Indonesian coastal freighter Mengah Scorpion sank in Sabang Bay off Pulau We Island. The vessel was en route to Sabang with several tons of general cargo, including 10 tons of LPG tanks, when it began to suffer water ingress in bad weather. All the cargo was transferred to rescue boats. Salvage was not possible because of the bad weather. The vessel then sank.
Ferries Annenkov and Elena collided at Kavkaz port in Russia on December 29th. The accident was minor with little damage to either vessel. No details of vessels found in P&I databases.
Two crewmembers of Indonesian product tanker Angelia 2 were killed as they attempted to rescue the crew of a fishing vessel on the night of December 27th. Several others were injured and the captain of the fishing boat remains missing, according to local reports. The fishing vessel was under way Tuesday night when it suffered loss of electrical power, meaning that its crew could not see. The vessel kept on its way at a reduced speed while attempting to make repairs. Sometime after 1900 hours the boat struck the hull of the Angelia 2 amidships. The fishing vessel crew abandoned ship and made for a float thrown over by the tanker’s crew. In an attempt to help the survivors several crewmembers of the Angelia boarded the fishing vessel, but the fishing boat then exploded. Angelia 2 diverted to the port of Kendari, where agency SAR Kendari brought the injured crewmembers to hospital.
Further details have emerged about the grounding of Turkish fishing vessel Alcatras last week on the Greek island of Kos in the Aegean Sea. Reports now claim that Alcatras had on board a prototype weapon system — one that would be used to shoot down Greek planes if the two countries ever went to war. The Turkish captain requested aid from Turkish coast guard rather than the local guard from Greece. The fishing vessel was apparently being used as a test bed for a naval version of the Korkut air defence system, which consists of two 35mm auto-cannons that can fire 1,100 rounds per minute. The system can be used against missiles and aircraft, and the ground version is mounted on a ACV-30 armoured vehicle to keep up with fast-moving mechanized forces. The system had been sent to southern Turkey to intercept Islamic State rockets threatening Turkish troops.
More than two dozen people were killed and many more injured on Sunday after fire destroyed ferry Zahro Express, which has a capacity of 200 but which was carrying 248, en route to islands north of the Indonesian capital Jakarta The cause of the fire was thought to be a short circuit on a power generator.
General cargo vessel Merweborg veered off course while transiting the Oresund Strait on December 31st in a westerly direction, en route from Skutskar, Sweden to Casablanca, Morocco. The Traffic Control Centre (TCC) warned the vessel’s captain that Merweborg was on a dangerous course and the vessel returned to a safe course. However operators at TCC thought the Captain’s voice somewhat strange.
The vessel was ordered to anchor off Skovshoved and police investigated possible intoxication.