DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2009 – 144 Number 144 *** COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS *** Wednesday 27-05-2009 News reports received from readers and Internet News articles taken from various news sites. VLIERODAM WIRE ROPES Ltd. wire ropes, chains, hooks, shackles, webbing slings, lifting beams, crane blocks, turnbuckles etc. Nijverheidsweg 21 3161 GJ RHOON The Netherlands Telephone: (+31)105018000 (+31) 105015440 (a.o.h.) Fax : (+31)105013843 Internet & E-mail www.vlierodam.nl [email protected] The ITC tug SUMATRAS seen connecting up to the BISSO 350 in Rotterdam-Botlek Photo : Nico Ouwehand © Distribution : daily 7975+ copies worldwide Page 1 www.maasmondmaritime.com/Inschrijven.aspx DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2009 – 144 Your feedback is important to me so please drop me an email if you have any photos or articles that may be of interest to the maritime interested people at sea and ashore PLEASE SEND ALL PHOTOS / ARTICLES TO : [email protected] If you don't like to receive this bulletin anymore, kindly send an e-mail with the word “unsubscribe” in the subject line to [email protected], after receipt of this e-mail I will remove you from the distribution list soon as possible EVENTS, INCIDENTS & OPERATIONS SVITZER OCEAN TOWAGE Jupiterstraat 33 Telephone : + 31 2555 627 11 2132 HC Hoofddorp Telefax : + 31 2355 718 96 The Netherlands E-mail: [email protected] www : www.svitzer-coess.com Cruise ship stuck in swine flu scare ABOUT 4000 cruise ship passengers and 900 crew were left in limbo after a swine flu scare forced their ocean liner to be quarantined in Sydney Harbour for almost seven hours. The Dawn Princess docked at Wharf 8 early but the 2000 disembarking passengers were forced to stay on board after health cards showed two people had recently recovered from influenza type A, a possible indication of swine flu. NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said last night that tests had come back negative for influenza A of any type, including human swine influenza. "Passengers from the cruise ship who presented with mild influenza like illnesses and were tested by public health officials today have since been contacted [about] their test results, which are negative for human swine influenza," Dr Chant said. A statement released by the NSW Health Department said the results meant that all passengers of the Dawn Princess could be released from voluntary home and hotel isolation. The drama came as a 15-year-old schoolboy in Melbourne was confirmed yesterday as the 14th case of swine flu in Australia NSW Health authorities screened the ship, which arrived from Hawaii and had been due to depart for Noumea at 4pm. The body of one passenger was removed from the ship in Sydney but authorities quickly scuttled rumours that the person had died from swine flu. Sandy Olsen, a spokeswoman for Carnival Corporation, which owns the ship, said the death was heart-related but could not confirm at what point during the journey the person died. A second passenger was taken by ambulance to a Sydney hospital, but both Ms Olsen and NSW Health said the person was not suffering from a respiratory illness. Distribution : daily 7975+ copies worldwide Page 2 www.maasmondmaritime.com/Inschrijven.aspx DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2009 – 144 The first passengers were allowed off the ship just after 6pm but were told to stay in Sydney and avoid unnecessary contact with others. Passengers were expected to board the ship about 10pm but it was unclear what time it would sail out of Sydney. Morrie Adamson, of Canberra, had been waiting to board the Dawn Princess from 2pm. "They have been very good with information but the health authorities have been procrastinating," he said. "There has been no mention of swine flu but the rumour is that someone [on the ship] is very ill." Kevin Wilkie, Beverley Ford and Judy Arnold were held behind yellow tape in quarantine at the departure terminal. Each had ticked a box on health forms that day indicating they had displayed symptoms of flu, including a runny nose, a slight cough and vomiting, the latter of which Mrs Arnold attributed to altitude sickness she suffered from her flight from Queensland. Many of the hundreds of passengers waiting to embark complained they had paid for a meal that night and would not be receiving it. Ms Olsen said: "We have a standard operating procedure with the NSW Department of Health that we report any flu, irrespective of what it is." Source: The Sydney Morning Herald 2 ships' crew hit for not helping capsized boat For allegedly refusing to help passengers of capsized banca off Batangas, the crew of two motor boats would be included in the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) probe on the sea tragedy last Saturday. Coast Guard commandant Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo also said they have started tracking the captain and crew of the ill-fated banca "Commando 6." "Ang dalawang barko na dumaan, kasama sa investigation. Lahat na di tumulong kasama sa investigation ng Coast Guard," Tamayo said in an interview on dzXL radio. [The crew of the two vessels that refused to help will be included in the investigation. All those who refused to help will be investigated.] Earlier reports said two bancas passed by the capsized "Commando 6" but ignored calls for help, and that some of the passengers of the passing boat even took photos and videos of the disabled sea vessel. In a separate interview on dzBB, Tamayo said they have started tracking down the crew of the "Commando 6," who he said have made themselves “scarce." Tamayo said even the owner of the banca, Renato Ylagan, has not showed up to face the investigation. On the other hand, he said he has relieved the Coast Guard personnel on duty at the port that was supposed to have inspected the ill-fated vessel. He said those relieved include Chief Petty Officer Nolasco Ramirez, PO3 James Laurelles, PO2 Isabelo Dimapiles, PO2 Leonardo Gallago, and Seaman First Julius Panopio. "Sa aming panig kailangan imbestigahan ang procedure ng boarding team, sila ay relieved for investigation [We will investigate the procedure of the boarding team. They are relieved from their duties pending the investigation]," he said. Tamayo said the investigation would also focus on why the "Commando 6" submitted two passenger manifests before leaving port last Saturday.The first manifest indicated the boat had eight passengers, but the second indicated it had 42. Commodore Cecil Chen, head of the Coast Guard's Southern Luzon unit, said there were 50 survivors and 12 dead, indicating an excess of 20 passengers. Interviewed on dzXL radio, Chen also pointed out the "Commando 6" was authorized to carry only 42 passengers. Source : GMANews.TV Distribution : daily 7975+ copies worldwide Page 3 www.maasmondmaritime.com/Inschrijven.aspx DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2009 – 144 200 Somalische piraten zweren piraterij af Ongeveer tweehonderd piraten zouden de piraterij hebben afgezworen. Dat gebeurde tijdens een bijeenkomst in het noorden van Somalië, meldde de BBC maandag. Woordvoerder Abshir Abdullah van de piraten liet weten dat alle schepen en bemanningsleden in hun handen nu zullen worden vrijgelaten. De zeerovers komen steeds meer onder druk van lokale leiders te staan om hun lucratieve verdiensten op te geven, omdat zij door de piraterij hun gemeenschappen zouden corrumperen. De piraten deden hun belofte in een ontmoeting met lokale leiders en Somalische ballingen in Eyl, in de autonome regio Puntland. Eyl is een bolwerk van piraten. In de Golf van Aden en voor de oostkust van Somalië werden dit jaar al 114 pogingen gedaan om een schip te kapen. In totaal waren 29 pogingen van piraten succesvol. The tug VLIELAND seen with the TORM ALEXANDRA arriving in Buchanan (Liberia) where the cargo ship will be scrapped, the ship was laying for years in the port of Monrovia where see capsized during loading, finally after 8 years an USA/Swiss firm raised the wreck in the port and Martrade BV of Sliedrecht chartered the tug VLIELAND in cooperation with Worldwise Marine Brokers of IJmuiden for towage of the ill-fated vessel from Monrovia to Buchanan The VLIELAND towed the wreck to the scrap side where they safely arrived May 24th Photo : Capt Piet Ottosen – Master Vlieland © More Iran warships to counter Somali pirates Six Iranian warships and logistic vessels will join an international armada fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden. The deployment is in line with international efforts to curb piracy in the pirate-infested waters, which have seen over 220 ships falling victim to hijacking over the past two years. The commander of the Iranian Navy, Real-Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, said on Monday that "six warships and support vessels have been dispatched to the Gulf of Aden region and international waters." Adm. Sayyari called this long-range mission thousands of kilometers away from base "unprecedented" in Iranian naval history, and saw it as proof of the country's military abilities, ISNA reported. Distribution : daily 7975+ copies worldwide Page 4 www.maasmondmaritime.com/Inschrijven.aspx DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2009 – 144 Another Iranian warship has already joined an international fleet -- consisting of vessels from the US, Denmark, Russia, Italy and other countries -- to create a security corridor in the bandit-ridden waters. The Islamic Republic's first deployment came after Somali pirates hijacked the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship, Delight, operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) in the Gulf of Aden in November, 2008. The latest incident involving an Iranian ship came in March when the pirates attacked an Iranian vessel for what they called illegal fishing in the northern semi-autonomous region of Puntland.