Marine

Citation

(2001), "Marine", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 10 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.2001.07310eac.001

Marine

Marine

27 March 2001 – Kristal (Malta)

M tanker Kristal was not loaded in accordance with her approved loading manual before her final voyage, which ended in the death of 11 seafarers when she sank off north-east Spain, sources close to the casualty investigation have claimed. The investigation is focusing on loading as the most likely of several possible contributory factors behind the loss. The theory is that incorrect loading may have placed severe stress on the hull and caused the vessel to break in two. Other factors such as heavy weather on the day she sank probably played a part too, sources said. Iain Cain, chief executive of the vessel's manager IC Shipping, said loading issues were still under investigation. It is one of the theories going round, he said. According to sources, loading documents show that the tanker's No. 4 centre tank was full before her last voyage, when the loading manual detailed that it should have been empty. The same was true for the vessel's No. 6 wing tanks. Additionally, procedures for loading molasses outlined within the approved loading manual stated that No. 7 wing tanks should have been full. They were empty, the sources said. That, they added, could have placed the vessel under 50 percent more stress than the allowable safety margin, though they emphasized that this had yet to be proved. Investigators said that survivors from Kristal reported a sudden and clean break, indicating a brittle fracture. It is understood that representatives from all the major parties involved in the incident including classification society Rina, IC Shipping and flag state Malta will shortly meet in Spain at the request of the Spanish maritime authorities to monitor a series of tests which investigators hope will substantiate or dispel the theory that bad loading was a root cause of the casualty. The possibility of operational issues playing a part in the vessel's loss could raise legal questions about the validity of the vessel's protection and indemnity cover, arranged with the London Steamship Owners Mutual Insurance Association. P&I costs will centre principally around compensation for crew death, injury and repatriation, the level of which will depend on employment contracts. The cargo owner, United Molasses, a subsidiary of UK sugar giant Tate & Lyle, is likely to claim the estimated $2 million value of the vessel's cargo of 28,000 tonnes of molasses from the cargo insurer. United Molasses would not comment on whether it would seek recompense from the vessel's owner and P&I club.

30 March 2001 – Kursk (Russia)

Dutch shipping group Smit Internationale NV said today it expected to win a multi-million dollar order with consortium partners soon to salvage nuclear submarine Kursk from the Arctic seabed. "If the Kursk will be lifted, I am convinced that we will get the contract with (consortium partners) Halliburton and Heerema", Smit's chief executive Nico Buis told a news conference. The Kursk plunged to the bottom of the Barents Sea in August last year, killing all 118 sailors on board, after explosions ripped her hull. The 150m vessel has remained at the bottom of the sea, 100m below the surface, ever since. "The latest news is that a contract is upcoming and that there is money available, but we haven't signed anything yet", Buis said. A Kursk contract would be worth about $70-$90 million, he added. In January, the consortium of Smit, US group Halliburton and unlisted Dutch firm Heerema presented plans to recover the Kursk and tow it into port under a giant barge to prevent a potential environmental disaster.

1 May 2001 – Russian and western officials are to sign a contract for a major operation to lift the stricken nuclear submarine Kursk next month, the head of the Rubin Construction Company, Igor Spassky, announced today. The deal will be signed by representatives of Rubin and an international consortium which includes the US-Norwegian Halliburton and two other Dutch companies, ITAR-TASS news agency quoted Spassky as saying. Russian officials said earlier that work would begin in late August or early September on raising the submarine, which sank last August in still unexplained circumstances, with the loss of all 118 crew. Plans to salvage the submarine have been hindered by protracted difficulties in raising the $80 million needed for the operation. Russia is expected to provide around one-third of the salvage costs, with a Brussels-based fund-raising group, the Kursk Foundation, providing the rest. Spassky said the technical and financial difficulties had now been settled apart from some minor legal questions, ITAR-TASS said.

9 May 2001 – A defective torpedo may have caused the tragedy aboard the nuclear submarine Kursk which sank in the Barents Sea last August with the loss of all 118 crew. A Commission of Inquiry source says the Russian Navy had been unable to lift the torpedo off the submarine before its departure because of a broken crane. The torpedo apparently exploded on board the vessel inside the firing tube, causing a second explosion in the torpedo section two minutes later. Russian Vice-admiral Valery Dorogin, a member of the Commission of Inquiry into the fatal accident, confirmed that two powerful torpedo explosions occurred on the submarine the day of the tragedy. But he said the reason for the first explosion remained unclear.

14 May 2001 – A Russian official said that the sunken nuclear submarine Kursk would be raised by 20 September, the Interfax news agency reported. Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, who heads the commission investigating the tragedy, said the complex operation would take about three months, Interfax reported. The government has not released any official explanation of what caused the disaster. Most foreign experts say the most likely cause was an internal malfunction, such as a torpedo misfiring, which caused an explosion in a forward compartment. However, the government has not officially ruled out the theory that the Kursk collided with another vessel, possibly a foreign submarine. The Russian government is supposed to share the cost, estimated at $70 million, with the Kursk Foundation, an international fund-raising group. The plan to lift the Kursk has provoked controversy in Russia. Some of the crewmen's families have said they would prefer to follow the naval tradition of burying their dead at sea.

15 May 2001 – Russia's intention, announced yesterday, to start lifting nuclear submarine Kursk from the sea bed next month, could be scuppered by a combination of practical and financial problems. Russia is reported to be ready to pay its share of the bill – but European funding depends on an agreement between the EU and the Russian authorities on a wider programme of nuclear environmental safety measures. An EU-Russia summit on Thursday 17 May is expected to iron out some obstacles holding up the Multinational Nuclear Environment Programme in the Russian Federation (MNEPR), but agreement is not expected until summer. Questions are also being asked about the chances of preparing the necessary specialist equipment in time to lift the wreck during the limited window of good weather in the Barents Sea this year. Russia says it is ready to pay the full amount – including half up front – but hopes half of the total sum will be reimbursed by foreign donors, including European states. The manager-in-chief of one of the Dutch companies participating in the operation said yesterday he was surprised by Russian officials' announcement that a contract would be signed in Russia this Sunday (20 May). Lars Walder, of the company Smit Tak, was quoted by Interfax as saying that he had not been notified of the intended meeting, and had received no guarantees of financing so far, apart from verbal statements. A report on the NTV television station from the northern port of Rostlyakovo, near Murmansk, said work to repair a floating dock which is intended to receive the Kursk would take six months. It also said the 38 million roubles needed to pay for the repairs had not yet been received.

18 May 2001 – The consortium, formed by Dutch firms Smit Internationale and Heerema and Halliburton of the USA, said it had been informed by the Russian Government that the multi-million dollar contract, to salvage nuclear submarine Kursk, would be given to another party. Halliburton's Norwegian operations, Norge Halliburton AS and Halliburton Subsea in Stavanger, led initial salvage efforts last autumn. Norwegian divers from Halliburton were among those retrieving the bodies of 12 seamen from the wreckage before bad weather forced suspension of the salvage. Halliburton, Smit and Heerema remained keen to complete the salvage, and the Dutch-led consortium continued to negotiate with the Russians despite delays and trouble securing financial guarantees. Serious financial concerns first surfaced last week but then the Russians appeared to want to proceed quickly. Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov said earlier this week that the job would be completed by late September. A statement from the consortium also indicated disagreements with the Russians over planning and safety standards. Smit officials said delays had meant the submarine could not be safely retrieved before June, 2002, because there would not be time to prepare for a safe operation during the important summer months. The job was too hazardous to perform during autumn or winter storms. The proposal for carrying out the project is based on international safety standards and demands careful preparation. Smit and Halliburton will make no concessions on this, the statement said. The contract was worth approximately US$60 million, according to a Smit spokesman. He said he did not know to which company it might be awarded. A radio report, today, said the job would be performed by a Russian firm and Mammut of The Netherlands, and that it would be delayed until next summer.

19 May 2001 – Russia signed a contract yesterday with a Dutch company to raise nuclear submarine Kursk, which sank to the bottom of the Barents Sea last year killing all 118 crew on board. Frans Van Seumeren, the president of Transport BV Mammoet's parent company, Van Seumeren, signed the contract yesterday with deputy chief of the Russian navy, Vice-admiral Mikhail Barskov, and the head of Russia's Rubin Submarine Design Bureau, Igor Spassky. Mammoet proposed raising the Kursk using a huge barge equipped with hydraulic lifting devices. Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov said the project cost less than $70 million. Klebanov said the project would begin in mid-July and the Kursk is scheduled to be raised to the surface 15 September. The contract foresees that the badly damaged front part of the submarine would be sliced off and that 20 holes will be pierced in the remaining hull, Klebanov said. Steel cables will be attached to those holes and hydraulic lifting devices will be used to raise the massive vessel to the surface. The barge will then tow it to shore. The lifting itself will take from eight to ten hours.

21 May 2001 – A Dutch consortium hopes to raise a 9 nuclear submarine Kursk and the remaining bodies of its 118-man crew from the seabed on 10 September – 13 months after the vessel exploded and sank in the Barents Sea, the company manager said today. Russia will pay a $16 million advance to Mammoet Transport BY to lift the submarine from a depth of 356ft, said Frans van Seumeren. The full cost of the task was not disclosed, but van Seumeren said Russia would make more payments at various times. The advance was to be paid this week. If bad weather forces the consortium to scrap the project, "we will just go home" without any commitment to complete the mission, said van Seumeren. Russian and Norwegian divers retrieved 12 bodies from the submarine last November, but their mission was called off because of rough weather and danger from broken equipment inside the submarine. There are two nuclear reactors on the vessel, which had an explosion on board during a training exercise on 12 August. Environmentalists have voiced concern over the danger of radiation leaks during a salvage operation, but the Russians have said the reactors automatically shut down before the submarine sank. Mammoet proposed raising the submarine using a huge barge equipped with 20 anchored hydraulic lifting devices. It will then be taken to the Russian port of Murmansk. It would only be after the submarine is lifted on to a dry dock at Murmansk that the bodies of the 106 crewmen would be retrieved, van Seumeren said. That would be the responsibility of the Russian Government. Divers will begin in June to sever the damaged front part of the submarine and attach cables to the hull. It will be September before the submarine will be hoisted up. The actual lifting will take 12-15 hours, and towing the vessel to Murmansk will require up to a week, said van Seumeren. The work will be done in a joint venture between Mammoet and Smit International.

26 May 2001 – The head of the Russian Navy yesterday announced that a lengthy investigation had revealed an explosion in a training torpedo led to the loss of the nuclear submarine Kursk last August. The motor of the torpedo contained "a combustible mixture which exploded, this is the conclusion of the government commission", navy chief Vladimir Kuroyedov said. The blast caused the first of two explosions which devastated the 18,000-tonne vessel in the Barents Sea, he said. Investigators would examine the wreck when it is raised around 10 September and towed to the port of Murmansk five days later, he said.

2 April 2001 Arctic Rose (USA)

Following received from Marine Safety Office, Anchorage, Alaska, timed 21.05, UTC: Refrigerated mfv Arctic Rose (199gt, built 1988), sank at 03.30, today, in latitude 588, 56.9N, longitude 1758 56.3W, about 130 miles north-west of St Paul Island. The home port of Arctic Rose was Seattle, but she was working out of Dutch Harbour.

A press report from Anchorage, Alaska, dated today, states: Refrigerated mfv Arctic Rose, with 15 persons on board, disappeared, early today, in the Bering Sea, and two bodies were spotted in the area later, according to Coast Guard Anchorage. An emergency position indicating radio beacon, from the vessel, began signalling at 03.30, in an area about 200 miles north-west of St Paul Island. A Coast Guard C-130 aircraft was launched to search for the vessel and arrived in the area at 08.30. The aircraft's crew spotted two bodies, but found no sign of the vessel.

3 April 2001 – A press report, dated today, states: Refrigerated mfv Arctic Rose, with 15 people on board, apparently sank in the Bering Sea in what may be one of the worst fishing disasters in Alaskan waters in nearly two decades. The body of one crew member from the vessel was recovered yesterday. Officials did not identify the victim. The Coast Guard planned to continue its search today but warned rescue efforts could be hampered by forecasts of 20-25-ft waves and 40 knot winds. The icebreaker Polar Star, carrying two helicopters, was due to arrive overnight, and a C-130 plane was to start searching the area at first light today. Searchers have so far spotted an oily sheen, an empty life raft, and six survival suits in the area, about 775 miles south-west of Anchorage, said Coast Guard Lt Stacie Fain. Earlier reports that the Coast Guard had recovered two bodies were incorrect, Fain said. The Arctic Rose went down early yesterday morning. The Coast Guard picked up an emergency locator beacon signal from the 92ft vessel at 03.30. There was no distress call from the crew before the signal, Coast Guard spokeswoman Marshalena Delaney said. The crew of the Arctic Rose had checked in with their sister ship, the Alaskan Rose, Sunday night (1 April). That was the last time anybody had heard from them, Delaney said. At the time, winds were reported to be 25 knots with 6-8ft seas, which are not unusual in the Bering Sea. The Arctic Rose, owned by Arctic Sole Seafoods of Seattle, was fishing for rock sole and other fish, said John Casperson, the company's vice president. A routine safety check of the vessel on 25 February turned up no violations.

4 April 2001 – A press report, dated today, states: As the search for the crew of a missing fishing vessel continued yesterday, the Coast Guard began investigating how mfv Arctic Rose sank before those on board even had time to radio for help. The bodies of two of the 15 crew members were found Monday (2 April) after the 92ft vessel went down in the Bering Sea, about 775 miles south-west of Anchorage. Rough seas prevented the recovery of one body. The only sign of trouble was a signal from the vessel's automatic emergency locator beacon at 03.30, 2 April. Cmdr John Bingaman said the abruptness of the vessel's disappearance suggested it sank because of a sudden loss of stability in the hold. "The higher the weight gets on the vessel, the more difficult it can be to maintain the vessel's stability", Bingaman said.

Anchorage, Alaska, a press report states: the Coast Guard continued an intense search yesterday for 14 missing crewmen of mfv Arctic Rose, which sank in the Bering Sea early Monday 2 April. Cold, rough weather was hampering the search. Mfv Alaskan Rose had to withdraw from the search area because of the threat of dangerous deck icing, whipped up by 42-knot winds and 25ft seas. The vessel was carrying the body of Arctic Rose master David Rundall, of Hawaii, who was retrieved from the water by the crew of Alaskan Rose Monday morning. As of 18.00 yesterday the Coast Guard said it had searched 2,500 square miles for the missing crew of Arctic Rose. The crew of Alaskan Rose told the Coast Guard they also located debris, an empty life raft and six survival suits.

5 April 2001 – A press report, dated today, states: The search for mfv Arctic Rose that sank without warning with 15 crew members aboard has been suspended, the Coast Guard said today. Efforts to find the 92ft vessel and the crew were halted shortly after 22.30 yesterday, well past the best-case survival time, the Coast Guard said in a news release early today. The searchers endured 25ft seas, 42-knot winds and low temperatures, the statement said. Heavy icing forced the sister ships Alaskan Rose and Bering Rose to leave the search area. The body of the skipper, David Rundall, 34, was recovered by the crew of the Alaskan Rose. The body of a second crew member was spotted but could not be recovered from the rough seas. Bodies of the other 13 crew members were not spotted. An oil sheen that is believed to have come from the catcher-processor was located and some debris was recovered yesterday, but no other trace of the vessel or crew was found, the statement said. The Coast Guard said there had been no formal determination that the missing crew members are presumed dead, but said the decision to call off the search anticipated such a finding. The search covered about 2,500 square miles, mostly in stormy weather. The Coast Guard has estimated that a crew member in a survival suit could survive for about 36hours in the 388 water, although some people have lasted longer. The first sign of distress was an emergency locator beacon that was triggered automatically. The Coast Guard will assemble a three-member marine board of investigation to try to determine the cause of the sinking, the statement said.

8 April 2001 – A press report, dated today, states: The US Coast Guard yesterday said it has opened an official probe into the sinking of mfv Arctic Rose off the coast of Alaska on 2 April that killed all 15 crew members. After vessel sank in the Bering Strait, Coast Guard cutters, airplanes, and helicopters scoured 2,500 square miles of the turbulent waters for more than 60 hours in a fruitless search for survivors. The Marine Board of Investigation, consisting of three Coast Guard officers, will try to determine what caused the vessel to sink. There was no distress call from the ship. An emergency beacon showed the vessel sank about 200 miles north-west of St Paul Island. "It's the biggest single loss of life on a commercial fishing vessel in the United States in 50 years", said Coast Guard Public Information Officer Dan Dewell, in Washington. The panel will be conducting hearings in Alaska and Seattle, Washington, but a schedule has yet to be worked out. The board expects to complete its investigation by October. The National Transportation Safety Board will also investigate the incident and will issue its own report, Dewell said.

15 April 2001 – A press report, dated 15 April, states: More than five hours passed between the activation of the emergency radio beacon of mfv Arctic Rose and the arrival of her sister-ship, mfv Alaskan Rose, which was about seven miles away. Once the Coast Guard was alerted, it tried unsuccessfully to reach the Alaskan Rose. Here is a timeline of what happened 2 April: At 03.28, AST: Multiple satellites pick up a transmission from an emergency position-indicating radio beacon. The US Mission Control Centre in Suitland, MD, translates it and forwards information to the Coast Guard in Juneau at 03.33. At 03.57, AST: the Coast Guard sends a message to the Arctic Rose and her sister-ship, the Alaskan Rose, via satellite telex: "Are you in distress?" No response from either vessel. About the same time, David Olney, owner of both vessels, was contacted and tried unsuccessfully to reach them. At 05.10, AST: A C-130 (Hercules) search aircraft leaves Kodiak, Alaska, roughly 800 miles east of the last known position of the Arctic Rose. At 05.30, AST: An emergency radio message is broadcast to all vessels in the area, stating Arctic Rose emergency beacon has been activated. There is no response. At 06.08, AST: A Coast Guard log notes Olney was unable to reach either vessel. At 08.07, AST: The C-130, roughly 100 miles out, makes initial contact with the Alaskan Rose and asks when she last heard from the Arctic Rose. The answer is that it was 22.30 the previous night. The Alaskan Rose tells the aircraft she will try to contact the Arctic Rose via telex. At 08.35, AST: The C-130 spots debris and locates the beacon in the water. At 09.12, AST: The Alaskan Rose finds the beacon in debris. At 10.15, AST: The crew retrieves the body of Arctic Rose Captain David Rundall. Attempts to resuscitate Rundall, who has on a partly zipped survival suit, are unsuccessful. At 10.30, AST: A second body is spotted in the water but it sinks before it can be recovered.

25 April 2001 – A press report, dated today, states: The mother of a Montana man who died when mfv Arctic Rose sank in the Bering Sea early this month sued, alleging the Seattle-based fishing vessel's operator was negligent. The wrongful death lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court by attorney Anthony Urie on behalf of Joan Branger, the mother of 20-year-old Shawn Bouchard, is the first legal action in the 2 April sinking, which claimed 15 lives. The suit seeks an unspecified amount of damages from Arctic Sole Seafood, which operated the vessel. The US Coast Guard has convened an investigation, scheduling a hearing in Seattle 12 June. Urie claims the company was negligent and put an unseaworthy vessel on the ocean, failing to warn the crew of problems. The lawsuit does not say what those problems were. Some former crewmen have said Arctic Rose was top-heavy and prone to roll after the processing factory was installed on the deck in 1992. Others have said she was no more problematic than any number of other such trawlers. "I have a theory that some of the negligence, and perhaps the proximate cause of the sinking, occurred before the vessel went to sea", Urie said yesterday. "If that's the case, they had a duty to warn these seamen." Urie is asking the judge, under maritime law, to presume the vessel was unseaworthy simply because "seaworthy vessels do not sink in calm seas". Under the Death on the High Seas Act, the surviving families can seek only pecuniary losses resulting from the death of a provider. The Act, if applicable, prevents them from claiming loss of consortium or damages for pain and suffering. If negligence is proven, however, some of these additional damages can be sought.

25 May 2001 – The Coast Guard officer heading the investigation into the deadly sinking of mfv Arctic Rose said he has seriously considered options for getting a glimpse of the doomed vessel now resting on the bottom of the Bering Sea. "I would certainly love to see the vessel", said Capt. Ron Morass, who is stationed in New Orleans. "We're kicking around ideas." Arctic Rose sank mysteriously on 2 April about 205 miles north-west of St Paul Island. All 15 crewmen were lost with only one body recovered, that of skipper Dave Rundall. With no survivors or witnesses to the sinking, or even any record of a distress call, the special Marine Board of Investigation looking into the sinking has a very tough job; what exactly happened to Arctic Rose? Board hearings into the tragedy begin on 12 June in Seattle, where the boat was home ported. Another round is tentatively slated for 9 July, in Anchorage. The panel of Coast Guard officers is focusing on talking to past crewmen, researching the boat's history, including alterations and maintenance, and mulling other ideas like raising the boat or examining her underwater. But raising or examining the vessel would be difficult. For one thing, the Coast Guard does not know exactly where she sits, Morris said. The night she went down, in weather believed to be relatively sedate for the tempestuous Bering Sea, the Coast Guard was alerted by the boat's emergency locator beacon left bobbing on the surface. While the position of that beacon is known, the exact resting place of the 103ft trawler is not. It is thought to lie under 400ft of remote and chill water, near a seabed formation known as the Zhemchug Canyon. The boat was fishing for flathead sole, a flounder-like bottom fish. "When a vessel sinks, it does strange things", Morris said. "It doesn't go straight down." Rather, a sinking boat tends to sail and flutter its way down, meaning the boat could have landed some distance from its last position on the surface. Still, Arctic Rose probably could be located with sonar, and conceivably she could even be raised. The wreck of the Arctic Rose, like the pieces from a jet plane crash, would be a great source of clues. But there are no plans to retrieve the boat. However, Morris said he has explored the possibly of looking at it with some sort of ROY, a remote-operated vehicle. "Seeing it might not give us the answers. But it might rule out some things", Morris said. "People need answers. Families need answers." The Seattle hearings, beginning 12 June, could last up to three weeks and will feature witnesses including the boat's owners, Coast Guard investigators, former crewmen and many others. A second hearing pencilled in for 9 July, in Anchorage, will be for Alaska-based witnesses, Morris said. Ultimately, the board will issue a report with its best ideas for what might have happened and how future sinkings could be prevented. The National Transportation Safety Board is doing a parallel investigation, Morris said. Investigators would like to hear from anyone with pertinent Arctic Rose knowledge or involvement, Morris said. In terms of lives lost, Arctic Rose remains the worst fishing vessel tragedy in the US Bering Sea since the early 1980s.

9 April 2001 – Ehmie Maru (Japan)

Japanese families of the nine victims of sunken m training stern trawler Ehime Maru decided today to call on the USA to leave the vessel at the bottom of the ocean. No reason was given. The families also agreed to call off the search for crew members and students lost when US nuclear submarine Greeneville hit and sank the vessel in February, Ehime government spokesman Gov Moriyuki Kato said yesterday. A US Navy source said Thursday (5 April) the Navy had planned to raise the Ehime Maru this summer. Kato said the families told him they will agree to an end to the search after the US Navy told the prefectural government in western Japan that it wants to hold a briefing on compensating the families.

12 April 2001 – US nuclear submarine Greeneville has returned to sea for the first time since its fatal collision with m training stern trawler Ehime Maru on 9 February. The submarine left Pearl Harbour yesterday for sea trials which were expected to take a day or two, Pacific Fleet spokesman Jon Yoshishige said. The submarine was scheduled to deploy in June for six months to the Western Pacific, but the decision is under review, Yoshishige said. Greeneville was in dry dock at Pearl Harbor until earlier this month to undergo $2 million in repairs to its rubber exterior. Nine people on board Ehime Maru died when Greeneville rammed the vessel during a rapid-surfacing drill demonstration for a group of civilians. A three-admiral panel investigating the collision is expected to issue its findings and recommendations to Admiral Thomas Fargo, commander of the Pacific Fleet, as early as this weekend (14-15 April). Fargo has 30 days to review the report and decide whether to accept or reject the recommendations, or make his own findings.

16 April 2001 – The Navy has begun compensation talks with the 35 crew members and passengers of Japanese m training stern trawler Ehime Maru, which was sunk by US nuclear submarine Greeneville. A Navy official said the acting Secretary of the Navy Robert Pirie was empowered to settle claims up to $1 million. Anything above that amount has to be co-ordinated with other federal agencies. The representatives of the Naval Legal Services Office in Yokosuka and the Naval Forces in Japan went to Ehime Prefecture to meet with the families of the students and the two teachers from the Uwajima Fisheries High School and ten crew members of the Japanese vessel. On Friday (13 April), Adm. Thomas Fargo, Pacific Fleet commander, got a 2,000-page report from the panel of three US senior admirals he charged with investigating the accident. An initial Navy inquiry on the accident determined that a series of errors by Greeneville master Cmdr Scott Waddle and his crew, including failing to scan the surface by periscope before executing an emergency surfacing drill, caused the collision. The panel also investigated the actions of the submarine's executive officer, Lt-Cmdr Gerald Pfeifer, and the officer of the deck, Lt-jg Michael Coen. Pentagon officials told the New York Times that the three admirals on the panel unanimously recommended that Waddle not be tried by court martial. Instead he may be subjected to a punitive letter or reprimand that would end his career and could reduce his retirement benefits, or an administrative penalty such as an admiral's mast. There the maximum penalty would be 30 days confined to quarters, 60 days restriction and forfeiture of one month's pay. However, Navy officials advised against such speculation, saying Fargo just got the report and has made no decision. A court-martial, which could include such charges as negligent homicide and dereliction of duty, could result in lengthy prison sentences and dismissal from the Navy for Waddle and other Greeneville crewmen. Waddle already has told the Navy that he would accept non-judicial punishment and intends to retire from the Navy as soon as the disciplinary issues have been resolved. The Navy has said parts of the report – which contains facts, opinions, recommendations, evidentiary enclosures and a complete transcript of the inquiry – may be released after Fargo's decision. The families in Japan have demanded a court martial so that the cause of the accident can be clarified.

7 May 2001 – The Navy has been examining several possible sites where the sunken m training stern trawler Ehime Maru could be moved for salvage operations. The prime location under consideration is about a mile off the Reef Runway at Honolulu International Airport, about 16 miles from where the Ehime Maru sank after being struck by the fast-attack US submarine Greeneville on 9 February. The 190ft vessel rests in 2,000ft of water about nine miles south of Oahu. The Navy wants to move the vessel to more shallow water, where divers could search it for the bodies of nine missing crewmen and students believed entombed inside and for personal items. The Navy said the effort could cost $40 million. The gradual move could begin late this summer and could take up to six months. The other sites in Leeward Oahu were rejected because of environmental concerns and distance from the site of the sinking, according to Jon Yoshishige, a Pacific Fleet spokesman. The Ehime Maru would be the largest sunken object ever recovered by the Navy from such a depth. The recovery plan is in response to persistent demands from the Japanese government and the families of the missing crewmen.

29 May 2001 – At the request of the US Navy, the Japanese Government is considering sending divers from the Maritime Self-Defence Force to help raise m training stern trawler Ehime Maru, accidentally sunk off Hawaii 9 February by US submarine Greeneville, government officials said yesterday. "I hope to cooperate (with the salvaging) as much as possible, bearing in mind the feelings of the survivors of the accident", Defence Agency Vice Minister Ken Sato said. "The details are being coordinated with the US Navy." The agency will work out details of the plan to clarify a legal basis for the dispatch of MSDF members, the Japanese officials said. Japan usually only sends MSDF members abroad in special cases such as UN peacekeeping operations. US Navy sources said Sunday (27 May) the Navy decided to ask the MSDF to join the salvage effort as qualified MSDF divers could be essential. The sources said the navy plans to raise the Ehime Maru around the end of this summer from a depth of 600m to about 30m. The operation aims to confirm that some of the nine Japanese lost at sea in the accident went down with the vessel. The navy is currently conducting an environmental assessment of the salvage operation, the sources said. Raising the 499-ton vessel is a complex task and there is a danger she could collapse while being towed. Hazards faced by divers within the sunken vessel could also lead to termination of the operation.

10 April 2001 – Kristal (Malta)

Tests carried out in Spain have shown that incorrect loading of a cargo of molasses placed the hull of m tanker Kristal under severe stress and probably contributed to the loss of the tanker, which broke in two in heavy weather in the Bay of Biscay 27 February, leaving 11 seafarers dead. Investigators probing the incident claimed to have established several weeks ago that the vessel had not been loaded in accordance with her approved loading manual before her final voyage. Cargo tanks which should have been full were empty, they said. Others which should have been empty were full. Now, sources close to the investigation have said that last week's tests have confirmed early theories that the cargo distribution on board the Kristal over-stressed the hull. The tests showed that incorrect loading most likely played a part in the casualty, along with other possible contributory factors such as severe weather and the vessel's age. The tanker's load indicator, recovered by a Spanish maritime search and rescue team from the stem section of the vessel before she sank, has figured prominently in the investigation. In a meeting in Corunna, experts used the load indicator and documents detailing the final loading operation to recreate the situation on board the vessel prior to her final voyage. Present at the meeting were representatives from the Spanish maritime authorities, classification society Rina, ship manager IC Shipping, flag authority Malta and the load indicator manufacturer, Kockums. Before the tests, the load indicator was checked to ensure that it was properly calibrated and in good working order. It passed on both counts. Investigators are now asking why the vessel was loaded as she was.

11 April 2001 – New Carissa (Panama)

The State Land Board is moving towards filing a lawsuit aimed at getting the grounded m wood-chip carrier New Carissa off the Oregon coast. The board has not yet filed a lawsuit, but Governor John Kitzhaber and other members of the board today made it clear that a state lawsuit is possible in the long-running dispute over the beached vessel. Last week, a consultant hired by the vessel's insurers said the New Carissa should simply be left to the elements because dragging it out to sea would be too dangerous. But Kitzhaber said at today's Land Board meeting that people shouldn't get the idea that they can leave vessel wreckage on the Oregon coast and get away with it. Kitzhaber says he is willing to use any legal tools available to get the wreckage off the beach.

11 April 2001 – Honghae Sanyo (South Korea)

M bulk carrier Honghae Sanyo was carrying a cargo of sea sand from Inchon for Ieshima Island, in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, when she went missing. A solitary lifeboat from the vessel was found drifting about 47km south of Cape Ashizuri, in Kochi Prefecture, by the Japanese Coast Guard. No trace has been found of the 28-man crew.

12 April 2001 – M bulk carrier Honghae Sanyo. Maritime authorities are still searching for the missing vessel. One crew member has been found. No other sightings of the vessel or crew.

12 April 2001 – M bulk carrier Honghae Sanyo, laden with 302,300 tonnes of sand, sailed from Inchon at noon, 7 April, bound for Ieshima. At about 05.10, 10 April, vessel advised the agent by fax that she would arrive at Tomogashima Channel at about 18.00, 10 April. Vessel did not arrive there after passing the ETA and communication has been cut off since. At about 21.30, 10 April the agent advised Marine Safety Agency (MSA). At 06.30, 11 April, MSA's aircraft found oil coming up to the sea surface about 50km south of Cape of Ashizuri. Soon after, MSA's patrol vessel found one unmanned life boat named Honghae Sanyo. MSA are searching the area with two aircraft and five patrol vessels. At 15.50, yesterday MSA patrol boat recovered one body about 60km off Cape of Muroto. Its life jacket was marked as "Busan". By 22.00, local time, yesterday, MSA had discovered six lifeboats and rafts, all of which were named as Honghae Sanyo. MSA consider that she has sunk and searches continue.

13 April 2001 – M bulk carrier Honghae Sanyo is still missing. Only one body has been found. Oil slick reported in the area where body was found.

18 April 2001 – The entire crew of a Korean bulk carrier which sunk off the Japanese coast has perished, according to the Coast Guard. The conclusion was reached after five days of searching uncovered only six empty lifeboats and one body from a crew of 22 Myanmarese and six Koreans. The search is continuing for m bulk carrier Honghae Sanyo, which disappeared off Kochi in high winds after sending a radio distress call. The carrier was due to arrive at the Japanese port of Ieshima on 10 April. She had left Inchon carrying 302,300 tonnes of sand on 7 April when she appears to have sunk, a Coast Guard spokesman said. The single body was found 47km south of Azrimaki Cape, in Kochi Prefecture, and is believed to be the remains of a crew member. An oil slick was also reported by authorities in the area where the body was found.

20 April 2001 – SITONG 888 (People's Republic of China)

A total of 11 crew members were missing after a ceramic-laden Chinese cargo vessel sank after colliding with another vessel off south-eastern China, it was reported today. Only two of 13 crew of the Nanjing-registered Sitong 888 were rescued after the collision with Tongning No. 3, in Daping Bay, off south-eastern Shenzhen yesterday, the Wen Wei Po daily said. The cause of the collision was not known. The search for the missing crew was continuing, the paper said. Sitong 888 was on passage to Jiangyin in eastern Jiangsu province, after loading in Foshan, some 200km north-west of Hong Kong.

29 April 2001 – Bangladesh

Bangladeshi police said that more than 100 people were missing after a vessel sank in the River Meghna, in the south of the country. The vessel capsized in strong winds during a trip between the Bay of Bengal island of Hatia and the coastal district of Noakhali, throwing nearly 150 passengers into the water. Three bodies have been discovered so far, but police fear many more have died, washed away by the strong current in a part of the river which is 10km wide.

16 May 2001 – Arosa (UK)

Naval Service divers have recovered human remains in north Galway Bay, close to the wreck of m trawler Arosa, on which 12 crew lost their lives late last year. The remains were taken ashore at Rossaveal, Co. Galway, last night for examination. A search of the area off the Skerd rocks will continue today. Six bodies are still missing from the Arosa, which ran on to the rocks while running for shelter in a southerly gale on 3 October. Only one of the 13 crew members survived. Naval divers had searched the area immediately after the accident but the weather deteriorated and winter set in. The wreck is in 24m of water and is strewn over the sea bottom, a Naval Service spokesman said yesterday. The diving team will carry out a systematic search while weather permits. The Naval Services patrol vessel Aisling is providing support for the divers.

14 May 2001 – True North II (Canada)

As investigators hoisted the gloomy vessel True North II from its watery resting place, the first thing they saw was a clear sign something had gone horribly wrong. Lashed firmly to the run-down, glass-bottomed, 52-year-old vessel's roof was a barrel-shaped dome, designed to float free and deploy a life raft should the vessel ever sink. Sink she did, amid high waves and gale-force winds, taking the raft, a full complement of life jackets and two young lives to the bottom of Georgian Bay last summer. Soon after she was raised, it became tragically obvious to investigators that on 16 June 2000, very little went right on board the True North II. "Why do we need an accident like this to remind us about safety?" board chairman Benoit Bouchard wondered aloud last week as he tabled a report into the sinking. A team of lawyers will descend on this scenic Bruce Peninsula tourist village 300km north of Toronto for an inquest Monday (14 May) into the deaths of 12-year-old Henrike Foerster and Wade Simmons. The two Grade 7 students, along with 11 others, were returning from an overnight camping trip on scenic Flowerpot Island when the vessel sank. Their classmates are among the witnesses scheduled to begin testifying Monday before Regional Coroner Karen Acheson and Crown Attorney Lori Hamilton. Just minutes into their return journey, several massive waves slammed across the vessel's bow, ripping the bridge doors free and pushing in the window of the wheelhouse, where captain Hugh Campbell was struggling to keep the vessel afloat. Water from the waves poured into the open hull, dragging the helpless boat backwards into the water. A total of 11 students, two teachers, Campbell and four other adults managed to make it to shore. But Foerster and Simmons, the last two people seen aboard the boat, likely became trapped beneath the bridge roof. Their bodies were recovered the next day, near where the boat came to rest. Bouchard's report discovered that the True North II, so dangerous it was not even watertight, was inspected 29 times by eight different inspectors since being converted for passenger use in 1972. Only one crew member ever sailed aboard the True North II, even despite a 1981 order for two; several hatches in the deck were wide open and not watertight, allowing water to fill the hull at an alarming rate of speed; passengers aboard the vessel had not been briefed about safety procedures before departure. Campbell's decision to proceed despite choppy seas, thunderstorm warnings and a small-craft advisory has also been called into question, as has his continued certification as the ship's captain. Transport Canada has already admitted the boat had been incorrectly certified and should have been carrying two crew members. Campbell is also expected to take the stand at the inquest, which is scheduled to last at least four weeks. Meanwhile, the Foerster family has already announced plans for a lawsuit against Campbell.

29 May 2001 – Sleipner (Norway)

Norwegian police have charged the master and first officer of m ferry Sleipner with involuntary manslaughter, a charge which could carry a three-year prison term. The police report delivered to the public prosecutor in Hordaland also suggests fines of NKr3m ($332,000) and NKr1m respectively on ship-owner Hardanger Sunnhordlandske Dampskipsselskap and the Norwegian Maritime Directorate. Police conclusions are understood to be based on their own investigation, and on the official inquiry. Sverre Hagland, the Sleipner's master, and first officer Olav Skjetne must now await a ruling from the state prosecutor. Norsk Sjyoffisersforbund, the union speaking for the officers, has expressed outrage at the charges. The union believes the police have let the ship owner off too lightly by levying only a financial penalty, while pressing criminal charges against the master. A judicial commission submitted its report last December, which found no structural defects in the ship and pinned first-line responsibility on the navigators. A criticism of bridge procedures, or the lack thereof, was implied in comments about the crew's behaviour in the moments leading up to the sinking. HSD was blamed for not training crew adequately in the vessel's navigation and evacuation systems. More active supervision and control from HSD management would have made a difference, the commission found. HSD's managing director, Arne Dvergsdal, resigned the day after the commission's report was made public, accepting moral responsibility for the tragedy.