Fourteen killed, 20 missing in Indonesian sinking

     The Yani Express, with 62 aboard, sank 2 June off Pulau Muda, Sumatra,
Indonesia. Fourteen people were kiled and 20 are missing.

Eight missing after Chinese-registry tanker catches fire

     The Daqing No. 243 (Chinese-registry tanker owned and operated by
Guangzhou Maritime Transport Group) sank in the Changjiang River in China
on 4 June, following a fire in its No. 3 cargo tank. Some 800 meters/2,600
feet of containment boom was set-up to contain any spillage from the cargo
of 10,000 tons of oil. A static electricity build-up in the tank may have
started the fire, which was contained the afternoon of 5 June. Three
lightering vessels were alongside the tanker. Two suffered fire damage,
while eight crewmembers of the third are missing.

Tanker on fire

     The Gole (Turkish-registry 75,366-gt, 155,500-dwt tanker built in
1977, operated by Ganship International Ltd.) exploded and caught fire at
1500 4 June.

Crew rescued from platform after well blowout

     Thirty-nine people abandoned a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico late
31 May after a natural gas well blowout. No one was injured in the
incident, about 64 kilometers/40 miles southeast of Cameron, La. The crew
of the platform, operated by Houston Exploration Co., escaped in a rescue
capsule and were rescued by the Seabulk Aransas. There were no fires or
spills. Wild Well Control is working to cap the well.

Explosion at Nigerian port damages tanker

     The Al Zainab (St. Vincent and the Grenadines-registry 17,778-gt,
29,800-dwt chemical tanker built in 1971, operated by Britannic Maritime
Ltd.) had an explosion in its port wing tank 6 June, just after it
finishing unloading naphtha at the Atlas Cove jetty at Apapa/Lagos,
Nigeria. The explosion then started a fire. The ship's deck and side were
holed.

Russian Navy submarine sinks off the Kamchatka Peninsula

     A Russian Navy nuclear-powered submarine taken out of service in 1993
and stored offshore took on water 29 May and sank in about 20 meters/65
feet of water. The submarine, built in the 1970s, was to be scrapped and
was moored in Avachinskii Bay, Russia, off the Kamchatka Peninsula. Its
nuclear reactor, as well as all fuel, batteries and weapons, had been
removed. Reportedly, one or two compartments were damaged when it was hit
by another submarine. Efforts to salvage the submarine are underway.

Tug holed in grounding in St. Clair River

     The Adanac (108-gt, 26-nt, 24-meter/80-foot tug with 765 horsepower
built in 1913, operated by J.W. Purvis Marine Ltd.) , downbound with a
barge in the St. Clair River near Seaway Island between Michigan and the
province of Ontario, Canada, was holed at 1110 1 June. The current pushed
the tug aground and holed the vessel's bow, with the bow compartment taking
on water. The Adanac was run aground in the South Channel on the starboard
side.

U.S. Coast Guard boat crew assists flooding fishing vessel

     The crew of a U.S. Coast Guard 12-meter/41-foot utility boat saved a
fishing vessel on 31 May about 0.6 kilometers/one mile east of Gloucester,
Mass. Just before 0900, Ronald Grover, of Rockport, Mass., radioed the
Coast Guard that his 9.8-meter/32-foot lobster boat, the Kimberly Ann, was
taking on water. A boat crew from Coast Guard Station Gloucester responded,
as did a helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, Mass. Assisting
Grover, the only person aboard, the crew was able to pump out the Kimberly
Ann and towed the vessel to Gloucester, where it was hauled out.

Ro/ro assisted into Spanish port

     The Suphan Navee (Thai-registry 13,094-gt, 18,258-dwt ro/ro built in
1977, operated by IMC) anchored west of Tarifa, Spain, on 1 June with
engine problems. The ship was sailing in ballast from Oran, Algeria, to
Antwerp, Belgium. Early 3 June, the ship was towed into Algeciras, Spain,
by the tug Albireo.

OBITUARY

Livanos, head of Ceres Hellenic Shipping, dies at 71

     George P. Livanos died 1 June of cancer at the age of 71. Regarded as
the largest Greek shipowener, Livaros controled some three million
deadweight tons of tankers through his Ceres Hellenic Shipping Enterprises.
Born in New Orleans, Livanos studied public administration at Hofstra
University before taking over the family shipping business (his family was
from Hios Island, Greece). Among his accomplishments, Livaros originated
the design and was instrumental in the development of the "mini-bulker" and
in 1982, founded the Greek Society for the Protection of the Marine
Environment (HELMEPA) for maritime personnel. He was elected president of
the Baltic and International Maritime Council in May 1989. Livaros had two
sons, and one, Peter, took over Ceres Hellenic Shipping two years ago. A
funeral was held 2 June.