Casualties Winter Accidents and Casualties

By Fred McCauge

December
12/5/08 � The abandoned and partially sunken barge BMC-33 drifted about 80 feet from shore into the 200-foot wide Hylebos waterway in Tacoma, Wash., where it broke into two sections and sank. The bow section was salvaged Dec. 17 and the stern Dec. 18.

12/26/08 � The 577-foot Marshall Islands tanker Cape Brasilia touched the muddy bottom of the Pinole Shoal Channel in San Pablo Bay. Assisted by two tugs, the undamaged tanker moved back into deeper water without incident.

12/27/08 � The 478-foot Chinese tanker Bum Chin, en route from Ulsan, Korea to San Francisco, took a rogue wave that swept three Indian crewmembers from the decks into the superstructure and railing. The chief officer sustained head injuries; an able seaman sustained a compound fracture of his leg and wounds to his forehead and hand; and the fifth engineer injured his leg, lower back, and chest. The crew stabilized the crewmen aboard the vessel, and on Dec. 29 closed to 80 miles south of Adak, where the three were airlifted by a Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter and transferred to a C-130 at Adak for the flight to Anchorage.

12/27/08 � 20 bandits, armed with assault rifles in the state of Michoacan to stop and hold up Kansas City Southern de Mexico container train I-LZPN 27 from the Port of Lazaro Cardenas. Three containers were forced open, and the bandits stole clothing and sports gear, some of which was recovered later.

12/31/08 � The 197-foot Canadian cement barge Warrior towed by the tug Inlet Rover ran aground on Trial Island off Victoria. The barge was freed with the assistance of the tugs Seaspan Foam and Charles H Cates XX.

January
1/3/09 � Off Gloucester, Mass. at 1:45 a.m., the 54-foot F/V Patriot reported the fire alarms had been activated. In the morning, the vessel was gone, one body was recovered and the second crewman is missing.

1/6/09 � Keith Criner, 43, of Stockton, Calif., became tangled in a crab pot line and fell from the 98-foot F/V Seabrooke 22 miles northwest of Cold Bay, Alaska. The search for him was suspended the next day.

1/9/09 � The 1044-foot Greek container ship Maersk Kawasaki lost propulsion heading north through Santa Barbara Channel. The ship maintained its position using bow and stern thrusters until power was restored, then diverted to Port Hueneme for inspection before continuing.

1/13/09 � At Lynnterm Westgate in North Vancouver, while delivering bundles of pipe to trucks, Checker Cheryl Muscroft, 50, a member of ILWU Local 500, was fatally injured when the pile of pipe gave way and rolled on her. She died on the operating table at Lion’s Gate Hospital.

1/15/09 � U.S. Airways Flight 1549 ditched in the Hudson River. First on the scene was the ferry Nora Smith, soon joined by a flotilla of New York Waterways and Circle Line ferries, tugs, fireboats, police boats, work boats, and Coast Guard cutters, all displaying outstanding seamanship in the rescue of 155 passengers and crew from the aircraft.

1/15/09 � The 166-foot oil supply vessel Monarch began taking on water and later sank while alongside the Granite Point oil platform in Cook Inlet 45 miles southwest of Anchorage. All seven crewmembers safely evacuated to the platform.

1/17/09 � The 800-foot Bahamian self-unloading bulker CSL Argosy, inbound to Baltimore with iron ore, ran aground in the lower Chesapeake Bay near Gibson Island just north of Annapolis. The ship was freed late Jan. 19 after offloading 19,300 tons of iron ore to barges.

1/29/09 � The 180-foot Alaska State ferry Lituya broke loose from her moorings at her home-port ferry pier in Metlakatla, Alaska and ran aground one mile north on Scrub Island at 1:00 a.m. The ferry was refloated in the afternoon and towed to the Alaska Ship and Dry Dock in Ketchikan for repairs.

1/29/09 � The 196-foot bulk carrier Explorer 1 took on water and sank off Puerto Playa, Dominican Republic. The seven crewmen were hoisted off a life raft by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter.

1/31/09 � The tug Joedy apparently struck a seafood market in Newport Bay, Calif. A few days later, the Coast Guard ordered the tug to “cease all operations until significant safety and manning deficiencies are corrected.” The Coast Guard was also investigating reports that the tug and its barge may have hit a Pacific Coast Highway bridge in Newport Beach up to three times in the preceding five weeks.

February
2/5/09 � The 567-foot guided missile cruiser USS Port Royal ran aground in 22 feet of water a half mile south of Honolulu Airport. After extensive efforts, the fuel was pumped off, and the ship was refloated on Feb. 9.

2/5/09 � Eight miles west of Torrey Pines, Calif., the Coast Guard Marine Safety and Security Team were conducting a routine patrol when they discovered an abandoned fishing net and a drifting box with protruding wires. The cutter Haddock took FBI special agents, San Diego Metro police, and others to the scene. The object was determined to be safe, then brought onboard. A press release states it was identified as an instrument package from a weather balloon. The government always claims “parts of weather balloons,” but we know the truth is out there.

In This Issue

News, Trends & Analysis
New Items

Inventory Investment and the Implications on GDP Growth

Supply Chain
Responding to Changes in the Supply Chain

Compliance Corner: How to Utilize Technology to Manage Global Trade Compliance

Overseas Opportunities for Exporters

Create a Strategy before Cutting Costs

Features
Gateway at a Glance � Great Lakes, St. Lawrence Seaway

2009 Ro-Ro Trend

Supply Chain product review
Automotive Supply Chain Software

Ports & infrastructure
Five Major Ports, Five Different Ways to Handle the Recession

Funding a National Freight Policy

Commentary
Will the Stimulus Package Help the Trade Conditions?

Casualties

Who, What, Where, When

Final Say