Casualties

By Fred McCague

AUGUST
8/27/09 The 570-foot bulk carrier Tasman Resolution, outbound from Stockton, Calif. and loaded with rice, steel and lumber, ran aground on the San Joaquin River east of Sherman Island. The Sacramento Bee reports levee repairs were needed on Bradford Island where the impact tore out half the width of the levee on Bradford Island over a 100-foot distance. The undamaged ship was refloated with the aid of a tug and proceeded to an anchorage for inspection.

8/27/09 The U.S. factory trawler Aleutian Falcon reported a person overboard while passing Cape Mudge, B.C. He was never located.

8/28/09 The FV Ana J capsized near Salmon Bank, a half-mile off San Juan Island, Wash. Nearby vessels rescued the six-person crew from the water, transferring them to a Coast Guard response boat from Bellingham, and a San Juan County Sheriff’s Office rescue boat. Four were treated and released at a local clinic. One was transferred by air to Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, and one taken to Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Bellingham.

8/30/09 The 460-foot ferry Wenatchee was knocked out of service for a week mainly for bow repairs after a hard landing at Slip 3 of Seattle’s Colman Dock.

SEPTEMBER
9/2/09 A 27 year-old German female crewmember aboard the cruise ship Bremen began suffering pain from possible appendicitis about 30 miles west of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. The cruise ship altered course toward Prudhoe Bay, where the woman was transferred to a 42-foot Alaska Clean Seas vessel, then taken ashore to the BP Industrial Clinic for medical assessment. After receiving a clean bill of health, the crewmember flew to Barrow and rejoined the ship.

9/5/09 Coast Guard crews safely removed three people from the 62-foot FV Anna Grace as the vessel sank in 18 feet of water outside the shipping channel between buoys 19 and 21 in Charleston.

9/6/09 The 740-foot Canadian bulk carrier Algoport, under deadship tow of the tug Atlantic Hickory, broke up and sank in heavy seas in the Pacific Ocean enroute to China, where it was to have been fit with a new forebody on its refurbished aft end.

9/6/09 A Coast Guard HH-65 Dolphin helicopter rescued three fishermen from a life raft approximately 45-miles east of Charleston, after the 39-foot FV Captain Smoke was struck by two large waves and sunk.

9/10/09 Four crewmembers aboard the USNS Kanawha, a 677-foot fleet replenishment oiler, were seriously injured when the ship was struck by a rogue wave 60 miles off Virginia Beach, Virg. Two Coast Guard helicopters were dispatched from Elizabeth City; one transported the two most stable crewmembers to Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, while the other took the more severely injured to Norfolk Sentara General Hospital.

9/10/09 The 900-foot British container ship Ever Elite, inbound to Oakland, reported a man overboard at 5:13 a.m. near the Bay Bridge. A Coast Guard boat and tugs responded, while the pilot boat Golden Gate located the crewman two feet under water. He was transported to Pier 35 in San Francisco, where San Francisco EMS pronounced him deceased.

9/14/09 The 620-foot Canadian laker Mississagi ran aground on a sand bar while departing Kingsville Harbour, Ontario, suffering some damage to the steering gear.

9/15/09 The 34-foot FV Moonbeam began taking on water and sinking. Its two crewmen abandoned ship to a life raft approximately 20 miles off Cape Alava, Wash. A mayday call relayed through Canada to the Coast Guard diverted a U.S. Navy P3 Orion to the area and it located the life raft, remaining on scene until a helicopter arrived overhead. A 47-foot lifeboat from Station Quillayute River rescued the two men in their survival suits.

9/17/09 The 160-foot Crowley tank barge 160-1 with 140,000 gallons of jet fuel and gasoline ran aground in the Kanektok River near Quinhagak Village south of Bethel, Alaska. The undamaged barge was successfully refloated on Sept. 22.

9/19/09 While the Chinese container ship Xin Fei Zhou worked alongside Berth 100 in Los Angeles, two containers were knocked overboard, landing on the bunker barge Webb Moffett, which was alongside, delivering fuel. There was no oil spill and no one was injured, however, both the barge and ship had some damage.

In This Issue

Up Front

News, Trends & Analysis
New Items

U.S. employment environment promotes import uncertainty

Supply Chain
How are you planning for the rebound?

Trade compliance often has a broader scope

Features
Optimism characterizes inaugural Southeast Freight Conference

Gateway at a glance: Northern California

Ports & infrastructure
Prince Rupert looks towards Memphis

Canada tries to standardize port performance metrics

Global players jockey over Arctic shipping routes

Port Products
Terminal management systems

Commentary
Roll up your sleeves for the next phase

On the Horizon
The Internet of 2020

Casualties