Tokyo Marine’s 12,105gt/2004 built chemical tanker Pine Galaxy suffered a fire in the main engine-room that disabled the vessel, leaving her without propulsion, about 700 miles west of Cape Blanco, Oregon on 13th August. The U.S. Coast Guard air and cutter forces assisted the 22-person crew and the fire was extinguished using installed fire-fighting systems. One crew member aboard the tanker was reported as deceased as a result of the marine casualty. The vessel’s owner contracted the 362gt/2000 built commercial tug Millennium Falcon to take the ship in tow on 18th August.

Two days after this incident three people were reported missing and one had died after three blasts ripped through the 1,998gt/2007 built Indonesian-flagged product tanker Java Bonitos while the ship was passing through the Bangka Strait, off southern Sumatra, the Java Sea on 15th August. The explosions are said to have originated from the tanker’s engine room resulting in a fire that spread across the vessel’s hull. There were 21 crew members aboard when the accident occurred. The captain ordered the crew to jump overboard. Four crew members are feared dead, while the remaining 17 were rescued but had sustained burns. The abandoned tanker was left drifting in the area and Salvors had to wait for the hull to cool down before boarding to look for the missing crew.

Significant delays were experienced at the Port of Vancouver on 28th August following a fight between the dockside and the 91,498gt/2011 built container ship CMA CGM Attila (above). The congestion and delays in the port forced the 91,921gt/2002 built Clementine Maersk vessel to skip the port in that rotation and unload in Seattle instead. The 90,931gt/2010 built CMA CGM La Scala then shipped the affected cargo to Vancouver two weeks later. The CMA CGM Attila’s collision caused a metre long hole in some empty starboard side ballast tanks and remained in port during an investigation.

On 17th August the 14,053gt/ 2011 built container ship AAL Fremantle broke free from her moorings in Fremantle, Australia, in strong winds gusting to 110 kilometres per hour. The vessel then struck a rail bridge whilst the 58,947gt/2002 built vehicle carrier Grand Pioneer was also blown from her berth.

A day later the Panamanian flagged 40,488gt/2007 built bulk carrier Garima Prem ran aground off Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China. The vessel was carrying 72,555 tons of iron ore and was bound for the Port of Lanshan. Tugs later refloated her when checks were made.

The 7,065gt/1995 built containership Tao Yuan sank following a collision with the 42,323gt/1994 built container vessel Gang Tai Tai Zhou on the morning of 25th August around 10 nautical miles off Tianjin, east of China’s Dagukou Anchorage. The Gang Tai Tai Zhou struck the starboard side of the Tao Yan punching a hole into her hull beneath the waterline. The ship quickly sank in 200 metres of water and her 22 crewmembers were rescued. The Gang Tai Tai Zhou sustained only slight bow damage and was later docked in Tianjin port.

On 2nd September the 5,562gt/1990 built coastal container vessel Norrland (left) ran aground along the shore of Kinsarvik (off Ullensvang, Norway). The ship was en-route from Haugesund to Boliden Odda in Odda with a 12-man crew onboard. The steering gear was found to be at fault and the ship was later refloated and anchored off Ullensvang. However, the crew did not inform the local authorities but eye witnesses did, so a fine will be levied against the vessel.

The previously reported salvage project for the sunken vehicle carrier Baltic Ace was postponed in mid-August. It was originally planned that the upper part of the ship, which is just 6 meters below sea level, was going to be cut off in large pieces and lifted to the surface to be towed ashore on large barges. But the strong currents, waves and tides have created such large cracks in the hull that the original plan is now abandoned. The Dutch authorities gave the salvage companies a deadline of 1st September to develop new plans. The wreck is 40 miles from Goeree-Overflakkee, in the middle of one of the busiest shipping areas in the world. There are 1,400 cars and 540,000 litres of fuel oil on board the ship.

On 5th September two general cargo vessels collided off Kiel. The 2,589gt/2012 built RMS Bremen was en route from Aveiro to Sczeczin when she collided with the 4,015gt/1997 built Francisca, en route from Klaipeda to Honfleur. The RMS Bremen was struck to port by the Francisca in a bow-on-bow accident and the latter then scraped along the whole of the RMS Bremen’s port side causing major damage. The port side of Francisca was damaged severely too and both vessels docked in Kiel and were detained for further investigation.

That same day the 4,450gt/2003 built cargo ship Samskip Akrafell went aground near Reyðarfirði, Iceland. She was refloated two days later and towed to Reyðarfirði by the fishing trawler Aðalsteinn Jónsson.

The 88,552gt/2002 built bulk carrier Southern Explorer collided with the 35,885gt/1997 built cargo vessel Best Unity in the Singapore Straits on 12th September. The vessels were sailing in opposite directions with the Best Unity en route from Taiwan in ballast while the Southern Explorer was heading to Taiwan fully laden. Both vessels were damaged significantly and the Southern Explorer was breached and suffered water ingress. Both anchored and were attended to by tugs.