BULK-JUPITER

scrapped

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Cause of loss of bulker and its crew found

The reason why the "Bulk Jupiter" sank on Jan 2 off Vietnam has been found out by the Bahamas Maritime Authority which published a report on Aug 18: The dry cargo, which was on board, was so humid that it was floating and made the ship unstable. The Gearbulk company cooperated fully with the flag state Bahamas to uncover the circumstances of the accident. High fluid levels in the load changed the initially dry character and it became liquid, started to slosh around in the cargo holds and caused the ship to heel so much that it capsized. The ship was loaded with bauxite, which is not really danger but must contain less than 10 percent moisture. The charterer, Singaporean Winning International, which had a time charter contract with the ship, refused to cooperate with the maritime authorities. The company Gear Bulk put a lot of resources in the search for survivors of the shipwreck, including sending four of its own ships through the area where they could find survivors. Full report with photos: http://www.bahamasmaritime.com/downloads/Reports%20-%202001%20to%20date/Bulk%20Jupiter%20Final%20Report.pdf

Sinking of ship carrying Malaysian bauxite raises moisture concerns

Marine insurers have issued warnings about the risk of shipping bauxite in case excess moisture liquefies the cargo and makes it unstable after a ship carrying a Malaysian shipment of the ore sank last month. The capsize and sinking of the Bulk Jupiter off Vietnam in January, with only one survivor, has raised concerns among some shipowners about a systematic risk in bauxite processing from the region's mines. Industry sources said so far this had caused only minor disruptions to Malaysian shipments from Kuantan port and was unlikely to derail a ramp-up in exports. "At this moment, there's no issue at all. The vessels are lining up at the ports (in Kuantan), awaiting to load bauxite," said Johnny Wong, a director at Kuantan-based bauxite miner Ideal Mineral Resources Sdn Bhd. http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2015/02/11/Sinking-of-ship-carrying-Malaysian-bauxite-raises-moisture-concerns/?style=biz

Search scaled down

The search for the missing crew of the "Bulk Jupiter" was continued through the weekend, but as nothing was found, was scaled down by the Vietnamese authorities and most resources withdrawn. After the ship sent out a distress signal late on Jan 1, so far, two men have been recovered dead, one of them is identified as the captain, and only the cook found alive. Ships were asked to continue to keep sharp lookout when they are passing the area where the ship went down. The Malaysian Rescue was alerted, and oil installations were asked to keep looking if there was something that drifted nearby. After the Gearbulk Company has fully focussed on finding survivors, they now must begin ato look at what might have happened. The cook has not been able to give any explanation of what happened when the ship sank on a water depth of 800-1000 meters 150 nautical miles from the coast of Vietnam. The bulker had 19 Filipino crew members on board when it left Malaysia.