Tug&SalvageNews

Coastguardsmen Honored for Heroic Rescue Near Port of Virginia

By MarEx 2019-05-23 14:00:43

On Wednesday, four U.S. Coast Guard boat crew members received awards for their actions during a search and rescue case and reunited with two of the four boat crash survivors during a ceremony at Coast Guard Station Little Creek in Virginia Beach, just outside the Port of Virginia. Petty Officer 1st Class Nathan Reynolds, a coxswain at the station, Petty Officer 3rd Class Parker Bohannon, a machinery technician at the station, and Seamen Daniel Brennes and Loren Greenlund received Coast Guard...

Wreck of Last American Slave Ship Confirmed

By MarEx 2019-05-22 21:33:03

The wreck of the last slave ship ever to reach American shores has been found in a river delta near Mobile, Alabama, according to the state's historical commission. In 1860, on the eve of the American Civil War, the schooner Clotilda took aboard 110 individuals in West Africa and sailed across the Atlantic to deliver them to slaveowners in Mobile. After they were unloaded, the ship was burned outside of the port. The transatlantic slave trade had already been banned in...

Resolve Marine Removes Wreck from Sea Turtle Nesting Site

By MarEx 2019-05-22 17:00:31

Resolve Marine Group reports that it has completed the removal of the cement carrier Raysutt II from an environmentally-sensitive beach at Salalah, Oman. The Raysutt II departed the port of Salalah last May following an order from the port authorities to evacuate due to foul weather, and she carried a partial load of about 6,750 tonnes of dry powdered cement. After leaving port she lost headway and steerage, and she went aground on Salalah's Al-Fazayah Beach on May 26, 2018. ...

Italy Allows 65 Migrants to Land at Lampedusa

By MarEx 2019-05-20 21:43:44

Italian authorities have relented and allowed survivors from the migrant rescue vessel Sea-Watch 3 to be transported ashore at the island of Lampedusa. The decision represents a departure from the course set by Italian minister of the interior Matteo Salvini, who staunchly opposes African immigration and has ordered Italy's ports closed to rescue vessels. “The ports are not closed, they cannot be closed. We have affirmed a legal duty, a moral duty, an act of solidarity: rescue at sea must...

Search Called Off for Missing Maersk Boxship Officer

By MarEx 2019-05-20 13:43:22

The search for a Maersk container ship officer who went overboard last weekend was unsuccessful and has been called off, according to Maersk Line. At about 0930 on Sunday morning, the sub-Panamax container ship Maersk Patras reported that the second officer had gone overboard in the Saint Lawrence River, about 100 nm to the northeast of Quebec City. The Marine Search & Rescue Centre (MSRC) of the Canadian Coast Guard immediately lauched a search effort with the help of several...

U.S. Assessment: Iran's Involvement in Fujairah Attack "Highly Likely"

By MarEx 2019-05-17 17:08:17

American officials told U.S. media on Friday that it is "highly likely" that Iran was involved in the recent attack on four tankers at Fujairah. Norwegian war risk insurer DNK has reached a similar assessment, according to Reuters. Most private-sector analysts have suggested that the attackers used hand-placed limpet mine with explosive charges of less than five kilograms; however, the DNK report concludes that the attack was likely conducted with underwater drones, each carrying a charge of 30-50 kilograms of high...

Containment System Complete at MC20 Oil Release Site

By MarEx 2019-05-17 14:09:03

The U.S. Coast Guard and contractor Couvillion Group have successfully installed a containment system to capture oil leaking from Taylor Energy's Mississippi Canyon 20 well, despite a lawsuit brought by Taylor to halt the intervention. The installation marks a major milestone in the USCG's efforts to address the spill, which has been ongoing for 14 years. “After monitoring the system for several weeks we have determined that the system is meeting federal containment standards,” said Capt. Kristi Luttrell, the Coast...

NTSB Releases Details of Ketchikan Sightseeing Crash

By MarEx 2019-05-16 21:03:32

The mid-air collision that killed five cruise ship passengers and one pilot outside Ketchikan, Alaska on Monday occurred as both aircraft were headed back to the harbor, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. In a press briefing Wednesday, NTSB member Jennifer Homendy said that the larger of the two float planes involved - a De Havilland Otter operated by Taquan Air - was returning to Ketchikan from a sightseeing flight on a southwesterly course at about 3,800 feet. It descended to...

Explosion at Chittagong Shipbreaking Yard Kills Two

By MarEx 2019-05-15 21:34:12

On Wednesday morning, an explosion and fire at a shipbreaking yard in Chittagong killed two workers and injured five more, according to the advocacy group NGO Shipbreaking Platform. At about 0830 Wednesday, a fire broke out on board the defunct vessel Bunga Kelana 4, beached at Mahinur Ship Breaking yard. According to the NGO, the flames spread from abandoned waste oil located close to the engine room where workers were torch-cutting steel parts. The deceased were named as Mohammod Rubel...

Grimaldi Ro/Ro Catches Fire off Mallorca

By MarEx 2019-05-15 17:59:50

On Wednesday, 15 crewmembers were evacuated from the Grimaldi Lines ro/ro Grande Europa by helicopter after a fire broke out on board. Ten remained behind to assist with the response and towing effort. At 0400 hours on Wednesday, a fire broke out aboard the Grande Europa while she was about 25 miles off the coast of Palma de Mallorca. The Salvamento Maritimo response vessels Salvamar Acrux, Guardamar Calíope and Marta Mata came to her assistance and helped her crew bring the fire...