Feared Dead

Illegal Ferry Ops Again Equals Disaster

At least 56 people, many of them children, drowned and scores are feared missing after an overcrowded boat capsized off Jolo island in the southern Philippines, officials said last Thursday. About 70 survived, many rescued by fishermen, while one man swam two miles to shore after the ML Annahada capsized on Wednesday night, the coastguard said. Twenty-seven children, aged from three months to nine years, were among the dead. The vessel, locally called a motor launch, was authorized to carry only cargo, and capsized after picking up passengers at sea, said coastguard operations officer Lieutenant Roy Echeverria. After it left Jolo, "several boats carrying people pursued it in the open sea and they boarded the launch, which was illegal and unauthorized," Echeverria said. The sinking was the latest to blight the country's already poor maritime safety record. In 1987, about 4,000 people died in a collision between the ferry Dona Paz and an oil tanker -- the world's worst peacetime sea tragedy. More than 40 people died and over 700 were rescued last December when Philippine ship MV Asia South Korea sank in the Visayan Sea in the central Philippines.

USCG Reconvenes Formal Investigation

The USCG reconvened its one-person formal investigation to determine the cause of the sinking of F/V Cape Fear and the loss of two of its crewmen. F/V Cape Fear sank Jan. 8, 1999 after radioing a distress call reporting they were taking on water. Three of the five crewmen aboard Cape Fear were rescued by the crew of F/V Misty Dawn. The USCG conducted an extensive search for the two missing crewmen. The body of one crewmember was located on a beach near Gooseberry Neck the next day

News: Fifth Cape Fear Class Crew Boat

Construction is underway of the fifth in the series of "Cape Fear" class crew boats, with the latest version a custom vessel is being built Chesapeake Yachts at his 54 acre facility in Chesapeake, Va. Eminating from the design house of Industrial Object, David Carambat, president, said, "The Cape Fear crew boat is a speedy craft weighing in at an amazingly efficient 42,000 lbs. With twin Caterpillar 3176's, this lean, rugged machine boasts a speed of 31

Ship Mishap Disables Phone Lines

Telephone lines in the Egyptian northcoast town of Port Fouad went dead this weekend after a Tunisian ship sliced cables while trying to avoid an oncoming ferry, police said. The ship's anchor cut through phone cables as the crew tried to move it out of the way of the passenger ferry at the harbor of Port Fouad, 170 km (100 miles) northeast of Cairo. - (Reuters)

Arrest Made In Seattle Shipyard Shooting

Seattle police have arrested a 30-year-old man in connection with execution-style shootings at a local shipyard that left two dead and two injured in November. Police gave few details and declined to release the man's name but one Seattle television station reported that the arrested man had been fired from the shipyard. Peter Giles, 27, whose father and uncle own the shipyard, and shipyard employee Russell Brisendine, 43, were killed in the shootings

12 Found Alive after Indonesian Ferry Sinking

The Guardian reported that rescuers found a six-year-old boy and 11 other survivors clinging to an oil rig yesterday, days after an Indonesian ferry sank, leaving more than 400 dead or missing, navy officers said. The survivors, described as weak after spending more than four days in the Java Sea, were picked up by the navy 120 miles from where the ferry sank in a storm, said navy spokesman Lt Col Tony Syaiful. The 12, among them a woman

Oil Tanker Crewman Lost at Sea

According to a report from Agence France-Presse, an employee of Finnish refining company Neste Oil went missing from an oil tanker during a routine trip in the North Sea and is presumed dead, the company said March 7.   (Source: Agence France-Presse)  

This Day in Naval History - April 18

From the Navy News Service 1848 - A Navy expedition to explore the Dead Sea and the River Jordan, commanded by Lt. William F. Lynch, reaches the . 1906 - The Navy assists in relief operations during the earthquake and fire. 1942 - USS Hornet (CV 8) launches Doolittle's Army bombers for the first attack on . 1988 - Navy destroys two Iranian drilling platforms and a frigate in retaliation for attack on USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG 58)

This Day in U.S. Naval History - March 28

1800 - Essex becomes first U.S. Navy vessel to pass Cape of Good Hope 1814 - HMS Phoebe and Cherub capture USS Essex off Valparaiso, Chile. Before capture, Essex had captured 24 British prizes during the War of 1812. 1848 - USS Supply reaches the Bay of Acre, anchoring under Mount Carmel near the village of Haifa, during expedition to explore the Dead Sea and the River Jordan.   Source: http://www.history.navy

Tanker Orders Will Not Be Cancelled

According to a report from Emirates Business 24/7, existing new-build programs in the tanker sector of the shipping industry are expected to go ahead with no fear of cancellations despite the current slowdown in the industry's performance, said a senior executive. While ship orders in other sectors have suffered from unprecedented cancellations due to financial constraints, the relatively stronger position of the tanker sector has helped to prevent a similar trend.