Messages

796

Trip reports / Re: windforce 8

« on: January 31, 2008, 06:19:12 PM »

Just back from my trip. Having diner behind the pc enhancing my photo's. Nothing really spectacular do, it takes some hours before the waves built up. I'll upload some later tonight.

797

Trip reports / windforce 8

« on: January 30, 2008, 01:55:23 PM »

Hi all,

There will be windforce 8 on the Dutch westcoast tomorrow jan 31.
I took a day off and will spent the day on the Maasvlakte.
Hope it will be also bright enough to make some nice photos.
Hopefully I can show some nice results tomorrow night.

have fun
Fred

798

Shipping News and information / Thirteen dead as barge sinks in Lake Tanganyika

« on: January 30, 2008, 09:45:14 AM »

LUBUMBASHI,  Congo, Jan 30,  Thirteen people were killed, and  dozens remain missing, after an overloaded barge sank in central Africa's Lake  Tanganyika overnight Monday, the maritime inspection service said Wednesday.
   The disaster took place about five kilometres  from Kalemie  port, on the Democratic Republic of Congo side of the lake that is also shared  by Tanzania, Burundi and Zambia.
   "Thirteen bodies have been recovered, including nine children," a maritime  inspector in Kalemie said, adding that it was believed that more than 100  people had been on board the vessel.
   Another port official at Kalemie, Xavier Kasimbo, said that 17 people  had been rescued by fishermen shortly after the barge went down.
   Lying in the Great Rift Valley, finger-shaped Lake Tanganyika is one of the  largest lakes in Africa, with large populations of hippopotamuses and  crocodiles.

799

Shipping News and information / Re: Container Ship Aground off Dover

« on: January 02, 2008, 11:00:18 AM »

LONDON (AFP) - A large container ship ran aground in the English Channel south of Dover on Wednesday, but all on board were safe and there were no reports of pollution, coastguards said.

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The German-registered "LT Cortesia" became stuck on the Varne-bank, a large underwater sand bank about nine miles south of the port, said the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

The 90,000-tonne vessel was travelling from the Thames estuary westbound towards the Atlantic Ocean when it ran aground around 5:00 am, it said in a statement.

"The vessel has 27 people on board who are all uninjured. Crew members are checking for damage on board but the cargo is reported to be secure and early indications are that the vessel is watertight," said the agency.

The English Channel is among the busiest shipping lanes in the world, and the stretch near Dover is its narrowest point, where traffic from the North Sea and the Atlantic squeezes through between England and France.

There was no reported pollution from the stricken vessel, the English coastguard adding that an emergency tug, the "Anglian Monarch," was on the scene to assess the damage and possibilities for salvaging the ship.

"Dover Coastguard and the Anglian Monarch will warn any approaching vessels of the potential navigation hazard posed by the LT Cortesia while she is aground," it said.

The container ship is carrying 42,785 tonnes of cargo, the agency added.

Efforts to pull the ship off of the underwater sandbank were initially working against a falling tide. The next high water was expected by early evening, around 1830 GMT.

Winds on the scene were reported as Force 4, a light breeze during the morning, but were expected to strengthen with gale-force winds possible later in the day, coastguards said.