Tug&SalvageNews

Salvage Effort Begins for MSC Zoe's Containers

By MarEx 2019-01-18 14:54:42

Salvage operations have begun for the recovery of sunken cargo containers from the 19,000 TEU MSC Zoe, which lost about 290 boxes in a storm on the night of January 2. The incident occurred near the German island of Borkum, and the containers floated south-west, with some washing up on the Dutch islands of Terschelling and Vlieland. MSC has confirmed that 21 containers have washed up on shore, and seven have been recovered from the water. The contents of many others...

Two Missing After Workboat Accident on Mississippi

By MarEx 2019-01-18 14:02:11

Two crewmembers from the spill response vessel Louisiana Responder are missing after a small boat accident on the Mississippi River near Bootheville, Louisiana. On the morning of January 18, a 32-foot launch from the Responder was towing a boom when it capsized, with the two crew going overboard. The vessel subsequently sank. The crewmembers - identified as Katelyn Carlisle and Rueben Arellano - remain missing. Boat and helicopter crews from the U.S. Coast Guard, Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries, the Branch Pilots and the local...

First Photos Show Fire Damage to the Yantian Express' Cargo

By MarEx 2019-01-16 08:58:17

The first photos of the fire damage to the container ship Yantian Express have emerged, and the imagery suggests that the extent of the blaze was much smaller than the devastating fire aboard the Maersk Honam in 2018. USMMA midshipman Cameron Brunick (Class of 2021), who is currently embarked on a merchant vessel in the North Atlantic, took what are likely the first published photos of the Yantian Express. The images show thin smoke rising from the containers on...

Video: Livestock Carrier Blown Aground off Turkey

By MarEx 2019-01-15 17:13:56

The Lebanese-flagged livestock carrier Wardeh has gone aground near the port of Mersin, Turkey. The vessel dragged anchor in heavy weather and found bottom a few hundred meters from shore. The vessel had been anchored in the harbor for many months, and Turkish media reports suggest that she was awaiting new work after failed negotiations for a sale. Two crewmembers are on board, and Turkish Coast Guard teams are working to safely evacuate them.

Report: USS Fitzgerald's Deficiencies Were Worse than Acknowledged

By MarEx 2019-01-15 17:00:42

According to a new report released by Navy Times, the U.S. Navy's public assessment of the USS Fitzgerald collision did not disclose the full extent of the deficiencies on board the ill-fated destroyer. In the early hours of June 17, 2017, the Fitzgerald's bridge team was transiting southwards in heavy traffic on the approaches to Tokyo. Due to a series of human errors, she collided with the merchant vessel ACX Crystal, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to the...

Two More Tugs Sent to Assist Yantian Express

By MarEx 2019-01-14 20:09:26

Two more ocean-going tugs have been dispatched to meet the containership Yantian Express at a position about 900 nm southeast of Halifax. The Express has been drifting or moving ahead at a slow bell in the North Atlantic since January 3, when a cargo fire forced her crew to evacuate. The new additions to the salvage team are the DonJon-owned Atlantic Enterprise and the Boskalis AHTS Sovereign, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The AHTS vessels Smit Nicobar and Maersk Mobiliser are...

Navy Divers Retrieve Lion Air Voice Recorder

By MarEx 2019-01-14 18:27:02

Indonesian Navy divers have recovered a cockpit voice recorder from the Lion Air plane that crashed in the Java Sea on October 29 last year, killing all 189 people on board. The recorder was discovered under 26 feet of mud in around 100 feet of water using a “ping locator.” Shortly after takeoff from Jakarta, as it headed out over the Java Sea, Lion Air Flight JT 610 called air traffic control and requested permission to return to the airport....

Sewol Survivors Receive Payout

By MarEx 2019-01-14 17:56:14

20 survivors of the Sewol ferry sinking are to receive a payout of approximately $71,000. The vessel's operator Cheonghaejin Marine is to make the payment as a result of a ruling this week in South Korea's Suwon District Court. Around 80 relatives are to receive lesser sums. On April 16, 2014, the 6,825-ton Sewol capsized off the coast of South Korea. Over 300 people, mostly high school students, died after they obeyed orders to stay in their cabins. Channel NewsAsia...

Collision Sinks Pipelay Vessel off Singapore

By MarEx 2019-01-14 17:53:47

[Brief] On Sunday, the pipelay vessel Star Centurion capsized and partially sank in the Singapore Strait after a collision with a product tanker. All 22 crewmembers evacuated safely, and no casualties were reported. The collision occurred at an anchorage off Bintan Island, Indonesia, near the eastern entrance to the strait. The Centurion was at anchor at the time of impact, according to AIS tracking data The other vessel involved, the 40,000 dwt product tanker Antea, was getting under way for Ambon, Indonesia. Photos...

Divers Search Damaged Tanker for Missing Crewmembers

By MarEx 2019-01-11 17:13:18

Emergency response teams are still searching for two crewmembers from the product tanker Aulac Fortune, which caught fire and exploded off Hong Kong on January 8. Dive crews are searching the Fortune's number four cargo tank, which was one of three ripped open by the blast. The missing men are believed to have been working on the main deck above the tank at the time of the explosion. The damaged tanks are filled with up to about 20 feet of water and petroleum, according...