Ten Maersk ships are getting a new bulbous bow in order to make them more fuel efficient. The change is intended to improve the performance of the vessels significantly, with fuel costs reduced by approximately 8% in the current slow-steaming environment. The vessels were too expensive to use, since they were designed for high speed. If they were retrofitted, however, Seago Line were interested in taking five vessels.
On the 18th August 2009 at 20:52LMT the Isle of Man registered bulk carrier “Ostende Max” and the Liberian registered oil tanker “Formosaproduct Brick” collided. The collision occurred in the Precautionary Area adjoining the Traffic Separation Schemes in the Malacca Straits to the south west of Port Dickson, Malaysia within Malaysian territorial waters. This case was extremely unfortunate involving a tragic loss of life. Nine crew members were killed with other crew members injured on the Formosaproduct Brick. Three crew members were injured on board the Ostende Max. Both vessels incurred significant fire and structural damage as a result of the collision.
The vessel went aground and damaged the hull, which resulted in water ingress. Partial flooding of the engine room caused shut down of the main generators and as a consequence the emergency generator started automatically. After about 45 minutes it was noted that the emergency generator engine was overheating, leading to a risk of emergency power supply failure.
The ship was adrift 13 miles southwest of Cape Espichel with 8000 tons tons of naphtha, a petroleum derivative. The ship had a crew of 18 on board. The explosion occurred at 8:12 a.m. for reasons still unknown in the area of the bow of the ship. One Filipino was missing since. At 8:34 a.m., the Centre for Maritime Search and Rescue (MRCC Lisbon) was alerted.
During late January a report from Providence Resources revealed significant oil potential in the area in the Rathlin Basin offshore northern Ireland. Providence’s report was based on Full Tensor Gradiometry (FTG) and magnetic airborne survey carried out by Bell Geospace. Initial processing of these data revealed the presence of five FTG anomalies which were deemed prospective for hydrocarbon exploration.
According to shipping experts banks are set to take tougher action against distressed shipowners this year, leading to a rise in loan foreclosures and lenders taking possession of vessels and all this at a time where the euro-zone crisis is still on the forefront along with considerable economic uncertainty.
A Vietnamese-registered cargo vessel damaged one of its hatches after it collided with another vessel in the waters off Singapore on Saturday. The Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore said the collision occurred about 3.4 kilometres south of Sisters Islands.
Last month Faststream released a report regarding perceptions of maritime professionals around various position in the maritime industry as well as beliefs on salaries and career development. The report was developed by approximately 2000 responses, including 612 serving mariners.
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Officer of the Watch 