SHIP SINKINGS

[GordMay]

“Wakashio” 2020
The Japanese-owned, Panama-flagged, dry bulk vessel “Wakashio” went aground on a coral reef, off Mauritius on July 25, 2020. It began spilling fuel oil into a highly environmentally sensitive lagoon on Aug. 6
The 203,130-DWT vessel spilled an estimated 1,000 tons of fuel oil, before it split in two on Aug. 15. Then, on Aug. 31, a tug and barge involved in salvage operations collided. Four crew drowned.
The Autoridad Maritima De Panama (AMP) is investigating the Wakashio grounding. AMP confirmed that the ship had been en route from Singapore to Brazi,l when the captain diverted from the safe course.
A crew birthday party was underway, reported the AMP. The captain ordered the ship to sail close to Mauritius “to look for a telephone and internet signal, in order for the crewmembers to communicate with their families.” In response, authorities in Mauritius arrested the ship’s Indian captain, and Sri Lankan chief officer.

"Was The Deliberate Sinking Of The Mauritius Oil Spill Vessel, Wakashio, An International Crime?"
Much more ➥ https://www.forbes.com/sites/nishand...h=62f2e752ffb7


A 4-minute video shot by local journalist and human rights activist, Reuben Pillay, reveal the dramatic chase and scale of operation being prepared to sink the Wakashio as it was towed out to sea on 19 August. [Not what I hoped for]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAkGhUQJIq0

[GordMay]

Modern Ghost Ships
The most common reason for ship abandonment, in today’s maritime world, is the inability of the ship owners to meet the operational expenses of the vessel. When the owners of the ship fail to pay for basic expenses, including port fees, crew wages, and bunker expenses, they abandon the ship along with the crew.

The crew stays on board, as abandoning will deprive them of their right to be paid.

Due to weak laws of flag states, the jurisdiction becomes lengthy and unclear, finally pushing the crew to abandon the vessel. It has been noted that vessels are often abandoned in countries having less stringent shipping and immigration laws.
As per the International Maritime Organization data, since 2004, 438 ships worldwide have been abandoned by the ship owners, with 5767 crew members being affected directly.
When a ship has lived its life, it has to be towed to the scrapyard for dismantling. Such ships waiting to be towed to the scrapyard sometimes drift away in high seas due to ocean current, or rough weather. Due to lack of operational digital identification systems, it becomes nearly impossible to track these ships.


These vessels have been sighted as "ghost ships":


MV "Rhosus"
In the year 2020, Beirut, Lebanon suffered a massive explosion taking 200 lives and injuring more than 6000 people. Behind this explosion was ghost ship MV Rhosus.
In 2013 MV RHOSUS was on its way to Mozambique, when due to some mechanical emergency, it made a port call to Beirut, Lebanon. The vessel was detained by the port state control of Lebanon, as they found it unseaworthy. The owners went bankrupt, and refused to communicate with the ship. The crew did not abandon the vessel for nearly one year, and was finally repatriated home, after local court orders were passed. The port authority seized the vessel on 4th Feb 2014, and cargo was shifted to a port warehouse. MV 'RHOSUS', after being abandoned by its Russian owner, turned into a ghost ship, for 4 years, and ultimately sank in February 2018. On 4th August 2020, a fire broke out at the warehouse where the cargo of MV Rhosus was stored, and a massive explosion happened, destroying the port of Beirut.

"ELIAS" or MV "ALTA"
In the year 2019, HMS Protector spotted a derelict-looking vessel floating in the mid-Atlantic. The vessel was later identified as ELIAS (former MV ALTA) and its dark past was revealed. The ship had undergone several name changes and was sailing as ELIAS towards Haiti in 2018. The ship’s engine had failed and she raised a distress call. The US coast guard rescued the crew onboard ELIAS and the ship was abandoned. The ship sailed as a ghost ship for nearly a year in the Atlantic before being spotted by HMS Protector. On February 16, 2020, the ghost ship suddenly appeared on the coast of Ireland, Ballyandreen, Cork. Storm Dennis had agrounded the ship where its wreckage still remains. There have been several stories regarding ELIAS’s past but none could be verified as the vessel’s ownership is yet to be determined.

"OCEAN DREAM"
A ghost ship anchored for more than a year in the Gulf of Siam, Thailand. This ghost ship was cruise vessel OCEAN DREAM that was abandoned by its owners. Multiple owners had exchanged hands before Runfeng Ocean Deluxe Cruises saved it from the scrapyard. The company operated the vessel since 2012. It was abandoned in the year 2015. OCEAN DREAM remained a ghost vessel before it capsized on February 27, 2016. By the year 2019, the wreckage above water was demolished and cleared from the site.

"MARIA M'
On October 1, 2017, the locals of Salloum Coast, Egypt found a ghost ship at their sea beach. Later the ship was identified as MV MARIA M but its flag and the owner still remain a mystery. The ghost ship didn’t look derelict as from the appearance of the vessel it can be said that the ship was operational till recent times. The owner and the last trade of the still being a mystery, stories started to make rounds that the ghost ship was involved in immigrant trafficking.

Mystery vessels
The most interesting of all ghost ships found in recent time is a steel hull fishing vessel discovered by Vietnamese fishermen in La Gi, Vietnam. The vessel identity could not be discovered but several Chinese characters were found on the stern and bow of the ship. It is assumed that the ship was abandoned a few days back before discovery, as the fishermen found the ship with deck lights ON. The ship’s galley was functional at the time of abandoning as cooking utensils were found in use. No personal belongings were found onboard. Under what circumstances the vessel was abandoned, what happened to the crew, who are the owners of the vessel etc. still remain a mystery. The fishermen had towed the vessel to La Gi where it stands anchored 2 miles off the coast.

The most recent incident of ghost ship sighting is from Penghu Islands, Taiwan. A general cargo vessel was found aground on the coast of Penghu Islands, Taiwan. It is suspected that the vessel was being towed away to the scrapyard and she might have broken off her towage. The ghost ships continue to haunt the maritime industry because vessel abandonment by owners adversely affects crew, environment, and safety at sea.

[GordMay]

“The Amazing Race to Save the Modern Express”
The amazing race to save the Modern Express began on January 26th, 2016 when British authorities picked up a distress call from the roll-on/roll-off cargo ship after it had lost stability in heavy seas in the western Bay of Biscay...
Much more ➥ https://gcaptain.com/the-amazing-rac...ess-in-photos/



French Navy tries to save sinking ship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKtCVzgfY1U

[GordMay]

Cargo Ship Sinks in Black Sea; 6 Rescued and 7 Dead or Missing
Turkish authorities are reporting that a small general cargo ship [“Arvin”] sunk along the Black Sea coast on January 17. A search and rescue operation conducted by the Navy and Coast Guard reported that six crew members were rescued while three crew members had died. Later media reports raised the death toll to four while the Coast Guard said the search was ongoing for three additional sailors that were reported missing.
More ➥ https://www.marasinews.com/shipping/...ad-and-missing
And ➥ https://www.maritime-executive.com/a...ad-and-missing



“Arvin” after breaking apart in the Black Sea

[GordMay]

Was it even the Titanic?

Everyone agrees that a luxury liner set sail on April 10, 1912, and sank five days later [109 years ago, today], taking the lives of around 1,500 of the 2,223 aboard.
But that's pretty much where the consensus ends, for some.
Some insist that the ship that sank, wasn't the "Titanic", but rather, the nearly identical R.M.S. "Olympic".
As the story goes, the "Olympic" had been damaged, in an accident the year before, but in order to score a bigger insurance payoff, the ships' common owners passed off the "Olympic" as the "Titanic", and then deliberately sank it.

“Did the Titanic Really Sink or was it Olympic?”
➥ https://social.shorthand.com/Titanic...was-it-olympic

“The Craziest Titanic Conspiracy Theories, Explained”
➥ https://www.history.com/news/titanic...morgan-olympic

[GordMay]

“Capsized ship off Louisiana: 12 missing, 1 dead, 6 rescued”
“Coast Guard boats and aircraft have covered an area larger than the state of Rhode Island to search for 12 people still missing Wednesday off the Louisiana coast after their offshore oilfield vessel capsized in hurricane-force winds.
One worker's body was recovered Wednesday and six people were rescued Tuesday after the "Seacor Power" overturned Tuesday afternoon in the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard said...”
More ➥ https://www.timescolonist.com/capsiz...ued-1.24307529

“Lift boats like Seacor Power are offshore workhorses but not designed for rough weather”
➥ https://www.nola.com/news/business/a...0bdfe5228.html

“265 Class - SEACOR Power”
➥ https://seacormarine.com/vessel/265-class-seacor-power/

Video https://youtu.be/L0srusFaZlM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0srusFaZlM

[GordMay]

UPDATE: 2 Seacor crewmembers recovered unresponsive by commercial divers during day 4 of rescue operations
U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 04/16/2021
➥ https://content.govdelivery.com/acco...letins/2cd6834

The timeline for the response so far is as follows
Tuesday, April 13, 2021: Seacore Power lift boat capsizes
4 rescued by good Samaritans
1 rescued by pre-commissioned Coast Guard Cutter Glen Harris crew
1 rescued by Coast Guard Station Grand Isle crew
Wednesday, April 14, 2021: 1 unresponsive person recovered by Coast Guard Cutter Amberjack crew
Thursday, April 15, 2021: 1 unresponsive person recovered by Coast Guard Cutter Benjamin Dailey crew
Friday, April 16, 2021: 2 unresponsive people recovered by Donjon Marine commercial divers


While ships capsizing during rough waters at sea is not unheard of, this particular storm, that sank a vessel on Tuesday had some extraordinary powers.
The 129-foot “Seacor Power” liftboat came across a line of potent thunderstorms shortly after launching from Port Fourchon Tuesday afternoon. The ship was around 13 kilometres south of the port when it issued a distress call just before 4:30 p.m.
The thunderstorm development resulted from a stationary front positioned across Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states. It was considered to be a mesoscale convective system -- a long-lasting, large-scale cluster of storms that are typical of producing very heavy rain, powerful winds, flooding and tornadoes.
A special marine warning was in place for the potential for steep waves for the coastal waters in and near Port Fourchon, La.
The system trekked across fairly rapidly, possibly faster than the ship's crew could handle in a reactionary manner. The storm also strengthened as it moved offshore.

So, how powerful was it?
High waves and winds of 64-96 km/h were reported at surrounding land stations, persisting as long as 12 hours after the boat capsized. An unrelated ship in the general vicinity of Port Fourchon recorded a wind gust of 188 km/h, equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane.

To make matters worse, a phenomena known as gravity waves was believed to have been a factor in the ship capsizing.

The U.S. National Weather Service stated that gravity waves had was contained below a strong temperature inversion -- an increase of the air temperature with height -- slightly above the surface, approximately the lowest 1,500 feet of the atmosphere. That reversal resulted in "waves of stronger winds mixing down in gusts over land, and sustained gales with storm-force gusts over larger water bodies."

"The key with the gravity waves/temperature inversion is that it allowed for stronger winds to reach the surface, so not technically making it have hurricane strength, but allowing for some of the stronger upper winds to mix down," said Jessie Uppal, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.

[GordMay]

From March 2021:

Two Yachts Sink in Marina After Fiery Explosion
Two 40-foot (12 m) yachts sank on Vashon Island, Washington, after an explosion and fire at the marina. No injuries reported in blaze; three other boats damaged.
➥ https://www.vashonbeachcomber.com/ne...ery-explosion/

Coast Guard rescues 3 people off the coast of La Push, WA
A 48-foot (15 m) vessel sank 5 miles (8.0 km) off the coast of La Push, Washington. Three men were rescued by a United States Coast Guard Station Quillayute River boat crew.
➥ https://content.govdelivery.com/acco...letins/2c84b78

[sailingabe41ds]

My opinion only. That is what happens when first world countries like the US tax system makes it so expensive to falg a ship that companies flag it in a poor third world country that can not or will not isnspect nor police these ships and corporations.
Make it more attractive to flag in the US or EU country and we can investigate the financial status or insurance of the corporate owners before flagging them. Or at least we can start refusing port entries to questionable flagged ships. As the world larges consumers...US and EU we should be able to have somethig to say about this....but countries like Panama wouldnt want to upset future fagged ships.
The

IMHO

Abe

[GordMay]

International Transport Workers’ Federation [ITF] on Flags of Convenience
➥ https://www.itfglobal.org/en/sector/...of-convenience