Lloyds Shipping News

Ukraine is serious about reviving and further development of its ship-building industry in Mykolaiv region (South Ukraine - Ed.). This is the theme of the visit of the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to Chernomorsky Shipyard in Mykolaiv, where he participated in laying the keel of the corvette class ship for the Naval Force ofUkraine. During the visit the President commended the ship-building employees for their patience and faith. "I am confident that together we will create with you all the motivation for the development of shipbuilding," said the Ukrainian leader. This will be the third ship of corvette class that Ukraine will build since its independence.

The Cambodia-flag freighter Marina Bay was berthed at Lagos, Nigeria, when it was struck by the Cyprus-flag bulker Yannis, on March 3, Lloyds Shipping Intelligence Service said on Monday. The 14,956 dwt Marina Bay has sustained serious damage. The forward part of the vessel is on the bottom with water ingress in No.1 hold, which spread to No.2 and No.3 holds. Marina Bay’s cargo of bagged rice has swelled after it got wet. The 24,105 dwt Yannis sustained only minor damage in the collision. - (Reuters)

An explosion has ripped through an empty Singaporean supertanker in the Indian Ocean, Lloyds shipping intelligence reported on Tuesday. "The damage to tanker Heng San is understood to be serious," the report said. "The explosion was in her cargo tanks and part of one tank has been blown up, on the port side, with a hole in her deck." The report said there had been no deaths and no pollution. "Heng San, in ballast, is now under way with all crew remaining on board," it said. The 25-year old, 240,000 deadweight ton VLCC is managed by Ocean Tankers of Singapore, who were unavailable for comment. The initial distress call was picked up in the early hours of Tuesday morning by Stavanger Coastguard in Norway.

A Cypriot tanker is being been detained in the eastern Canadian province of Newfoundland after a reported collision between a cargo ship and a U.S. trawler off the coast of Massachusetts killed three fishermen, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday. The sinking of the U.S. fishing boat Starbound, which happened on Sunday night, was first reported by the Lloyds Shipping wire service out of London. Canadian television showed footage on Wednesday of what it said were gouges on the side of the tanker Virgo and of a hearse driving away from the dock after the ship was detained. The U.S. Coast Guard is leading the investigation into the incident and one U.S.

Thousands of seafarers risk their lives on unsafe cargo vessels that daily enter the East African ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, trade union officials said last week. An estimated 85 percent of all vessels calling at the Kenyan and Tanzanian ports do not meet basic international safety regulations. "They are sub-standard in terms of accommodation, in terms of conditions in general and in terms of safety," Juma Khamis, regional chairman for Africa of the International Federation of Transport Workers (ITF), said on Tuesday. The majority of these sub-standard vessels sail under Flags of Convenience (FOCs), allowing the owners to skimp on safety regulations and putting crews in danger not just of sinking but of potentially life-threatening equipment on board.

A Maltese-registered cargo ship carrying 16,000 tons of cement was in danger of breaking up on the St. Lawrence River near Quebec City after all 40 crew and passengers aboard were evacuated early last Thursday, Canadian Coast Guard officials said. The 552-ft. (178-m) ship suffered a rudder breakdown and ran aground last Tuesday on a sand bank near the eastern tip of l'Ile d'Orleans near Quebec City, the provincial capital. "The problem is fairly serious because there is a crack running from the deck to the water level," coast guard spokesman Francois Miville-Deschenes said. "There is a risk that some of the cargo will fall into the river," he said.