LNG Fueled Vessels

alternative to Diesel Strengthens as Barriers Continue to Fall.

From the earliest days of mechanically propelled ships, fuel use has been evolving.  Starting with wood, fuel changed to coal, which held sway for many years.  Oil began to be used in the late nineteenth century and was clearly the dominate marine fuel of the twentieth century.  Environmental shortcomings of fuel oil, particularly traditional heavy bunkers, were brought under increasing scrutiny as the twentieth century came to a close.  As air emission regulations became more strict and petroleum costs increased, ship owners and operators began searching for an alternative fuel.  Consideration may be given to non-fossil-fuels, but all have practical drawbacks.  Among the available fossil fuels, natural gas is the cleanest – and the price has been dropping in recent years.

1st Orders for the New Wärtsilä X62 Marine Diesel Engine

Wärtsilä has received its first two orders, a total of seven engines, for the Wärtsilä X62 2-stroke low speed engine.

photo courtesy wartsila

2 Missing, 2 Dead in Fatal Ukraine-Russia Collision at Sea

Foreign Ministry of Ukraine has summoned the acting Russian delegate over a fatal

 collision of Russian and Ukrainian ships in the Sea of Azov, stated the foreign

 ministry on Thursday.

A Russian Coast Guard vessel and a Ukrainian fishing boat collided in the Sea of Azov 

Wednesday evening, statements issued by Russian and Ukrainian maritime officials

 say.

Of the 5 people reportedly onboard the fishing boat, 1 was rescued, 2 are missing, and

 2 died, the Ukrainian police service stated on Thursday.

The Ukrainian fishing vessel had strayed out of Ukrainian waters and was in Russian

 coastal waters when the accident occurred with a Russian border service ship and

 sank, Ukrainian officials reported.

Spokesman for the Russian Coast Guard vessel told in a press release that the

 Russian ship was giving chase, guiding the Ukrainian fishing vessel out of a “closed 

zone” when the Ukrainian boat made a sudden change of course, turned toward the 

pursuing Russian border patrol, collided with it and eventually sank.

The foreign ministry of Ukraine issued a press release expressing concern over the

 Russian actions, labeling them “disproportionate” and summoned the Russian

 representation to the country over the collision.

Grigory Karasin, who is Russian Deputy Foreign Minister told in a telephone

 conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart, Ruslan Demchenko, that Russia and

 Ukraine would jointly investigate the unfortunate accident.

Grigory Karasin added that the border services of both countries were currently 

taking measures to avert such accidents in the future.

Pirates attack chemical tanker off Togo

Pirates attacked the chemical tanker MT Ocean Centurion planning to take all

 valuables. The incident occurred off Togo and some of the crew members were

 injured. Maritime agency and the local authorities informed that the piracy is a threat 

for the shipping in West African waters.

Gulf of Guinea oil, cocoa and metals rich region, including the countries Nigeria, Togo,

 Ghana and Ivory Coast is not so protected by anti-piracy missions unlike other 

regions for example.

 

The pirates have used speedboats to board the MT Ocean Centurion tanker (flag

 Marshall Islands) near 5 nautical miles southeast of Togo's coastal capital Lome, took

 all money and possessions and left the vessel.

Local authorities have sent a naval patrol after a distress call following the attack. The

 chemical tanker is safe and escorted to the port of Lome.

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) made an announcement about the incident 

not revealing the name of the vessel:


"On July 16, the robbers took two crew members and disembarked from the tanker 

with the rescue boat, taking along ship's cash, crew cash and personal belongings"

. "The crew were released later. Three crew members were injured during the 

incident."

Search and Rescue Underway off Christmas Island - 88 rescued, 8 missing

Rescue operation is underway following the capsizing of a ship on July 12, Friday

 night about 87 n.m. north of Christmas Island.

According to the initial reports received by the Rescue Coordination Centre Australia

 (RCC Australia) of Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) at nearly 9:15 a.m. 

UTC on Friday suggested the ship was in need of assistance.



Additional assistance was requested from Border Protection Command at 10:31 a.m. 

UTC to locate the ship and subsequently RCC Australia issued an urgency broadcast 

to shipping in the region at about 1:05 a.m. UTC.



An oil tanker ship responded to the broadcast and reported the ship was making way

. ACV Triton vessel was tasked to respond and arrived on scene at about 8 a.m. UTC

 on Friday and boarded the ship.

The ship capsized about 10:30 p.m. AEST. A total of 88 people have been safely

 rescued from the ship, there is 1 deceased and an estimated 8 people still missing.

A search of a 285 square nautical miles involving 2 contracted aircraft and a Defence

 P3 Orionbegan at first light. HMAS Bathurst and HMAS Albany remain in the zone and

 have been searching for the missing 8 people.

A Tanker with 20 crew members hijacked by Somali pirates

Pirates from Somalia struck again on Sunday by hijacking a Turkish-owned oil tanker ship off 

the western Africa coast.

The Malta-flagged tanker vessel, MV Cotton, with its crew of 20 Indian seafarers, was attacked 

near Port Gentil in Gabon. An official of the Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed the accident. 

According to the information 6 of the kidnapped seafarers are natives of Kolkata.



Captain Shishir Wahi, 54-year-old, took over the tanker ship’s command on 12th of July. “My 

father flew from Kolkata on 5th of July. We got confirmation about the hijacking from the 

shipping agencies around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday,” told the daughter of Wahi, Richa. “My father 

called us on Sunday. But late in the evening, I received an e-mail from my father stating that 

there had been a communication failure that would be rectified soon,” she said in addition.



Wahi's daughter, Richa added that there has been no news on the seafarers’ whereabouts. 

“The Somali pirates haven't made any ransom demand from the shipping company,” she told.




Owners of the hijacked tanker ship MV Cotton lost contact with the seafarers onboard late on 

Sunday. At the time of going to press, neither defence authorities nor the director-general of 

shipping could share information about the pirate attack.

UPDATED: VIDEO of the collision between Minerva Maya and M.L. Crochet

Exclusive video on the collision between the unloaded 800-foot tanker ship Minerva Maya and a tug pushing barges, being pushed by the tug vessel M.L. Crochet in Houston Ship Channel on June 2nd, 2013.

The USCG responded to the collision between all vessels on Sunday.

According to the latest information the tanker ship Minerva Maya sustained some hull damages. There are no injured people or any environment pollution.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

DNV Plans on Enhancing Lifeboat Safety

DNV (Det Norske Veritas) has plans on enhancing maritime lifeboat safety.

There were incidents in the past with lifeboats. An industry project was started by OLF (the 

Norwegian Oil and Gas Association)for these incidents.

Requirements for lifeboats were tested in calm waters and from heights smaller than those for 

example on host facilities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. In real situations lifeboats are 

exposed to greater loads and damage. DNV has to develop a standard for the design of free 

fall lifeboats. The standard of the design of lifeboats is revised and test were performed in 

more extreme conditions. Lifeboats on the Norwegian Continental Shelf are now being built 

according to the DNV standard.

Olav Rognebakke, the head of DNV’s Ship Hydrodynamics and Stability Section said: 

"If the shipping industry decides to implement our Free Fall Lifeboat standard, I believe 

maritime lifeboat safety will be taken an important step further."

A COMMERCIAL fishing trawler has damaged the Great Barrier Reef and spilled diesel

A commercial fishing trawler has damaged the Great Barrier Reef and spilled diesel fuel after running aground off central Queensland.

The incident happened about 3.30am on Thursday near Lady Elliot Island off Gladstone which is within the World Heritage Area.

The hull of the ship was damaged but no injuries were reported.

Updated on Hijacked Tanker Matrix I: the 5 kidnapped crew members released

According to the information released by Reuters, the five kidnapped Pakistani crew

 members of Nigerian tanker Matrix I, kidnapped by Nigerian pirates on 25th of May, 

2013 were freed. All the released crew members are in a good health condition. No details 

available as to the terms of the release.

Previous information on the accident: pirates attacked the Nigeria-flagged, but Greek-

operated, product tanker ship Matrix I early in the morning of May 25th, 2013 some 40

 n.m. of the coast of Bayelsa state, Nigeria. Operator of the tanker ship, Val Oil Trading 

Co., confirmed the attack, but did not reveal any other details. Reportedly, some of the

 crew were kidnapped. Crew is said to consist of twelve Pakistani and 5 Nigerians, wrote 

Reuters.