Maritime Safety News Today 3rd January 2008

Container Vessel Runs Aground Off South Coast of UK (Update1)
Bloomberg – USA
2 (Bloomberg) — A container ship ran aground in the Dover Strait, the world’s busiest shipping lane, the UK’s Maritime & Coastguard agency said.

Bering Sea – disabled freighter The US Coast Guard issued a press release stating that it is responding to a distress call from a disabled freighter in the Bering Sea 180 nautical miles northeast of Attu, Alaska.  The ship has a cargo of 28,000 tons of copper concentrate.  It carries a crew of 24 and has 760 metric tons of fuel. (1/1/08). (Update) Freighter adrift near Attu regains power Anchorage Daily News (subscription) – Anchorage,AK,USA Initial reports by e-mail from the crew indicated the ship was probably not in danger of sinking but the Coast Guard wanted to get a look first hand,

Lifeboat tows trawler to shore
RTE.ie – Ireland
Four crewmen on board the vessel dealt with the blaze and stayed on board as it was towed back by the Dún Laoghaire lifeboat.

Three crew saved from sinking yacht near Corregidor
ABS CBN News – Philippines
A rescue ship was immediately dispatched after the yacht’s crewmen sent distress signals to PCG. PCG search and rescue vessel BRP Pampanga was reported to

ID system to become mandatory for all boats on Turkish seas
Today’s Zaman – Istanbul,Turkey
Officials from the Undersecretariat for Maritime Affairs, under which the Search and Rescue Coordination Center operates, said the Automatic Identification

REHABILITATION PROSPECTS AFTER WORST KOREAN OIL SPILL ARE GOOD, UN …
… Joint UNEP/OCHA Environment Unit and EC Monitoring and Information Centre, comprising experts from OCHA, UNEP, Canada, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, the EC Environmental Directorate-General and the European Maritime Safety Agency.

Customs publishes 10+2 rule

Washington issues long-awaited proposed rule requiring importers and carriers to provide cargo data not found on a ship’s manifest.

Ship emissions below estimate
Air pollution emissions from ships in the Mediterranean Sea might be 30%-40% lower than the estimates made in 2000, calling into question the need to designate the region as a sulphur emission control area, according to data collected by oil industry body Concawe which analysed ship movements and fuel use in the Mediterranean.