Ship Anchor News

Finland's national prosecutor's office said on Monday it had brought charges against the captain and first and second officers of the Eagle S oil tanker over the cutting of undersea cables in the Gulf of Finland in December.The Georgian and Indian nationals are suspected of aggravated criminal mischief and aggravated interference with communications by dragging the ship's anchor for around 90 km (56 miles) across the seabed, a prosecutors' statement said.The defendants, who are not permitted to leave Finland, have denied committing the offences and consider that Finland also lacks jurisdiction

On Nov. 18, hours after two communication cables were severed in the Baltic Sea, 30 NATO vessels and 4,000 military staff took to the same body of water for one of northern Europe's largest naval exercises.The 12-day 'Freezing Winds' drill was part of a push to step up the transatlantic defence alliance's protection of infrastructure in waters that carry 15% of global shipping traffic and are seen as increasingly vulnerable to attack.The Baltic Sea is bordered by eight NATO countries and Russia.

A Danish Baltic Sea island suffered a temporary power blackout on Monday as a local grid fault caused the transformer feeding electricity from Sweden to shut down, Energinet and E.ON said. Danish transmission system operator Energinet said the blackout had not been caused by damage to the subsea cable feeding the electricity from the transformer station, and power had returned to all consumers on Bornholm. "The fault which caused a power outage on Bornholm on Monday at (0549 GMT) was not directly related to the submarine cable between Bornholm and Sweden…

Amplify Energy Corp withdrew its full-year forecast on Monday, saying that a large oil spill from one of its subsea pipelines in southern California last month forced it to shut its operations in the region.In mid-October, the U.S. Coast Guard said about 588 barrels (25,000 gallons) of crude oil was spilt, about a fifth as much as it initially estimated, from a pipeline connected to an offshore facility owned by Amplify's unit.The oil and gas producer said on Monday that it was under multiple investigations by state and federal authorities over the incident…

Beaches in a southern California city that were shut because of an oil spill last week are set to reopen on Monday morning, authorities said in a statement.City and state beaches of Huntington Beach city will reopen as water quality testing showed no detectable amounts of oil associated toxins in ocean water, officials from the city and California State Parks said.Last week, some 3,000 barrels (126,000 gallons) of crude oil spilled into the Pacific Ocean, killing wildlife, soiling the coastline and forcing officials to close beaches in the cities of Huntington Beach…

The company that operates the pipeline that spilled an estimated 3,000 barrels of oil into the Pacific Ocean off California has an 800-page manual on handling an oil spill - but it is unclear whether its employees followed those procedures.Houston-based Amplify Energy Corp and several state and federal regulatory agencies have provided differing accounts of what happened on Oct. 2, when the pipeline spill that fouled beaches, killed wildlife, and closed down fishing along miles of coastline was officially reported.The U.S.

More oil from a massive offshore spill landed on the southern California shore on Monday, with beaches closed and dead fish and birds washing up on shore as officials investigated whether a ship anchor striking a pipeline could have triggered the leak.Crews dressed in white coveralls and helmets raced against an approaching storm as they cleaned damage from 3,000 barrels (126,000 gallons) of oil that spilled into the Pacific Ocean in recent days from a pipeline connected to an…

The fourth expeditionary sea base vessel, USNS Hershel “Woody” Williams, was delivered to the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) on February 22. Shipbuilder General Dynamics NASSCO began constructing the 784-foot-long ship in October 2015, applying lessons learned from ESB 3, USS Lewis B. Puller, throughout the ESB 4 build. The vessel, named after World War II Medal of Honor recipient Hershel “Woody” Williams, is designed to carry out various missions including air mine counter measures…

The crew of the U.S. 6th Fleet command and control ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC 20), painted the ship’s anchor gold March 19, 2015, after being awarded the Retention Excellence Award, for fiscal year 2014. Throughout the year, Mount Whitney maintained an overall retention rate of 88.2 percent, and reenlisted a total of 15 Sailors throughout the year, which earned them the honor of receiving the Golden Anchor Award. The golden anchor is presented annually to commands that meet or exceed annual retention goals for each reenlistment zone, maintain an attrition rate for first term Sailors below 6.2 percent, and are named to two or more quarterly retention honor rolls during the fiscal year. Ships that receive the award are authorized to paint their anchors gold.

In the three years since its launch GOL Salvage Services Ltd., having forayed into a domain traditionally commanded by global players has today become a force to reckon with. GOL Salvage’s Executive Director,Capt. Sandeep Kalia, gives a rare insight into the Indian salvaging scenario. ‘Fools rush in where angels fear to tread’ had been the deciding factor for most salvors in India, holding them back from entering the salvage business in earnest. But when GOL Salvage Services Ltd. entered the field in 2011, it became a game changer as it was the first fully indigenous salvage company making an entry into the field that was traditionally dominated by overseas salvaging giants.

According to a Feb. 8 report from The Sofia Echo, a Russian flagged ship, Irtysh 1, has been forced onto the shallow waters and sand of Bourgas Bay, the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport said on its website. Strong winds and high seas tore the ship's anchor and made it drift to the beach near the village of Kraimorie. (Source: The Sofia Echo)

The Coast Guard is continuing to monitor an oil spill approximately nine miles offshore of Savannah after a tank ship damaged its double-hulled fuel tank during the deployment of the ship's anchor Sept. 27. The Singapore-based tank ship, Stolt Vision, reportedly sustained a rupture to the starboard fuel tank located beneath the water surface while lowering its anchor at approximately 5:50 p.m. Sept. A first light over flight conducted by an Air Station Savannah HH-65 helicopter crew confirmed that the oil sheen has dissipated. Air crews covered approximately 100 square miles.

The Coast Guard is responding to an oil spill approximately nine-miles offshore of Savannah after a tank ship punctured a hole in its double-hulled fuel tank during the deployment of the ship's anchor Sept. 27. The Singapore based tank ship, Stolt Vision, reportedly sustained a rupture to the starboard fuel tank located beneath the water surface while lowering its anchor at approximately 5:50 p.m. Sept. 27. A Coast Guard helicopter crew from Air Station Savannah conducted an over flight of the area at approximately 8:00 p.m., and confirmed an oil sheen approximately two-miles long and 60-feet wide. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Savannah, Station Tybee Island, Ga., and Air Station Savannah are responding to the incident.

Gas exports from the Kvitebjørn field in the North Sea started on 27 January, after successful repairs to the gas pipeline between the platform and the Kollsnes processing plant near Bergen. The repair work has gone according to plan and the subsequent testing has shown that the pipeline is now ready for use. The Kvitebjørn platform could therefore resume production of gas and condensate on 27 January. The Visund field, which uses the same pipeline, has also resumed gas exports.

Telephone lines in the Egyptian northcoast town of Port Fouad went dead this weekend after a Tunisian ship sliced cables while trying to avoid an oncoming ferry, police said. The ship's anchor cut through phone cables as the crew tried to move it out of the way of the passenger ferry at the harbor of Port Fouad, 170 km (100 miles) northeast of Cairo. - (Reuters)

The Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus (CSC) co-chaired by Representatives Gene Taylor (D-MS) and Jo Ann Davis (R-VA), met with ship component manufacturers on the impact that low rates of naval shipbuilding have had on their companies and the challenges confronting the ship manufacturing industrial base. The ship manufacturers that met with the Caucus included: Mr. Craig Hansen of BWXT/ Babcock and Wilcox in Mount Vernon, IN; Mr. Walter Herr of Fairbanks Morse Engine in Beloit, WI; Mr. Roy Arnold of IMECO, Inc. in Iron Mountain, MI; Mr. Michael Stobbart of Lister Chain and Forge, Inc. in Blaine, WA; and Mr. Terry Sterling of Nelson Stud Welding in Elyria, OH.

Contracted divers for Houston-based Plains All American Pipeline began assessing damage to a ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil pipeline Sunday after the U.S. Coast Guard sealed the break. The rupture, first denoted by a drop in pipeline pressure on Christmas Eve, occurred about 30 miles southeast of Galveston. The leak has spilled an estimated 44,500 gallons of medium crude oil, according to a Coast Guard press release. Plains Pipeline will review it's operational records to determine whether the Coast Guard's spill amount estimate is accurate, company spokesman Jordan Janak said. None of the oil has washed ashore, and weather conditions are dispersing the spill and nudging the leftover sheen away from the coast, the Coast Guard press release states.

Coast Guard Lt. Ronald Fogan and Petty Officer 2nd Class Josh Hobson review the voyage data recorder of the cruise ship Ecstasy, while some of the ship’s officers look on. The Coast Guard received a report that the Ecstasy, currently housing New Orleans Police Department officers, had broken free from its moorings at the Poland Street Wharf and was drifting down the Mississippi River near downtown New Orleans. Fogan, a foreign vessel inspector, and Hobson, a marine investigator, were dispatched from Coast Guard Sector New Orleans to investigate. There were no reported injuries or marine accidents in association with the incident. The incident remains under investigation by Coast Guard Sector New Orleans. U.S. The Coast Guard responded to the report of an 855-ft.