REMOY – NORWAY

Kiel, January 15: trawler Remoy (2598 gt, built 2001) called for coastguard assistance in the Svalbard after she stuck fast in 1.2 metres of ice following engine trouble nine miles southeast of Moffen, north of Spitzbergen, on January 11. On January 13, the coastguard ship Svalbard was sent to the vessel and reached her at 02:00 on January 15. Remoy was lying at lat. 79°56.9’N, long. 15°30.2’E, four miles off the coast. Svalbard broke up the ice and Remoy proceeded under her own power to reach ice-free waters west of Danskeoya at 15:00. She headed for Svalbard at 12 knots to be checked by divers for damage to her propellers and forward hold. Contact: Fosnavaag Shipping AS, Fosnavaag, Norway.

RIAAN E – SOUTH AFRICA

London, January 16: a navigation warning was issued after the submerged fishing vessel Riaan E (21 metres, built 1964) drifted about 20 metres away from Quay 3 at Mossel Bay on January 5.

NEVSKAYA DUBROVKA – RUSSIA

Portsmouth, UK, January 18: fish factory Nevskaya Dubrovka, under tow of salvage tug Atlas, was reported in the Kamchatka Strait, at lat. 56°49’N, long, 164°09’E, at 05:00 proceeding to Busan, South Korea, at four knots. On January 21, Atlas continued to tow Nevskaya Dubrovka and at 01:00 was at lat. 52°07’N, long 158°47’E, on course 215 deg., speed five knots. On February 10, Nevskaya Dubrovka was in tow at lat. 40°22’N, long. 138°23’E at 08:00.

YAROSLAVL – RUSSIA

Portsmouth, UK, January 19: fish carrier Yaroslavl (863 gt, built 1966) reported water ingress at Astrakhan at 10:00 on January 18. She was aground at the Uritskovo moorage, Astrakhan. A salvage vessel arrived at 11:30 and rescue work started, including pumping water out of the ship’s holds. A diving inspection was also carried out. On January 20, the Astrakhan salvage authorities continued to pump out water from Yaroslavl and make repairs to her Kingston valve, which was identified as the cause of the flooding. Contact: Kaspryba Joint Stock Co., Astrakhan, Russia.

SABBIR-1 – BANGLADESH

Karachi, January 20: the Bangladeshi trawler Sabbir-1, with 50 workers and some construction materials on board, capsized in the river Meghna at Chandpur, in east-central Bangladesh, early on January 19. Police sources told the media that 25 people were rescued by other boats nearby and 25 were feared drowned. The trawler was heading from Chandpur to Munshiganj at around 03:00 when she was hit by a cargo vessel, which sailed away rapidly before she could be identified. The authorities were working to rescue the missing people and the trawler. On January 21, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) located the sunken trawler in the river Meghna at about midday, 35 hours after the accident occurred, and recovered 20 bodies. Five people were still missing and the salvage operation was under way. A BIWTA spokesperson said: “Twenty dead bodies of labourers were recovered today from the vessel. All the bodies were trapped inside a cabin of the vessel.” The salvage operation was being carried out by a BIWTA rescue vessel alongside fire-brigade divers. Dense fog interrupted the rescue efforts and forced the divers to suspend their operation for the day. The sunken vessel was found lying 60 ft. under the surface of the river. Unofficial sources added that two more bodies of labourers were recovered later on, which could not be confirmed. Police and survivors said the victims were asleep at the time of the incident. They said dense fog coupled with the night-time darkness could have caused the tragedy.

EKARMA 7 – Russia

Portsmouth, UK, February 5: at 04:00 at lat. 56°48’N, long. 153°08’E, the towline broke between trawler Ekarma 7 and salvage vessel Spravedlivyy. The restoration of the tow was impossible due to heavy weather conditions. Ekarma 7 was on fire and drifting at 1.5 knots. Spravedlivyy manoeuvred nearby waiting for an improvement in weather conditions before continuing fire fighting and salvage work. The wind was northeasterly at 15-17 metres/sec. and wave height was four metres. On February 10, Ekarma 7 was drifting, still on fire, at lat. 58°12.6’N, long. 150°03’E at 06:00, with Spravedlivyy standing by. The fire was still raging on the upper deck and superstructure. All attempts to extinguish the fire had been unsuccessful and the emergency fire team from the salvage vessel had left the stricken trawler.

VAROYBUEN – Norway

Kiel, February 6: grounded fishing vessel Varoybuen was to be towed off the ground, though there were fears the vessel might sustain further damage or even sink if not salvaged by a crane. The ship ran aground due to a failure of the autopilot system. Skipper Dag Ostrem believed it was highly unlikely that Varoybuen would ever sail again and that she was a total loss. Over recent days, some personal belongings and equipment had been taken off the boat. “The damage is so extensive that it is doubtful that it will pay to repair the damage after the stranding,” Skipper Dag Ostrem said.

QUO VADIS – Norway

Trondheim, February 6: fishing vessel Quo Vadis was on the slip at Blaalid Slip & Mek yard, Verksted AS, Raudeberg, western Norway, for immediate repairs to bottom damage.

92 SAIL – Korea

Busan, February 10: trawler 92 Sail was lying sunk near Geoje, South Korea, and Korea Marine Police boats had been searching for the crew members of the vessel but without success. Salvage operations had not yet started.

RESEARCH – UK

Shetland, February 11: the Shetland pelagic trawler Research is set to be out of action for a month or two after an accident in Aalesund harbour, Norway, on February 10. Research was berthed at the quay after landing Atlanto-Scandian herring when a Norwegian registered pelagic trawler ran into her, inflicting a hole above the waterline. Ritchie Simpson of fishing agent LHD said the impact also made the vessel have contact with the pier, causing further damage. He said his office was involved in identifying a suitable shipyard for repairs to be carried out as soon as possible. “It is unusual but accidents do happen. The damage is being assessed,” he said. Research had ten crew members on board when the accident happened. No one was injured.

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