Just in time to provide a little light holiday reading, here are some of the happenings in the world of Marine from June




1 Jun SpaceX company’s “Falcon 9” rocket has a successful lift-off and ascends to orbit, the rocket is one contender for commercial launch business from NASA and its development cost was partly paid for by NASA.

1 Jun Taking things a little deeper, six bids are entered for the tender to dredge and enlarge the Gatun Lake section of the Panama Canal. The bids ranged in price from just under US$40 million to almost US$100 million, the Panama Canal Authority will now consider which bid to select, more information here: http://www.marinelink.com/news/submitted-dredging-panama334421.aspx

2 Jun The Syrian crew of the hijacked general cargo vessel MV “Rim” are reported to have regained control of their vessel. Some confusion surrounds this case, the vessel was hijacked in February of this year, believed to be carrying scrap metal possibly bound for Yemen. The vessel is either Libyan or North Korean – depending upon whom you believe, Equasis has it as DPRK registered and Romanian registered, ownership unknown. One crewmember was apparently injured during a battle with pirates and there are reports that other pirates attempted to re-hijack the “Rim”, EU Navfor vessels are in attendance.

2 Jun The 1988 built, 7478GT Italian cruise vessel “Vistamar”, is detained in Belfast under ParisMOU inspection after it was found that a number of the ship’s fire safety doors were inoperable. The ship was detained for 4 days for necessary repairs.

3 Jun Seaspan Corporation receives the 50th addition to its fleet and the 8th vessel delivered so far this year with the arrival of the 2,500GT container vessel “Calicanto Bridge” from the Chinese shipbuilder Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Company (try saying that name quickly) and has chartered the ship to K Lines of Japan.

4 Jun Ships traversing the Gulf of Mexico area and entering the Mississippi River area may have to pay for decontamination costs to remove oil traces resulting from BP’s ongoing nightmare of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Although few vessels report sighting oil some ports are expected to require mandatory decontamination. BP may end up being faced for this bill as well, just days after having received the US official interim bill for US$ 69 million dollars.

6 Jun Norwegian Cruise Lines’ 155,873GT, 4200 passenger newbuilding “Norwegian Epic” continued its saga of fires with a suspected arson attack in the STX shipyard at St Nazaire – this is the third suspicious fire in a month. The vessel is due for delivery mid June with christening planned for July 2.

8 Jun Those readers of a certain age will well remember a gentleman by the name of Jacques Cousteau, his voyages of exploration of marine life made fascinating viewing. To celebrate the centenary of his birth his famous ship “Calypso” is to be restored and re-launched as an educational exhibition. More information here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10264797 and more information on the Cousteau Society here: http://www.cousteau.org/news/calypso-saved

14 Jun Bloomberg’s report sighting a possible silver lining to BP’s Gulf of Mexico cloud claiming that the incident and the heightened scrutiny of the offshore industry may force some operators to begin replacement of their offshore industries with rig constructors in Asia being likely to benefit. Over half of the rigs operating in that area are over 20 years old.

14 Jun Not exactly on Her Majesty’s Service, two men and a service woman are convicted of smuggling GBP 2 million worth of cocaine on board the warship HMS Manchester. The vessel had been involved in anti-narcotics training and a Royal Navy wren on board the ship concealed the Bolivian Marching Powder in her clothing.

15 Jun Authorities in Ghana impound the Chinese bulker MV “Rui Ning 3” (an odd name for a vessel) and arrest 3 crew members after allegations that three stowaways discovered on the vessel were thrown overboard. One was later rescued by Ghanain patrols, a second survivor was later rescued whilst the third man died. Stowaways are protected under the United Nations declaration of human rights but it is not unheard of for ships’ owners to try to avoid the inconvenience and expense associated with them by trying to dispose of them in other ways.

16 Jun Fire breaks out on the lower vehicle deck of the Jersey to Portsmouth ferry “Commodore Clipper” resulting in 62 passengers and 39 crewmembers being forced to remain on board after the vessel docked in Portsmouth as fire fighting operations continued.

17 Jun Thomas Miller celebrates its 125th anniversary by sponsoring the restoration of the oldest vessel in use in Africa. Not quite yet an African Queen, the “Chauncy Maples”, now 112 years old will be renovated as a floating clinic in Malawi. More information on this noble enterprise can be found on Thomas Miller’s homepage here: http://www.thomasmiller.com/fileadmin/uploads/tm/Documents/Article%202010-06-17%20Lloyd's%20List%20(2).pdf

18 Jun The BBC’s internet news service publishes what might be described as a Dummy’s Guide to Somali Piracy explaining in layman’s language the modus operandi of these villains: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10349155

20 Jun A real old lady bows out of service, the 114 year old, Turkish flagged “Bilal Cavusoglu” sinks following capsize in a storm in the Marmara Sea. The general cargo vessel was built by Nederlandse Scheepsbouw in 1896 and reportedly modernised in 1955.

23 Jun Briese Schiffahrt’s 2528GT General Cargo vessel “Santiago” is arrested in Limassol pending clarification of the legality of its cargo. The vessel is apparently carrying with weapons and explosives allegedly bound for Sudan and Singapore. Sudanese authorities apparently deny any knowledge of the vessel and its cargo.

28 Jun Not as fortunate as its name, the Singaporean registered 9,127GT chemical product tanker “Golden Blessing” is captured by Somali pirates and is now under way towards the Somali coast.

30 Jun 9 Ukrainian crew members of the Cambodian registered 2161 GT general cargo vessel “Dada Star” ex “Winger” abandon the vessel which remains in Pasajes in Spain with the crew reportedly unpaid for 6 months.



That’s all folks, the Month of July in Marine will follow in August,

Cheers,

Jason

1 May The ongoing nightmare following the „Deepwater Horizon” continues with oil giant BP coming under ever increasing pressure from all sides and strong criticism of its handling of the growing oil spill. Reports suggest around 5,000 barrels per day are leaking from the well head in the Gulf of Mexico. This disaster has led some to summarise the strategy in this (possibly NSFW) way: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AAa0gd7ClM

1 May A report commissioned by the French Appeals Court in Rennes into the sinking in January 2004 of the trawler “Bugaled Breizh” causing the death of five crewmembers finds that an unnamed US submarine may have collided with the vessel and caused the sinking. It is alleged that the submarine may have been spying of a shipment of weapons grade nuclear materials being transported from Cherbourg to Japan on board a British vessel.

2 May Following the sinking of the South Korean warship “Cheonan” on the 26th March, South Korea’s Defence Minister announces that those responsible must expect to pay a price for their actions. It is widely believed that North Korea is responsible for the loss of the “Cheonan” and the deaths of the 46 crewmen that died in the incident.

2 May One of the fighting factions in Somalia has taken over one of the pirate havens at Haradhere forcing the pirates based there to move three of the vessels currently held in captivity.

5 May Unwanted treasure: a planned auction of 270,000 relics recovered from a 10th Century Chinese shipwreck discovered of the coast of West Java fails to attract one single bid, despite some expressed interest, no-one was willing to stump up the US$ 16 million deposit required to enter bidding.

5 May Carnival Cruises announces orders for two new cruise ships to be built at Italy’s Fincantieri shipyard. The two unnamed vessels are due to enter service in 2013 and at approximately 141,000GT will be the largest vessels in carnival’s fleet.

6 May Russian forces storm the pirate-captured 96,000GT oil tanker “Moscow University” after it was captured on 5 May by Somali pirates. The 23 crew had locked themselves into a secure room on the vessel after disabling the vessel. Ten pirates were captured and one was killed during the operation carried out by forces based on the Russian warship “Marshal Shaposhnikov”.

7 May Remember the mystery over the “Arctic Sea”? The vessel rumoured to have been carrying an arms shipment destined for Iran? A new development as a Moscow court sentences one of the 8 persons charged over the disappearance and subsequent rediscovery of the vessel last July. Andrei Lunev was found guilty of piracy and sentenced to five years imprisonment.

7 May The 25th occurrence of the highly successful South African Marine Forum gets kicks off in Johannesburg with a record attendance of almost 100 delegates.

7 May Mitsui OSK lines 178,739 GT bulker “Bright Century” laden with iron ore from Australia collides with the Liberian registered freighter “Sea Success” east of Shangdong in China. The “Bright Century” subsequently sank, all 23 crewmembers on board were safely rescued.

8 May Floating dry-dock “Scotia Dock II” belonging to Irving Shipbuilding Halifax Shipyard sinks during a submerging operation. The dock is 183 metres long and 31 metres wide, it was built by Vickers in 1958, plans are under way to re-float the dock as soon as possible.

8 May The Marine Forum concludes after a very successful meeting which included special guest appearances by Sandra Bullock and Ricky Martin – you really had to be there to appreciate this!

10 May Tough justice: the ten pirates captured by Russian forces during the operation to release the hijacked ship “Moscow University” were subsequently released due to “imperfections in international law”. Now it seems that their release may not have been fortuitous with reports that all ten may have perished after being released with an inflatable boat but no navigational equipment: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8675978.stm

13 May Last one out please turn out the lights, Trinity House in the UK announces that two lighthouses will be switched off, the Blacknore Point Lighthouse in Somerset which has been in operation since 1894 and Orford Ness lighthouse in Suffolk will no longer shine out as from 2015. Trinity House claims that modern navigational aids render the lighthouses unnecessary. Perhaps we should organise a whip round for one of those new fangled low energy (cost efficient) light bulbs?

14 May The Space Shuttle “Atlantis” lifts off on its planned 12 day duration final flight to deliver supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. Atlantis will be retired after this flight following 25 (yes 25) years of service. Only two more shuttle flights are planned and are expected to be completed this year so if you want to view a launch there’s not much time left.

18 May In 1775 General Benedict Arnold captures a British sloop and renames it “Enterprise” during the American War of Independance. Later, in 1779 Arnold switched sides and joined the British army, his name later became synonymous with treachery.

18 May The port of Hamburg reports strong growth during the first quarter of the year with a total of 28.6 million tons of cargo handled, an increase of 4.6 % over the same period last year. Full details with plenty(!) of facts and figures can be found on the port’s website here: http://www.hafen-hamburg.de/en/news/port-hamburg-cargo-handling-figures-first-quarter-2010

18 May A public consultation report on how best to preserve the remains of the English Flagship “HMS Victory” lost during a storm in 1744 concludes that amateur and unauthorised salvage or souvenir hunting is the biggest threat to the future of the vessel. The wreck lays outside British territorial waters in the English Channel, it’s exact position has however not been revealed to try to avoid plundering of the wreck site which is also the final resting place of the 1,000 men that were lost with the vessel.

18 May More tough justice, a Yemeni court sentences six Somali pirates to death and jails six others for the hijacking of a Yemeni flag tanker which was subsequently recaptured by Yemeni forces. On this same day in New York, Mr Abdilwalih Abdiqadir Muse pleads guilty to seizing the American flagged “Maersk Alabama” and of kidnapping the vessel’s captain last year, to be sentenced in October of this year he faces a minimum of 27 years imprisonment.

20 May An international investigation into the sinking of the South Korean “Cheonan” (see 2 May above) concludes that the vessel was sunk by a torpedo of North Korean manufacture. The North Korean reaction to this announcement is so far one of indignant denial accompanied by belligerent rhetoric and sabre rattling.

20 May Two bills are submitted for amendments to OPA 90 – one to remove the possibility for a responsible party to limit their liability and the second to raise the cap for economic damages resulting from an oils spill, more fall out from the “Deepwater Horizon” incident can certainly be expected.

24 May Queen Boadicea (the 2nd) to miss party. An apparent lack of friends prevents this Little Ship from joining a Dunkirk evacuation memorial marking 70 years since the flotilla of such ships helped evacuate troops from the continent. A shame that in this penny pinching age the funds required couldn’t be found but then, it’s not as if there’s a war on you know. More on the re-enactment of Operation Dynamo here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/kent/8705304.stm

25 May Malaysian flagged tanker “Bunga Kelana 3” is in collision with the St Vincent and Grenadines flagged Bulker “MV Waily” in the Straits of Singapore resulting in a oil spill of an estimated 2,000 tons. Control booms are erected to contain the spill.

25 May Five alleged Somali pirates go on trial in the Netherlands accused of attempting to hijack the Netherland Antilles flagged vessel “Samanyolu” in January. In their defence the accused argued that they were merely fishing when attacked by the cargo vessel. Hmmm, not all that convincing an argument so far, perhaps they can back it up by showing that the fishing boats documents included a copy of “Fly Fishing” by J.R. Hartley?

31 May A convoy of six ships carrying aid to the Gaza Strip is stopped by Israeli forces enforcing the blockade. Israeli soldiers boarded the largest vessel in the fleet and in an ensuing gun battle nine people are killed.





Finally, here’s an interesting website to have a look at some unusual ships: http://uglyships.wordpress.com/



That’s all folks, more to come during July.