Maritime / Admiralty

“C/V HYUNDAI FORTUNE of fire in the Gulf of Aden. On the very day that the C/V HYUNDAI FORTUNE caught fire and exploded, the US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit published its decision in a case captioned Contship Containerlines, Ltd. v. PPG Industries, Inc., No. 05-0267-cv (2nd Cir., March 21, 2006). In that matter, the as-of-late pesky chemical compound known as Calcium Hypochlorite was shipped (in drums; within an intermodal container) aboard a ContShip vessel loaded at Charleston, SC and bound for the South Pacific. On June 1, 2000 International Maritime Organization (IMO) issued MSC Circular 963, which alerted Shippers, Carriers, etc., of the hazards presented in the water carriage of this commodity the grim potentials presented by the water carriage of HazMat cargoes.”

Several leading vessels of the Asiatic merchant fleet sustained major damage as the result of Typhoon Babs in November 1998. For example, reports are that APL’s M/V APL China lost approx. 406 containers, with some 1,000 more damaged. Similar damage is said to have been sustained by Maersk, Evergreen and other lines in Taiwan waters as a result of the typhoon. Sources at American President Lines (APL) estimate that losses could run well into the hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars for all vessels.

On June 13, 2000 the USS Buchanan took part in the RIMPAC 2000 as a target ship at Pacific Missile Range Facility. American, Canadian and Australian forces tried to sink her for more than 24 hours. Buchanan stayed afloat all night. An EOD Team boarded her and placed 200 pounds of C-4 in predetermined locations. Sixteen minutes and three seconds after igniting the time fuse the Buchanan gracefully in a bow down attitude slid below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. At 21:26:30Z (11:26:30 AM HST) 14 June 2000 Davy Jones piped her aboard at her final resting place of 22:54.38N, 160:27.68W, 64 Nautical Miles from land in 2540 Fathoms of water.

This tanker decided to blow up in the Bosphorus. Owner wasn’t too happy when he allegedly found out that his insurance was invalid.

The Hong Kong container vessel M/V OOCL AMERICA (66.047 gt, built 1995) sustained heavy weather damage on a voyage ex Long Beach for Kaohsiung on Jan. 29. The vessel encountered severe weather Jan 31 in the Pacific Ocean and lost a large number of containers overboard. A maritime attorney for cargo interests who had been contacted about the incident put the figure at 350 containers lost overboard & 217 still on board but crushed or bent out of usable condition.

The U.S. Coastguard arrive on the scene, probably bearing a copy of the Oil Pollution Act (1990).

10 wheel, computer controlled crane was pulling its load “key element of a new injection molding factory” from a cargo hold of the ocean vessel when disaster struck and the entire load crashed to the pier. Alleged loss: US $875,000.

The dreadful collision between the ro-ro ferry MOBY PRINCE and the tanker AGIP ABRUZZO off Livorno (Italy) resulted in 141 deaths and both ships were Total Losses.

The SEA EMPRESS ran aground at Milford Haven, spilling over 72,000 tons of crude into the sea – MUCH more oil than the infamous EXXON VALDEZ. The clean-up was conducted slightly better.

This was the end of the tanker KATINA P. One casualty – the ship’s cat, which refused to be rescued.

At present we only know the sad state of this feeder vessel at Pusan, Korea On April 10th 2000.Emailif you have any more information.

The Netherlands Antilles semi-submersible heavy load carrier M/V MIGHTY SERVANT 2 (21,162 gross), Singapore for Cabinda, capsized in lat 00 48S, long 104 20E, Nov 2. The 1983-built ship, owned by Belgium-based offshore heavylifting group Dockwise, had a crew of 20 and was carrying an 8,790 ton offshore production module at the time of the accident, which reportedly occurred in calm seas. The ship is currently on its side in 35m of water, with 5m of its hull still above the surface. Divers searching the vessel discovered the bodies of 2 Dutch & 2 Filipino crewmen inside the vessel, and the search for a remaining man has entered its final stages inside the wreck. This was a very impressive, huge & famous vessel. (Wed. Nov. 3 1999)

After crashing his hydrofoil Jesus walked away before his Dad found out…