Casualty Reports Archive

Transocean insurers seek clarity over spill liability

INSURERS have asked a federal court in Texas to determine whether they are liable for any of BP’s cost relating to the oil spill that has arisen following the destruction of the Deepwater Horizon.

Crew retake hostage ship – five dead

THE DEATH toll on board Rim, the general cargoship that reverted to the control of her crew after they revolted against the Somali pirates who had held them captive since February, may not be as high as originally estimated.

Massachusetts refuses to back down in oil spill wrangle

MASSACHUSETTS has refused to admit defeat in a five-year old legal battle with the shipping industry over a state-level oil spill law.

Revised IMO safety code guide adds green focus

THE INTERNATIONAL Chamber of Shipping and the International Shipping Federation have published a new edition of their Guidelines on the Application of the International Maritime Organization International Safety Management Code.

Pirates turn to Red Sea as monsoon restricts Indian Ocean hijackings

VESSEL operators and international naval patrols are likely to be challenged by increased pirate activity in the Gulf of Aden and the southern Red Sea over the next four weeks, but fewer attacks are expected in the Indian Ocean as the monsoon season progresses.

Warning after piracy attacks off Indonesia

REGIONAL anti-piracy officials have warned ships’ crews near Subi Besar in Indonesia to be vigilant and take necessary precautionary measures after two attacks within two hours of each other last week.

Rig owners to pay the price for US Gulf blast

BURN OUT: The Deepwater Horizon on fire before she sank. Analysts and underwriters estimate that the incident will cost energy insurers up to US$1.3bn.

Hijackers attack two more Pan United ships

TWO more vessels owned by Singapore’s Pan-United have been hijacked off the coast of Malaysia just a week after one of its vessels was involved in a hold up in the same vicinity.

Unpaid crew backed by NZ union

AN INTERNATIONAL Transport Workers Federation (ITF) New Zealand inspector said the case of 10 Sri Lankan crew members on board general cargo Charelle (2,800 gt, built 1985), docked at Auckland, were an example of the hardships experienced by seafarers around the world.

Casualty Briefs - 6th May 2010

 

Tankers forced into 1,000-mile detours to evade pirate attacks

BIGGEST: The VLCC Sirius Star, hijacked in November 2008, 450 miles south-east of Kenya was the largest ship captured by pirates, before Samho Dream, inset.

Oil disaster leads to delays, rerouting and hull cleaning

OWNERS hoping that spot rates for crude tankers loading and discharging in the US Gulf or Caribbean would rocket as oil continues to leak from the Deepwater Horizon wreck may be disappointed, according to a leading US investment bank.

Naval forces more willing to engage with pirates

FURTHER evidence of a hardening of resolve amongst international naval forces to directly engage Somali pirates in control of international merchant ships emerged when the Russian naval warship Marshal Shaposhnikov recaptured a Novoship tanker in the early hours of the morning on May 6.

Casualty Briefs - 13th May 2010

 

Ban on ransoms could send premiums soaring

SAFETY FEARS: Filipino seafarers from Stolt Strength are reunited with their wives last year, after being held for five months by Somali pirates. A US$2.5m ransom was reportedly paid.

BP spending on Deepwater Horizon spill tops US$450m as oil slick spreads

BRITISH oil major BP has already spent more than US$450m on dealing with the huge oil spill that continues to spread from the wreck of the Deepwater Horizon semi-submersible rig.

Bulk carriers’ safety in question as losses jump

BULK carrier losses more than doubled last year to nine, claiming the lives of 39 seafarers.

Somali pirates take Bulgarian chemtanker and Greek bulker

SOMALI pirates have captured a further two vessels, with the hijacks of Bulgarian chemtanker Panega and Greek-owned bulk carrier Eleni P.

Casualty Briefs - 20th May 2010

 

Yemen court sentences six pirates to death

SIX SOMALIS were sentenced to death last week by a Yemeni state court after being found guilty of hijacking a product tanker in 2009, with a further six given prison terms of 10 years in connection with the same crime.