MV.UNIORDER

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

After Tampa longshoreman's death, 609-foot ship has become a phantom

On Oct. 23, 2012, Gilmore stood on the deck of the 609-foot-long vessel docked at Port Tampa Bay when rigging lifting 2 tons of piping above his head suddenly gave way. Gilmore, 56, moving to avoid being crushed, fell 15 feet into the ship's hold as the cargo crashed atop him. He died at the scene. It wasn't long before the Honesty Ocean left Tampa waters never to return. Attorneys for Gilmore's widow said that may not be a coincidence. The ship has remained away from U.S. waters as they have worked, fruitlessly so far, to get the owners of the vessel to respond to a negligence lawsuit filed in federal court last year. Last month, the widow filed suit in Hillsborough Circuit Court. The attorney for Gilmore's widow, Jo Ann Gilmore, 61, of St. Petersburg, said parts of a sling used to carry the pipes were badly frayed and should not have been used to carry the heavy load. Gilmore, whose husband also was the pastor of Divine Worship House of God in St. Petersburg, could not be reached Wednesday. Tampa lawyer David Pope said he thinks the owners of the ship — he believes they are based in China — might be trying to evade legal liability. And on the high sea, identity can seem hopelessly anonymous — even in an age of sophisticated computer networks — with international waters being a haven for outlaw mariners. http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/after-tampa-longshoremans-death-609-foot-ship-has-become-a-phantom/2252671

Sold

Sold to greek buyers for $8.20M

One dead, one injured in crash of steel pipes

A St. Petersburg man was killed and a co-worker was badly hurt after a load of steel pipes fell on them onboard the "Honesty Ocean" in the Port of Tampa in the afternoon of Oct 23, 2012. The second man from Tampa suffered non-life threatening injuries and was flown to a local trauma center at Tampa General Hospital. Two other men were not injured. OSHA has been notified. Fire rescue units were dispatched about 4 p.m. to berth 201, where the "Honesty Ocean" was docked. The men had been working as stevedores for the International Longshoreman's Association were at the bottom of the ship's cargo bundling 4-inch steel pipes for a crane to lift them from the cargo hold when a strap on the bundle broke causing the pipes to crash down upon all four men. Crews were moving the pipes in 1-ton bundles at the time. They were moving about 10 bundles at a time when the straps gave way and dropped that bundle onto the deck of the ship, on to the dock and back inside the hull of the ship where the workers were working to bundle the material to have it removed from the ship itself. The pipes that came back crashing down into the cargo hole came down at many different angles and many different sides causing a very unstable and uneven platform for the emergency workers to work in in order to reach those two that were trapped. The "Honesty Ocean" had come from Houston. Report with photos: http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2012/oct/23/3/two-people-trapped-by-fallen-pipes-in-ship-in-tamp-ar-541990/