Small traces of hydrocarbons were found in the water around grounded and stranded bulk carrier Los Llanitos (IMO 9045912) in Punta Graham, according to Mexico’s environmental protection agency PROFEPA, which said that it detected the elements during a monitoring tour on Tuesday. On boarding the wreck, inspectors found remnants of fuel left in the ship’s tank, together with the hazardous waste. The fuel and waste had been ordered to be removed prior to the discovery. The ship’s hull was also found to have sustained severe structural damage and to be at risk of breaking up due to the intense movements of waves. PROFEPA urged the Port Captaincy of Manzanillo to order the company responsible for the vessel to take appropriate preventive measures, and install absorption and containment booms to avoid that the remains of hydrocarbons that could still be found inside the ship’s structure wash into the water. Los Llanitos ran aground near Mexico’s Barra de Navidad on October 23rd, 2015 during Hurricane Patricia. Several proposals to dismantle the vessel were considered by the Mexican government, including dismantling it at the site, but for now the ship remains stranded. 1993-built, Mexicoflagged 38,105 gt Los Llanitos is owned and managed by Naviera Para Mineral of Mexico City. ISM manager is Cyprus Sea Lines Co of Limassol, Cyprus.
Passenger RoRo ship Barøy (IMO 9607394) encountered technical problems on the morning of July 13th and was withdrawn from the Bognes-Lødingen route, to be replaced by the Hamarøy. Departures at 05:15 and 08:00 from Lødingen and at 06:30 and 09:15 from Bognes were cancelled. 2012-built, Norway-flagged, 5,695 gt Barøy is owned and managed by Torghatten Nord of Tromso, Norway. It is entered with Gard on behalf of Torghatten Nord.
Somalia’s government has estimated that the country is losing $10m a day due to damage caused by the Panama-flagged MSC Alice (IMO 9232632) after it dragged its anchor through the main fibre optic cable at Mogadishu port on June 24th, reports Port Technology. Some 6.5m people have been cut off from the internet in Somalia’s south-central region, making it hard for Somalians abroad to send money home. MSC Alice owner, Geneva-headquartered Mediterranean Shipping Company, said in a statement that “following reports that an underwater cable was damaged, MSC is investigating the incident with other relevant parties and these investigations are at an early stage.” The Somalian government and a Somali telecommunications company hope to have service restored within days. 2003-built, Liberia-flagged, 16,803 gt MSC Alice is owned by Alice Container Inc of Limassol, Cyprus, and managed by MSC Shipmanagement Ltd of the same address. It is entered with Steamship Mutual P&I Club. https://www.porttechnology.org/news/somalias_suffers_from_internet_loss_after_shi p_cuts_cable
Chemical oil products tanker Theresa Arctic (IMO 8715508) has been refloated, just over three weeks after running aground on Bofa beach in Kilifi while loaded with 46,000mt of vegetable oil. Mombasa port personnel refloated the ship after earlier attempts had been foiled by bad weather and inappropriate equipment. The Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) salvage team were forced to put contingency measures in place to mitigate pollution risks as the local community’s water source intake was less than 200 metres from the site. The refloating was successfully accomplished by combined efforts of Smit International, Alpha Logistics, Cormaco and KPA salvage teams. The tanker was berthed in Mombasa on July 12th at 14.15. 1988-built, Tuvalu-flagged, 43,414 gt Theresa Arctic is owned by Lydia Shipping Co of Singapore and managed by Raffles Shipmanagement Serv of the same address. It is entered with North of England P&I on behalf of Lydia Shipping Co. http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/news/Oil-tanker-refloated-22-day-Kilifibeach/539546-4012556-ytkhv0/index.html
The owner of general cargo ship Noor al Huda (IMO 9106962) is reported to have accused the Red Sea Ports Authority of “hijacking” the vessel with a cargo of 4,300 tons of sugar and flour, which was destined for Saudi Arabia. According to Vessel Tracker the shipowner said that the vessel had developed a list while leaving the port of Tawfik, bound for Jeddah, a result of a failure in one of the pumps. The crew abandoned the vessel, since when its whereabouts have been a mystery. The owner was reported to have filed a complaint with the IMO, claiming that the crew asked for technical assistance, not for a rescue, and that the vessel wasn’t in danger of sinking. 1995-built, Tanzania-flagged, 3,458 gt Noor Al Huda is owned by Zamzam Shipping of Dubai (PO Box) and managed by Al Rafedain Marine Serives of the same PO Box address.