UK based marine claims consultant WK Webster has received reports of a fire aboard general cargo vessel Efes (IMO 9197686) on August 19th when it was in the Bay of Bengal, about 540nm east of Chennai, India. The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, Chennai, had called on vessels in the area to assist the Efes.
The cause and nature of the fire were not yet established. The Efes is a general cargo vessel sailing under the flag of Panama, with an overall length is 100.55 metres and a width of 16.6 metres. The vessel was reported as partially laden and to have departed from Visakhapatnam, India on August 17th, heading for Port Klang, Malaysia.
1999-built, Panama-flagged, 4,086 gt Efes is owned by Ephesus Maritime Corp care of manager Gemiciler Denizcilik Nakliyat of Istanbul, Turkiye. It is entered with NorthStandard on behalf of Gemiciler Denizcilik Nak Spor Yapi Tes San Ve Tic Ltd Şti. As of August 17th it was in the Bay of Bengal, ETA Port Klang August 22nd.
Four people, including a 17-year-old boy, were injured on Aug 17th as they tried to board the ferry Likoni (MMSI 634118000) at the Likoni crossing point in Mombasa when the ship was nearing the docking point. A stampede was reported to have occurred after hundreds of passengers attempted to board the ferry all at once. Some of the passengers began jumping onto the ferry even before it had been properly docked. According to Kenya Ferry Services, one of their ferries, the Jambo, was no longer in service after it broke down, which significantly affected operations at the major crossing. The security stewards were unable to cope with the number of people who had been waiting to board the vessel last night. The injured passengers were taken to Mombasa General Hospital, with two being detained overnight.