Hundreds killed or missing as ferry sinks off Haiti

     More than 200 people are believed to be dead or missing after the
19-meter/61-foot fiberglass ferry La Fierte Gonavienne ("Pride of Gonave")
capsized and sank off Haiti early 8 Sept. There are varying estimates as to
the number of passengers aboard as it sailed from Anse-a-Galets on Gonave
Island, Haiti, for Montrouis, Haiti. At least 93 bodies have been found
while 62 swam to shore. The vessel left La Gonave at 0435 and was 50
meters/160 feet from the Montrouis wharf when it took on water and
capsized. The ferry had anchored to allow passengers to board boats to be
taken to shore when everyone ran to one side, according to survivors. Most
of the survivors are reportedly people who were sitting on top of the
cabin, including Edner Dorival, the vessel's owner. The missing were
trapped as the ferry sank in 32.9 meters/108 feet of water, in two enclosed
decks and a third that opens onto the fantail. Residents of Montrouis
informed a Pakistan Army patrol in the area and two United Nations
helicopters were brought in to search along with the Haitian Coast Guard
and a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter based in the Bahamas. Canadian Mobile
Force soldiers later began diving to the ferry to search for bodies.
Survivors said the master, Eugeno Ramos, a Cuban citizen, had locked
passengers in the vessel's compartments. He was arrested but later
released. The passengers included a soccer team and several police
officers. The U.S. ambassador to Haiti, William Lacy Swing, made a gift of
U.S.$25,000 to Haiti in the name of the U.S. government for assistance. The
ferry will be lifted and taken to shallow water for salvage, following the
arrival of two U.S. Navy divers from Puerto Rico and Navy salvage personnel
from Norfolk, Va., by the Carribean Sea Horse of Carribean Barge Line Inc.
The 19 Navy divers arrived 10 Sept. and are working from the U.S. Coast
Guard's Reliance-class Medium-Endurance Cutter U.S.C.G.C. Confidence (WMEC
619). Divers from the military of the Dominican Republic are also
assisting. The ferry entered service only 10 days before the sinking. It
was purchased in Miami. An investigation has begun, which includes Haitian
National Police personnel and two New York Police Department detectives
serving with the United Nations. The ferry was air-conditioned, had a
television and left an hour earlier than other ferries, reportedly
alienating other ferry operators. A story among residents of Montrouis is
that other operators turned to a voodoo priest to cause the sinking. On 11
Sept., relatives of victims of the sinking burned a boat of Calypso, a
competing ferry line. On 10 Sept., hundreds of people blocked Haiti's main
highway and built barricades with burning tires. The group protested the
fact that not all the bodies had been recovered from the ferry, as the
feared they would not be able to identify them if the delay continued.

Up to 45 missing after capsizing in India

     At least 45 drowned 10 Sept. after a ferry capsized in the Kosi River
in the Saharsa District of Bihar, India.

Two dead and three missing as tanker sinks off Thailand

     Two men were killed and three are missing after the Sin Kriangkrai
(Thai-registry tanker) caught fire and sank in the Andaman Sea off southern
Thailand early 10 Sept. The ship was carrying more than 20,000 liters/5,200
gallons of benzene when the fire began about 48 kilometers/30 miles off
Phuket. One body was recovered while a man rescued later died at a
hospital.

Bulk carrier fire kills one, injures five

     An engine room explosion and a major fire aboard the Western (St.
Vincent and the Grenadines-registry 22,614-gt, 38,407-dwt bulk carrier
built in 1972, operated by Kalkavan-Aydin) on 5 Sept. killed one crewmember
and injured five others. The ship was at 36 degrees 08.4 minutes north, 04
degrees 42.7 west, about 48 kilometers/30 miles east of Gibraltar. The ship
anchored off Gibraltar the next day.

Liberian-registry tanker explodes in Argentina

     The Presidente Arturo Umberto Illia (Liberian-registry 35,995-gt motor
tanker built in 1983) had an explosion 9 Sept. at the Argentine Navy's
Puerto Belgrano Naval Base near Bahia Blanca, Argentina. Maintenance was
being done and welding is suspected as the cause of the explosion. Tweleve
people were injured and several craft nearby were damaged.

Dry cargo ship breaks in half off Chile

     The North Islands (Cypriot-registry 8,996-gt, 15,150-dwt,
122-meter/400-foot motor dry cargo ship built in 1987, operated by Navieras
Poseidon) lost a propeller and ran aground near Llolleo, Chile, at the
mouth of the Maipo River on 7 Sept. Battered by heavy seas, a bow storage
area filled with water and the ship broke in half. The 30 Cuban citizens
aboard (28 men and two women) were rescued by the Chilean Navy helicopters.
The North Islands was carrying a partial load of fertilizer loaded at San
Antonio, Chile, and 300 tons of fuel.

Cotton-carrying ship catches fire

     The Hermelin (Thai-registry 12,474-gt, 20,377-dwt motor dry cargo ship
built in 1979, operated by Thoresen & Co. (Bangkok) Ltd.) had a fire in its
No. 5 cargo hold on 12 Sept. at 17 degrees 53 minutes south, 40 degrees 22
minutes east. It was sailing to Durban, South Africa, with cotton. The fire
was controled and the ship sailed to Beira, Mozambique.

Tow hits oil platform off Alaska

     A tow rammed an oil platform in Alaska's Cook Inlet at 0430 8 Sept. No
oil was spilled but five of the six crew of the tug were injured. The tug
Marine Commander (U.S.-registry, owned and operated by Victory Marine),
pulling the barge JI 281 (owned by Jore Industries), left Anchorage,
Alaska, at 0015 for Seattle. The barge, registered as a tank barge, has not
been used as such for several years and was carrying two containers loaded
with batteries to be disposed of. An initial investigation reports that the
tug did not lose power and weather was clear with visibility of eight
kilometers/five miles to 18 kilometers/11 miles. Just before 0430, the tug
hit the northeast leg of Platform C, eight kilometers/five miles from
Nikiski, Alaska. The leg contains water lines and equipment while the other
three contain 19 drilling wells. Each is 4.6 meters/15 feet in diameter. It
then hit the southwest leg while the tow wire was pulled into the northeast
leg. The wire, which wrapped around the cross-members of the four legs, was
winched in as much as possible before being cut. The tug later took the
barge in tow to Homer, Alaska, for temporary repairs. The Marine Commander
had bow and mast damage while the barge had a large dent in a forward
quarter. Platform C, built in 1967, is one of four operating in the Middle
Ground Shoal. It is affiliated with Shell Alaska Resources, part of Royal
Dutch/Shell Group. Visible damage was limited to a television that fell in
the accomodations area though an underwater inspection has not yet been
done. On 9 Sept., the mate of the Marine Commander was charged with
administrative law violations of U.S. Coast Guard regulations. The mate was
the only person on the bridge at the time.

Log ship grounds in Canada

     The Haida Monarch (Canadian-registry 9,519-gt log ship built in 1974)
ran aground near Ramsbotham Island in British Columbia, Canada, on 8 Sept.
at 52 degrees 43 minutes north, 129 degrees 03 minutes west. The No. 1
ballast tank and the forepeak tank ruptured. It was refloated by tugs and
taken to Kitasu Bay.

Fishing vessel takes on water, runs aground in Palmico Sound

     The Sonia Gwen (20-meter/65-foot fishing vessel) was run aground on 8
Sept. in Pamlico Sound, 32 kilometers/20 miles northwest of Cape Hatteras,
N.C., after taking on water. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter from Coast Guard
Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., lowered pumps to the Sonia Gwen, and a
personnel from Coast Guard Station Hatteras Inlet, N.C., assisted the three
crew. At last report, it was hoped to take the vessel to Englehard, N.C.,
after temporary repairs.

Sweden forms committee to decide whether to raise the Estonia

     The Swedish government has started another panel on the sinking of the
Estonia, a ro/ro ferry, on 28 Sept., 1994, in the Baltic Sea about 32
kilometers/20 miles from Utoe Island, Finland. At least 852 people were
killed. The new committee is specifically charged with deciding whether the
wreck should be raised.