The CSCL Spring lost a 5 container stack over the ship’s side at the Pacific International terminal in Tianjn Port (China) on 12th June. Unfortunately the containers toppled onto the superstructure of the bunker tanker Jinyou 8 that was moored alongside the containership at the time. A twist lock failure is believed to be the cause of the incident and, luckily, the collapsed containers did not spark a fire as the tanker was pumping fuel at the time. Amazingly only minor damage was sustained by the Jinyou 8 with the bridge windows seemingly remaining intact.

On 19th June the 200,000dwt/106,368gt/2012 built bulk carrier China Steel Innovator hit the stern of the berthed 98,830gt/2012 built containership Ever Laden at the Port of Kaohsiung in southwestern Taiwan on 19th June. The bulk carrier failed to respond to attempts to slow her and even both anchors being dropped and a tug intervening were unsuccessful in stopping the vessel. The force of the collision was considerable and pushed the Ever Laden forward at the quayside and a full investigation followed.

Shreyas Shipping’s 9,956gt/2006 built SSL Kolkata sustained a fire in containers carrying chemicals stowed among her deck cargo on 13th June. The 148m ship was off Sandheads bound for Kolkata (India) from Krishnpatnam (India). A Coastguard vessel and tug were sent to the ship’s aid but bad weather prevented the ship being reached. The fire could not be contained and the 22 crew members decided to abandon the vessel. An Indian Navy team led by Marine Commandos from Visakhapatnam later managed to prevent the burning ship, which had caught fire in the Bay of Bengal, from drifting any further. The Navy personnel anchored the vessel to prevent her from drifting towards the international maritime boundary line in the Sundarbans delta between India and Bangladesh. The ship was 70% burnt and was carrying 464 containers. The fire was finally extinguished from the air using a helicopter to carry water out over the ship and dowse her. However, further explosions have since been reported on board the ship by the stand-by vessel Lewek Altair with the vessel subsequently listing to starboard, semi-submerged and at risk of breaking in two. The vessel remains aground 7.5 nautical miles off the Indian Sunderbans, Kolkata, West Bengal, in shallow water and resting on soft mud. Anti-pollution measures are in place and the salvage team has to deal with the challenging monsoon season conditions.

Eight crew members of the Turkish cargo ship Haksa were evacuated after the freighter started sinking while underway in the Adriatic Sea, around 16 nautical miles off Croatia’s Jabuka Island on the morning of 17th June. The water ingress flooded the engine room and the Italian-flagged tanker Valcadorea, which was the closest to the site, altered course and evacuated the crew. The ship’s Captain and four more crew members remained on board the vessel to try to keep her afloat until rescue arrived. The ship was laden with 3,000 tons of sinter magnesite and 70 tons of fuel and lubricant oil. The ruptured hull was temporarily sealed by Divers and it was decided to tow the ship to Brodotrogir shipyard in Trogir for repairs.

Multraship Towage & Salvage tugs went to the aid of the 40,040gt/ 1995 built bulk carrier Harrow on 20th June when she ran aground on the Western Scheldt, near Vlissingen after mechanical failure. The ship was en-route from Itaqui, Brazil to Terneuzen, fully laden with iron ore. The tugs Multratug 4/7 and 9 went to the scene along with the Smit Seine.

The 23,196gt/1996 built chemical tanker Bow Jubail came into heavy contact with a quayside on 23rd June at Rotterdam that ruptured her hull and caused the spillage of 217t of heavy fuel oil into the harbour. At the time of the incident, the 37,500dwt ship was not loaded with cargo and there were no injuries reported. By 26th June, authorities in Rotterdam had managed to recover some 150t of the oil spilled. The ship was repaired in port.

The 1,932gt/1984 built Indian cargo vessel Mutha Pioneer developed a heavy port side list on 26th June whilst underway off the coast of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Dominican-flagged ship went over after the captain reportedly lost control of the vessel. Naval units were dispatched to assist the vessel and her crew, evacuating the captain and ten crewmembers to Colombo harbour. The 2,357dwt ship was on her way from Colombo to the Maldives at the time of the incident.

The 13,110gt/2014 built cargo ship Thorco Lineage was refloated from her resting place on a reef on the Raroia Atoll, French Polynesia, on 27th June having grounded briefly.  The French Navy vessel Bougainville was sent to assist the 16,500dwt ship on 26th June and successfully towed her free. However, the tow line broke, leaving the ship drifting in the open sea, south-west of the west coast of Raroia. The Bougainville remained on scene to monitor the ship until the 325gt/2001 built tug Aito Nui arrived from Papeete on 28th June to tow the stricken ship back to Papeete. The ship’s predicament started on 23rd June when she encountered engine issues whilst on her way from Maryland, U.S.A, to Hobart.