Marine accident round-up : 15th April 2020

Container ship Escape (IMO 9491501), which suffered a steering failure in the North Sea last week (IMN April 8th), causing it to begin circling repeatedly, north of Vlieland Island, West Frisian Islands, Netherlands, was aided by Dutch Coastguard tugs and the vessel was initially taken on tow by anchor handling tug/supply Guardian, with Multraship tug Multratug nearby. Subsequently, Multraship were contracted under Lloyd’s Open Form and will be requiring Salvage security from cargo interests. The vessel was later taken under tow by tug towards Rotterdam for inspection and repairs. It has been confirmed that salvage services are being rendered to the vessel by professional salvors on Lloyd’s Open Form terms. As of April 14th the vessel was moored in Schiedam. Netherlands.

2011-built, Netherlands-flagged, 17,368 gt Escape is owned by Escape Bewaarder BV care of manager JR Ship management BV of Harlingen, Netherlands. It is entered with North of England on behalf of Noord Nederlandsche P&I Club.

The Chief Engineer and an oiler of container ship APL Southampton (IMO 9462017), both Bulgarians, were injured in an accident in the engine room on April 8th while the vessel was in the Pacific south of San Francisco, en route from Los Angeles to Oakland. The injured parties required evacuation to hospital. As of April 14th it was at anchor in San Francisco Bay.

2012-built, Singapore-flagged, 128,929 gt APL Southampton is owned by Seaspan Holdco XVI Pte Ltd care of manager APL Co Pte Ltd of Singapore. ISM manager is CMA CGM International Shipping of Singapore. It is entered with Gard P&I on behalf of Seaspan Holdco XVI Pte Ltd.

The Chief Officer of bulk carrier DS Sofie Bulker (IMO 9310604) was reported to have died after he fell into a hold, while supervising cleaning works on April 12, 2021, according to ship’s owner Dramar Denizcilik. The bulk carrier at that time was under way in the South Atlantic, en route from Matadi to Brazil with an ETA of April 24th. No recent AIS update available.

2007-built, Marshall Islands-flagged, 17,663 gt DS Sofie Bulker is owned by Sofie International SA care of manager Drama Denizcilik of Istanbul, Turkey.

Jackup platform Seacor Power (IMO 8765682) was caught in rough weather and capsized some 5 nm south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana’s southernmost port, Gulf of Mexico, in the afternoon Apr 13, with 18 personnel on board. As of 0400 UTC Apr 14, 6 people were rescued, SAR is ongoing with joint efforts of New Orleans and Houston Coast Guard.

2002-built, USA-flagged, 2,276 gt Seacor Power is owned by Falcon Global Offshore II LLC care of manager Seacor Liftboats LLC of Louisiana, USA. ISM manager is Seacor Marine LLC of Morgan City, Louisiana, USA. It is entered with Skuld (Business Unit Skuld Offshore) on behalf of Falcon Global Holdings LLC.

Asphalt/bitumen tanker Angel Blue (IMO 9711585) allided with a quay in the port of Hakata, Japan, during the early afternoon of April 7th while en route from Ulsan, South Korea. The accident happened while the vessel was trying to berth. As of April 14th the vessel was underway from Chofu, Japan, to Ulsan, South Korea.

2014-built, Panama-flagged, 1,637 gt Angel Blue is owned by ET Marine/SK Marine care of manager Senko Co Ltd of Tokyo, Japan. ISM manager is HAS Management Co Ltd of Busan, South Korea.