All 24 crew had to be evacuated from the bulk carrier Cheshire, 56,597dwt, of the Bibby Line, of Liverpool, to avoid toxic fumes after part of her cargo of 42,654 tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser was found to be overheating as she neared Gran Canaria.
The ship was on a voyage from Porsgrunn, Norway, to Thailand and had been due to stop at Las Palmas on Aug 13 to take on bunkers, but she was refused permission to berth at Las Palmas when the overheating of the cargo in Nos 4 and 5 holds was discovered.
The temperature rose to a high enough level to cause damage to a hatch cover. The Bibby Line said the winds were so light that the fumes were not being blown away from the ship and the decision was taken to take the crew ashore.
This was carried out by two Spanish Coast Guard helicopters on Aug 14 after an explosion in the cargo. The Bibby Line said that on Aug 13, the ship had arrived at a safe position some 45 miles south of Gran Canaria and the line said she was drifting away from the land in a southerly direction.
An eight-strong salvage team, arranged by the US salvors Resolve Marine, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, flew from Gibraltar and the Netherlands, was delayed boarding the ship due to adverse weather conditions and by the gas cloud to begin cooling the affected areas.
The offshore tug/supply ship Punta Salvinas, 1,171gt, stood by the bulk carrier for several days until replaced by the rescue vessel Miguel de Cervantes, 1,780gt, which works with the Spanish Coast Guard when needed, and was to assist in cooling the ship’s hull.
AS GREATER ‘EFFICIENCY NEEDS FEWER PEOPLE’
ON AUG 30, the Port of Tyne celebrated 20 years of cruise ship travel.
ON THE afternoon of Aug 30, a fishing vessel reported to the Coastguard that she had lost power near Peterhead,
THE Atlantic Container Line (ACL) won a contract from Boeing Defence UK to transport seven Chinook helicopters across the Atlantic
THE NEW Invergordon Shannon class lifeboat which enters service next spring will feature the names of thousands of people in
The Grand Bahama Shipyard (GBS) officially resumed operations and welcomed back its first commercial vessel following Hurricane Dorian.
THE EXTENSION of the barge service at the port of Morrow, in Oregon, is one of only three projects on
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WORK has started on the expansion of Seattle’s Terminal 5 so it can handle container ships of up to 18,000
THE JAPANESE shipbuilder Japan Marine United has delivered what it described as “a next-generation energy-saving bulk carrier” to Nissen Kaiun,
THE Japanese shipping line, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), have taken delivery of the coal carrier Corona Citrus, 88,000dwt, built
A new search has been demanded to recover the second Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) from the wreck of the South
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THE Singapore-based container shipping company Ocean Network Express (ONE) has taken delivery of the 14,000 teu capacity ONE Cygnus, 138,611dwt,
American News The expansion of the US Navy’s amphibious capability continues with the announcement that General Dynamics NASSCO has received
BRITISH News THE FOURTH and last of the new Tide class tankers, RFA Tideforce, was offi cially accepted into service
US News USS CINCINNATI is the latest member of the expanding littoral combat ship fl eet to be delivered to
indian News
The troubled Scorpene class submarine program hit another snag in June.
US News
The US Navy has unveiled its plans for the purchase of a new frigate known as FFG(X).
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