Panamax cargo ship Guo Yuan 1 (IMO 8501672) was in collision with several anchored inland ships at Dingjiang anchorage while proceeding upstream on the Yangtze river, upstream from Zhenjiang, during the evening of October 9th. Three of the ships, which were tied together, sank, and four more were damaged. Nine people fell into the water, of whom five were rescued and four remained missing. An SAR operation was under way. The vessel has been detained by the authorities. Preliminary investigations indicated that the vessel lost control when sailing into the anchorage. 1987-built, China-flagged, 36,606 gt Guo Yan 1 is owned by Fujian Guohang Ocean Shipping of Fuzhou, Fujian, China. It is managed by Shanghai Fujian Guohang Ocean of Shanghai, China.
Local officials continued to assist the US Coast Guard with handling of general cargo ship Alta (IMO 7432305), which remained adrift 1,300 miles southeast of Bermuda with 10 crew on board. Supplies were running low and a USCG aircraft arrived at Bermuda last week to refuel before making a food drop to the vessel. The crew will now abandon the vessel, with the initial intention being that they will be repatriated home via Bermuda. That plan seems to have changed with the crew now bound for Puerto Rico. Earlier attempts by vessel owners to dispatch tugs from Venezuela, Guyana, and the Bahamas fell through. USCG cutter Confidence arrived at the scene on October 8th offered and assistance to the ship’s crew as negotiations for tug assistance ashore continued. With Tropical Storm Leslie a threat and with damage to the vessel’s main engine, a decision was made for all crew members from Panama, Honduras and Greece to abandon the vessel. Salvage attempts by the owners continue. 1976-built, Tanzania-flagged, 2,295 gt Alta is owned and managed by Alta Shipping of Miami. Florida, USA.
A fire broke out on board tugboat Megalochari VII (IMO 9354985) during the afternoon of October 9th while the ship was berthed for repairs at an offshore yard in Perama, Greece. Shipyard personnel and the crew of the ship fought the fire and then the Keratsini Fire Brigade arrived with six units. The fire was completely extinguished without injury or water pollution, but there was material damage to the tug. Water extraction was carried out with the installation of internal pumps and drilling of holes to drain the water. The Central Port Authority of Piraeus, which carried out the preliminary investigation, detained the tug until the damages were repaired and there was a submission of a class certificate by the attending classification society. 2006-built, Greece-flagged, 435 gt Megalochari VII is owned and managed by Megalohari Hellenic Tugboats of Piraeus, Greece.
General cargo ship Salsk (IMO 9133197) ran aground on the River Don river at km 3133.5 between buoys 187 and 189 during the morning of October 10th. The vessel, which had on board a 3,959 tonnes of wheat had a 15cm loss of draught. A Rostov-based Russian tug Dobrynya was sent to assist but its attempts to refloat the vessel were unsuccessful. A second tug was requested. The shipowner decided to suspend the refloating operations until October 9th when, At 11:00 local time the vessel was refloated with the assistance of two tugs before being anchored in deep water for inspections. 1995-built, Russia-flagged, 4,955 gt Salsk is owned and managed by Linter LLC of Rostov-na-Donu, Russia. It is entered with Ingosstrakh on behalf of Линтер (Linter).