Weekend News Roundup
Pirate Attack
The product tanker Sochima has been attacked by pirates in Gulf of Guinea. Two armed men approached the vessel by speedboat but were thwarted by security guards on board. The vessel arrived safely in Lagos, Nigeria.
Oil Spill
Over 100 liters of heavy fuel oil spilled into the waters of the Port of Saint Petersburg, Russia, during bunkering operations. The Triton Reefer was taking on fuel from the tanker Freya when damage to the hose resulted in the spill.
Crushed in Port
Two people were killed when they were crushed by a trailer truck pushed them into a crane in Thailand. Police are investigating.
Fishing Vessel Sinks
A fishing vessel has sunk in Bay of Biscay off Spain. The vessel Siempre Urbegi ran aground in rocky shallows, lost stability and capsized. The crew were rescued, some with injuries. The vessel has fuel on board, but there are no reports of pollution.
Cargo Ship Fire
A general cargo ship caught fire on the Thi Vai River in Vietnam. The vessel was carrying maize and the local coast guard and firefighting tugs came to the aid of the 12 crew on board. The fire has been extinguished and the vessel towed to anchorage. The fire apparently started after a short circuit of equipment in the accommodation area.
Over 1,000 Migrants Rescued
Rescuers plucked 1,164 people from rubber and wooden boats in the Mediterranean under heavy thunderstorms on Sunday and recovered six dead bodies during the operations. A Nigerian woman rescued on Saturday evening gave birth on Sunday to a baby boy on the ship.
Greenpeace Films Seismic Survey Ship
Greenpeace NZ has released aerial footage from a reconnaissance flight over the seismic ship Amazon Warrior, operating 120 nautical miles off the Wairarapa Coast.
Greenpeace climate campaigner, Kate Simcock, says the goal is to show New Zealanders what the Government is allowing to happen out of sight. An alliance of Maori communities has voiced opposition to deep water drilling on the East Coast. Almost 70 Maori hap? from Cape Runaway to Kaikoura have called on Statoil and Chevron to cease their operations and leave New Zealand. Over 10,000 New Zealanders have signed on to the letter.
“With the change of Prime Minister, the Government should quit this mad oil program once and for all. We’re calling on soon-to-be new Prime Minister Bill English to face the planetary climate emergency and listen to iwi, public and local government opposition, and ditch deep sea drilling now,” says Simcock.
Greenpeace made the 120 nautical miles trip to find the seismic ship because it seems to have been avoiding coming into port where it could face protest. This includes illegally switching off its mandatory AIS tracking for days on end, throughout the 7.8 earthquake and tsunami threat, alleges Greenpeace.