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Panama Canal operating "normally" after collision

Panama City, Jan 25 (EFE).- The Panama Canal is operating normally and was not affected by the sinking of a Venezuelan-flagged cargo ship that collided with another vessel at the Caribbean entrance to the interoceanic waterway, administrators said Monday. "The sinking of this vessel is not affecting the operations or traffic in the aquatic waterway," said the Panama Canal Authority, or ACP, in an official statement. The sinking of the VFM Alita, which was not carrying cargo at the time of the accident since it was at anchor awaiting scrapping, took place a week ago in the "external anchorage in the Atlantic," the Panama Maritime Authority said over the weekend, although the ACP made no comment on the matter until Monday. The VFM Alita, 106 meters (about 348 feet) long and with a draft of 5.5 meters (18 feet), was built in 1986 and collided with another vessel and suffered a hull breach. The crew, the size of which is not precisely known, abandoned ship before it sank and nobody was injured in the incident. "The vessel is lying on the sea bottom, resting on its port (left) side," the ACP said. "For the security of this vessel and of the traffic around it, the area has been marked by two spherical yellow buoys, with their respective night signals." The ACP said that ships transiting the Canal should exercise caution and "avoid the marked area." http://www.laprensasa.com/309_america-in-english/3582808_panama-canal-operating-normally-after-collision.html

Investigation into collision launched - ship victim of looters in 2015

after the sinking of the "VFM Alita" in Caribbean waters off Colon, Panama, on Jan 22, 2016, the Panama Maritime Authority launched an investigation into the cause of the collision. No injuries to the crew members were reported. On June 8, 2015, a group of five pirates had attempted to hijack the "VFM Alita" while it was anchored, trying to loot the valuables near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. The two crew members onboard the ship were held for approximately two hours while the thieves searched the vessel for valuables. Panama’s National Air-Naval Service (SENAN) dispatched a coastal patrol boat to investigate the incident. They found five assailants aboard the cargo vessel, which included four adults and one child. The pirates were brought aboard the patrol boat and transferred to the Christopher Columbus SENAN naval base to be processed by authorities. At that time, the "VFM Alita" was already laid up since the previous year year under the Venezuelan owner Reports with photos and video: http://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/163156/hijacking-attempt-of-panamanian-ship-pending-scrapping/ http://viswa.mfame.guru/hijacking-thwarted-by-panamanian-authorities/ http://www.marinelink.com/news/venezuelan-alita-ship403926.aspx http://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/181481/cargo-ship-sinks-after-collision-in-panama-canal/ http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/video-cargo-vessel-vfm-alita-sinks-off-panama http://equilibrioinformativo.com/2016/01/canal-de-panam-opera-con-normalidad-tras-hundimiento-de/ https://www.lapatilla.com/site/2016/01/24/barco-con-bandera-venezolana-se-hundio-en-el-canal-de-panama/

General cargo ship VMF Alita sank off Colon, Panama

The general cargo ship VMF Alita sank off Colon, Panama. The ship was anchored off the port for some time and sold for scrap, but on Friday morning collided with another anchoring vessel, which caused hole above the waterline and water ingress. The ship increased list to port board to 40-45 degrees and partially is under the water with big danged of capsizing. During the accident on board of the ship there were just a few crew members, who succeeded to abandon VMF Alita without injuries. The Ship continue to get water ingress and partially sank, but authorities dispatched two tug to assist with salvage if still possible. Fortunately there is no injured people and water pollution during the accident. The cargo vessel was anchored off Panama several weeks and waiting to be scrapped, with just a few seamen on board. The collision was caused by another cargo vessel, which was maneuvering to drop anchor off Colon, but the strong current and winds caused hitting the port side of general cargo ship VMF Alita and damaging her hull. The authorities started investigation for the root cause of the accident and will monitor for oil spill and water pollution. http://www.newsmaritime.com/2016/general-cargo-ship-vmf-alita-sank-off-colon-panama/