A Magellan-owned oil platform located three miles offshore of Corpus Christi, Texas, suffered a fire during the afternoon of March 7th. Watchstanders received a report of the fire and launched a Coast Guard Station Port Aransas 45ft response boat crew to the area, the USCG said. The response boat crew established a 200-yard safety zone as soon as they arrived at the incident. No-one was aboard the platform at the time and by early in the evening the fire was reported extinguished. There were no visible signs of pollution and an investigation into the cause of the fire has begun.
Chemical oil products tanker Scot Munchen (IMO 9255816) was attacked by pirates off the coast of Bonny, Nigeria during the morning of March 6th. She was approached by two speedboats nine miles southwest of the Bonny Fairway Buoy with armed pirates aboard. Two hours later in the early afternoon the pirates were sighted leaving the vessel. The windows of the bridge appeared to have been damaged by shots; there was also damage to the vessel from the bullets. Currently there is no update on the safety of the crew. 2003-built, Malta-flagged, 5,145 gt Scot Munchen is owned by Scot Munchen SA care of manager Scot Gemi Isletmeciligi AS of Istanbul, Turkey. It is entered with Britannia on behalf of Scot Munchen SA.
General cargo ship Việt Thuận 68 (IMO 9525510) was in collision with Phuong Linh 16 off Nam Định during the afternoon of March 6th and subsequently sank. The Vietnam Coastal Information System (STDH) tried to contact the ship but received no response. Vessels Petrolimex 20 and Great Dolphin were near the area of the accident site and were asked to assist. It transpired out that Phuong Linh 16 had transferred pumps onto the Việt Thuận 68 and taken her in tow to the port. Great Dolphin escorted the Vietnamese ships but in the early evening, because of a broken pump the Việt Thuận 68 sank. All nine crew members were safely evacuated. Vietnam-flagged 1,599 gt Viet Thuan 68 was built in 2008. It is owned and managed by Viet Thuan Transport Co Ltd of Uong Bi Town, Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam.
The Singapore Supreme Court reportedly has arrested chemical oil products tanker Favola (IMO 9246786) in Singapore on March 5 at 7.10 p.m. The arresting solicitor was Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP. 2002-built, Italy-flagged, 25,651 gt Favola is owned by Minos Societa di Navigazione care of manager Motia Compagnia di Navigazone SpA of Venice, Italy. It is entered with Steamship Mutual (Smuab) (Americas syndicate) on behalf of member Minos Società di Navigazione Srl.
Container ship CMA CGM Africa Three (IMO 9451939) allided with the container terminal berth with its starboard side stern on March 1st while leaving Algeciras during the passage of Storm Emma. Damages were slight. The vessel left Algeciras the same day bound for Dunkirk. 2010-built, Bahamas-flagged, 40,827 gt CMA CGM Africa Three is owned by Beaufort Sea Shipping Co care of manager CMA CGM SA (The French Line) of Marseille, France. ISM manager is CMA Ships UK Ltd of London, UK. It is entered with Steamship Mutual (Smuab) (European syndicate) on behalf of Beaufort Sea Shipping Corp.
Operations to remove general cargo ship Betanzos (IMO 9263552) from the sandbank off Bugio in the Portuguese Desertas Islands archipelago off northwest Africa were suspended on March 7th as it was not possible to remove the freighter from the shoal. Salvage work was scheduled to be resumed at dawn on March 8th. On the evening of March 6th, at the peak of the tide, an attempt was made to tow the ship, which had recovered energy and propulsion, but the anchor was trapped in the bottom and could not be recovered. The second attempt was at high tide before dawn on March 7th. One of the reported problems was that tugs Castelo del Sines and Monte da Luz had to operate about 700 metres from the ship. Salvage operations were put on hold on the morning of March 7th after a towing wire broke. The salvage team was now awaiting the arrival a larger tug from Gibraltar. The 10 crew members, remained safe on board. There was no danger to navigation. 2002-built, Spain-flagged, 4,941 gt Betanzos is owned and managed by Navigasa of Coruna, Spain. It is entered with Assuranceforeningen Gard – gjensidig – on behalf of Naviera de Galicia SA.