The Dutch Safety Board has launched an investigation into the collision between the 'Containerships Nord' and the 'Beringzee' on the Western Scheldton May 30. The Board wants to learn from the accident in order to contribute to safer shipping. The container ship had hit the inland vessel at the stern. one crew member of the 'Beringzee' fell overboard. The captain managed to rescue the sailor from the water single-handedly. He then brought a seriously injured person to safety from a part of the ship that was taking on water. Thanks to help from nearby ships, the tanker was quickly stabilised. The crew members were taken to hospital for check-ups- The wheelhouse and the cabin of the ship were completely flooded amd destroyed.
News
CHIEFTAIN
The 'Chieftain', serving on tthe route Gourock-Kilcreggan, suffered a technical issue with the starboard side main engine in Gourock on the afternoon of July 2. As a consequence, the scheduled sailings from Gourock at 5:30 p.m. and at 5:50 p.m. from Kilcreggan have been cancelled. After the issue was resolved, the vessel resumed its service with the 6:18 p.m. sailing from the port of Gourock.
Rio de Janeiro
The Mexican tank m/v ’Irmã Dulce’, 72900 dwt (IMO: 9548691), which was under construction at Estalairo Maua in Rio de Janeiro, suffered water ingress in the engine room and aft peak in the night of May 4, 2020. The stern came to rest on bthe bottom at a water depth of four to five meters. The accident was apparently caused by a leaking valve. In the afternoon of May 5 divers managed to stabilize the ship. It was the second of a series of four for Transpetro and was launched in 2014. The order for all three ships still under construction was later canceled. The Panamax had currently been 95% completed. Report with photo: https://splash247.com/near-complete-brazilian-tanker-newbuild-sinks-at-pier/ .
Port Elizabeth
On May 2, 2020, at 08.50 a.m. the NSRI Port Elizabeth duty crew and EC Government Health EMS were activated by the Transnet National Ports Authority to respond to rendezvous with a bulk carrier approaching Port Elizabeth from Cape Town to attend to a 52 year old Iraqi crew member onboard the ship suffering an emergency medical condition, not Covid-19 related. The sea rescue craft 'Spirit of Toft' was launched accompanied by an EMS rescue paramedic and rendezvoused with the ship seven miles East of Cape Recife. The EMS rescue paramedic and an NSRI rescue swimmer were transferred onto the ship and the patient was found to be in a critical condition. The paramedic took over emergency medical treatment from the ships medical crew and the patient, secured into a stokes basket stretcher, was transferred onto the sea rescue craft and the EMS paramedic and NSRI medics continued with medical care onboard the sea rescue craft while the patient was brought to the NSRI Port Elizabeth sea rescue base and in the care of paramedics he was transported to hospital by EMS ambulance. Despite extensive efforts by hospital medical staff the patient passed away.
BERINGZEE
The Dutch Safety Board has launched an investigation into the collision between the 'Containerships Nord' and the 'Beringzee' on the Western Scheldton May 30. The Board wants to learn from the accident in order to contribute to safer shipping. The container ship had hit the inland vessel at the stern. one crew member of the 'Beringzee' fell overboard. The captain managed to rescue the sailor from the water single-handedly. He then brought a seriously injured person to safety from a part of the ship that was taking on water. Thanks to help from nearby ships, the tanker was quickly stabilised. The crew members were taken to hospital for check-ups- The wheelhouse and the cabin of the ship were completely flooded amd destroyed.
LOCHINVAR
The 'Lochinvar', serving on the route Lochaline-Fishnish, suffered a technical issue with the aft ramp in Lochaline on the morning of July 3. As a consequence, the scheduled departures at 07:00 a.m. from Lochaline at 07:25 from Fishnish have been cancelled. The ferry resumed its service with the 07:45 a.m. sailing from Lochaline. The vessel was, however, operating single ended until further notice. Vehicles will be required to reverse on or off the vessel.
Libreville
22 and 36 nautical miles Northwest of Libreville the latest acts of piracy occurred in positions 00° 30.50’N 009°06.21’E and 00° 55.24N 009° 08 09E and involved two fishing trawlers named 'amerger II' and 'Amerger VIIÄ – the first taking place 20 nautical miles off Libreville and the second 36 n.miles off Libreville. Both incidents involved a single speedboat described as a skiff powered by three engines and having 13 pirates on board. The pirates were reported as being English-speakers which gives rise to suspicions of them being of Nigerian origin, despite this being some distance from Nigeria. The boarding of each trawler resulted in three of the crew from each vessel being kidnapped. The nationalities of those kidnapped are reported as three Indonesian, two Senegalese, and one South Korean.
Durban
On May 3, 2020, at 10.15 a.m. the NSRI Durban launched the sea rescue craft 'Alick Rennie' to transport a ShipsMed doctor to a bulk carrier at the outer anchorage off-shore of the Port of Durban. The Port Health Authorities had arranged for the doctor to take sample swabs from a crewman onboard the ship, which is due to enter Port, for Covid-19 laboratory testing prior to the ship being granted permission to enter Port. Observing all Covid-19 Department of Health and Port Health Authority safety regulations and protocols on arrival at the ship the doctor was transferred onto the ship and sample swabs were collected from the crewman. The doctor returned to the sea rescue craft accompanied by the samples that he had collected and he was brought into Durban Port without incident. Port Health Authorities evaluated the samples to determine safe passage for the ship to enter Port. The operation completed at 11.40 a.m.
GT WIN
The Public Prosecutor in Singapore was proceeding with a case against the master, chief officer, and the pump master of the 'GT Win', fo the death of a crew member on May 11, 2024, after he entered a tank that had not been properly vented and inspected. The pump master pleaded guilty on July 2, 2025, to one count of acts endangering the life of the crew member. The chemical tanker had offloaded a cargo of naphtha and the moved to the Singapore anchorage, where the chief officer, Dao Tien Manh, ordered three crew members to clean the emptied tanks, although he failed to check the oxygen levels and did not carry out the necessary safety checks. Further, he instructed the pump master, Le Thanh Dung, to make modifications to the mask of the breathing apparatus. He connected the mask’s hose to an air bottle on deck, which prosecutors called impractical, noting space constraints at a staircase. One of the crew members, Hoang Van Chau, became unconscious while working in one of the tanks. Chau was found unconscious inside tank 6 instead of tank 4, which had not been declared gas-free before he entered the tank. The crew attempted CPR and requested emergency medical assistance from shore. Chau was pronounced deceased at a local hospital, dying from exposure to volatile hydrocarbons. Dung later admitted to the false information in two written statements provided to investigators. He further told investigators that he showed the modified mask to the vessel’s master, Nguyen Duc Nghi. He contended the master threw the mask into the sea, and told the crew to lie about it to the police so that Chau’s family would get the insurance money. The pump master, was sentenced to three months and two weeks in jail after his guilty plea. The cases against the master and chief officer for their role in the death were still pending in the Singapore courts.
GAMECHO
A fishing vessel located a boat, which was drifting bottom up two nautical miles off Malasmañas on July 3, 2025. The CCS Santaner of Salvamento Marítimo was notified and mobilized the SAR boat 'Salvamar Deneb' to investigate the matter. Once on scene, the crew confirms that it was an auxiliary vessel of the 'Gamecho', which was notified and recovers the lost boat.
Port Elizabeth
On April 30, 2020, at 11.15 a.m. the NSRI Port Elizabeth duty crew were alerted by TNPA (Transnet National Ports Authority) requesting assistance to evacuate a Filipino crew member of a bunkering tanker at anchorage off-shore of the Port of Port Elizabeth. The man required transportation to a dentist as soon as possible and considering the Covid-19 lockdown the Port Health Authorities advised the tasking of NSRI to carry out the operation, taking into consideration that NSRI are well prepared for all Covid-19 Department of Health protocols, regulations and precautions. At 1 p.m. the sea rescue craft 'JLT Rescuer' was launched and rendezvoused with the tanker thre miles off Port Elizabeth in calm seas. The patient was transferred onto the sea rescue craft and he was brought to shore and transported to a dentist appointment by the ships agent. At 3.30 p.m. the patient returned to the Port of Port Elizabeth and he boarded our sea rescue craft JLT Rescuer and we transported him back to the ship and returned to base without incident.
Grenaa
After the gas explosion aboard the Danish dredger vessel ‘Grete Fighter‘, 582 gt (IMO: 7944762), on April 23 in the port of Grenå,the Grenaa Shipyard has not yet received a report from the Labor Inspectorate on the cause of the accident which was thought to be be due to gas emissions or diesel fumes. However, the yard has already chosen to tighten security in several areas. On April 28, a joint meeting was held where staff and management discussed what they could do to be 100 percent sure the accident cannot recur. It was decided to buy a lot of technical equipment to prevent such an explosion in the future, and some new procedures for this type of work will be intrduced. The two survivors of the accident were in critical condition.