Log Carrier News

Maritime NZ has issued a detention notice against a log carrying vessel, currently anchored off Tauranga.On Monday 24 July, the Panamanian flagged Achilles Bulker was departing Tauranga, bound for China when it encountered steering problems. It was subsequently determined that the rudder had disconnected from the ship during the outbound pilotage.The vessel remains anchored off Mount Maunganui, and the rudder was recovered by divers last week and brought to shore.Due to the rudder failure, the Achilles Bulker will need to be towed to a dry dock for repairs.Maritime NZ is working closely with the Bay of Plenty Regional Council and the…

A cargo ship master and chief engineer have been sentenced and fined after admitting to charges relating known engine problems that led to their ship to lose power and run aground at the Port of Tauranga in July.The Singapore-registered log-carrier MV Funing lost power and passed over a channel marker with the propeller becoming caught in the markerchain, before making contact with a sand bar in the Tauranga Harbor channel.A Maritime NZ investigation and subsequent prosecution…

A log carrier that lost power and went adrift while leaving New Zealand's Port of Tauranga last week has been towed into port for repair and further inspection, local maritime authorities said.The Singapore-flagged Funing was outbound for Lanshan, China when it suffered engine failure and began drifting amid 30 knot winds and significant swells between Mount Manganui and Matakana Island last Monday.Powerless and adrift, the vessel snagged the chains holding a channel marker buoy, causing propeller and rudder damage.

A log carrier that lost power and went adrift while leaving New Zealand's Port of Tauranga Monday has been towed to anchorage in deeper water while it awaits further inspection, local maritime safety authorities said.The Singapore-flagged Funing was outbound for Lanshan, China when it lost engine power and began drifting amid  30 knot winds and significant swells between Mount Manganui and Matakana Island around 12:30 a.m. local time on Monday.The 180-meter ship was pushed by the wind and tides and snagged chains holding one of the buoys marking the shipping channel…

The world’s largest single-deck bulk/log carrier, Olive Bay, arrived Thursday at The Northwest Seaport Alliance’s West Hylebos log terminal in Tacoma. The terminal, operated by Seattle-based Merrill & Ring Forest Products, welcomed Pacific Basin Shipping’s Olive Bay, the largest ship in the Chinese log business to call the West Coast. Built in 2015 specifically to carry logs, the ship is 190 meters long and 32 meters wide. It can hold up to 8 million board-feet of logs, which is significantly more than the 5 million-board-foot capacity of most log ships to call Tacoma.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye said on Monday the actions of some crew of a ferry that sank with hundreds feared dead were tantamount to murder, as a four-year-old video transcript showed the captain promoting the safety of the same route. Sixty-four people are known to have died and 238 are missing, presumed dead, in the sinking of the Sewol ferry last Wednesday. Most of the victims are high school children. Captain Lee Joon-seok, 69, and two other crew members were arrested last week on negligence charges, with prosecutors announcing four further arrests - two first mates, one second mate and a chief engineer - on Monday. Lee was also charged with undertaking an "excessive change of course without slowing down" while traversing a narrow channel.

Survivors of the sinking cargo ship 'Rich Forest' have been transferred safely from the AMVER rescuing ship 'C.S. Sunshine' to Coast Guard Cutter 'Sequoia'. The 500-foot cargo ship Rich Forest was abandoned by its 24 crew-members after the engine room flooded and were picked up from their liferaft by the AMVER participating vessel, C.S Sunshine. The US Coast Guard report that the C.S. Sunshine has now been released from the case and will continue its voyage to Japan. The Sequoia and the Coast Guard Cutter Assateague conducted a final visual assessment of the Rich Forest…

The Coast Guard found serious safety & environmental violations on 'Noble Discoverer' used in Arctic waters off Alaska. The Coast Guard found 16 violations on the Noble Discoverer, one of Shell’s two drilling rigs for Alaska’s Arctic waters. The company’s other rig, the Kulluk, has its own troubles, reports the Anchorage Daily News. The Noble Discoverer is a converted log carrier owned and operated by Noble Corp. for Shell’s Arctic efforts. The 514-foot-long rig was built in 1966 and converted into a drilling ship 10 years later. It has been upgraded and refurbished to work in the Arctic at a cost of $193 million. The vessel dragged its anchor and nearly grounded in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, before the start of its drilling work.

At the Seatrade International Maritime Convention in London, ABS President and CEO, Robert Somerville commented on Bulk Carrier Safety.It was in the tumultuous period when the tanker industry was still trying to adjust to OPA90, to the mandate for double hulls, to the uncertainties of COFRs and all the rest of the restrictions that were being placed on their operations.It was also a time when there had been a casualty, with a small amount of pollution, involving a bulk carrier.Of course the incident was portrayed the media as another “tanker” casualty.That owner was very, very frustrated.His basic argument was that his dry bulk brethren just “didn’t get it.”That it was not just tanker operators who had been thrust into an entirely different ballgame.

ABS President and CEO, Robert Somerville recently discussed Bulk Carrier Safety at a conference in London. His speech, in part, follows. It was in the tumultuous period when the tanker industry was still trying to adjust to OPA90, to the mandate for double hulls, to the uncertainties of COFRs and all the rest of the restrictions that were being placed on their operations. It was also a time when there had been a casualty, with a small amount of pollution, involving a bulk carrier. Of course the incident was portrayed by the media as another "tanker" casualty. That owner was very, very frustrated. That it was not just tanker operators who had been thrust into an entirely different ballgame. It was the industry.

Three sailors died and four others were missing after their Cambodian-flagged log carrier sank off China's southern Fuzhou port on Thursday, rescue officials in Hong Kong said. The 3,946-ton Pamela Dream, with 19 Russian sailors aboard, sent a distress signal in the morning and 12 sailors have since been rescued by passing ships, said Captain Ravi Dewan of Hong Kong's Maritime Search & Rescue Centre. A helicopter from Taiwan and a Chinese boat were still searching the area 10 miles off the mainland for survivors, but the mission could be hampered by about 150 logs floating at sea, he said. A Lloyds dispatch said requests have been sent to ships in the area to try to retrieve the three bodies, which were sighted by the helicopter crew. - (Reuters)

With 30-ft. swells in fierce seas and with 40 mile an hour winds buffeting their efforts, the M/V Horizon Falcon crew performed a rescue of two Chinese seafarers 375 miles northwest of Guam, Horizon Lines Inc. reported following a review of the Falcon's Master's Log. The rescue effort took place over a 24 hour period on July 12 and 13. The Horizon Falcon, a newly-constructed 2,824 TEU containership in the Horizon Lines fleet, responded to a request by the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Guam to divert for a distress call from a log carrier, HAI TONG No. 7. The 420-ft. Panamanian-flagged ship had 22 Chinese crewmembers on board. It sank after encountering rough seas due to a typhoon in the area.

Ten people were rescued and 12 people remain missing as Coast Guard, Navy and Good Samaritan rescue crews search the Pacific Ocean about 375 miles northwest of Guam. An emergency beacon registered to the motor vessel Hai Tong #7 began broadcasting a distress signal at about 11 a.m. July 10. About 20 minutes later the emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) signal ceased broadcasting. The Coast Guard issued an urgent marine broadcast asking mariners in the area to assist. The masters of the motor vessel Ikan Bilis and the Horizon Falcon diverted to the scene. The Horizon Falcon arrived on scene shortly before noon July 11. The master reported an oil slick and debris in position last broadcast by the emergency beacon.

Coast Guard rescue crews today are en route to Adak to medevac two crewmen who were injured while working aboard a log carrier 180 miles south of Adak Monday. The master of the 465-foot log carrier Borca contacted the Coast Guard requesting medical assistance. The master reported that while transiting the ship encountered rough weather. Three crewmen who were working below decks were tossed about and suffered severe injuries. The reported injuries included broken bones and possible head trauma. One of three injured crewmen died. A Coast Guard flight surgeon was consulted and recommended the two injured men be medevaced. The Coast Guard instructed the Borca’s master to change course and head toward Adak. An HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and crew departed Kodiak at about 3:30 a.m.