Containership Vecchio Bridge (IMO 9293454) needed firefighters at Southampton docks on June 21st when a container was found to be leaking chemicals. The ship had arrived from Mobile, Alabama, at around noon and at 14:20 a member of staff reported a leaking container. As a precaution, unloading operations on Vecchio Bridge were suspended, but other terminal operations were unaffected. On June 22nd the vessel continued its journey to Antwerp. 2005-built, 54519 gt, Panama-registered Vecchio Bridge is owned by Stringaster Line Inc, c/o of Ehime-ken, Japan (possibly based in Panama), and managed by Fukujin Kisen of the same address. It is entered with Standard Club on behalf of Stringaster Line Inc.
Passenger RoRo ferry Høgsfjord (IMO 9055759) had to be withdrawn from its Hareid-to-Sulesund route on June 21st. having just returned to service that morning after an annual yard overhaul, but technical problems forced it to be sidelined until further notice. 1992-built, 1,183 gt Høgsfjord is owned and managed by Norled AS of Stavanger, Norway. It is entered with Skuld on behalf of Member Norled. It is also covered by Norwegian Hull Club for Hull and Machinery.
Japanese authorities said they had obtained the voyage data recorder (VDR) from ACX Crystal and that this should help determine why the vessel collided with USS Fitzgerald. ACX Crystal remains docked in Yokohama near Tokyo. Investigators said they were examining the ship’s movements, including its location, direction, speed and other data to determine the cause of the collision off the Izu Peninsula, west of Tokyo.
The captain and pilot of ferry Iyanough have been placed on administrative leave, Steamship Authority has said. The ferry was traveling from Nantucket to Hyannis on June 16th when it crashed into a jetty causing more than a dozen minor injuries to passengers. Bad weather has been listed as a contributory factor in the incident. The crash remained under investigation. The ferry remained berthed in New Bedford Port. 2007-built, 563 gt Iyanough is owned and managed by Woods Hole Martha’s Vineyard of Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
Saudi Arabia’s military said on Monday June 19th that it had disrupted an attack on a major offshore oilfield The state-run Saudi Press Agency said that three boats bearing red and white flags raced toward its Marjan offshore oil field last Friday, June 16th. Saudi navy sailors fired warning shots and captured one of the boats. The other two escaped. The Saudi armed forces said that the captured boat was loaded with weapons for subversive purposes, but did not did not say who it suspected was responsible. Iranian state television accused Saudi Arabia’s coast guard of killing an Iranian fisherman on Friday June 16th.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen have claimed that Houthi forces fired a missile at a UAE ship on June 14th near the Yemeni port of al-Mokha, injuring one crew member but not damaging the ship. The UAE news agency WAM said that the ship was carrying medical supplies.