Casualty Briefs 28-May 2009

ISLE OF LEWIS (UK)
London, May 21
Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) had problems on their Stornoway to Ullapool ro-ro service and the Isle of Lewis (6753 gt, built 1995).
However, the vessel continued to maintain the service.
Islanders expressed an interest when they saw the vessel "going in backwards" to the ferry terminal last week.
A CalMac spokesman said: "The simple explanation is that there is a problem with one of the hydraulic arms of the visor and part of it needs to be replaced."
The replacement part was being machined, he said.
The spokesman added that engineers would come to the island on May 23 and work through the night to replace the part.
MAERSK NGUJIMA-YIN (Denmark (Int. Register)
London, May 19
Woodside Energy expects production in the Vincent oil project to resume by the end of June, following a fire that started in one of the two gas compression units on floating production tanker Maersk Ngujima- Yin on April 15.
The vessel was producing oil from the US$720-million Vincent oil project off Western Australia when a fire ripped through a gas-turbine compressor.
Production was shut down while an investigation into the incident continued.
The resumption of production will depend on approval from regulatory authorities.

MSC MANDRAKI (Greece)
Freeport, Bahamas, May 19
When entering Freeport harbour, fully cellular containership MSC Mandraki (52191 gt, built 1988), ran aground in the entrance channel, effectively blocking the port, at about 1700, local time, on May 18.
Immediate efforts to free the vessel with the aid of harbour tugs failed, but it eventually refloated at the next high tide on May 19.
The vessel proceeded to the container port and continued cargo operations. There were no indications of pollution
OLYMPIC MENTOR (Greece)
London, May 19
Bulk carrier Olympic Mentor (17879 gt, built 1984), which was sailing from Ho Chi Minh City collided with ro-ro Patria (5825 gt, built 1999), which was inbound to Ho Chi Minh City, in the river near the port.
The Olympic Mentor sustained two small holes above the waterline close to the poop deck and proceeded to a safe anchorage.
The Patria continued to Ho Chi Minh City. No injuries or pollution were reported.
BERIKS (Ukraine)
London, May 19
General cargo ship Beriks, with almost 230 tons of rotting meat on board, can find no harbour willing to accept her.
Crew members were trapped with the foul-smelling cargo, which no one wants to dispose of.
Several refrigerators on the vessel broke down and its meat and poultry cargo started to rot.
Almost 230 tonnes of pork, crow and rabbit meat produced in Brazil and China were turning into waste, reported Svobodnaya Pressa newspaper.
The vessel was bound for Turkey and passing several Ukrainian ports en route, reported Novy Region news agency.
The captain had tried to stop for repairs, but the stench from its hold was so bad that no one dared to go there without a breathing mask.
Sanitary authorities barred the unfortunate freighter from entering any port, which left the crew alone with their foul-smelling problem.
She is now dubbed the "Stinking Dutchman" (in a reference to the Flying Dutchman, the ever-wandering ghost ship of maritime folklore).
In April, Beriks ended up anchored in the Kerch Strait in between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
The vessel was sent 20 km off the Crimean shore, far enough not to not to be detected by the locals.
ESTRELLA PAMPEANA
(Liberia) London, May 18
Some 77% of voters in the Argentine city of Magdalena backed a plebiscite taking a US$9.5-million payment from Royal Dutch Shell to end a dispute over a 1999 oil spill, officials said.
Of the city's 12,000 registered voters, some 3,000 showed up at the polls last week in the small city which is located 100 km from Buenos Aires. They were to decide whether to accept the offer or continue with the decade-old lawsuit.
"The voting trend is 77% in favor of the agreement compared to 23% against," Mayor Fernando Carballo said.
Shell Argentina was the subject of several lawsuits over alleged harm to public health, the environment and the economy following the spilling of some 33,337 barrels of crude oil when the company's product tanker Estrella Pampeana collided with a freighter in the waters off Magdalena in January, 1999.
The accident polluted some 15 km of beaches and prompted Magdalena's officials to ask Princess Maxima, the Argentine-born wife of Dutch Crown Prince Willem Alexander, to mediate in the dispute.
Shell, which denies it caused any damage to the area, offered US$9.5 million for "mere conciliatory effects" and without admitting "any responsibility" for the accident.
The Anglo-Dutch oil giant, moreover, made the payment conditional on the city of Magdalena dropping the lawsuits filed in the case.
Carlos Degregorio, one of those affected by the spill, said that the sum offered by Shell was insignificant in light of the US$180 million in compensation sought by the city.
NYAYO (Kenya)
London, May 15
A loud bang followed by the sound of clashing metal caused panic among Mombasa ferry commuters.
The incident occurred just as ro-ro Nyayo (568 gt, built 1990) lifted its ramp to begin its journey from the south coast mainland to the island.
But ferry officials took no notice and the vessel continued to sail with a clattering sound towards its destination.
According to Kenya Ferry Services marketing and corporate affairs manager Elizabeth Wachira, the sound was caused by an engine problem.
A second ferry was commissioned to continue with the service as the noisy ro-ro was sent for repairs, she said.