MarEx "Daily News"
The MarEx "Daily News" can be found at http://www.maritime-executive.com.
June 24, 2005
Tanker Explosion Kills Four
An explosion ripped through a tanker undergoing repairs at Port of Spain in Trinidad killing at least four workers.
The Trinidad Coast Guard said the heat from the fire was so intense that Coast Guard boats and helicopters were unable to approach the blazing vessel for two hours.
26 islanders were working on the Panama-registered "Tradewind Sunrise" when the blast occurred. 22 workers escaped on lifeboats, but four were consumed by fire.
The tanker had been undergoing repairs at Inter-Island Construction's dock for about a month, and was moved a few days ago and anchored about half a mile off the CrewsInn Marina and the port of Chaguaramas.
"We heard a loud boom," Myria Chate, an employee of the nearby CrewsInn Hotel said. "We felt the building vibrating as if there were an earthquake. Shortly after, plumes of black smoke could be seen going into the air."
A large oil spill spread around the tanker. Inter-Island Construction said it would not comment while an investigation continued.
June 27, 2005
Norwegian State prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to pursue dereliction charges against the state mapping agency "Sj?kartverket" and the local pilot in the capsizing of the freighter "Rocknes," which resulted in the death of 18 crew.
Police had accused the National Mapping Authority of failing to point out dangerous underwater rocks that the 544-foot "Rocknes" hit before capsizing on Jan. 19, 2004. Eighteen of the 30 crew, most Filipinos, were killed.
"Even if censurable conditions can be demonstrated they are not sufficient to be punishable by law," public prosecutor Jarle Golten Sm?rdal said.
Norway's Maritime Directorate (NMD) published their report on the accident last summer and concluded that the ship capsized so quickly because it had been poorly loaded and its unstable construction.
The inspectorate criticized the ship's local pilot, the Norwegian Coastal Administration and Sj?kartverket.
The prosecutor found the mapping agency had published new maps showing the rocks in 2003, and published the new information the same year in its regular "Notice to Mariners" report, and both were available before the accident.
However, the investigation revealed weaknesses in communication between the agency that makes the sea charts, and the Norwegian Coastal Administration, which employs the ship's pilots who use them.
The charges against the boat's pilot were dropped by police due to a lack of evidence. The prosecutor's office said that the demands of gross dereliction of duty proved beyond a reasonable doubt could not be met in this case.
The "Rocknes," built in 2001, capsized in a fjord near the city of Bergen, about 200 miles west of Oslo. A maritime hearing said the ship became unstable when its ballast tanks tore open against submerged rocks.
June 29, 2005
Ports and shipping group P&O will sell its 25 percent stake in Dutch-Anglo shipping company P&O Nedlloyd to two banks acting on behalf of Denmark's A.P. Moeller-Maersk, taking its share over Royal Nedlloyd to over 44 percent.
Maersk said Danske Bank and Nordea would buy 15 and 10 percent stakes respectively from P&O for $688 million in total and later sell the shares to Maersk.
Earlier this month, the Danish group launched a $2.7 billion takeover offer for P&O Nedlloyd to cement its position as the world's number-one container shipper. P&O had agreed to sell its shares to Maersk when the deal was announced in May.
Maersk said it had structured an arrangement with the banks, which will oblige them to sell the shares to Maersk on a settlement date for P&O Nedlloyd.
"In some countries it's against the law for us to buy the shares directly. It's just a few countries, but we have taken that into consideration," said Maersk spokesman Lehd Moeller.
Moeller said Maersk now controlled around 44.1 percent of P&O Nedlloyd.