Queen Elizabeth 2 Grouding
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) surveyors from the Southampton Marine Office have completed a full inspection of the Queen Elizabeth 2 liner after its Nov. 11 grounding near the Brambles sand bank in the Solent, and they have given the all clear for the ship to continue on its final journey. At 05.30 on Nov. 11 the crew of the 70,000 gross tons ship reported to Solent Coastguard that they feared she may have run aground two nautical miles north west of Cowes whilst en route into Southampton.
Report on Napoli Beaching Incident
On Nov. 6, The Maritime and Coastguard Agency delivered its in-depth 103 page Report to the Chairman of Devons local Inquiry into the circumstances leading to the beaching of the MSC Napoli off the East Devon coastline. The Report summarises the Agencys activities from the moment the incident broke on the18th January 2007, when the MSC Napoli was on passage in the English Channel, loaded with 2,318 containers and bound for South Africa and when she suffered a catastrophic hull failure and got into severe difficulties. A number of possible locations were assessed by both the French and British authorities for a place of refuge on both sides of the Channel; however, the south coast of England provided better options for a place of refuge.
Cargo Crewmember Medevaced
At quarter past seven on the evening of Nov. 3, Falmouth Coastguard received an Inmarsat Standard C Distress alert from a Ukrainan registered cargo vessel called the Katya Zelenko. The Katya Zelenko was in a position 241 miles off the coast of Kenya. Falmouth Coastguard communicated with the vessel using their satellite communications and was able to ascertain that they had a sick crewman on board who needed immediate medical attention. Falmouth Coastguard made further investigations and ascertained from the Royal Navy Fleet Ops that HMS Northumberland was in a position 150 miles from the cargo vessel with a Merlin helicopter on the warship.
Facebook Used to Forge Seafarer Certificate
A 29 year old Bournemouth woman voluntarily attended Bournemouth Police Station on Friday and was formally cautioned after certification she used to hire a yacht last year was found to be fraudulent. The woman hired a yacht in the summer of 2007 from a South coast charter firm whose conditions of hire were that the charterer should provide a valid MCA/RYA Yachtmaster certificate. The woman in question submitted a photocopy of a certificate which was initially accepted but later found to be a forgery. The matter was reported to the Enforcement unit of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). The Marine Unit of Dorset Police carried out a full investigation of the incident and on the 22nd February the woman attended Bournemouth Police Station .
