Casualty News – Page 391 – Professional Mariner

01 Mar

Welding in cargo hold sets fire in containership

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

Heat from a welding torch being used for repairs inside the main cargo hold of Ara J caused an explosion and fire aboard the 485-foot containership as it lay docked in Jacksonville, Fla., according to a U.S. Coast Guard investigator. A welder was standing on a container that held Styrofoam packaging material when the container exploded at about 1450 on…

01 Mar

Bridge’s design fends off severe damage from tanker

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

The recent collision between a 685-foot oil tanker and a bridge in Portland, Maine, illustrates the importance of bridge design in minimizing damage and injuries. The fender system of the Casco Bay Bridge cost about $7 million, or about 5 percent of the total cost of the bridge. The system sustained about $1 million in damages when struck by a…

01 Mar

Chief officer dies in fall during classification survey

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

The chief officer aboard the bulk freighter Alice Oldendorff died of head injuries after slipping off a ladder in his vessel's forward peak tank during a classification survey on March 2 in Jacksonville, Fla. The 50-year-old man, who had 30 years of maritime experience but had worked aboard the vessel for only one month, was accompanying a class surveyor during…

01 Mar

European response to Prestige disaster causing concern in U.S.

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

A European Union proposal to accelerate the phase-out of single-hull oil tankers and ban these vessels from carrying heavy grades of oil is prompting worries that older, substandard ships could be shifted to U.S. waters. Prestige leaves a trail of heavy oil before sinking off the coast of Spain. In response to the disaster, the European Union is considering accelerating…

01 Mar

NTSB recommends adding reserve buoyancy to amphibious craft

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

The National Transportation Safety Board has recommended that operators of amphibious passenger vehicles provide their craft with enough reserve buoyancy — from watertight spaces or built-in floatation — so that they remain afloat when flooded. The NTSB report came in response to the sinking of Miss Majestic in Lake Hamilton, Ark., on May 1, 1999 (PM #42). Thirteen of the…

01 Mar

Detained ship found to have improperly repaired holes in its hull

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

A 24-year-old cargo ship, Essco Spirit, has been detained in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for over six weeks after Transport Canada found the vessel has numerous structural, safety and administrative problems, as well as violations of the International Labour Code. Essco Spirit at anchor in Halifax. Canadian authorities detained the ship after its crew reported they were frightened by its condition.…

01 Mar

Four die as a result of blaze aboard fish processor in Bering Sea

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

Three crewmen were killed and five injured following a raging fire and explosion aboard the 180-foot fishing/processing vessel Galaxy in the icy waters of the Bering Sea. A fisherman aboard another vessel was swept overboard and lost at sea as the vessel was making its way to port with more than a dozen Galaxy crewmembers who had been saved from…

01 Mar

Four die in sinking of amphibious craft in Ottawa River

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

Four people lost their lives June 23, when an amphibious tour boat sank in the Ottawa River near Gatineau, Quebec, just 100 yards from the safety of a marina. Lady Duck, a converted Ford truck, sank as it was approaching a marina. The four people who died in the sinking were found inside the craft under the canopy. Lady Duck…

01 Mar

Coast Guard: Unmonitored fuel transfer led to deaths on munitions ship

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

A U.S. Coast Guard report has concluded that the failure to monitor the transfer of fuel was a factor in an engine room fire that cost the lives of two crewmembers on an ammunition ship. The fire occurred aboard SSG Edward A. Carter Jr. in July 2001 while the ship was docked in Southport, N.C. The two men who died…

01 Mar

Crew escapes unhurt from sinking ship in free-fall lifeboat

Professional Mariner StaffCasualty News

Fourteen crewmembers of the heavy-lift cargo carrier Sjard escaped in the ship's free-fall lifeboat after the 353-foot vessel began taking on water, approximately 350 miles east of St. John's, Newfoundland. The crew of Sjard escaped in a free-fall lifeboat. This one, installed on an APL containership, is a Fr. Fassmer & Co. model. Built in Germany, it has a capacity…