28 Feb

Failure to make use of electronic chart cited as factor in grounding

Casualty News
Inattention to an electronic chart system and a breakdown of communications on the bridge contributed to the grounding of the containership ANL Excellence in Moreton Bay off the coast of Queensland in 2002, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has concluded. ANL Excellence lies at anchor in Moreton Bay after it was refloated. The ship ran aground on its way to…
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28 Feb

Bridge inspector drowns after barge knocks him into river

Casualty News
A bridge inspector drowned in the Calumet-Sag Channel after he was knocked out of a cherry picker by a barge while inspecting the Division Street Bridge in Blue Island, Ill. The cherry picker was struck at about 0900 on April 10 by the lead barge of a three-barge tow pushed by Julie White, a 1,900-hp towboat owned by Garvey Marine…
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28 Feb

Barge Spills fuel oil on approach to Cape Cod Canal

Casualty News
A barge being towed by a tug spilled an estimated 928 barrels of No. 6 fuel oil in Massachusetts' Buzzards Bay on April 27. The tug Evening Tide was headed north with the 376-foot barge Bouchard-120 on a 1,000-foot towline when the spill occurred. The barge was carrying 97,000 barrels of oil. The Coast Guard is looking into the possibility…
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27 Feb

Helicopters rescue 23 crewmen but salvage team member dies

Casualty News
The entire 23-man crew of the listing 55,328-gross-ton vehicle carrier Cougar Ace was rescued on July 24. However, a member of a salvage team put aboard to conduct an inspection of the listing ship was killed in a fall. Marty Johnson, 40, a Titan employee from Issaquah, Wash., died after he slipped on the deck and hit his head. He…
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27 Feb

Boston pilot becomes third to die in fall from ladder during 2006

Casualty News
A veteran Boston pilot fell to his death on Oct. 24 while climbing a pilot's ladder as he tried to board the 46,000-gt bulk carrier Baldock, moored at the Eastern Minerals Terminal at Chelsea, Mass. Robert G. Cordes, who had been a full pilot with the Boston Pilots Association since 1976, was climbing the rope ladder, with wooden steps, when…
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