Passenger/cargo RoRo Red Falcon (IMO 9064047) came into contact with a number of boats and then grounded while trying to berth in poor visibility at Cowes Harbour around dawn on Sunday October 21st. None of the 40 passengers onboard was reported hurt, but one small vessel sank as a result. The Coastguard confirmed that nobody was missing or in the water. The ferry had left Southampton for East Cowes at 07:00 and got into difficulty an hour later while entering the harbour. She came to a halt about 50 metres off the esplanade. She has since been refloated with the assistance of tugs and has been cleared by coastguard surveyors to be relocated to Southampton. All passengers and vehicles were discharged at East Cowes. 1994-built, UK-flagged, 4,128 gt Red Falcon is owned and managed by the Red Funnel Group of Southampton, UK. It is entered with Shipowners’ P&I Club on behalf of Southampton Isle Of Wight & South Of England Royal Mail Steam Packet Company Ltd.
After weeks of preparations, the demolition of a passenger/cargo RoRo now under the name KMP SMS Kartanegra (IMO 6524759), has started in Indonesia. Cutting burners were taken aboard a couple of weeks ago during the first half of October. The vessel had been ferrying between Merak and Bakauheni. In August 2017 she was put up for sale and at the beginning of July 2018 the ship was taken out of service. Shortly after it was said that she would be demolished as the owner of the ship could no longer pay the repair costs. She arrived at Bojonegara Port on September 22nd. Now demolition has begun. The 1958-built, 4,449 gt decommissioned vessel was last recorded as Belize-flagged and owned and managed by Ocean Morning of Panama City.
General cargo ship Austera (IMO 8024155) ran aground off Løperen strait, Norway, during the afternoon of October 17th due to poor visibility, while en route from Sarpborg to Varberg with a cargo of timber. No injuries or spillages were reported. The ship became stuck between Tjellholmen and Møren, suffering holes in a ballast tank. She was finally pulled off on October 19th and was berthed at the Frederikstad Container Terminal that afternoon 1981-built, St Vincent & Grenadines-flagged 3,149 gt Austera is owned by Alga Shipping care of Alga Chartering ApS of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is managed by Smythe Shipping of Hvidovre, Denmark.
http://www.demokraten.no/nyheter/austera-grunnstotte-i-loperen-1.2510001 https://www.f-b.no/nyheter/loperen/skipsfart/skip-pa-grunn-i-loperen/s/5-59-1278269
Specialists of the Azov-Black Sea branch of the Maritime Rescue Service FGBU completed emergency rescue operations on general cargo ship Nila (IMO 8230314) which suffered water ingress in the ballast tanks on October 9th near the port of Kavkaz, while being loaded with 4,000 tons of coal. Morspasluzhby, Alexander Sizontsev and tug Mercury with dewatering equipment on board were sent to the vessel. However, when on scene the forces of the Azov-Black Sea branch of the Federal Service for Marine Safety Service received a message from the border service about the prohibition of work on Nila in connection with the closed border between Ukraine and Russia. The captain of the Nila refused to leave the ship. Morspasluzhby kept monitoring the vessel. After the weather deteriorated seven crew members left the Nila. On October 10th the owner agreed a salvage contract. The salvage team made a diving inspection of the hull, which revealed several holes ranging in size from 200mm×80mm to 100mm×2mm. Hard patches were initially installed on the holes that were detected, as a result of which the water ingress stopped and then the holes were welded. Nila had reported water ingress and a possible crack in the hull on October 10th while en route from Azov, Russia to Giresun, Turkey. She was anchored at the outer Kerch Strait anchorage in the Azov sea. 1977-built, Togo-flagged, 2,457 gt Nila is owned by Caprica Shipping & Trading Ltd care of manager Armada Shipping & Chartering Ltd of Istanbul, Turkey. It is entered with VSK Insurance Co.
Container ship MSC Arushi R (IMO 9244881) suffered a mechanical failure at around noon on October 17th on river West Scheldt in front of Hansweert, Netherlands, while sailing downstream from Antwerp to Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Several tugs assisted the ship to keep her position and she was brought to anchor. 2002-built, Liberia-flagged, 45,803 gt MSC Arushi R is owned by SFL Rufina Inc care of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co of Geneva, Switzerland. ISM manager is MSC Shipmanagement Ltd of Limassol, Cyprus. It is entered with UK Club (Area Group London L3) on behalf of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co SA.
The crew of general cargo ship Nazmehr (IMO 8876522) requested urgent aid on October 18th, citing “mass poisoning”. The vessel was 21 miles off Pirallahi island, Azerbaijan, en route from Aktau, Kazakhstan, to Baku, Azerbaijan. A guard vessel of the Border Service was dispatched to rescue them. Seven crew members were found in critical condition. After rendering first medical assistance, the ship headed towards Absheron port. Medical brigades were dispatched for assistance. The injured were hospitalized, but three of the Iranian sailors died there. Eight more were said to have suffered symptoms, but recovered after treatment at a toxicology centre in Baku. The poison might have been a compound used to protect the grain being carried, according to Parviz Abubekirov, a spokesman for Azerbaijan’s health ministry. As of Saturday morning October 20th the Nazmehr was under way bound for Govzan. 1988-built, Iran-flagged, 1,846 gt Nazmehr has unrecorded owners and managers.