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Shipping News and information / MSC Monterey in trouble off Newfoundland

« on: December 29, 2013, 08:28:42 PM »

Cargo ship in distress near Portugal Cove South

Vessel was having problems with its hull, several people safely hoisted onto helicopter
CBC News Posted: Dec 29, 2013 4:14 PM NT Last Updated: Dec 29, 2013 4:49 PM NT

Two Cormorant helicopters are helping rescue crew members from a cargo ship off the coast of Newfoundland.

The joint rescue co-ordination centre in Halifax says a 24-member crew is being rescued from a container ship off the coast of Newfoundland.

Officials said four crew members have already been hoisted from the MSC Monterey, which is located about 60 kilometres south of Portugal Cove, by two Cormorant helicopters out of 103 Squadron Gander.

Several aircraft and a Coast Guard vessel were deployed to help with the rescue after the ship sent out a distress call at about 11 a.m. local time. Officials said the crew reported a problem with the ship's hull and said the vessel was in danger of breaking apart.

The crew will be transported to an RCMP casualty reception point in Portugal Cove South following the rescue.

Officials said it doesn't appear anyone was injured.

The ship's point of origin has not been determined.

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Shipping News and information / Re: tug charlene hunt

« on: May 30, 2013, 10:14:56 AM »

The Offshore Supply vessel was only used to tow the Orlova away from a oil rig. Once it was clear it was released. As for the Charlene Hunt it is still in St.John's NL until repairs are made and Transport Canada certifies it seaworthy.

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Shipping News and information / Fire breaks out on Royal Caribbean cruise ship

« on: May 28, 2013, 12:43:51 PM »

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Fire breaks out on Royal Caribbean cruise ship; passengers to be flown to US from Bahamas
By Kasey Jones, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press

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Shipping News and information / Re: Lyubov Orlova

« on: May 24, 2013, 07:36:19 AM »

The derelict Russian cruise ship the Lyubov Orlova, which captured people's imaginations after snapping her tow line and drifting aimlessly in the North Atlantic, may have finally sunk. The Coast Guard says there's been no confirmed sightings of the little ship for over two months. Reports indicated that a sensor on board the ship, that sounds when it comes into contact with water, was picked up earlier this year. The Orlova snapped a tow line and drifted into the North Atlantic after a failed attempt early in the new year to tow her to the Dominican Republic for scrap.

The Coast Guard says she hasn't been seen since March 12th

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Shipping News and information / Re: Shipping routes : Straight of Belle-Isle Canada

« on: March 21, 2013, 10:12:25 PM »

There is a regular ferry service to Blanc Sablon, and there are a few ships that use that route.

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Shipping News and information / Re: Lyubov Orlova update

« on: March 09, 2013, 11:33:19 AM »

Beacon Activated on Lyubov Orlova
Saturday , March 9 2013

VOCM News

An emergency beacon activated on the Lyubov Orlova indicates the derelict vessel is about 1,100 kilometres from St. John's. The former Russian cruise ship has been drifting in the North Atlantic for more than a month after it broke loose of a tug just outside the Narrows, on its way to the Dominican Republic to be scrapped.

A DFO spokesperson says the emergency position indicating rescue beacon, or EPIRB, which activates when it touches salt water, turned on yesterday morning. She could not say whether the empty ship was still afloat.

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Shipping News and information / Re: THOMSOM MAJESTY boat drill accident

« on: February 10, 2013, 05:24:38 PM »

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Five crew killed in cruise ship safety drill
Reuters

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Shipping News and information / Re: Lyubov Orlova update

« on: February 05, 2013, 02:12:00 PM »

Orlova owner hopes to retrieve drifting vessel

CBC News

Posted: Feb 4, 2013 9:21 PM NT

The owner of the derelict and drifting cruise ship Lyubov Orlova said he knew it was a bad idea to attempt to move the ship from St. John's harbour almost two weeks ago.

Reza Shoeybi said he feared the courts might seize the Orlova before he had a chance to move it.

"We had to take a chance and get it out of here, because a lot of people didn't like to have it here," said Shoeybi. "And basically, it was either take it out of here or lose the ship."

Shoeybi is staying in St. John's aboard the tug boat Charlene Hunt, which failed to tow the Orlova to a scrap dealer in the Dominican Republic.

The Hunt managed to haul the Orlova out of the harbour on Jan. 23. A day later, the line between the tug and the Orlova snapped southeast of St. John's.

Shoeybi said Transport Canada has told him that he can't use the Charlene Hunt to retrieve the Orlova, so he hopes to find another vessel to catch up with it and bring it to the Dominican.

In international waters

Meanwhile, after another failed attempt to tow the vessel, Transport Canada has decided to leave the ship adrift in international waters.

The federal agency hired a vessel to tow the Orlova, but the line between the ships snapped on Friday, 20 minutes after the tow line was connected.

There were seven-metre-high waves and 140 kilometre-an-hour winds at the time.

Officials decided it was too dangerous to try to re-attach the line to the former Russian cruise ship in those high seas.

After the Orlova broke free of the Hunt on Jan. 24, it was picked up by the Atlantic Hawk, an oil industry supply vessel, on Jan. 30.

The Orlova was then transferred to the supply vessel hired by Transport Canada on Feb. 1.

Tracking device

The agency said there is a tracking device aboard the Orlova, and the ship was last reported to be drifting in a north-easterly direction.

Meanwhile, Transportation Safety Board officials have arrived in Newfoundland to investigate how the Orlova originally ended up adrift.

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Shipping News and information / Re: Lyubov Orlova update

« on: February 03, 2013, 04:37:54 PM »

Orlova adrift in international waters

CBC News

Posted: Feb 3, 2013 10:56 AM

Transport Canada says it will not pursue the drifting Lyubov Orlova since the ship has officially entered international waters.

A spokesperson said that the Orlova is no longer a threat to the safety of offshore oil platforms, its personnel, or the marine environment.

It is unlikely that the vessel will re-enter Canadian waters, given the current patterns and predominant winds.

According to Transport Canada, the vessel is located approximately 250 nautical miles east of St. John

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Shipping News and information / Re: Lyubov Orlova update

« on: February 02, 2013, 10:44:39 AM »

The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) is sending a team to St. John's to investigate the never-ending saga of the derelict cruise ship Lyubov Orlova.

Specifically, the TSB will investigate how the rusting vessel broke free from a tugboat on Jan. 23 and went adrift in the North Atlantic.

On Wednesday, Husky Energy had to send the offshore supply ship Atlantic Hawk to tow the Orlova away from oil installations. The vessels are still travelling north in the direction of prevailing wind and weather.

Destination unknown

Meanwhile, Transport Canada has commissioned the Maersk Challenger to take over the tow from the Atlantic Hawk.

There's still no word on where the Orlova will end up, but the St. John's Port Authority has issued a warning, telling Transport Canada it will not allow the ship to berth at any of its facilities.

"It's an environmental risk to the port, the environment in general, our other vessel users that are in the port," said Sean Hanrahan, the president and CEO of the port authority.

"Secondly of all, an operational nigthmare. We can't operate a port around a vessel of such size when we've got such demand for our berthage. And third of all is the financial aspect of it all. Nobody's paying the bills, and we simply can't take on that loss all over again."

Hanrahan said the bill for the 2.5 years the Orlova spent tied up at the St. John's waterfront is about $200,000.

He added that the port authority would like the owner of the Orlova to reconnect a tug boat to the ship and continue to tow it to the Dominican Republic, where it will be scrapped.

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