On 9th April the 8,999gt/2009 built containership Jan Van Gent ran aground in the St. Lawrence River, south of Yamachiche, Quebec, after an engine and steering failure caused the vessel to drift off the fairway. The ship was refloated later the same day with the aid of tugs before proceeding up the river to Montreal where she underwent an inspection to establish the damage and whether the vessel was seaworthy. At the time of the incident the vessel was en-route from Canada’s Halifax to Montreal.

The 3,525gt/1985 built car carrier Ocean Tango ran aground on 17th April during a storm while docked at Yeong-gu area in Busan, South Korea. The grounding caused the South Korean ship’s fuel tanks to rupture and spill an undisclosed amount of fuel. The ship was not carrying a substantial car cargo at the time of the incident.

On 10th April, the 3,968gt/1985 built and 95m reefer cargo vessel Silver Pearl (above) ran aground in the Ulve Sound near Vågsøy, Norway. The vessel had suffered a technical fault before running aground and was refloated on the following high tide assisted by a tug before proceeding to Måløy for inspection.

That same day the 2,281gt/2011 built and 90m vessel Hestia ran aground off Skagen, Denmark. The Hestia was heading to Halmstad from Ijmuiden with a cargo of steel rolls when she became stuck on a sandbank on the receding tide. A rescue team attended and refloated the ship.

On 20th April the 183m long, 28,529gt/2003 built and 47,149 dwt tanker Sea Horizon ran aground on the Western Scheldt near Pas van Borsselen, Netherlands. The ship was proceeding up the river heading towards Antwerp when she ran aground at low tide. Four tugs were dispatched to the scene to help refloat the Sea Horizon on the rising tide.

Also on that day the 3,999gt/1999 built and 109m long cargo vessel Nova Cura ran aground on the reefs near Lesbos, Greece. The ship was headed to Aliaga from Istanbul with a cargo of pipes when she went aground. The Nova Cura suffered a hull breach on her starboard side and suffered water ingress in the bow.

The 60m, 1,400 dwt tanker Tamaya 1 went ashore near Robertsport, Liberia on 4th May having been last reported off Dakar on 22nd April. When authorities boarded the vessel, they found there was no crew on board. Local reports suspect the owner was unable to pay the crew. Local news then reported that three unknown men were spotted fleeing the vessel around the same time a fire broke out in the captain’s cabin.