Chevron-chartered Tanker Collides with Sanctioned Vessel in Venezuela
A Liberia-flagged oil tanker chartered by Chevron Corp had a minor collision with another vessel, the Bueno, in Venezuelan waters on Sunday, according to sources and a shipping report seen by Reuters on Monday. The Bueno has not navigated international waters since the U.S. Treasury Department last year imposed sanctions on it and four other vessels for alleged involvement in moving Iranian-origin shipments, which led to the loss of its Djibouti flag.Chevron-chartered tanker Kerala, which is scheduled to load about 240,000 barrels of Venezuelan heavy oil at the Bajo Grande terminal at Lake Maracaibo this week, was near the Amuay ship-to-ship transfer area on Sunday night when it collided with the Bueno.Incidents involving vessels…
Kirby Inland Marine to Pay $15.3M in Damages Over 2014 Oil Spill
Houston, Texas-based Kirby Inland Marine agreed to pay $15.3 million in damages and assessment costs to resolve federal and state claims for harm to natural resources resulting from a 2014 oil spill from a Kirby barge in the Houston Ship Channel, the U.S. Justice Department said.In a related enforcement action in 2016, the United States secured a settlement with Kirby for $4.9 million in civil penalties and injunctive relief measures to improve the company's operations to help…
U.S. Navy Relieves Seventh Fleet Commander
The U.S. Navy on Wednesday said it had removed Seventh Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin after a series of collisions involving its warships in Asia as the search goes on for 10 sailors missing since the latest mishap. Aucoin's removal comes after a pre-dawn collision between a guided-missile destroyer and a merchant vessel east of Singapore and Malaysia on Monday, the fourth major incident in the U.S. Pacific Fleet this year. "Admiral Scott Swift, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, today relieved the commander of Seventh Fleet, Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin, due to a loss of confidence in his ability to command," the U.S. Navy said in a press release.
US Warship Stayed on Collision Course despite Warning
A U.S. warship struck by a container vessel in Japanese waters failed to respond to warning signals or take evasive action before a collision that killed seven of its crew, according to a report of the incident by the Philippine cargo ship's captain. Multiple U.S. and Japanese investigations are under way into how the guided missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald and the much larger ACX Crystal container ship collided in clear weather south of Tokyo Bay in the early hours of June 17.
US Coast Guard Shipwreck Found – 100 Years Later
The shipwreck remains of a historic U.S. Coast Guard cutter have been discovered off of Southern California 100 years after the vessel was lost at sea. In its heyday, the Coast Guard Cutter McCulloch – commissioned in 1897 as a cruising cutter for the U.S. Treasury’s Revenue Cutter Service, a predecessor of the Coast Guard – saw its share of action, having served with Commodore George Dewey in the Battle of Manila Bay in 1898 as part of the U.S. Asiatic Squadron that destroyed the Spanish Pacific fleet in the first major battle of the Spanish-American War.
Eleven Missing After Hong Kong Collision
Eleven crew of a Chinese cargo ship are missing following a collision with a large container ship in the waters off Hong Kong on Monday, authorities said. Hong Kong is one of the world's busiest shipping channels, although serious accidents are rare. The cargo ship Zhong Xing 2 sank after the collision with the 300-m- (984-ft-) long Marshall Islands-registered MOL Motivator about two nautical miles southwest of Po Toi Island, a spokeswoman of the Hong Kong Maritime Department said. "Zhong Xing 2 is suspected to have sunk after the collision, and it is reported there are 12 crew onboard," said the spokeswoman, who declined to be identified in line with department policy. "One of them was picked up by a fishing vessel navigating close by," she added.
Barge Returned to Port
The re-floated double-hulled tank barge DBL152 started its voyage for Alabama, where it will await final disposition. The barge capsized after it collided with a submerged platform while en route from Houston to Tampa, Fla. The intended destination for the barge is the Holcim dock in Theodore, Ala. During the last two weeks, the barge was re-floated and more than two million gallons of the cargo was safely offloaded, emptying the barge of all but residual product. Three cargo tanks were damaged on the barge. One cargo tank leaked initially from the collision on Nov. 10, and two others leaked after the barge capsized. The barge's oil cargo is a thick, heavy petroleum product known as number-six fuel oil. The oil is heavier than water, and sinks to the bottom of the sea.
