge collided off north China’s Tianjin coast. One of nine crew members aboard the barge was rescued before it sank, the other 8 are still missing. The crew aboard the cargo ship was unharmed.

A dozen Chinese rescue vessels are searching for the missing crew.

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ROK ship spills fuel after collision in Panama Canal

On Monday night, May 3, the South Korean ship HANJING MONACO leaked fuel after colliding with the Pedro Miguel floodgate in the Panama Canal.

The collision damaged the ship’s fuel tank, causing an estimated 35 barrels of fuel to be leaked. The spill was quickly under control and technicians and staff of the Union of Control and Response to Pollution cleaned the fuel spill zone.

The ACP towed the ship to a safe zone where it is going to be repaired. Panamanian authorities are carrying out an investigation into the cause of the accident.
 

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Hong Kong ship sinks after collision with freighter
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Sunday, May 2, a Hong Kong cargo ship sank off Weihai City, east China's Shandong Province, after a collision with a Liberian-registered freighter. The accident is suspected to have occurred due to low visibility during foggy conditions.

All 23 Chinese crew members of the Hong Kong-registered BRIGHT CENTURY and all 23 Indian crew members of the Liberia-registered SEA SUCCESS were unhurt and rescued successfully.

Water had flooded into the damaged prow of the Sea Success, but the vessel was still afloat. The city’s maritime safety bureau dispatched a ship to shadow the vessel as it was still in negotiations with the owner about the cost of towing the ship to port.

The bureau is investigating the cause of the accident.