Incident Site News

The Unified Command began to remove containers onboard M/V Dali at the Key Bridge incident site, Sunday. Salvors removed containers from the Dali as part of the effort to gain access to the portion of the Key Bridge that lies atop the ship. The transfer of containers from the Dali will continue in the coming days, as weather permits.The removal of the containers is a critical step required to safely move the Dali and eventually fully re-open the Fort McHenry Channel. Removing containers allows for safe access to then remove the pieces of the Key Bridge that lie across the ship’s bow…

Unified Command dive teams have recovered the body of a missing person at the Key Bridge incident site in Baltimore.The recovered individual was identified as 38-year-old Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval.Unified Command salvage dive teams located what they believed to be the missing construction worker and notified the Maryland Department of State Police. Maryland State Police Underwater Recovery Team deployed in coordination with dive teams from allied law enforcement partners and recovered Suazo-Sandoval.Maryland State Police investigators…

Singapore-registered passenger ferry 'QUEEN STAR 2' caught fire on Friday while en route from Singapore to Batam, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has informed.The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was alerted that there was a fire in the ferry's engine room on Friday, 12:30 local time."MPA, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), and Police Coast Guard (PCG) immediately deployed their crafts to provide assistance. MPA also deployed a tug boat to provide assistance and tow the ferry," the MPA said."All 62 passengers, including Singaporeans, Malaysians, and Indonesians, among others, on the ferry 'QUEEN STAR 2' have been safely transferred to another vessel 'MERBAU ERA' which was on the way to Harbourfront Ferry Terminal.

A commercial fishing vessel that caught fire while moored in Tacoma, Wash. this weekend is now listing heavily to port as responders continue to battle the dayslong blaze.Fire broke out on board the factory trawler Kodiak Enterprise early Saturday morning, progressing throughout the ship while moored at Trident Seafoods in the Hylebos Waterway, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.Most of the fire has subsided and smoke conditions have improved significantly due to firefighting efforts…

Salvage crews have removed all diesel fuel from the tanks of capsized liftboat Seacor Power in the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday.Salvors removed approximately 20,363 gallons of diesel fuel from the overturned vessel using the hot tapping method, which involves drilling into the fuel tanks, making a hose connection, and transferring the fuel to portable tanks, the Coast Guard said.Approximately 4,500 gallons of hydraulic fluid still on board will need to be removed after the vessel is raised as the tanks are currently inaccessible…

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) held a ferry emergency exercise (FEREX) at the Regional Ferry Terminal (RFT) at Harbourfront. The FEREX tests the readiness of around 250 personnel from 10 government agencies, three ferry operators and Singapore Cruise Centre Pte Ltd in response to ferry mishaps. A total of 13 vessels and an RSAF helicopter were deployed for the exercise.Khaw Boon Wan, Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport, was also present to observe the exercise.The exercise simulated the evacuation of 150 passengers on board a regional ferry, and for the first time, a medical evacuation was conducted.

The Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers and Tennessee Valley Towing Company, the responsible party, are continuing their response to a tug and barge accident on the Ohio River in Louisville, Kentucky, Wednesday.The water at the McAlpine Dam rose approximately three feet over the course of the past 24 hours causing one additional barge to sink. Nine barges are currently lying on the dam just above the falls. Seven of the nine barges sank.The Coast Guard, Army Corps of Engineers, and the responsible party are working together to evaluate the ever-changing situation each day.

A consortium of salvage companies have been appointed by the owners of the MV Priscilla, a cargo ship that ran aground off Caithness.The consortium, Multraship/Ardent/Wagenborg, have begun deploying equipment to the site on the Pentland Skerries.It is expected that an outline salvage plan will be prepared for discussion between key stakeholders and the Acting SOSRep, Hugh Shaw for approval. A Salvage Control Unit (SCU) will then be established near the incident.Acting SOSRep Hugh Shaw has established a Temporary Exclusion Zone of 500m around the incident site to ensure that there is no risk to the safety of persons engaged on the salvage operations and for other shipping traffic transiting or working in the area.

Professional captains and pilots in all sectors of the maritime industry confront daunting challenges and hazards every day on every trip. From piloting oceangoing ships into congested harbors and safely docking them, to navigating ferries, tourist vessels and water taxis through harbors and rivers teaming with other commercial vessels and recreational craft and everything in between, U.S Coast Guard licensed deck officers have one of the most difficult, pressure-packed jobs in any industry.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore says it was notified just before midnight yesterday (Aug 4) of a collision involving Dream II VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) and MSC Alexandra (Container Ship)  in the Singapore Strait, about 3 km South-East of Sebarok Island. Both are Panama-flagged vessels. Prior to the incident, MPA's Port Operations Control Centre provided traffic information and alerted the shipmasters of Dream II and MSC Alexandra of the risk of collision. Dream II sustained damage to her bow whilst MSC Alexandra sustained damages on her port quarter hull. Both vessels are in stable condition and safely anchored in Singapore. MSC Alexandra reported that 10 empty containers fell overboard during the incident, 4 onto the deck of Dream II and the rest into the water.

The unified command in Paducah continues its response to a spill in the Mississippi River at mile marker 937, Wednesday as active recovery efforts are underway to remove the submerged clarified slurry oil spilled as a result of a collision involving two towboats on September 2, 2015, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. According to the Coast Guard, recovery is focused on the two anomalies near the incident site that were detected by high resolution side scan sonar. The two areas were broken down into 24 grids to enable response personnel to target removal of the oil and document the progress. As of Tuesday afternoon, an environmental clamshell equipped with precision dredge position software was removing moderate to heavily oiled sediment from the river bottom.

The safety zone and traffic restrictions in place from markers 936 to 938 on the Mississippi River following a towboat collision and subsequent oil spill have been lifted, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. A section of the lower Mississippi River was closed to all traffic except response vessels last week after two towboats collided Wednesday at Mississippi River mile marker 937, rupturing the cargo tank of a barge carrying slurry oil which discharged approximately 150,000 gallons of oil into the river.

Wood Group Kenny (WGK) has secured a five year contract with Oil Spill Response (Capping) Ltd (OSRCL) to provide the maintenance support for a key part of a containment toolkit that would be used to control hydrocarbon release in the event of a subsea well control incident. The multi-million dollar project will see WGK work with OSRCL to ensure that the flexible flowlines included in the toolkit are continuously in a condition suitable for immediate load out if mobilised by subscribing oil and gas operators. This will include maintenance management, recommendations for preservation, inspection and testing of all ancillary and lifting equipment, as well as the flexible flowlines, stored at sites in the UK, Singapore and Brazil.

A fire broke out early today along a natural gas pipeline of GAIL (India) Limited at Tatipaka in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. Fifteen casualties have happened and eighteen injured are being treated in four hospitals in the vicinity. The fire started at around 5:45 AM today along the Tatipaka – Lanco natural gas pipeline, approximately 50 metres from ONGC’s Tatipaka terminal and about 500 metres from the GAIL terminal. GAIL’s Crisis Management system was invoked immediately; about eight fire tenders were pressed into service and the fire was brought under control at around 7:00 AM. Preliminary reports suggest damage to a 1.5 metres length of the pipeline. The exact cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained.

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has authorized limited marine traffic in the safety zone in the Port of Houston/Galveston for commercial ship traffic, Tuesday. Cleanup operations are still ongoing; however ships are being prioritized for transit by the Port Coordination Team. The USCG said barges are allowed to transit through the Houston Ship Channel and on the Intracoastal Waterway, after assessment teams deemed the channel clear. "The cleanup operations progress is to the point…

The Port of Houston remains closed as the Unified Command continues to assess the situation with oil in the channel to determine when vessel traffic can resume, advises the US Coast Guard. There are 46 outbound vessels and 47 inbound vessels in the queue for transit in the Port of Houston. The Port of Texas City has 5 inbound and 3 outbound vessels in the queue awaiting transit. Once the channel has been determined safe to navigate, and transiting vessels will not spread oil contaminants, a prioritization list will be established to determine the entry order of vessels.

Cleanup continues in response to an oil spill in the Houston Ship Channel that resulted in the release of approximately 168,000 gallons of bunker fuel oil. On March 22, 2014, the M/V Summer Wind and Kirby Barge 27706 collided in the Houston Ship Channel in the vicinity LT 26 near the "Texas City Y", the Houston-Galveston Port Community said in an announcement. The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) announced that Unified Command is working closely with the Vessel Traffic Service, paired with assessments of the Houston Ship Channel, to determine when partial vessel traffic can resume.

Part of the Houston Ship Channel has been closed to marine traffic to enable response operations following the recent collision between UTV MISS SUSAN and the bulk carrier M/V SUMMER WIND approximately 100 yards off the Texas City Dike, near lights 25/26 which led to the partial sinking of the Kirby Marine tank barge. Coast Guard inform that progress continued throughout the day Sunday in response to a bunker fuel spill in the Houston Ship Channel that resulted in the release of approximately 168,000 gallons of product.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) reported two separate vessel collision incidents, both resulting in spills. The MPA said it received a report on January 29, at about 6:30 p.m. (Singapore Time) that the departing Hong Kong-flagged chemical tanker Lime Galaxy had collided with the arriving China-flagged containership Feihe at about 2.7 km, south of Jurong Island. Feihe reported that one of her bunker tanks sustained damage, resulting in some spillage of bunker fuel. Upon notification, MPA immediately dispatched three patrol craft to deal with the spill. Oil spill response companies were also activated to support the cleanup efforts. At about 4:10 a.m.

Professional mariners in all sectors of this diverse industry confront a myriad of challenges and hazards as they perform their daily duties. From piloting ocean-going ships into congested harbors and safely docking them, to navigating passenger vessels through harbors and rivers loaded with other commercial vessels and recreational craft and everything in between, U.S. Coast Guard licensed officers literally see it all on an almost daily basis. But arguably the mariners who face…

Dutch-registered dredger, Seaway (12962 gross tons) crashed into an oil pipeline at a berth near Singapore, on Pulau Bukom on May 6. There was no other vessel alongside the berth at the time of incident and no report of any injuries. Shell reported that there was substantial damage to its Berth No. 8, and some oil leaked into the sea from the berth pipeline, which was immediately cleaned up by anti-pollution craft deployed by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and Shell. There has been no further report of any oil pollution. According to initial reports from the master of Seaway, the dredger was proceeding to the eastern sector of the port when it encountered engine failure while turning into Jong Fairway from Sinki Fairway.