Casualty Week Jun 25 - Dione - UniPi

June 25 2004

CasualtyWeekLloyd's Lloyd’s Casualty Week contains information from worldwide sources

of Marine, Non-Marine and Aviation casualties together with other reportsrelevant to the shipping, transport and insurance communities

Malacca pirates andterrorists ‘not linked’

EDITORStephen Legall Tel +44 020 7017 5228

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THE US has found no linksbetween pirate attacks inthe Malacca Strait and

terrorist groups in southeast Asia.

The rise in well co-ordinated attackson shipping by heavily armed pirates inthe Malacca Strait has prompted fearsterrorists were linking up with thepirates to launch a terrorist strike onshipping in the region.

However Thomas Fargo, commanderin chief of the US Pacific Command,said US intelligence services had foundno evidence that pirate attacks werelinked to the Jemaah Islamiah terrorgroup.

“I don’t have any direct linkagesbetween the pirates and the JI but wedo know that terrorists have used themaritime opportunities to advantage,”he told a media briefing in KualaLumpur.

Planning

The JI group is closely associatedwith al-Qa’eda and was behind the Balibombing in October 2002, while earlierthat year Singapore detained membersof the group who it said were planningto attack warships at the US navalbase in the country.

Senior Singapore governmentministers have warned repeatedly inrecent months that terrorists could link

up with pirates in the region to hijacktankers or liquefied natural gascarriers in the Malacca Strait and turnthem into floating bombs or sink them,blocking the strategic waterway. Thewarnings have formed part of a push bythe republic to spur action on maritimesecurity in the region.

Admiral Fargo was visiting Malaysiaprimarily to discuss maritime securitywith top officials from the countryincluding Prime Minister AbdullahAhmad Badawi.

Furore

The two nations mended fencesfollowing a furore that the US wantedto station its own troops in the MalaccaStrait. Admiral Fargo said that the USfully respected Malaysia’s territorialintegrity over the strait and had neverintended to deploy its own securityforces in the region. However, it doeswant to provide assistance such astraining to further improve maritimesecurity co-operation betweenSingapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

“On the Strait of Malacca, we believethat it is important that we shareinformation so that each country cantake appropriate action in its territorialwaters,” Admiral Fargo said.

“We can help train (troops) and clarifyprocedures. This is what we have beensaying all along. In hunting for

terrorists, we would work together withnations to share intelligence and buildcapacity.”

The US wants to put in place asystem whereby it knows exactly whatships are where, not just in theMalacca Strait but worldwide, muchlike that that already exists for theaviation industry.

“We know what an aircraft iscarrying, its cargo, the number ofpassengers, its destination and time ofarrival. We need (this kind ofinformation) to get that on maritimevessels. This can be achieved throughsharing of information, good trackingsystems and capacity-building bynations,” he said.

- Eight pirates, believed to beAcehnese rebels in disguise, last nightfired at and sank the general cargoshipIka Murni (541 gt, built 1977) whichwas on its way from Indonesia’s Riauprovince to North Sumatra province,abducting its master and a technician.

Survivors said their boat, which wascarrying 500 tons of copra, leaked whenthe pirates fired at it after the vessel’smaster refused to give them thehundreds of thousands of rupiah theywere demanding.

Marcus HandLloyd’s List Correspondent

(ii)

Summary of Major Cases in this week’s issue of Lloyd’s Casualty Week

Vessel Type Flag Class G T DWT Blt Casualty

AMINA general LBN — 2,675 3,704 1977 Grounded off Yenikoy Jun 11. Coast Guard vessel and tug to assist. Arrived Tripoli, Lebanon Jun 16. Voyage: Constantza (ROM) to Tripoli. Cargo: Lumber.

BARBAROS general TUR — 6,284 10,056 1975 Had fire in accommodation, between OKTAY Novorossiysk and Eregli, Jun 13. Tug

Sonduren arranged for fire-fighting operation. When extinguished will be towed to Kdz, Eregli. Reported Jun 22 still lying "as is".Cargo: Steel slap.

CAPTAIN JACK passenger USA — 171 — — Drifted aground South of Cosmos Pass, Davison Inlet, Alaska, Jun 9. Subsequently fire broke out on board. Crew and passengers evacuated. Still aground Jun 14. All hazardous materials removed. Not expected to be salved.

CELTIC SPIRIT general BHS GL 2,978 4,001 1976 Grounded on Krassi shoal, west of Suur-Pakri island, in lat 59 20.9N, long 23 47.1E, Jun 13. Initial refloating attempts failed and still aground on rocks Jun 16. Refloated by tug Tugev Jun 18 and anchored. Voyage: Tallinn (EST) to Warrenpoint (GBR). Cargo: Sawn timber.

FORTUNE PRIDE fishing CAN — 102 — 1988 Reported taking water 50 miles SE of Halifax, in lat 44 17 09N, long 62 10 17W, Jun 10. Pump not keeping up. Additional pumps requested.

GRIETJE BOS trawler NLD — 419 — 1981 In collision with a small fishing vessel in lat 53 35.8N, long 06 35.2E, Jun 11. Small vessel capsized. 2 crew members rescued & taken to hospital, 1 missing. Small vessel subsequently sank.

NONA MARY passenger GRC HR 2,206 861 1972 Reported aground in lat 36 46.48N, long 24 35.2E, Ag. Efstathios, 400 metres from Psathi, Jun 16. Awaiting diver survey. Refloated same day by tug Atlas. Towed to Perama, where repairing.

NORDICA general CYP GL 3,731 6,275 1980 On arrival at Gibraltar on Jun 13 underwent Port State Control investigation as listing to port. Detained on discovery of a crack in the hull.

ORION 1 general NGA — 3,994 3,650 1972 Sustained engine breakdown while transiting the Dardanelles, Jun 15. Anchored near Dardanelles. Subsequently towed to anchorageoff Gelibolu for inspection and repairs. Still lying "as is" Jun 21.

THOR HAWK container DIS BV 1,964 2,784 1992 Anchored 100 miles off Kochi port due engine trouble Jun 11. Not been able to engage tug fortowage to Kochi for repairs. Towed to Kochi, where arrived Jun 19. Voyage: Yokohama (JPN)to Mumbai (IND).

WILLOW general BHS BV 1,560 1,400 1983 Reported main engine breakdown due injector problem in lat 49 02N, long 04 54W, Jun 13. Taken in tow and anchored in Tor Bay Jun 14. Proceeded on passage Jun 16. Arrived Antwerp Jun 18.

ALADIN (Cyprus)Ferrol, Jun 10 — General cargo

Aladin, Annaba for Flushing, with irontubes, is proceeding to Ferrol in tow oftug Ibaizabal Tres because a fishing netis entangled in the propeller. The vesselis expected to arrive around 1900, localtime, today. — Lloyd’s Agents.

London, Jun 11 — Following receivedfrom Madrid MRCC, timed 0450, UTC:General cargo Aladin has now safelyarrived in Ferrol.

Ferrol, Jun 15 — Understand fromagents of general cargo Aladin that theproblem is with the vessel’s engine, notwith the propeller. Repairs are nowexpected to complete on Jun 21. —Lloyd’s Agents.

ALAMO (Chile)London, Jun 14 — Bulk Alamo arrived

Puerto Montt Jun 10 and sailed Jun 12.

ALGOISLE (Canada)Toronto, Jun 10 — Bulk Algoisle is

back sailing. On Jun 8 it was inHamilton. Today it is at Port Weller buthas no destination. — Lloyd’s Agents.

ALGONTARIO (Canada)Troy, Mich., Jun 14 — Bulk Algontario

is back on the drydock in Thunder Bay,fuelling speculation it will be repairedin time for the fall grain rush. Thevessel was damaged in a grounding inApril, 1999 in the St. Marys River andhas been laid up at the Canadianlakehead ever since. The vessel was inthe drydock earlier this year, butremoved so necessary repairs could becarried out on a saltwater vessel. —Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping.

ALGOSTEEL (Canada)London, Jun 16 — Following received

from Coast Guard Cleveland, timed1315, UTC: Bulk Algosteel (18423 gt,built 1966) struck Buoy 46 on theMaumee River, near Toledo, on Jun 14.Understood the vessel only sustainedcosmetic damage and proceeded onvoyage.

AMINA (Lebanon)London, Jun 14 — A press report,

dated Jun 11, states: Lebanese generalcargo Amina (2675 gt, built 1977), cargolumber, ran aground off Yenikoy whilepassing through Istanbul Strait, sourcessaid today. While one tug and a coastguard boat were sent to the scene toassist the vessel, it was dragged by thecurrent. The cargo ship anchored offPasabahce. (Note — Amina sailedConstantza Jun 10 for Tripoli.)

ASTRIDA (Latvia)Gothenburg, Jun 15 — The Latvian

Board of Shipping who haveinvestigated the circumstances of thesinking of fishing Astrida, now confirmthat ro-ro Vladimir (15893 gt, built

1988) had been in contact with Astrida,after Vladimir had been investigated inthe port of Baltimore. — Westax MarineServices AB. (Note — Vladimir arrivedSt Petersburg May 12 and sailed May18 for Baltimore where it arrived Jun3. Vessel subsequently sailed Jun 7 forCharleston)

BARBAROS OKTAY (Turkey)Istanbul, Jun 15 — General cargo

Barbaros Oktay (6284 gt, built 1975),Novorossiysk for Eregli, with steel slap,had fire break out in accommodation at0520, local time, Jun 13. Tug Sondurenarranged for fire extinguishingoperation. Upon completion of fireextinguishing operation vessel will betowed to Kdz.Eregli. — Lloyd’s Agents.(Note — Barbaros Oktay sailedNovorossiysk Jun 12.)

BB 1138 (Bangladesh)Chittagong, Jun 15 — General cargo

BB 1138 was towed to Dhaka on May 10for repairs. Reportedly the vessel is stillunder repair. — Lloyd’s Agents.

BERGE NICE (French Southern territories)

Santiago, Chile, Jun 10 — Lpg BergeNice arrived Asmar, Talcahuano, torepair. The task is highly complexbecause the ship is of the lastgeneration, with a high technology andwith a hull of special steel for transportof liquid gas to low temperatures. —Lloyd’s Agents.

London, Jun 14 — A press report,dated Jun 12, states: A Punta Arenasappeal court imposed a retention ruling,equivalent to US$4 million, against LpgBerge Nice involved in an oil spill in theMagellan Strait, close to Punta Areansearly May which contaminated 10kilometres of vital fisheries for coastaloperators and local processing plants.Berge Nice which last May 12 wasinvolved in a collision with anchorhandling tug/supply Seacor Laredo,spilling several tons of fuel andsustaining a wide 20 metre long gash,three metres above the water line. Thetug’s bow was flattened and threecrewmembers suffered serious injuries.The tanker transporting 33,000 tons ofArgentine liquid propane gasunderwent emergency repairs in PuntaArenas with special heat proven steelplates flown in from Japan and is nowin Talcahuano’s main shipyard afterhaving unloaded. The tug is still inAsmar’s shipyard. Punta Arenas pressreports that besides the private demandand retention ruling equivalent to US$4million, both vessels, under Chileanlaw, also have been forced to aprecautionary bank guaranteeequivalent to US$600,000 each to coverenvironmental damage and clearingoperations occurred as a consequence ofthe collision. The Chilean Navyinvestigation into the accident has yetto be concluded.

CAPE AFRICA (Taiwan)London, Jun 15 — Following received

from bulk Cape Africa Joint OperationsCommittee, timed 0900, today: OnSaturday (Jun 12) the second cofferdam

1

The following reports are reprinted from Lloyd’s List

CONTENTS

Reports appear in alphabeticalorder under the followingheadings and relevant pagenumber:

Marine, including Overdue& Missing Vessels 1

Piracy 7

Port State Control 7

Seizures & Arrests 7

Pipeline Accidents 8

Pollution 8

Weather & Navigation 8

Earthquakes 1 0

Volcanic Activity 1 1

Political & Civil Unrest 1 2

Kidnappings 1 6

Labour Disputes 1 6

Awards & Settlements 1 8

Railway Accidents 2 0

Miscellaneous 2 0

Fires & Explosions 2 1

Aviation 2 3

Product Recalls 2 6

Port Conditions 2 8

Port Conditions charts 2 8

© Lloyd’s Marine Intelligence Unit 2004 These reports may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photographic, recorded or otherise without the prior written permission of the publisher.

was fitted adjacent to bulk CapeAfrica’s hold No.4 and was sealed inplace on Sunday. After a partialstructural collapse of the cofferdam, itis still in place and is affordingprotection to port side No.4. Thesalvage team now await the arrival inFalse Bay on Jun 24/25 of bulk Bandar,that will be used for the purpose oflightening Cape Africa by removingsome 80,000 tonnes of its iron ore cargo.It is expected that at least five full,good-weather working days will beneeded in order to complete the partialcargo removal. Cape Africa will thenhave been sufficiently lightened toenable it to be towed to a port whererepairs can be undertaken. After thelightening operation, the area ofextensive structural damage to holdNo.3 will be above the waterline.Salvage tug Smit Amandla remains onthe scene, with the S.A. Agulhasoffering logistical support.

CAPTAIN JACK (U.S.A.)London, Jun 12 — A press report,

dated yesterday, states: Coast GuardMarine Safety Detachment (MSD)Ketchikan is investigating thegrounding and fire of passengerCaptain Jack (171 gt, built 1943 ) thatoccurred near an island south ofCosmos Pass outside of Davison InletWednesday (Jun 9). The 105-foot vessel,based in Ketchikan drifted andgrounded with six people and a dog onboard, prompting Coast Guard AirStation Sitka to launch the readyJayhawk helicopter crew to the scene.Captain Jack’s crew declined an offer bythe Coast Guard rescue crew to lower apump to the vessel. The helicopter thendeparted the scene to Ketchikan torefuel and embark MSD Ketchikanmarine investigators. When it made anadditional pass over the vessel on itsreturn trip to Sitka, the aircrew saw thevessel fully engulfed in flames. Thecrew and passengers safely evacuatedashore in the remote village of EdnaBay. The cause of the fire was unknown.Alaska Commercial Divers will attemptto inspect the vessel Thursday, whileMSD conducts interviews with the crew.

London, Jun 12 — Following receivedfrom Coast Guard Juneau, timed 0730,UTC: Captain Jack, WF3170, remainsaground in the same position offKetchikan. The vessel has sustainedhull damage, fire has beenextinguished.

London, Jun 14 — Following receivedfrom Coast Guard Juneau, timed 1835,UTC: Passenger Captain Jack ,WF3170, remains aground in the sameposition. All hazardous materials havebeen taken off the vessel.

CELTIC SPIRIT (Bahamas)Tallinn, Jun 14 — General cargo Celtic

Spirit (2978 gt, built 1976), Tallinn forWarrenpoint, with sawn timber, ranaground west of Suur-Pakri island,Estonia, on Krassi shoal, in lat 5920.9N, long 23 47.1E Jun 13. Attemptsat refloating have failed and the vesselis still aground. There is no pollutionreported. — Lloyd’s Agents.

Gothenburg, Jun 15 — General cargoCeltic Spirit , Bekker port for

Warrenpoint, with wood, groundedthree nautical miles west of Suur-Pakri,late Jun 13. Two tugs tried to pull thevessel off the ground, but failed. CelticSpirit is listing 10 deg and is on a roughbottom with heavy rocks. A larger tug isrequired for a new attempt, to avoiddischarging the cargo. — WestaxMarine Services AB.

London, Jun 16 — Following receivedfrom managers of general cargo CelticSpirit, dated today: The vessel is stillaground and endeavours to establishthe best method to refloat the vessel arestill in progress.

CONGER (Cyprus)London, Jun 11 — Following received

from Madrid MRCC, timed 0505, UTC:Bulk Conger was successfully towed toFerrol and remains there at present.

London, Jun 13 — Understand salvageservices were rendered to bulk Congerby Tsavliris Russ (World Wide Salvage& Towage) Ltd under Lloyd’s OpenForm, dated Jun 9.

Ferrol, Jun 16 — Bulk Conger isexpected to be taken in tow by tugMarzamemi on Jun 18 bound forRotterdam to discharge its cargo ofsoya. — Lloyd’s Agents.

CORCOVADO (Chile)London, Jun 14 — General cargo

Corcovado arrived San Antonio Jun 11.

CUU LONG 1 (Vietnam)London, Jun 11 — Understand product

tanker Cuu Long 1 arrived Maomingprevious Jun 5.

DA PENG HAI (China)London, Jun 10 — Bulk Da Peng Hai

arrived Ilichevsk Jun 1 and sailed Jun7.

DELTAGAS (Antigua & Barbuda)Maassluis, Jun 11 — Lpg Deltagas

(3011 gt, built 1992) “touched bottom”and sustained hull damage atFlushing roads May 1. Vessel anchoredMay 2 and proceeded to drydock DeSchroef in Terneuzen May 5. Vesseldeparted Terneuzen May 23. — Lloyd’sSub-agents. (Note — Deltagas arrivedZeebrugge May 24 and sailed May 25,subsequently arriving Fawley May26.)

DOMIAT (Egypt)London, Jun 11 — Following received

from Gothenburg MRCC, timed 0500,UTC: Bulk Domiat is still aground.Cargo offloading operations will have tobe completed prior to refloating.

London, Jun 13 — Following receivedfrom Gothenburg MRCC, timed 0835,UTC: Bulk Domiat remains aground,with cargo lightering operations stillunder way.

London, Jun 14 — Following receivedfrom Gothenburg MRCC, timed 1650,UTC: Bulk Domiat was refloatedyesterday afternoon and taken toDanish waters for inspection.

Gothenburg, Jun 15 — Bulk Domiatwas pulled off the ground on Jun 13,with the assistance of three tugs. Beforethis attempt, a total of 1,000 tons ofpotash was discharged onto a barge. —Westax Marine Services AB.

Malmo, Jun 17 — Bulk Domiat wasrefloated at 1310, local time, Jun 13,after part of the cargo had beentranshipped. The vessel was assisted bythree tugs. Domiat was then taken toRodvid roads where divers inspectedthe bottom. No leakage. The Class gavepermission for the vessel to continue toIndia and to dry-dock before the end ofSeptember. The vessel loaded thetranshipped cargo and sailed for Indiaat 0100, local time, Jun 17. — Lloyd’sAgents.

ELEFTHERIA (Panama)Ancona, Jun 11 — Understand bulk

Eleftheria , fully laden withapproximately 30,000 tonnes of soyabeans from Brazil, on time charter to“Bunge Co” was involved in a collisionwith bulk Hakki Deval off the coast ofAlgeria. It is reported the incidenthappened on Jun 7. There were noinjuries to the crew, but Eleftheriasuffered damages on the starboard sideto side wing tank and No.1 hold. Wateris entering into the hold but is beingcontrolled by pumps. Vessel is beingtowed to Ancona where timecharterers/receivers should startdischarge of part of the cargo. Thetowage contract was reportedly signedwith tugowners Tsavliris of Piraeus.The vessel is expected to arrive atAncona late today or tomorrow. GeneralAverage security (Lloyd’s Average Bond)is reported to have been signed by cargounderwriters as well as averageguarantee. — Lloyd’s Agents.

Ancona, Jun 15 — At 1530, local time,Jun 12, .bulk Eleftheria moored in theport. At 1845, unloading started. Thevessel was boarded by representativesof London P&I Club (surveyors andlawyers), cargo insurance surveyors,receivers representative and surveyor.United Kingdom P&I Club of collidingvessel bulk Hakki Deval appointed asurveyor on Jun 14. Understand thatsound cargo has been unloaded fromhold No.1 of Eleftheria. Although thehold is damaged further cargo could beunloaded after shifting of vessel toanother dock, subject to the harbour-master ’s authorisation. — Lloyd’sAgents.

ELENA X. (Greece)Piraeus, Jun 16 — Product tanker

Elena X. sailed from Preveza on Jun 8,destination Eleusis port. — Lloyd’sAgents.

ELM (Netherlands Antilles)Plymouth, Jun 10 — General cargo

Elm sailed Plymouth Jun 9. — Lloyd’sAgents. (See issue of Jun 9.)

EMIL NOLDE (Malta)Istanbul Jun 17 — C.c. Emil Nolde

(4059 gt, built 1991), Gemlik for PortSaid, sustained engine breakdown at0520, local time, today, and anchored offDardanelles for necessary repairs. —Lloyd’s Agents.

ENSCO 7500 (U.S.A.)London, Jun 13 — A press report,

dated Jun 12, states: It could take up to$1 million to repair a 120-foot section ofwharf on the east side of the Pascagoula

2

© Lloyd’s Marine Intelligence Unit 2004. These reports may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photographic, recorded or otherise without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Marine

River that was damaged when it wasstruck by a dry dock holding a semi-submersible drilling platform (drillplatform Ensco 7500) a preliminaryestimate shows. The damage occurredJun 2 when the dual carrier dry dockholding the drilling platform broke itsmoorings at the Signal Internationalwest bank yard during a severethunderstorm and was blown across theriver, where it hit the wharf. Windsclocked at 74 mph pushed the barge,which was several stories high, acrossthe river with 39 men aboard. Itdestroyed up to 120 feet of concrete-and-steel reinforced dock, folding 20-foot slabs of concrete like they werecards, before coming to a halt. Itnarrowly missed a National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administrationresearch ship. The Coast Guard MarineSafety Office in Mobile is investigating,but Coast Guard officials have said itcould cost from $500,000 to $1 millionto repair the wharf. Port of PascagoulaDirector Mark McAndrews said theestimate was an initial figure based onan inspection of the wharf ’s dock andpilings. “We still have people over therewho are continuing to inspect thewharf,” he said. “We still don’t know yetwhat may be damaged under thesurface.” McAndrews said inspectorsstill need to look at the wharf ’s sheetpiling, its retaining wall and otherareas hidden from view. The port isinsured to cover the repairs, he said.

ERIKA (Malta)London, Jun 16 — A press report,

dated today, states: The French Court ofAppeal has dropped all proceedingsinitiated against the Malta MaritimeAuthority and its executive directorLino Vassallo in connection with thenon specific tanker Erika disaster. TheCourt of Appeal in Paris ruledyesterday that the MMA was anextension of the Maltese state andtherefore the administration of theMalta Flag was covered by the states’“immunity of jurisdiction.” In December1999, Erika, a Maltese registered oil-tanker, sank off the coast of France,spilling 10,000 tonnes of oil in one of theworst environmental disasters. Thetoxic cargo coated the seabed andwashed up on the coastline, promptinga long and expensive operation to getrid of the muck. In a somewhatunexpected twist of events lastSeptember, Parisian inquiringmagistrate Dominique de Talance heldMr Vassallo and the MMA personallyresponsible for “endangering the lives ofothers” and of having been “anaccomplice in pollution”. There were nofewer than 76 plaintiffs claimingdamages in the criminal proceedings.Whilst 74 of the parties refrained fromindicating the exact extent of theirclaim at the start of proceedings, theFrench state and the League for theProtection of Birds filed a claim for E76million and E14 million respectively,besides unquantified damages. It wasestimated that plaintiffs could haveclaimed damages of more than E1billion. Mr Vassallo and MMA chairmanMarc Bonello appeared before theFrench judge last September. But the

authority’s lawyers maintained thatthe magistrate was violating MrVassallo ’s and Dr Bonello ’s stateimmunity, given that they wererepresenting a Maltese governmentauthority. The two MMA off icialssought recourse to the French AppealsCourt, claiming that the magistratehad no jurisdiction over a foreigngovernment or a state off icialexercising his normal duties. When themagistrate sti l l went ahead andsummoned the two MMA officials toappear again last December, they wereinstructed not to do so, given that theywere still awaiting the Appeals Court’sruling. Their absence in court provokedthe magistrate to threaten to issue awarrant of arrest against Mr Vassalloand Dr Bonello. The legal counselrepresenting both Mr Vassallo and theMMA in France maintained that theauthority had in fact abided by theestablished international regulationsgoverning ship registration, addingthat the French court had nojurisdiction to uphold or refute thelocal authority’s decision. The Court ofAppeal of Paris appointed a sitting forMay 10 during which furtherarguments were presented, based onthe fact that the expert’s report onwhich Ms de Talance relied had beendeclared inadmissible by the SupremeCourt. The court yesterday acceptedthe arguments of state immunity anddecided in favour of the MMA and MrVassallo, stating that since they wereacting on behalf of the Maltese statethey should benefit from immunity ofjurisdiction. There is no right of appealagainst this decision of the Court ofAppeal. Interested plaintif fs mayhowever file proceedings attacking thevalidity of the decision within fivedays. Both Dr Bonello and Mr Vassalloexpressed their satisfaction at thedecision. In a statement the MMA said:“Despite the general conviction thatMMA’s and Mr Vassallo’s conduct werecorrect, responsible and professional -as was confirmed by the conclusions ofvarious technical inquiries into theincident - the government actedstrongly to protect the sovereignty ofthe state, its entit ies and theirofficials”. The MMA said it had alwaysmaintained that, according tointernational law, the French courtsdid not have the necessary jurisdictionto press charges. The MMA and theMaltese authorities cooperatedextensively with the Frenchauthorities in the investigation. DrBonello and Mr Vassallo expressedtheir appreciation for the government’ssupport, particularly fromCommunications Minister Censu Galeaand Anthony Borg Barthet, who wasAttorney General at the time. TheMMA and Mr Vassallo were assisted byFranco Vassallo of the legal firm MamoTCV, together with his Frenchcolleagues Renard and Associates.Since the incident, the Maltesegovernment has been trying to riditself of the tag that the Maltesemaritime flag is one of convenience.

EUROPEAN VIKINGSee Viking Europe.

EVITA (Norway)London, Jun 14 — Information

received from Sandnes states: Crude oiltanker Evita sustained only minordamage and is now back in normalservice.

FAIR MARE (Liberia)London, Jun 10 — Lloyd’s Casualty

representatives in Piraeus report: Themaster of crude oil tanker Marivicadvised the Ministry today that hisvessel had rendered assistanceyesterday to crude oil tanker Fair Marewhich had a fire breaking out in theengine-room while sailing off the coastof Oman. From the 31 crew memberstwo are unwell and another wastransported to a local hospital byhelicopter. Three are missing. The firewas extinguished with vessel’s ownmeans and it is due to arrive Fujairahin tow by tug Diva.

London, Jun 11 — A press report,dated today, states: Three crewmembers of crude oil tanker Fair Marewere missing after fire broke out in theengine-room, the Greek merchantmarine ministry said today. Crewbrought the fire on board the vesselunder control and the tanker was towedto Fujairah, the ministry said. Thecause of the fire, which occurred in theGulf of Oman, was not immediatelyestablished. A spokesman for theowners said one crew member wasevacuated by helicopter to a hospital inOman.

FETISH (Cayman Islands)London, Jun 11 — Bulk Fetish sailed

Montevideo Jun 6 for Fortaleza.Buenos Aires, Jun 15 — After the

refloating of bulk Fetish, the ArgentineCoast Guard performed surveys onboard and found no damages. Later inthe Alpha Zone, the Argentine CoastGuard performed underwater surveysand ascertained that the vessel was inperfect condition. The vessel resumednavigation and is already at itsdestination: Natal, Brazil. — Lloyd’sAgents.

FORTUNE PRIDE (Canada)London, Jun 10 — Fishing Fortune

Pride (102 gt, built 1988) reportedtaking on water in lat 44 17 09N, long62 10 17W, 50 nautical miles south-eastof Halifax, at 0555, UTC, today. Pumpnot keeping up. Vessel requestedadditional pumps.

GLACIER EXPLORER (U.S.A.)Anchorage, Jun 14 — Passenger

Glacier Explorer is still under repair,ETC not known. — Lloyd’s Agents.

GRIETJE BOS (Netherlands)London, Jun 11 — Following received

from Den Helder MRCC, timed 0440,UTC: Trawler Grietje Bos (419 gt, built1981) was in collision with a smallfishing vessel in lat 53 35.8N, long 0635.2E, at 0034, UTC, today. The smallfishing vessel capsized; two of its crewwere rescued and taken to hospital,while the search for the third crewmanis still ongoing.

London, Jun 11 — Following receivedfrom Den Helder MRCC, timed 1040,

3


Marine

UTC: The fishing vessel is reported tohave sunk. The search for the missingcrewman proved unsuccessful and hasnow been terminated.

HAKKI DEVAL (Turkey)See Eleftheria.

HERNES (Cyprus)London, Jun 17 — Bulk Hernes

arrived Gdansk Jun 14.

HOLLYHOCK (U.S.A.)See Stewart J.Cort.

HOPE 1 (Panama)See “Romania” under “Port State

Control.”

HYUNDAI NO.105 (Panama)London, Jun 11 — A press report,

dated today, states: Vehicle HyundaiNo.105, which sank off Batam island,should be removed from the water as itwas a danger to other vessels, theBatam port authority said yesterday.The vessel has remained in water nearthe industrial island since it capsizedon May 22. It was carrying some 4,000cars and 990 tons of fuel. Batam portauthorities urged the vessel’s owner toraise the wreck as it could endangerother large vessels sailing through the40-metre deep waters near Singapore.Shipping authorities and PT Salvindowere still pumping fuel from the vesselinto a tanker belonging to state oil firmPertamina.

INTERMAC 404 (U.S.A.)London, Jun 12 — Ray McDermott,

S.A., a subsidiary of McDermottInternational, Inc, announced Jun 10that its barge Intermac 404 (394 gt,built 1976) capsized yesterday (Jun 9)off the coast of South America whilereturning to the United States from aproject off the coast of SouthernArgentina. There were no personnel onboard the barge and no injuries weresustained. The cause of the incident isunder investigation and potentialsalvage options are being evaluated.The barge, which was under tow by athird party vessel, was transportingvarious items, including a plough andwelding equipment.

London, Jun 15 — A press report,dated today, states: J Ray McDermotthas started an investigation into howbarge Intermac 404 capsized off theBrazilian coast while returning to theUS from a project in Argentina. TheHouston-based contractor is evaluatingoptions to salve the barge, which wastransporting a variety of equipmentincluding a plough and welding gear.The cause of the incident is unknown atpresent.

KRITI AMETHYST (Greece)Curacao, Jun 7 — Chemical/oil carrier

Kriti Amethyst sailed Curacao Jun 1 forKingston (JAM). — Lloyd’s Agents.

LAINE (Panama)Buenos Aires, Jun 10 — Ro/ro Laine

arrived San Nicolas Jun 7 and iswaiting to unload 10,000 tons of“siderurgic” products. — Lloyd’sAgents.

Buenos Aires, Jun 17 — Ro/ro Laineentered San Nicolas port at 1800, Jun12. Vessel unloaded 10,765 tons ofsiderurgic material and sailed at 0340,Jun 14, for Campana. — Lloyd’s Agents.

LECONTE (U.S.A.)London, Jun 15 — A press report,

dated Jun 14, states: Statetransportation officials fired the captainand first mate of ro/ro Leconte, whichran aground on a reef last month,saying the men made serious errorsleading to the accident. Capt. HarveyWilliamson and Chief Mate WilliamPetrich altered the vessel ’s coursewithout first checking charts andplotting a course, according to the stateTransportation Department. They alsofailed to see a navigation aid beforerunning aground at full speed on theCozian Reef, the agency said. “Therewere no mechanical failures, no engineproblems have been determined, noproblems with steering, the weatherwas fine,” Nona Wilson, a departmentspokeswoman, said today. “So theconclusion is that they were justnegligent.” Ronald Leighton, Alaskarepresentative of the Masters, Matesand Pilots union, did not object to theagency’s findings but said the menshould not have been fired. He addedthat the state failed to provide the menwith a hearing before disciplining them.Leighton also said the two men hadsigned a settlement with the CoastGuard that included an eight-monthsuspension of their licenses, followed byone year of probation. The settlementalso called for the men to attend amanagement class and talk to othermembers of the fleet about how toprevent such accidents. The vessel wasen route from Angoon to Sitka in south-east Alaska on May 10 when it hit thereef in the Peril Strait. The vessel tookon water, forcing the evacuation of 86passengers and 23 crew members. Thestate estimates it will cost about $3million to repair the vessel.

LIBERTADOR SAN MARTIN(Panama)

Buenos Aires, Jun 14 — Producttanker Libertador San Martin arrivedBuenos Aires Jun 7 and enteredTandanor Jun 11. It is expected todrydock today or tomorrow. — Lloyd’sAgents.

LIL (Panama)Moji, Jun 14 — Bulk Lil arrived

Shimonoseki Jun 13 and sailed thesame day. — Lloyd’s Agents.

LINDOS (Malta)Yokohama, Jun 16 — The local agent

in Hachinohe reports that no damagewas observed at the inspection of bulkLindos. The vessel is now in Shimizuand will depart on Jun 19. — Lloyd’sAgents.

MAERSK BAHRAIN (Bahamas)See Pelican I.

MAJOR HUBAL (Malta)Houston, Jun 14 — Bulk Major Hubal

sailed Houston Jun 12. — Lloyd’sAgents.

MISS BERDIE (U.S.A.)London, Jun 16 — A press report,

dated today, states: Fishing Miss Berdie(178 gt, built 1987) ran aground atSouth Beach yesterday afternoon. Theofficial cause of the grounding wasunknown. Three persons on board wereuninjured, and Coast Guard officialshoped to get a line to the boat and towit off the sand at high tide last night.The boat is owned by Stan and RobertaSchones of Siletz.

London, Jun 16 — Following receivedfrom Coast Guard Seattle, timed 2135,UTC: Fishing Miss Berdie is stillaground 150 yards south of YaquinaBay (approximately lat 44 41N, long124 05W). Salvors are on scene and nowawaiting high tide.

MORNING EXPRESS (Panama)Busan, Jun 12 — Product tanker

Morning Express: Temporary repairswere completed at Yeosu Jun 10. It isunderstood that the vessel will besailing Yeosu for Hyundai MipoDockyard Co, Ltd, Ulsan, for permanentrepairs this afternoon. — Lloyd’s Sub-agents.

NCC MEKKA (NIS)London, Jun 11 — Following press

release received from Odfjell today: Wedeeply regret to inform that the secondinjured crewmember passed away lastnight. Since the accident on boardchemical/oil carrier NCC Mekka he hasbeen under intensive medical treatmentat a specialist hospital in Rio deJaneiro. A Maritime Enquiry was heldon board the vessel on Jun 9 while theship was at anchor in Rio de Janeiro.The enquiry was administered by theNorwegian General Consul in Braziland attended by Maritime InvestigatorJohn Rams¯y from the NorwegianMaritime Directorate (NMD) andOdfjell’s Risk Manager, Capt. ToralfS¯renes. Several witnesses were heardduring the Enquiry and a survey of thearea of the explosion was also carriedout. At the time of the explosion cargotank No.1, centre starboard was in theprocess of being cleaned and indicationsare that the explosion originated insidethis tank. No breaches of procedures orfailure of relevant equipment werefound during the enquiry and thefollowing inspection of the area. Duringthe enquiry it became obvious that thecrew had reacted swiftly and done anoutstanding job with fire fighting andfirst aid. The fire was extinguished in avery short time and heat transfer andpotential escalation of the fire intoother tanks were avoided. The vesselwill stay in Rio de Janeiro for the nextfew days to carry out furtherinspections in order to establish whatrepairs are necessary.

NONA MARY (Greece)London, Jun 16 — Following received

from Piraeus RCC, timed 0555, BST,today: Passenger ro/ro Nona Mary ,SVLV, (2206 gt, built 1972), reportedaground in lat 36 46.58N, long 2435.02E, at 0122, local time. Vessel stillaground awaiting diver survey of hull.No pollution. Milos Port Authorityhandling case.

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Marine

London, Jun 16 — Lloyd’s Casualtyrepresentatives in Piraeus report:Passenger ro/ro Nona Mary grounded atthe rocky islets of Ag. Efstathios, about400m from the port of Psathi, Kimolosisland, at 0122, Jun 16. On board were39 crew and only one passenger who areall good in health. According tostatement from the master the vesselwas not in any danger, neither wasthere any pollution or ingress of water.The weather in the area was reported tobe good. Personnel from the Milos PortAuthority proceeded immediately to thearea on board passenger tourist vesselDelfini and collected the one passengerwho was then taken to Milos. NonaMary remains in the same positionwhile a diver inspection is arranged andthen following that a decision will betaken for the method of refloating. Atthe time vessel was performing theschedule from Lavrion for Syros-Serifos-Sifnos-Kimolos-Milos and withan identical return voyage. Milos PortAuthority is investigating the incident.

London, Jun 17 — Lloyd’s Casualtyrepresentatives in Piraeus report:During the afternoon of Jun 16,passenger ro/ro Nona Mary wasrefloated with the assistance of tugAtlas and anchored next to the isletsAg. Efstratios of Kimolos island.Following a survey the vessel waspermitted to be towed withoutpassengers to Perama in order to carryout repairs.

London, Jun 17 — Following receivedfrom Piraeus RCC, timed 0940, UTC:Passenger ro/ro Nona Mary wasrefloated at approximately 1900,yesterday. Vessel is currently in tow oftug Atlas bound Perama, where ETA1400, local time, today.

NORDICA (Cyprus)Gibraltar, Jun 15 — General cargo

Nordica (3731 gt, built 1980) arrived atGibraltar at 2040, local time, Jun 13,for bunkers. Surveyors carried out aPort State Control as she was listing toport and after discovering a crack in thehull detained the vessel. — Lloyd’sAgents.

ORION 1 (Nigeria)Istanbul, Jun 16 — General cargo

Orion 1 (3994 gt, built 1972), Istanbulfor Nigeria, while transitingDardanelles sustained enginebreakdown at 1245, local time,yesterday and anchored nearDardanelles. Vessel was subsequentlytowed by TDI tug and anchored offGelibolu at 1520, local time, yesterdayfor inspection and repairs. — Lloyd’sAgents.

PASIR 1 (Singapore)Houston, Jun 14 — Bulk/oil Pasir 1

sailed Galveston Jun 11. — Lloyd’sAgents.

PEARLMAR (Cyprus)See “Drugs Seized on Cyprus Vessel in

United States” under “Miscellaneous.”

PELICAN I (Malta)London, Jun 11 — C.c. Pelican I ,

collision with c.c. Maersk Bahrain in

the River Scheldt Jul 20, 2003: At thetime, the voyage of Pelican I wasbroken off and the containers wereunloaded and stored at the FMTTerminal in Flushing. All the cargointerested parties were invited by theowners of Pelican I and by the carriersand the salvors to collect the cargo. OnNov 5 an arbitrator, competent on thebasis of Lloyd’s Standard Form salvagecontract, ordered that the cargointerested parties must remove theremaining cargo immediately from theFMT Terminal. On Apr 1, 2004, thearbitrator also ordered the carriers,being Hamburg SudamerikanischeDampfschiffahrt Gesellschaft KG(Ellerman), Israel Continent ShippingLimited (Iscont), P&O Nedlloyd Limiteden Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Limited (KLine) to remove the remaining cargoimmediately. On this basis and toprevent the costs (storage costs, etc) toincrease more, these carriers submitteda petition to the Court of Middelburg toobtain leave to have the cargo sold and,if allowed, to deduct from the proceedsat sale their costs (storage, freight, costauction, etc). A possible balance will bepaid or placed on a special account(“consignatiekas”). The request will beheard at public hearings at 1330, Jun22, and at 1330, Jul 13. At each of thesehearings, objection to such anapplication can be made by cargointerested parties.

PEMATANG/PERTAMINA 1021(Indonesia)

See “Indonesia” under “Piracy.”

PING YANG NO.5 (Cambodia)London, Jun 14 — A press report,

dated today, states: General cargo PingYang No.5 (496 gt, built 1988) andgeneral cargo Ru Yi Quan (6577 gt,built 1995) collided in waters offNakajima at around 0200 yesterday,but there were no injuries or oil spills,the Japan Coast Guard said. Thestarboard bow of Ru Yi Quan came intocontact with the port bow of Ping YangNo.5 when the two vessels ran into eachother in the Sea of Aki, two kilometresfrom Nakajima. All crew members onboth vessels were Chinese, the JCGsaid.

PRIDE OF AMERICA (U.S.A.)Bremen, Jun 14 — A local press report

states: Five months after beingdamaged, the future of the newly builtpassenger Pride of America at theBremerhaven Lloyd-Werft (shipyard) isstill uncertain. So far the damage hasnot been settled nor has the furtherconstruction of the vessel been clarified,said Klaus Rosche, chairman of theLloyd-Werft works committee. During astormy night in January Pride ofAmerica, at the shipyard quay, got intoa slanting position and was water-logged. As a result of the accident theLloyd-Weft had to declare insolvencyThe damage caused by the accident hasbeen assessed at up to 180 million Euro.Settlement is taking a long time as 63insurers are said to be involved in thematter. The owners of the new luxuryliner, the American shipping lineNorwegian Cruise Liners (NCL) have

also still not yet decided about thefurther construction of the vessel. Themanagement of the Lloyd-Werft did notwish to comment on the present status.— Lloyd’s Agents.

ROGER (Antigua & Barbuda)Aarhus, Jun 16 — General cargo

Roger (1523 gt, built 1984) grounded offKolding at 0245, Jun 15. The vessel wasrefloated by tug Wulf V at 2225, Jun 15.A diving inspection is being performedtogether with GL and discharge of partcargo of phosphate is expected to becompleted at approximately 1300 hrs,today. Subject to Port State Controllifting the detention and GL approvalthe vessel will proceed to Szczecin forthe discharge of the remaining cargo .— Lloyd’s Agents. (Note — Roger sailedSt. Malo Jun 10 and was last reportedpassing Brunsbuttel at 0805, Jun 14,bound Kolding.)

Aarhus, Jun 16 — General cargoRoger: The detention has been lifted.The divers inspection revealed nodamages to the vessel, which sailedfrom Kolding at 1530 hrs. — Lloyd’sAgents.

RU YI QUAN (China)See Ping Yang No.5.

SAN REMO (St. Vincent & Grenadines)

Copenhagen, Jun 11 — General cargoSan Remo sailed Bandholm Jun 10. —Lloyd’s Agents.

SEA TRUST (Lebanon)London, Jun 12 — A press release

from Wijsmuller Salvage BV, datedtoday, states: SvitzerWijsmullerSalvage and Scaldis Salvage & MarineContractors have yesterday completedoperations to refloat vehicle Sea Trustfrom its sunken and capsized positionin the port of Antwerp, six days afterthe start of the operations. Theoperations, involving the stability-assisted-refloating method, werestarted last Saturday with the salvageteams making the necessary inspectiondives after two trucks ofSvitzerWijsmuller equipment hadarrived in the port of Antwerp theevening before. Work executed then alsoincluded the blocking off of bunker tankvent pipes (under water) to prevent oilpollution. The SvitzerWijsmuller navalarchitect in the meantime was engagedin measuring/sounding work andmodelling the vessel into the necessarycomputer systems. The Scaldis sheerlegNorma was used as a work baseinitially and its crew and furtherScaldis divers were merged into thecombined salvage team. On Sundayslings were installed underneath the45-50 degrees capsized vessel whichwere to be used for the necessarystability support to be given by Norma.Work then also was started to close thehull both from the outside as well asinside to ensure the availability of thenecessary watertight compartments.That section of work was completed onTuesday. On Sunday preparations werefurther started to install pumps at thenecessary locations and guide hoses andpower supply cables through the

5


Marine

vessels’s numerous decks. Special careand attention had to be given to thepotential explosive admosphere in thevessel caused amongst others by carfuel vapours. Also an additional 100-toncrane was located ashore to assist inoperations and (later) for a part cargodischarge. On Monday the workcontinued on positioning power supply-and pump hose-strings through thevessel, while a power supply base waslocated ashore. On Tuesday thedischarge operation of the cars started,whereby in total 84 cars were taken offfrom the tilted top-deck. The latest carsfrom the weather deck, locatedunderwater on the starboard side, werefinally removed with diver assistanceon Wednesday. With all preparationshaving been completed the combinedparbuckling and pumping operationstarted on Wednesday, whereafter thevessel in two hours was uprighted to a(close to) 0 deg list. The pumpingoperation continued according to aSvitzerWijsmuller naval architectcarefully developed pumping sequenceand was interrupted only as fromThursday prior to water being pumpedout from the engine-room and the holdscould start to contain fuel. In order toprevent pollution the discharged waterfrom the compartments from that timeon were pumped into a speciallyavailable tanker for disposal of thecontaminated water/fuel mixture. OnFriday the operations were completedand a notice of readiness was given to,and accepted by, the principals. Acontractually agreed six-hour standbyperiod then started whereafter thevessel was officially re-delivered to itsowners. In the meantime additionalwork was done to assist the principalseven further by removing another 34cars from the interrior of the vessel.

SEACOR LAREDO (Chile)See Berge Nice.

SMIT-LLOYD 32 (St. Vincent & Grenadines)

Abidjan, Jun 10 — Anchor handlingtug/supply Smit-Lloyd 32 arrivedAbidjan Jun 3. — Lloyd’s Agents.

SOZIDANIE (Vanuatu)Las Palmas, Jun 16 — Fish factory

Sozidanie is berthed in the Reina Sofiaquay, Las Palmas. At the moment norepairs are in hand as there is stillsome fire on board. — Lloyd’s Agents.

STERLING CARRIER (Canada)London, Jun 10 — Fish carrier

Sterling Carrier (503 gt, built 2002)reported loss of main engine andcollided with a fish pen at Mid SummerIsle Fish Farm, in Spring Pass, B.C, inlat 50 39N, long 126 40W, at 1140,PDST, Jun 9.

STEWART J.CORT (U.S.A.)Troy, Mich, Jun 14 — The finishing

touches are being applied to thedamaged bow of the USCG cutterHollyhock at Coast Guard StationDetroit. The damage was incurredduring ice breaking duties this pastwinter when Hollyhock got too close tobulk Stewart J.Cort. Final welding

repairs are being done, followed bygrinding and filling any pockets in thewelds. Sources say that as soon as thepaint is dried, the vessel will return toregular duties. — Great Lakes &Seaway Shipping.

SUNRISE (U.K.)London, Jun 15 — Following received

from Coastguard Shetland MRSC,timed 1746, UTC: Distress signalreceived from fishing Sunrise (225 gt,built 1984), with six persons on board,reporting the vessel is taking water inthe Oisberg Oilfield, in lat 60 24.38N,long 02 39.15E. Rescue helicopter OCscrambled and is presently on sceneand lowering pumps onto the vessel.Fishing Ocean Dawn is alongside.

London, Jun 15 — Following receivedfrom Coastguard Shetland MRSC,timed 1117, UTC: Fishing Sunrise hasnow been pumped dry and is proceedingto Lerwick, closely escorted by fishingOcean Dawn, ETA 0030, UTC, Jun 16.

London, Jun 15 — Following receivedfrom Coastguard Shetland MRSC,timed 1505, UTC: Fishing Sunrise isnow making for Fraserburghaccompanied by fishing Ocean Dawn,with 190 miles to run at 9.5 knots. Ithas given an ETA of 0900, UTC, Jun 16.A communication schedule iscontinuing at hourly intervals.

London, Jun 16 — Following receivedfrom Coastguard Shetland MRSC,timed 1150, UTC: Fishing Sunrisearrived Fraserburgh at 1000, UTC.Search and rescue operationsterminated.

SVEN OLTMANN (Antigua & Barbuda)

Bilbao, Jun 14 — C.c. Sven Oltmannarrived Bilbao Jun 11 and sailed Jun12. — Lloyd’s Agents.

TAVASTLAND (U.K.)London, Jun 15 — Understand c.c.

Tavastland (7519 gt, built 2003)grounded in Kiel Canal after machinefailure Jun 13. Tug Bulk, from Kiel,assisted the vessel and it proceeded Jun14. (Note — Tavastland , Kotka forHamburg, passed Brunsbuttel 0130,Jun 14 and arrived Hamburg 0454same day.)

THAILINE 6 (Malaysia)Yokohama, Jun 11 — General cargo

Thailine 6 arrived Tomakomai Jun 5and sailed Jun 6. — Lloyd’s Agents.

THOR HAWK (DIS)Kochi, Jun 14 — Understand c.c. Thor

Hawk (1964 gt, built 1992) anchored100 miles off Kochi port due to enginetrouble Jun 11. The vessel has not yetbeen able to engage a tug to tow it toKochi for repairs. — Lloyd’s Agents.

THOR KIS (Isle of Man)Malta, Jun 10 — General cargo Thor

Kis arrived and sailed Valletta Jun 10for Venice. — Lloyd’s Agents.

VANGUARD (Antigua & Barbuda)Massluis, Jun 11 — General cargo

Vanguard experienced turbo-chargerproblems. Repairs took about 32 hours.— Lloyd’s Sub-agents.

London, Jun 13 — General cargoVanguard sailed Rotterdam 0325, Jun11, bound Waterford.

VICTORINA III (Sweden)Stockhom, Jun 17 — Chartered

passenger Victorina III , with 23passengers on board, grounded lastnight outside Grinda Island in theStockholm archipelago. One passengerwas slightly injured. The vessel wasevacuated due to the fact that it wastaking in water. — Lloyd’s Agents.

London, Jun 17 — Following receivedfrom Swedish Shipping Inspectorate,timed 0747, UTC: Passenger VictorinaIII (83 gt) was refloated at 0130, Jun17, and is now berthed at KummelnasShipyard, about 20 miles east ofStockholm.

VIKING EUROPE (German)London, Jun 11 — A press report,

dated Jun 10, states: Passenger VikingEurope, (not European Viking as beforereported) registered in Germany, strucka piling on the Reichsbruecke bridge,one of the main spans carrying trafficover the Danube in central Vienna,today, injuring 19 people, officials said.Of the 135 passengers on board, 129were Americans, authorities said. Therest were Britons and Canadians, thevessel was manned by a crew of 39. Thevessel began its journey in Amsterdam,Netherlands, and its final destinationwas Budapest, Hungary. Police Col.Robert Haas said the 19 victims, whoincluded 16 Americans and two Britishnationals, suffered minor injuries,mainly scratches and bruises. One ofthe injured was a cook who sufferedlight burns, Haas said. The injuredwere taken to a hospital for treatment,rescue officials said. All but the cookwere released by mid afternoon. Thecollision damaged the restaurant deckof the vessel. The Vienna navigationauthority said the stern of the vesselrammed the bridge at about 0800 as itwas beginning to turn around,smashing windows and showeringpassengers with flying shards of glass.The Reichsbruecke bridge, a popularlandmark in Vienna was not seriouslydamaged, officials said. Michael Kaindl,a Vienna city engineer, told Austrianmedia the skipper should have waiteduntil the vessel was downstream of thebridge to begin the turn. The vessel wasjust upstream when it hit the span,officials said. Investigators said thesecond officer, and not the vessel’smaster, was at the helm when theaccident occurred. The officer was saidto be distressed and in shock and wasbeing treated by psychiatric experts.The German company that operated thevessel, Klaus Saar GmbH, sent atechnical expert to evaluate thedamage, and the company laterdeclared the vessel fit to continue thejourney to Budapest.

VIKING II (New Zealand)Auckland, Jun 17 — Fishing Viking II

has been sold on an “as is, where isbasis” in its damaged condition. Thepurchaser has a view to completerepairs and return it to commercialfishing operations. The vessel still

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Marine

remains on the hard at Dockland 5 inWhangarei pending moving to theowners yard. — Lloyd’s Agents.

WILLOW (Bahamas)London, Jun 14 — Following received

from Coastguard Falmouth MRCC,timed 0710, UTC: General cargo Willow(1560 gt, built 1983), Bilbao forAntwerp with general cargo, reportedmain engine breakdown due to injectorproblem in lat 49 02N, long 04 54W, at0110, UTC, Jun 13. The vessel iscurrently under tow of general cargoFir, bound Plymouth. Position at 0700,UTC, Jun 14, lat 49 43N, long 04 27W.

London, Jun 14 — Following receivedfrom Coastguard Brixham MRSC, timed1530, UTC: General cargo Willow ,under tow of general cargo Fir, speedseven knots, course 060, was in lat 5011.4N, long 03 33.6W at 1451, UTC.ETA Torbay 1900, UTC.

London, Jun 14 — Following receivedfrom Coastguard Brixham MRSC, timed1724, UTC: General cargo Willow is nowin VHF communications with Brixhampilots who are boarding this time.Willow will now proceed to anchor inTorbay anchorage area. General cargoFir is now proceeding on passage toSeville.

London, Jun 16 — Following receivedfrom Coastguard Brixham MRSC, timed1304, UTC: At 1748, UTC, Jun 14,general cargo Willow was reported to beat anchor in Torbay. Brixham pilotsreport that vessel resumed passage at1300 hrs, today.

XIANG XIU (Panama)Yokohama, Jun 10 — C.c. Xiang Xiu

arrived and sailed Yokohama Jun 9,arriving Tokyo same day. — Lloyd’sAgents.

YU BAO NO.1 (Taiwan)Suva, Jun 16 — The crew of Taiwan

fishing Yu Bao No.1 were stranded ona reef a f ter i t ran aground nearNukubuco passage, entrance to Suvaharbour, in lat 18 11S, long 178 25E,Jun 15. Understand the vessel wasreturning to Suva from high seasafter a f i shing tr ip when i t ranaground. Believe 12 crew membersare still on board waiting for hight ide in order to sa lve the vesse l .Vessel is insured by M/S, ShinkongInsurance Co. Ltd, Taipei, under hullpolicy condition which is Total LossOnly extended to cover fire and warrisks. At this stage the insurers areconcerned about the salvage reward.— Lloyd’s Agents.

Suva, Jun 16 — Fibreglass fishing YuBao No.1 YJSN5, official No 1423,length 23.8 m, 93.1 gt, completed 2002,is owned by Yuh Yow Marine VanuatuCo Ltd, built by Shing Sheng Ha BoatBuilding Co Ltd, Kaohsiung. Vessel,which has two masts and two decks andis not classed, is still stranded on thereef. Attempts will be made by thesalvors to refloat the vessel in duecourse. The owners are yet to engage asalvage company. Understand vesselwas carrying 40 tons of fish out ofwhich 20 tons has been removed. —Lloyd’s Agents.

INDONESIALondon, Jun 14 — A press report,

dated today, states: The Indonesiannavy said yesterday it had stormedproduct tanker Pematang/Pertamina1021 (12450 gt, built 1979), held byseparatists from Aceh province for aweek, and shot dead three of thehijackers. The navy stormed the vessel,belonging to the state-owned oil andgas company Pertamina, on Friday(Jun 11) after calls for the pirates tosurrender were met with gunfire,Major Novi Arie said. Three pirateswere shot and two managed to flee,said the navy spokesman from a basein Belawan, North Sumatra. ‘Thevictims turned out to be armedmembers of the GAM (Free AcehMovement),’ Major Arie said. He couldnot give details of their identities butsaid their bodies were taken to ahospital in the North Sumatra capitalMedan. One of the vessel’s crew hadalerted the authorities by satellitetelephone soon after the piratesboarded the vessel when it wasanchored in the Makassar Strait, MajorArie said. The spokesman could not sayhow many crew were on board. None ofthem or the navy troops were injured inthe operation, he said. Three AK-56automatic rifles and bullets were seizedfrom the victims. The state Antaranews agency reported that thehijackers had demanded a ransom of500 million rupiah (S$91,500), butMajor Arie could not confirm this. Thevessel had been on the way fromDumai, a port in Riau province, toBelawan for repairs.

MALACCA STRAITLondon, Jun 15 — A press report,

dated Jun 14, states: Three Malaysianfishermen have been kidnapped in theMalacca Strait in pre-dawn raids bypirates believed to be from Indonesia,the off icial Bernama news agencyreported. The pirates, on board a largetrawler and armed with automaticweapons, boarded small boats used bythe Malaysian prawn fishermen aboutthree nautical miles off the west coastof Perak state, the agency said. Itquoted crew members who were notseized as saying the pirates spoke anIndonesian dialect. State executivecouncillor Ho Cheng Wang said nobelongings or cash were taken in theincidents and he believed theabductors might demand ransom. Lastmonth, pirates believed to beIndonesians kidnapped four Thaifishermen in the strait off Malaysia’snorthern Penang state and demandedransom of 40,000 ringgit ($15,300). InApril , pirates kidnapped a Thaif isherman in the strait off Kendiisland. He was released after ransomwas paid.

GIBRALTARSee Nordica under “Marine.”

ROMANIABucharest, Jun 11 — General cargo

Hope 1 sailed from Constantza on Jun 8for Saudi Arabia under the new nameSanhope. — Lloyd’s Agents.

BOW SATURN (NIS)Maassluis, Jun 14 — Chem.tank Bow

Saturn was released from detention onJun 9 and departed from Rotterdam2350, Jun 11, bound for Durban. —Lloyd’s Sub-agents.

DUIVELAND (Netherlands)Maassluis, Jun 14 — General cargo

Duiveland is still under arrest in theRotterdam area. — Lloyd’s Sub-agents.

EL DJAZAIR (Libya)Alexandria, Jun 4 — General cargo El

Djazair arrived Alexandria Jun 3. —Lloyd’s Agents.

FESTIVAL CRUISES INCLondon, Jun 15 — A press report,

dated today, states: Alstom yesterdayadmitted that it was behind the Euros131m ($158m) purchase of formerFestival Cruises passenger Mistral, atauction in Marseilles last week. Thegroup, which has a 100% interest in theship via a vendor financing package,said that Auro Shipping, the MarshallIslands-registered company whichbought the vessel, was a subsidiary setup specifically for the operation. Itadded that the acquisition was aøtemporary solutionø aimed at enablingit to resell the ship in the best possibleconditions without being constrained bydeadlines fixed by the French judiciary.Norwegian broker, RS Platou, saidyesterday that it had been appointed tofind a charter and/or buyer for Mistral.

GENI ONE (Comoros)Bucharest, Jun 2 — General cargo

Jihan, ex Geni One, arrived ConstantzaMay 31. — Lloyd’s Agents.

JAREF (Libya)London, Jun 11 — General cargo Jaref

sailed Split Apr 30.

LAEMTHONG GLORY (Thailand)Aden, Jun 10 — General cargo

Laemthong Glory is still at Aden underarrest. It is very difficult to get anyclear cut information as to when thevessel will be released. — Lloyd’sAgents.

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Marine/Piracy/Port State Control/Seizures & Arrests

Aden, Jun 13 — General cargoLaemthong Glory, under arrest at Aden:Understand local law firm currentlyendeavouring to secure vessel’s release.— Lloyd’s Agents.

MAERSK ABERDEEN (Singapore)London, Jun 13 — A press report,

dated Jun 12, states: Kerala High Courthas directed the deputy conservator ofKochi (India) Port Trust to seize anddetain c.c. Maersk Aberdeen, anchoredat Kochi Port following allegednegligence on the part of the shippersin handling some seafood sent by acompany in the state. Justice KBalakrishnan Nair passed the order ona petition by Esmario ExportEnterprises, Kollam, complainingnegligence on the part of the shippersin handling seafood sent to Spain fromKochi on Aug 20, 2003. The court heldthat if a security of US dollar 78,700was deposited by the ship’s owner ortheir agents, the vessel could bereleased. According to the petitioner,due to some fault in the refrigerationfacility in the ship, some 1,200 cartonsof frozen cuttle fish, exported to Spain,got spoilt and was inedible, causing aloss of about Rs 35.59 lakh to thecompany.

Colombo, Jun 14 — C.c. MaerskAberdeen arrived Colombo Jun 13. —Lloyd’s Agents.

MISTRAL (Wallis & Futuna)See “Festival Cruises Inc.”

OLERAMA (Spain)London, Jun 15 — A press report,

dated Jun 14, states: The Naval Servicehas detained Spanish trawler Olerama(199 gt, built 1967) for alleged breachesof fishing regulations. Olerama wasdetained off the Co Kerry coastyesterday by Le Orla on suspicion ofbreaching regulations on net size andwas escorted to port in Castletownbere.

OSTWIND (Antigua & Barbuda)Maassluis, Jun 14 — General cargo

Ostwind is still under arrest atVlaardingen. — Lloyd’s Sub-agents.

SANTA GIULIETTA (Liberia)Lima, Jun 10 — C.c. Santa Giulietta,

which remained immobilized for almosttwo months in the port of the Callao,has proceeded to the port of Iquique. APeruvian customs team and fiverepresentatives from the PublicMinistry concluded May 15 the revisionof 418 non-declared containers of theship. The operative was carried outduring three days, which gave as a finalresult that there was not any type ofillegal merchandise, in opposition towhat Peruvian authorities supposed,finally closing the investigation. Thevessel arrived at Callao on Mar 20,coming originally from Asia, beforestopping at Buenaventura, Colombia. Itwas trying to sail Mar 22 whenmoments before it launched it wastaken by Peru Customs, verifying thatthey had only declared a part of morethan 750 containers that the ship had.

By virtue of the case, authorities of theneighbouring country arranged therevision of the non-declared containers,disposition that the captain of the ship,Mathias Thalhammer, refused to fulfill.The argument of the captain and itsrepresentatives was that the questionedload did not have to be declared, sinceits final destiny was Chile, stayingunder the condition of transitmerchandise. After two months ofdisputes about the legality or illegalityof the intervention of the containers,the Peruvian customs began therevision of the questioned containers onMay 12. After three days of work thefinal result: A dispute loaded withbureaucracies and no type ofcontraband on board. — Lloyd’s Agents.

SIMWER (Netherlands)Maassluis, Jun 14 — General cargo

Simwer is still under arrest in theRotterdam area. — Lloyd’s Sub-agents.

STRILBAS (Norway)Maassluis, Jun 14 — Standby safety

vessel Strilbas is still under arrest atRotterdam. — Lloyd’s Sub-agents.

TURTLE (Belize)London, Jun 11 — Lloyd’s Casualty

representatives in Piraeus report: Thefive crewmembers of Belize-flaggedcargo vessel Turtle were arrested thismorning for discharging 2540 boxes ofcontraband cigarettes in the Peristeriaregion of Salamina. The vessel’s cargohad been loaded at Bourgas, with adestination of Albania. In the sameregion, the Coast Guard located andarrested eight individuals who were toreceive and transport the cargo intrucks. The vessel, cargo and truckshave been impounded.

VOYAGER (Netherlands Antilles)Maassluis, Jun 14 — General cargo

Voyager is still under arrest atRotterdam. — Lloyd’s Sub-agents.

BEGARI WAH AREA, SINDHPROVINCE, PAKISTAN

Karachi, Jun 16 — Balochistan-SuiSouthern Gas Company (SSGC) saidthis afternoon that its team ofengineers had this morning repaired aportion of the damaged gas pipelines atBegari Wah, near the village of Gabol,in Sindh Province, Pakistan. Thepipelines, which carry gas to thenorthern area of the country, weredamaged on Monday night (Jun 14) in ahuge blast near the Sui gas “filed” (?field). However, no suspension in thesupply of gas was reported in any partof country and the gas supply to PunjabProvince was supplemented thoroughextra supplies. — Lloyd’s ListCorrespondent.

KAOHSIUNG, TAIWANLondon, Jun 16 — A press report,

dated today, states: An oil-spillcollection vessel overturned atKaohsiung harbour, Taiwan, on Jun 15.The spilled oil polluted a large area ofthe sea offshore, no casualties werereported. A crane is being used tosalvage the vessel.

AUSTRALIALondon, Jun 11 — A press report,

dated today, states: A dramatic stormswept across Sydney overnight causingflash-flooding and closing major roads,with the city’s south-east the worstaffected. The Bureau of Meteorologysaid about 40 mm of rain fell at Sydneyairport, near the worst hit areas ofKurnell and Botany, before the stormmoved through the eastern suburbs.The thunderstorm struck about 2130,AEST, pounding mainly coastal parts ofthe city with heavy rain for around anhour, the bureau said. However,emergency workers said most calls forhelp from were false alarms, with onlyminor damage reported. “Because therain came in quickly, there’s been somelocal flooding,” a State EmergencyServices spokesman said. A build-up ofautumn leaves had likely worseneddrain blockages, which uncloggedquickly once the rain stopped, he said.The Roads and Traffic Authority saidthe conditions forced the temporaryclosure of several roads in Sydney’ssouthern and eastern suburbs, includingSans Souci, Kensington, RushcuttersBay and Woolloomooloo. Among themajor roads affected was Anzac Paradeat Todman Avenue, Kensington, whichwas closed in both directions for 30minutes, the RTA said. The bureau saidconditions eased quickly, with thechance of only light showers today.

BAY OF BENGALLondon, Jun 14 — A press report,

dated today, states: Bangladeshirescuers, battling rough seas, aresearching for around 140 fishermenmissing after a storm sank 20 boats inthe Bay of Bengal. Police say 10 bodieshave been found. Two people have beenrescued alive but in critical conditionwhile drifting for nearly 24 hours of thestorm. “The sinking of the boats wasreported late on Saturday (Jun 12),”Police Superintendent Ataul Kibria said.Fifteen fishermen had been rescued onSaturday but a fishing association says144 of their colleagues are missing.

8


Seizures & Arrests/Pipeline Accidents/Pollution/Weather & Navigation

London, Jun 14 — A press report,dated Jun 13, states: Three fishermendrowned and about 200 others weremissing after a powerful storm sank atleast 18 trawlers off Bangladesh’ssouthern coast, officials and survivorssaid today. Hundreds of people throngedthe beach in search of relatives afterthe storm lashed the Bay of Bengal offCox’s Bazar and neighbouring Tekhnafcoast yesterday. The storm packed 30-mph winds and generated waves ashigh as 40 feet. Villagers found threebodies washed ashore on Maheshkhaliisland in the Bay of Bengal lateyesterday, said Ataul Kibria, a seniorpolice official in Cox’s Bazar. NurulAmin, an owner of one of the losttrawlers, said only four of the 11 menon his vessel had made it back home bytoday. The strong winds and rough seasmade searching for the lost fishermentoo dangerous. “The sea is so choppyand rough that we can’t go out there,”Kibria said. A rescue official said hewas hopeful that many of the missingwere able to swim to small islands thatdot the coast, or were rescued by othervessels.

London, Jun 15 — A press report,dated Jun 14, states: Seven more bodieswashed up the Bangladesh coastline,raising the death toll from a powerfulweekend (Jun 12-13) storm to at least13, police said today. About 140fishermen were missing. The storm hiton Saturday, with waves reaching 40feet and wind gusts up to 30 mph. Atleast 20 trawlers capsized carrying anestimated 200 fishermen. The policeofficial said about 50 fishermen werepicked up or managed to swim to safety.“About 140 people were still missing,but we believe that many of them couldbe taking shelter in nearby islands, orwere rescued by villagers,” the officialsaid.

CHINALondon, Jun 15 — A press report,

dated today, states: Flooding caused bycontinuous torrential rain has killedtwo girls with three others missing insouth-west China’s Guizhou Provincesince Monday (Jun 14). Three peoplewere swept away while a three-year-oldgirl was killed in Shuicheng County anda 13-year-old schoolgirl found dead onthe way to school in Fenggang Countyrespectively on Monday and Tuesday,according to the provincial flood controloffice. A total of 90,000 people in 13villages has been affected by the floodand 780 houses damaged, said officials.The local weather station shows thenorthern and middle parts of theprovince has received great quantity ofrainfall and thundershowers. Suchweather will probably continue to theweekend.

KENYALondon, Jun 16 — A press report,

dated today, states: The Kenyangovernment has said it is responding tofood shortages in areas suffering fromdrought. More than one million peopleare threatened with hunger in Easternand Coastal Provinces. Food suppliesincluding cooking oil, sorghum and ricehave been sent to the affected districts

to ensure reserve stock piles aresufficient. Stephen Tarus, assistantminister in charge of food security, saiddelays were due to “logistical reasons”.Drought is not uncommon in Kenya andthe government has been criticised forits slow response to the situation.Desperate residents in the coastaldistrict of Kwale are reported to beliving off wild tubers, because of acutefood shortages. Responding to thecriticism, Mr Tarus insisted that theKenyan government had a sound foodpolicy. He said Kenya was anagricultural-based economy and thegovernment had “elaborate plans” forthe provision of Kenya’s food. The foodshortages have been exacerbated bycontaminated maize stocks in parts ofthe Eastern province. According toHealth Minister Charity Ngilu, 80% oflocally available maize stocks wereaffected. Over 80 people have died fromeating the poisonous maize. Mr Tarusexplained that the contaminationoccurs when the maize is stored inconditions not suitable for food, but thishad now been dealt with.

NICARAGUALondon, Jun 12 — A press report,

dated today, states: Storms have flooded811 homes in Nicaragua’s Caribbeancity Puerto Cabezas, forcing 200 peopleout of their homes. A collapsed bridgecut off Puerto Cabezas, 350 kilometresnorth-east of Managua, from thenearest town, Lamlaya. Although rainsstopped yesterday, the NicaraguanTerritorial Studies Institute said therains were expected to resume today.

TYPHOON “CHANTHU”London, Jun 11 — Following received

from the Meteorological Office: Tropicalstorm “Chanthu” near lat 13.0N, long115.3E, at 0600, UTC, Jun 11.Movement past six hours 290 deg at sixknots. Position accurate to within 40nautical miles, based on centre locatedby satellite. Maximum sustained winds50 knots with gusts to 65 knots. Radiusof 34-knot winds 70 nautical milesnorth semicircle, 65 nautical mileselsewhere. Forecast for 1800, UTC:Position lat 13.9N, long 113.5E.Maximum sustained winds 55 knotswith gusts to 70 knots. Radius of 50-knot winds 20 nautical miles. Radius of34-knot winds 70 nautical miles northsemicircle, 65 nautical miles elsewhere.Forecast for 0600, UTC, Jun 12:Position lat 14.6N, long 111.7E.Maximum sustained winds 60 knotswith gusts to 75 knots. Radius of 50-knot winds 25 nautical miles. Radius of34-knot winds 75 nautical miles northsemicircle, 65 nautical miles elsewhere.

London, Jun 14 — A press report,dated Jun 13, states: Typhoon“Chanthu” killed seven people and leftseven more missing when it sweptthrough central Vietnam over theweekend (Jun 12-13), officials saidtoday. Five fishermen were killed whentheir vessel sank on Saturday off thecoast of Binh Dinh province, some 650miles south of Hanoi, said the officialfrom the provincial floods and stormscontrol bureau. Another man, who waswashing his feet in a river, drowned

after being sucked in by the strongcurrent. A sixth fisherman was killedwhen strong winds forced two fishingvessels against the dock, crushing him,the official said. The typhoon alsoinjured five people and destroyed ordamaged more than 180 houses in theprovince. In neighbouring Danang andQuang Ngai province, seven fishermenwere reported missing, officials theresaid. No damage estimates wereavailable. The National Centre forMeteorology said the typhoon, whichformed in the South China Sea, hitcentral Vietnam on Saturday afternoonand died down that night.

TYPHOON “CONSON”London, Jun 11 — Following received

from the Meteorological Office: Tropicalstorm “Conson” near lat 32.9N, long133.9E, at 0600, UTC, Jun 11.Movement past six hours 045 deg at 26knots. Position accurate to within 40nautical miles, based on centre locatedby a combination of satellite and radar.Maximum sustained winds 40 knotswith gusts to 50 knots. Extratropical.Forecast for 1800, UTC: osition lat36.3N, long 138.4E. Maximumsustained winds 35 knots with gusts to45 knots. Extratropical. Forecast for0600, UTC, Jun 12: Position lat 40.0N,long 144.4E. Maximum sustained winds30 knots with gusts to 40 knots.Extratropical.

TYPHOON “DIANMU”London, Jun 14 — Following received

from the Meteorological Office: Tropicalstorm “Dianmu” near lat 09.6N, long136.5E, at 0600, UTC, Jun 14.Movement past six hours 025 deg at twoknots. Position accurate to within 60nautical miles, based on centre locatedby satellite. Maximum sustained winds55 knots with gusts to 70 knots. Radiusof 50-knot winds 10 nautical miles.Radius of 34-knot winds 90 nauticalmiles north semicircle, 70 nauticalmiles elsewhere. Forecast for 1800,UTC: Position lat 10.5N, long 136.5E.Maximum sustained winds 65 knotswith gusts to 80 knots. Radius of 50-knot winds 25 nautical miles. Radius of34-knot winds 95 nautical miles northsemicircle, 75 nautical miles elsewhere.Forecast for 0600, UTC, Jun 15:Position lat 11.7N, long 136.2E.Maximum sustained winds 75 knotswith gusts to 90 knots. Radius of 64-knot winds 15 nautical miles. Radius of50-knot winds 35 nautical miles. Radiusof 34-knot winds 100 nautical milesnorth semicircle, 80 nautical mileselsewhere.

London, Jun 16 — Following receivedfrom Meteorological Office, dated today:At 0600, UTC, today, the centre oftyphoon “Dianmu” was located near lat15.1N, long 136.0E, approximately 820nautical miles south-east of Kadenaand has tracked northwestward, 325degs, at 10 knots over the past sixhours. Position accurate to within 30nautical miles and based on eye fixedby satellite. Present wind distribution:maximum sustained winds 155 knots,gusts 190 knots. Radius of 64 knotwinds: 40 nautical miles in all fourquadrants. Maximum significant wave

9


Weather & Navigation

height is 40 feet. At 0600, UTC, Jun 17,the centre is predicted to be near lat18.0N, long 133.8E, with maximumsustained winds of 150 knots and guststo 180 knots.

London, Jun 17 — Following receivedfrom Meteorological Office, dated today:At 0600, UTC, today, the centre oftyphoon “Dianmu” was located near lat17.6N, long 133.8E. Movement over thepast six hours: 305 degs at nine knots.Position is accurate to within 20nautical miles and based on eye fixedby satellite. Present wind distribution:maximum sustained winds: 140 knots,gusts 170 knots. Radius of 64 knotwinds: 40 nautical miles in all fourquadrants. At 0600, UTC, Jun 18, thecentre is predicted to be near lat 19.8N,long 131.0E, with maximum sustainedwinds of 125 knots and gusts to 150knots.

UNITED STATESLondon, Jun 11 — A press report,

dated Jun 10, states: Severe storms thisweek caused about $100 million indamage in the Denver area, floodingbasements, denting cars andpuncturing roofs. It’s been nearly adecade since Colorado has seen thatkind of damage from severe weather,said Carole Walker, spokeswoman forRocky Mountain Insurance InformationAssociation. Walker said her $100million estimate includes millions inwater damage that is not covered bymost homeowner policies. Thousands ofhome and car owners were learningtoday what is covered and what isn’t.“We are anticipating 10,000 auto claimsat a projected cost of $30 million, and7,500 homeowners claims at a projectedcost of $26.3 million,” said KellyCampbell, of State Farm Insurance.

London, Jun 14 — A press report,dated Jun 12, states: Tornadoesdamaged farm buildings and crops asviolent thunderstorms battered south-eastern Minnesota and northern Iowa.One twister destroyed DavidMickelson’s barn, home, garage,machine shed and silo south of Otho,Iowa. No injuries were reported in thestorms that started yesterday afternoonand continued through the evening. Atleast six tornadoes touched down nearthe south-central Kansas town ofMulvane this evening, destroying onehome and damaging another,overturning cars and and downingpower lines. Several other tornadoeswere reported elsewhere in the state,but there were no immediate reports ofinjuries. Seven tornadoes struck south-eastern Minnesota yesterday, smashingat least two farms and several homesnear LeRoy, about 40 miles south ofRochester, which got 1.34 inches of rain.In Iowa, the weather service estimatedfive to 10 tornadoes touched down inWebster County, including the one nearOtho. About five tornadoes toucheddown in rural Clay County, said sheriffRandy Drukow. One was about a half-mile wide, but most of the damage wasto crops, Drukow said. Another twisterdestroyed a farm building near Hartleyin O’Brien County. Tornadoes also werereported in Iowa’s Hamilton, Palo Alto,Kossuth and Emmet counties, and hail

up to 2 inches in diameter hammeredparts of Webster County, authoritiessaid. Heavy rain hit parts of south-western West Virginia today, forcingevacuations and closing all roads intothe town of Matewan. Homes also wereevacuated in other parts of MingoCounty and in Mercer County.

London, Jun 14 — A press report,dated Jun 13, states: Crews workedtoday to restore power to thousands ofresidents following thunderstorms thatswept across Missouri and Kansas,spawning tornadoes and causing atleast one traffic death and a drowning.At least six tornadoes touched downsouth of Wichita, KS, destroying threehomes, damaging more than a dozenothers and overturning cars anddowning power lines in Sumner County.Several funnel clouds were reported inMissouri as the storm moved into thestate from Nebraska. Winds were sostrong on Truman Lake, about 70 milessouth-east of Kansas City, that a 16-footboat was swamped by large waves. Thebody of the boat’s owner, Vance Wiles ofWillard, MO, was found along the shoretoday, officials said. A four-year-old girldied in a multiple-car wreck yesterday,the Missouri State Highway Patrolsaid. The child was a passenger in oneof three cars that stopped on the roadbecause of poor visibility. Another carstruck the vehicle, causing a chainreaction. About 110,000 customers inKansas and Missouri lost power duringthe storm, and many remained withoutelectricity today. Hail the size of tennisballs hit Bethany, MO, and there werereports that hail was so deep nearTarkio that snow ploughs were used toclear the streets, said meteorologistLisa Schmit. There were also somereports of flash flooding. In parts ofKansas, straight-line winds of up to 80mph felled large tree limbs and snappedsome trees in half, said Matt Wolters, ameteorologist with the NationalWeather Service in Topeka. In WestVirginia, emergency workers in MingoCounty helped about 250 familieswhose homes or apartments weredamaged in mudslides stemming fromthe fourth severe rain storm to hit thearea in two weeks. About 100 of theevacuees were from a public housingcomplex in North Matewan, whererocks and water tumbled from the yardsof hillside homes after retaining wallsgave way. “We’ve had extensive damage.But it’s not irreparable,” said directorVirginia Lewis. Residents wereexpected to be able to return tomorrow.In Michigan, severe thunderstormsspawned funnel clouds today in thestate’s Lower Peninsula, but no injurieswere immediately reported. Much ofIndiana remained drenched todayfollowing thunderstorms that filledrivers, flooded roads and temporarilyisolated a subdivision in WestLafayette. Officials said the Lafayetteregion received more than seven inchesof rain in 48 hours, leaving water fourfeet deep covering its streets.

London, Jun 15 — A press report,dated Jun 14, states: The heavy rainthat’s swamped much of Wisconsinduring the past month has caused $6million in damage to roads, dams and

other public infrastructure so far.Additonally, hundreds of homes andbusinesses have been flooded. Thedamage total is expected to climb evenhigher as federal officials continueassessing damage in 11 counties hithardest by the flooding. WisconsinEmergency Management spokeswomanLori Getter says as many as 550 homeshave been damaged by flooding. Federalassessors haven’t finished their work inFond du Lac, Green Lake and Dodgecounties. FEMA officials are done inClark, Columbia, Crawford, Grant,Ozaukee, Jefferson, Kenosha andVernon counties.

BANGLADESHKarachi, Jun 15 — An earthquake of

4.47 magnitude on the Richter scalerocked the Bangladesh southern portcity of Chittagong at 1739, yesterday.The epicentre of the light earthquakethat lasted for 24 seconds was 225 kmsoff the Chittagong Seismic Observatory,said a report of BangladeshMeteorological Department. — Lloyd’sList Correspondent.

CHILELondon, Jun 16 — A press report,

dated Jun 15, states: An earthquakewith a magnitude of 6.1 rattled Chile offthe country’s southern coast, the U.S.Geological Survey’s NationalEarthquake Information Centre said.No damages or injuries had beenreported 90 minutes after the temblorwas detected at 0717, local time. TheNational Earthquake InformationCentre said the temblor had itsepicentre about 630 kilometres south-west of Santiago. The quake’smagnitude was revised to 6.1 from 5.6by the National EarthquakeInformation Centre.

GREECE-TURKEY BORDERLondon, Jun 15 — A press report,

dated today, states: A strongearthquake measuring 5.1 on the open-ended Richter scale struck under theGreek-Turkish sea border, with noinjuries or damage reported, theGeodynamic Institute of the AthensObservatory said. The tremor, in thenorthern Aegean sea, was recorded at1503 hrs (1203, UTC) today, 324kilometres northeast of Athens. Thequake was felt in the Greek island ofSamothraki and the Turkish seasidetown of Canakkale.

IRANLondon, Jun 12 — A press report, dated

today, states: A mild temblor measuring3.3 degrees on the Richter scale hit thesouth-eastern city of Chalous today. Theseismological base of TehranUniversity`s Geophysics Instituteregistered the quake at 1113, local time.There were no immediate reports of anycasualties or damage to property.

10


Weather & Navigation/Earthquakes

London, Jun 15 — A press report,dated today, states: An earthquakemeasuring 3 degrees on the open-endedRichter scale rattled Hamil district, 80km south-west of Eslam Abad-e Gharb,last night. The seismological base ofKermanshah recorded the tremor at2252, local time. There were noimmediate reports of any casualties ordamage to property caused by thequake.

London, Jun 16 — A press report,dated Jun 15, states: An earthquakemeasuring 3.9 degrees on the open-ended Richter scale hit the city ofTakestan in Qazvin province, north ofIran, early today. According to theseismological base of TehranUniversity`s Geophysics Institute thetremor occurred at 0354, local time.There were no immediate reports ofany casualt ies or damage toproperties.

London, Jun 16 — A press report,dated Jun 15, states: An earthquakemeasuring 3.1 degrees on open endedRichter scale rattled the city of TorbatHeidariyeh, in the north-easternprovince of Khorassan, last night. Theseismological base of TehranUniversity`s geophysics instituterecorded the tremor at 2143, local time.There were no immediate reports of anycasualties or damage to property causedby the quake.

London, Jun 17 — A press report,dated Jun 16, states: A mild earthquakemeasuring 3.6 degrees on the Richterscale hit suburbs of the city of Bam insouth-eastern Kerman province thismorning. Kerman`s seismological baseaffiliated to the Geophysics Institute ofTehran University recorded the temblorat 0607, local time. There were noimmediate reports of any possibledamage.

JAPANLondon, Jun 11 — A press report,

dated yesterday, states: An earthquakeregistering an estimated 5.4 on theRichter scale jolted Japan’s southernHokkaido island early today, Kyodonews reported. There were noimmediate reports of injuries or damagefrom the quake, which occurred around0300 hrs, Kyodo reported the JapanMeteorological Agency as saying. Thequake measured 3 on the Japaneseseismic intensity scale of 7 inTomakomai, Urakawa and several otherlocations in Hokkaido, according to theagency. Its focus was about 60kilometres underground in the southernTokachi region in Hokkaido, Japan’snorthernmost main island, the agencysaid.

London, Jun 12 — A press report,dated today, states: An earthquakeregistering an estimated magnitude of4.8 on the Richter scale rattlednortheastern Japan at 0205, today, theJapan Meteorological Agency said. Thequake measured 4 on the Japaneseseismic intensity scale of 7 in the townof Hashikami in Aomori Prefecture and3 in Nagawa and several other locationsin Aomori and Iwate prefectures.

MEXICOLondon, Jun 15 — A press report,

dated yesterday, states: An earthquakeshook Mexico City today, swayingskyscrapers, panicking residents andtemporarily knocking out power tosome neighbourhoods. There have beenno reports of injures or major damage.The tremor measured 5.8 on theRichter scale and was centred off thecoast of southern Oaxaca state, about530 km south-east of Mexico City,according to the National AutonomousUniversity of Mexico’s earthquakecentre. Authorities in the capital saidthey had received no reports of injuresor major damage, but phone servicesnear the epicentre was knocked out,making it difficult to know immediatelythe extent of the damage in that area.Brian Lassige, of the US GeologicalSurvey in Golden, Colorado, saidofficials there registered the quake at5.6-magnitude. He said the temblorprobably felt worse than it actually wasin Mexico City. Hundreds of people inthe capital spilled out of homes, storesand office buildings and congregated onstreets beginning to fill up with rushhour traffic just before 1800 hrs.

RUSSIALondon, Jun 11 — A press report,

dated today, states: A strongearthquake hit the KamchatkaPeninsula in Russia’s Far East, theHong Kong Observatory said today.There were no immediate reports ofdamage or casualties. The magnitude6.9 quake struck at 2328, Hong Kongtime, yesterday, said the observatory,which monitors seismic activity in theregion. The quake’s epicentre was onthe peninsula, about 680km south-eastof Russia’s Magadan region.

SAUDI ARABIALondon, Jun 10 — A press report,

dated today, states: A mild earthquakemeasuring 4.3 on the Richter Scale hita desert area in northern SaudiArabia today, causing minimaldamage, reports said. Ali al-Ghamidi,an official at the geophysical centre atKing Fahd’s Petroleum University,said the tremor is “a normalhappening in the northern region dueto its proximity to the Gulf of Aqabawhich stands on a fault .” He saidthese common tremors usually causeminor damage such as cracks in oldbuildings and streets as well as in oldoil and water pipelines.

UNITED STATESLondon, Jun 16 — A press report,

dated Jun 15, states: A 5.1-magnitudeearthquake centered in Baja Californiashook downtown San Diego thisafternoon, but there were no immediatereports of damage or injury. Thetemblor struck abut 1528 hrs and wascentered about 60 miles west ofTijuana, Mexico, said Deborah Hedges,a spokeswoman for seismologists at theCalifornia Institute of Technology inPasadena.

London, Jun 16 — A press report,dated Jun 15, states: An earthquakeshook south-east Missouri in the area of

the New Madrid fault early today,rattling dishes but causing no damageor injuries. The magnitude 3.7 temblorwas centered some 15 miles west-north-west of New Madrid, according to theU.S. Geological Survey’s NationalEarthquake Information Centre inGolden, Colo.

MOUNT AWU, INDONESIALondon, Jun 13 — A press report,

dated today, states: Vulcanologists havedowngraded the alert for Indonesia’sMount Awu volcano, saying it hascooled after an eruption last week thatsent rocks 3,000 metres into the air.Officials say most of the 20,000 peoplewho fled their homes can now return.Only those living on the northern slopeof the volcano are being told to stayaway. Mount Awu is on Sanghiheisland, in Indonesia’s north. Meanwhilein East Java, vulcanologists are stillmonitoring Mount Bromo, whicherupted last week, killing aSingaporean and an Indonesian touristwho were hit by a shower of rocks.Officials say it will be a couple of daysbefore they can say the mountain issafe.

London, Jun 14 — A press report,dated today, states: A major volcaniceruption from Indonesia’s Mount Awu isstill possible although there has been areduction of visible activity at thecrater, vulcanologists said. A series oferuptions of ash and smoke havespewed from the 6,562-foot volcano inrecent days, forcing the evacuation ofabout 20,000 people living on its slopes,but there have been no lava flows orcasualties. “This morning the activityhas visually reduced drastically. It isspewing nothing but white smoke,”vulcanologist Syamsu said fromSangihe island, 1,400 miles north-eastof Jakarta where the volcano is located.“The smoke plume is about 70- 80metres high,” Rizal said, adding themountain and surrounding areas werestill on the highest level of alert.“Looking at the data from seismographsover the past 24 hours, it shows thatthe mountain is not totally idle, there isstill a possibility of a major eruption,”Rizal said. The Indonesian archipelagosits astride the Pacific ring of fire andhas more than 100 active volcanoes.Mount Awu, one of the most activevolcanoes in the sprawling archipelago,has erupted repeatedly since the 17thcentury. Following the first eruptionlast Monday (Jun 7), access to theisland, where copra and fishing are themajor industries, has been limited to a10-hour ferry ride from Sulawesi island.The airport is closed because of smokeand the danger of an eruption.

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Earthquakes/Volcanic Activity

AFGHANISTANLondon, Jun 14 — A press report,

dated Jun 12, states: The US militarysays it has killed more than 80 anti-government militants in recentoperations in a rebel stronghold ofsouth-east Afghanistan. A spokesmansaid the casualties were inflicted duringan offensive that began three weeks agoin the Daychopan area, some 300kmsouth-west of Kabul. The dead mayhave been Taleban and al-Qaedafighters, or Hezb-e Islami militiamenallied to them, he added. The number ofdead has not been independentlyverified.

London, Jun 16 — A press report,dated today, states: A remote-controlledbomb detonated near a convoy ofinternational peacekeepers in northernAfghanistan today, killing three civilianbystanders, police said. The roadsidebomb exploded at about 1000 inKunduz, 150 miles north of Kabul, saidMutaleb Beg, the police chief of Kunduzprovince. Another explosion todaydamaged the office of a British reliefagency in northern Afghanistan andinjured an Afghan guard, police said.That blast occurred at 0300 outside theoffice of the ActionAid group inFaizabad, the capital of Badakhshanprovince 190 miles northeast of Kabul,said Fazel Ahmad Nazeri, a seniorpolice investigator.

COLOMBIALondon, Jun 11 — A press report,

dated Jun 10, states: Colombia’sgovernment has offered to halt offensiveoperations against the country’s second-largest rebel group, if it calls aceasefire. The National LiberationArmy (ELN) has opened channels fordialogue with the government ofPresident Alvaro Uribe. The new aim isto separate the ELN from its morepowerful cousin, the Farc. The Farc, orRevolutionary Armed Forces ofColombia, with about 16,000 fighters, isthe main threat to Colombian security.The ELN is smaller, with an estimated3,500 fighters. The government’s aim isto entice the ELN into a separate peaceagreement, allowing the armed forces toconcentrate on hitting the largerguerrilla force. The governmentproposal was made via an imprisonedguerrilla leader, Francisco Galan, whois serving a life sentence in Itaqui jailin Medellin. He has a radio in his cellwith which to pass the proposal to hisbosses in the mountains and jungles ofColombia.

London, Jun 14 — A press report,dated Jun 12, states: Colombia’s largestrebel group, the Revolutionary ArmedForces of Colombia (Farc) is said tohave a new leader. Senator JaimeDussan, of the left-wing DemocraticPoll, said Farc commanders contactedthe party and informed them that the

new leader was Alfonso Cano. Cano’sreal name is Guillermo Leon Saenz andhe has been the ideological head of theguerrilla army. Long-time leaderManuel Marulanda has died or is aboutto die of prostate cancer, sayintelligence sources. Analysts believethat the announcement reveals a shiftaway from the military emphasis of theFarc to more political activity. Manythink this could raise the chances of apolitical dialogue with the government.Cano is known as a committedcommunist and the movement’sideology is unlikely to change. Whatmay change is that the group may moveaway from indiscriminate bombings andkillings that have earned the Farc thelabel ‘terrorist organisation’ both in theUnited States and Europe.

London, Jun 16 — A press report,dated today, states: Gunmen from theRevolutionary Armed Forces ofColombia (FARC) shot dead 34 peasantsyesterday at a ranch near La Gabarra,500 km north-east of Bogota, Colombianauthorities said. The authorities saidFARC rebels broke into the ranch atdawn yesterday in the one of thecountry’s biggest cocaine-producingregions as the workers are sleeping.Then the armed men opened fire at theworkers and 34 were killed and fiveinjured, authorities said.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OFCONGO

London, Jun 11 — A press report,dated today, states: Officers withCongo’s security forces brieflycommandeered state radio and TV earlytoday in what government ministerscalled a bloodless failed coup attempt inCongo’s capital. Foreign MinisterAntoine Ghonda blamed an “isolatedmovement’’ within the security forcesand said the postwar power-sharinggovernment led by President JosephKabila remained in charge. “Thesituation is completely under control,’’Information Minister Vitale Kamerhesaid shortly before daybreak. Officersbehind the attempt retreated to amilitary base within Kinshasa withoutviolence, officials said. “There was not abit of gunfire,’’ presidential spokesmanKadura Kafango said. The apparentcoup attempt began when at least oneofficer briefly appeared on state radioand TV to declare security forces were“neutralising’’ Kabila’s transitionalgovernment. The rebel officers cutelectricity in the city. Most of Kinshasaappeared to sleep through the event,and the capital remained quiet beforedawn. State television was off the air.Kamerhe indicated the leader of theattempt, Maj. Eric Lenge, remained atthe military base. Kamerhe refused togive details.

London, Jun 12 — A press report,dated today, states: The CongoleseGovernment says the ringleader of anattempted coup has fled the capital,Kinshasa. A spokesman for theCongolese President Joseph Kabila saysMajor Eric Lenge and a band of around20 supporters are being chased south bysecurity forces. Major Lenge was one ofa group of dissident soldiers in thepresident’s personal guard. President

Kabila has since appeared on televisionto reassure the country that he is stillin control.

London, Jun 17 — A press report,dated Jun 16, states: Around 17,000refugees have streamed into northernBurundi from the Democratic Republicof Congo since clashes earlier thismonth. “More refugees are expected,given the situation is so unstable,” saidthe UNHCR’s Jennifer Pagonis. Adissident general threatened to resumeattacks today and warned newgovernment troop movements couldplunge the area into fresh conflict. Thefleeing civilians say they are terrified ofrenewed fighting. The Congolesegovernment has accused Rwanda ofmassing troops on its border anddismissed General Laurent Nkunda’sultimatum, urging him to surrenderinstead. Rwanda rejects allegations bythe DR Congo that it has deployed extratroops along the border between the twocountries. DR Congo’s Foreign MinisterAntoine Ghonda said that troops loyalto General Nkunda had committedcrimes including looting and rape andshould be brought to justice. UNspokesman Sebastian Lapierreattempted to play down concerns sayingthere was no need to worry unless theRwandan troops crossed the border.Weeks of insecurity betweengovernment loyalists and GeneralNkunda’s rebels are proving the mostserious threat to DR Congo’s fragilepeace process aimed at ending years ofconflict in central Africa. On Monday(Jun 14), UN relief coordinator JanEgeland warned that the humanitariansituation was acute in eastern DRCongo, with 3.3m people cut off fromaid. The United Nations is alsoinvestigating reports of further fightingnorth of Uvira. Renegade soldiersexpelled from Bukavu last week arebelieved to be involved in clashes withgovernment militia. According toGeneral Nkunda he went to Bukavu toprotect civilians, in particular theBanyamulenge ethnic group, who heclaims were being attacked.

INDIASrinagar, Jun 10 — A gunbattle

between soldiers and two separatistguerrillas holed up overnight in amosque in Indian Kashmir ended todayas soldiers shot dead both gunmen, asecurity official said. Troops yesterdaylaid siege to the mosque after a soldierand militant were killed in a shootoutoutside the building in Kulgam, southof Kashmir’s summer capital, Srinagar.Two other rebels took shelter in themosque. Witnesses said the mosque wascompletely damaged in the exchange offire, but Sharma said he was waitingfor details. In another incidentsuspected Muslim militants shot deadfour members of family including twowomen and a six-year-old child duringan attack overnight in a remote hamletin the district of Udhampur south ofSrinagar, police said. No militant grouphas claimed responsibility for thekilling yet. — Reuters.

London, Jun 13 — A press report,dated today, states: A grenade attack ona crowded restaurant in Indian-

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Political & Civil Unrest

controlled Kashmir killed four people,including two tourists and a youngchild, and wounded 25 others. Separateattacks in the region left five more deadand wounded 20. Suspected rebelslobbed a grenade into a popularrestaurant in Pahalgam, a holidayresort in India’s Jammu-Kashmir state,police said. The blast triggered anexplosion of a cooking gas canister inthe restaurant, adding to the casualties,said a local police officer. Al-Nasireen, alittle-known rebel group, claimedresponsibility for the attack in atelephone call to Current News Service,a local news agency. Earlier yesterday, ahand grenade thrown by a suspectedIslamic rebel at an army vehicle in aborder town missed its target andwounded 22 civilians, four of themcritically, police said. The blast occurredin Handwara, a town close to the Lineof Control which divides Kashmirbetween India and Pakistan, said AltafKhan, a local police officer. Policeblamed the attack on Islamic militantsfighting for Kashmir ’s independencefrom India or its merger with Pakistan.M Elsewhere in Kashmir, threesuspected militants were killed in agunbattle at Jumagund, 110 kilometresnorth of Srinagar, army officials said.Separatist groups have continuedfighting Indian forces despite a cease-fire accord between India and Pakistansigned last November.

London, Jun 15 — A press report,dated today, states: Eleven people werekilled in restive Indian Kashmir, policesaid, two days after a rebel grenadeattack killed five tourists and injured27 others. Mushtaq Ahmed, a formerpolice counter-insurgency official andhis father were shot dead inside theirhouse by suspected militants overnightnear the town of Thanamandi insouthern Rajouri district, a policespokesman said. Suspected rebelshurled a grenade at the house of aretired government official in Wahiporavillage of northern Baramulla district,killing him and a woman guest lateSunday (Jun 13), police said. Theofficial ’s son was injured in theexplosion. Police said suspectedmilitants shot dead four more Muslims,including a municipal employee and analleged police informer, in differentparts of the state overnight. One of the23 civilians injured in a rebel grenadeattack in northern Handwara town onSaturday died in hospital yesterday,police said. Indian troops yesterdayshot dead two militants in separateencounters in Budgam and Kupwaradistricts, police said.

London, Jun 17 — A press report,dated Jun 16, states: Authorities in thesouthern state of Andhra Pradesh todayannounced a three-month cease-fire intheir campaign to crush communistrebels whose attacks have killed morethan 6,000 people over two decades. ThePeople’s War Group has demanded asix-month truce as a primaryprecondition for negotiations. Theorganisation is one of the most powerfulrebel groups in India after the Islamicmilitants fighting in the northern stateof Jammu-kashmir. It was not clear ifthe rebels had accepted the ceasefire

offer. Members of the PWG, which isactive in five southern and easternstates of India, often attack richlandowners, saying they exploitlandless farm workers. They also targetpolice, political leaders andadministrative officials, accusing themof colluding with the landowners. Thegroup, inspired by Chineserevolutionary leader Mao Zedong, beganfighting in 1981. The rebels saidyesterday that they were ready for talksaimed at ending more than two decadesof bloodshed. The group also demandedguarantees for the safe passage for itsleaders attending the talks. State HomeMinister K Jana Reddy said thegovernment had already stoppedoperations against the rebels, and saidother rebel demands, including thesetting up of a committee to monitor theimplementation of the ceasefire, wouldbe accepted. Reddy said initial talkswould be held with emissariesnominated by the PWG, before thebeginning of final negotiations betweenstate ministers and PWG leaders.Reddy asked the rebels to give up armsduring the cease-fire. “We have reportsthat PWG squads are roaming invillages with arms. We are requestingthem not to move around withweapons,” he said, reading from awritten statement in the Telugulanguage.

INDONESIALondon, Jun 15 — A press report,

dated today, states: Two Indonesiansoldiers and two suspected separatistrebels have been killed in the latestviolence in Indonesia’s Aceh province.The soldiers died in a gun battle withFree Aceh Movement rebels in Bireuendistrict. The Indonesian military saystroops shot dead two rebels in separateclashes in the districts of East Aceh andPidie and confiscated a rocket-propelledgrenade and ammunition.

IRAQLondon, Jun 13 — A press report,

dated today, states: A suicide car bombkilled at least seven Iraqis, includingfour police officers, and wounded 23others when it exploded near a US-ledcoalition base in Baghdad, Iraqihospital and US sources said. Ahospital toll gave seven people killed inthe blast and 23 injured, while the USmilitary put the death count at 12 with13 wounded. Hospitals tend to give themost accurate figures on deaths andcasualties in bomb attacks in Iraq. Theblast happened close to a petrol stationat 0915 in Baghdad’s Rustumyadistrict, where queues of locals hadbeen waiting to fill up their cars,leaving smoldering debris strewn acrossthe street. “It was a suicide bomb,” saidAbu Omar, a policeman on the scene.“The suicide bomber stopped close to apolice car and exploded himself,” Omarsaid. “Four policemen inside the carwere completely burnt and died.” Anofficial at Iraq’s interior ministry saidthe bomb destroyed two police cars andeight civilian vehicles.

Baghdad, Jun 13 — Two foreignhostages, a Turk and an Egyptian, werefreed in Iraq today, a mediator said, but

they have made no public appearance.The mediator, who asked not to beidentified, told Reuters the men werereleased after talks with people close totheir captors on Saturday. He gave nodetails. A Turkish embassy official inBaghdad said he could not confirm thata Turkish national had been released.The mediator said that people close tothe kidnappers reiterated late todaythat the Egyptian and Turk had beenreleased. A group calling itself TheJihadist Groups had released astatement on Thursday (Jun 10)warning that the two hostages would bekilled on Saturday (Jun 12) becausethey were of no value to theirgovernments unlike the hostages ofWestern countries. The Dubai-based AlArabiya television aired footage onWednesday (Jun 9) of an Iraqi groupthreatening to kill the Egyptian andTurkish hostages if their countries didnot condemn the U.S.-led occupation inIraq. — Reuters.

Baghdad, Jun 14 — A suicide carbomber blew himself up on a busyBaghdad street today as a convoy offoreigners in civilian cars drove past,partly demolishing a nearby buildingand killing at least five people. Hospitalofficials said five bodies had beenbrought in after the blast and 30 peoplewere wounded, six critically, whileinitial police reports put the toll ateight dead and 12 wounded. PolicemanHassan al-Mali said the bomber’s carhad been driving along the street whenit exploded. Locals raced to the areaand tried to pull people from the rubbleof the damaged building, which had itsfront torn off. Dozens of people gatheredaround two of the vehicles damaged inthe blast, hammering on them, wavingdebris and jumping on their roofs,chanting: “America is the enemy ofGod.” The crowd set the vehicles ablaze,sending thick black smoke into the sky.Some witnesses said they saw foreigncasualties being pulled from thevehicles after the blast. A third car hadbeen blown off the road and was gutted.Police fired in the air to try to clearpeople from the area. The USmilitarysaid it had no immediate information.The blast, which echoed across Baghdadand sent a cloud of brown smoke intothe air, was in a busy commercial areacrowded with morning rush-hourtraffic. — Reuters.

Beirut, Jun 15 — Kidnappers in Iraqhave taken two more Lebanese menhostage and are demanding a ransomfor their release, a Foreign Officeofficial in Beirut said today. GeorgeFrando and Jamil Deeb, working for acompany called Sweidan, disappearedtwo days ago, said Boutros Asaker, headof political affairs at Beirut’s ForeignMinistry. “They have been kidnapped bya group asking for money. We don’tknow who kidnapped them, but we havebeen informed by our charge d’affairesthat they are in good condition.” hesaid. One Lebanese man, Hussein AliAlyan, was taken hostage in Baghdadlast week and later killed and dumpedby a road, along with two of his Iraqicolleagues. Another Lebanese, HabibSamour, went missing almost a monthago. Al Arabiya television station said

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today that it had a statement from agroup called the Islamic AngerBrigades, which accused Samour ofspying for the United States. Thechannel showed footage of Samourappealing to Lebanon’s government tohelp him. The statement was datedJune 10. Asaker said he had no freshinformation about Samour. He saidForeign Minister Jean Obeid haddiscussed the hostages with his Iraqicounterpart Hoshiyar Zebari at ameeting of the Organization of theIslamic Conference in Istanbul. —Reuters.

London, Jun 15 — A press report,dated today, states: Saboteurs blew up aportion of an oil pipeline near thesouthern Iraqi port city of Basra, oilminister Thamer Ghadban said. “Apipeline south of Basra was targeted bysaboteurs with explosives,” Ghadbansaid. “It was certainly sabotage.”Loading stopped at Basra Oil Terminalat 1315 hrs, today as a result of theexplosion, which happened at 2215 hrs,yesterday, near the village of Hamdanabout 25km south of Basrah.

London, Jun 15 — Repairs to one ofIraq’s main southern oil exportpipelines will take seven to 10 daysfollowing sabotage attacks overnight,an Iraqi industry official said today.Separately, shipping agents saidexports from Basra terminal hadground completely to a halt afterhaving been reduced to less than500,000 barrels per day earlier in theday. Normally the terminal handles upto 1.7 million bpd. Industry sources saida second export pipeline did not appearto be damaged, but may have been shutfor security checks. — Reuters.

Kirkuk, Jun 16 — Gunmen killed asenior official in Iraq’s North OilCompany today, dealing another blow tothe country’s oil industry. Iraqi policesaid gunmen opened fire at GhaziTalabani’s car with automatic rifles ashe drove to work today, killing him andseriously injuring his driver. Talabani, aKurd, served as a senior adviser to theNorth Oil Company, which runs Iraq’smain Kirkuk oil fields. His portfolioincluded security for northern oilinfrastructure. Al Jazeera televisionhad earlier identified Talabani as thehead of security for the Kirkuk oilfields. Saboteurs bent on disruptingIraq’s post war recovery have beenblowing up oil pipelines in the regionand assassinating oil and other officialssince the US-led invasion last year. Anexplosion ripped through a crude oilpipeline linking northern Iraqi fieldsyesterday. Saboteurs blasted an oilpipeline feeding storage tanks at thesouthern city of Basra in the Gulf,cutting most exports. — Reuters.

Najaf, Jun 16 — Radical Iraqi clericMoqtada al-Sadr today told allmembers of his Mehdi Army militiawho are not from Najaf to leave the holycity. Sadr issued a statement calling onhis militiamen to go home to “do theirduty.” “Each of the individuals of theMehdi Army, the loyalists who madesacrifices.. .should return to theirgovernorates to do their duty,” thestatement said. Shi’ite clerics helpedbroker the truce to end the fighting,

appalled at damage to holy shrines inthe city. — Reuters.

London, Jun 16 — A press report,dated today, states: Saboteurs blasted akey pipeline today for the second timein as many days, halting all oil exportsfrom Iraq, officials said. Todays attacknorth of the town of Faw crippled twoalready damaged pipelines, forcing ahalt in all Iraqi oil exports southwardthrough the Gulf, Southern OilCompany spokesman Samir Jassimsaid. “Due to the damage inflicted onthe two pipelines, the pumping of oil tothe Basra oil terminal has completelystopped,” Jassim said. “Exports havecome to halt.” Another pipeline carryingoil to a domestic refinery was attackedyesterday night near Dibis, some 45kilometers west of Kirkuk, according toMustafa Awad, an official in theNorthern Oil Company. That pipelinedoes not carry crude oil for export,however. The fire was extinguished.Insurgents are targeting theinfrastructure apparently to undermineconfidence in the new government,which takes power Jun 30. Meanwhile,new allegations surfaced about theprofessionalism of the Iraqi police, whoare due to assume greaterresponsibility for security after theformal end of the occupation Jun 30.Yesterday, dozens of Iraqi Shiitescomplained that Shiite truck driverswho had sought refuge in a policestation in the Sunni town of Fallujahwere instead handed over to extremists,who killed them after they were unableto pay a ransom. Six bodies were foundMonday (Jun 14) in a morgue inRamadi, also a Sunni town.

Baghdad, Jun 17 — A car bomb blasthas killed at least 25 people andwounded 50 outside an Iraqiparamilitary defence force base inBaghdad, an Iraqi officer at the scenesaid today. Colonel Sumbul Mohammedof the Iraqi Civilian Defence Corps(ICDC) said the blast had targeted anICDC recruiting centre in the west ofthe capital. — Reuters.

Umm Qasr, Jun 16 — All operations atBasrah Oil Terminal have beensuspended since 1150, local time,yesterday. Two pipelines supplying theterminal have been sabotaged. The firstpipeline, near Al Faw, has sustainedminor damages only and repair worksare being carried out at the moment.However the main focus is on the secondpipeline, which goes near Basrah and isstill burning. — Lloyd’s Agents.

London, Jun 17 — A press report,dated today, states: No loading is beingcarried out at Iraq’s Basrah and KhorAl Amaya oil terminals today, followingthe explosions at supply pipelinesearlier this week. Work is currentlyunderway to replace the damagedsection of one of the affected pipelines(No.42). It is anticipated that the workwill be completed and flow tests carriedout in the next two-three days.Preparations are also being made torepair the other pipeline (No.48), butdue to its remote location, it is difficultto reach to carry out the necessarywork. So far, there is no informationabout when the repairs are likely to becompleted.

ISRAELLondon, Jun 15 — A press report,

dated Jun 14, states: An Israeli airstrike in the West Bank late todaykilled two Palestinian militants,including a local leader, as Israelstarted building the most controversialsection of its separation barrier,confiscating Palestinian land. An Israelihelicopter fired a missile at a car in theBalata refugee camp next to the city ofNablus, killing Khalil Marshoud, thelocal leader of the Al Aqsa MartyrsBrigades, a violent offshoot of YasserArafat’s Fatah movement. The militarysaid Marshoud was behind a number ofattacks against Israelis. Anothermilitant was killed and a third personwas seriously wounded, witnesses said.Israel began building the barrier lastyear to keep out Palestinian militantswho have killed hundreds of Israelissince the outbreak of fighting in 2000.In some areas, the trenches, walls andfences run near Israel’s old frontierwith the West Bank, but elsewhere dipdeep into the territory claimed by thePalestinians for a future state. Thelatest land seizures are part ofconstruction of a barrier segment nearthe Israeli settlement of Ariel, in theheart of the West Bank. Palestinianscharge that the barrier project is meantto swallow up large parts of the WestBank, pointing to the Ariel sector as aprime example. If Israel builds thebarrier to include Ariel on the “Israeli”side, it would mean cutting a wedgehalfway through the northern part ofthe territory, because Ariel is in themiddle. With 18,000 residents, Ariel isthe second-largest West Banksettlement. Maale Adumim, east ofJerusalem, has 26,000. The UnitedStates is opposed to adding Ariel toIsrael by means of the barrier, andIsrael has so far avoided making a cleardecision. Asaf Shariv, Prime MinisterAriel Sharon’s spokesman, said that fornow only an east-west section of thebarrier is being built, leaving the optionof encircling Ariel separately — aconcept the Americans apparently donot oppose. A US official said there areongoing consultations about the Arielissue. The Ariel barrier project isalready causing hardships forPalestinians. Residents of the nearbyPalestinian village of Azawiya wereinformed that 4,500 acres of land werebeing expropriated for a 2-mile stretchof barrier, said Annan Elashkar, aPalestinian liaison officer with Israel.Palestinian Cabinet minister SaebErekat said building a barrier aroundAriel would “mean the destruction anddevastation of the road map,” aninternationally backed peace plan for aPalestinian state next year, because ofthe confiscation of Palestinian land. Formonths, Palestinians and theirsupporters have been demonstrating atmany construction sites along thelength of the barrier, making similarcomplaints. Thousands of acres of landhave been confiscated for the barrier.Despite the tension, the military beganeasing restrictions in the West Bank bystarting to remove about 40 rampartsand gates that blocked West Bankroads, a defence official said. The

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official said obstacles can be lifted inareas where the barrier has beencompleted. The military released astatement saying the easing was inkeeping with its policy to “to make aclear distinction between the terroristswho hide among civilians and those notinvolved in terror.” Shortly afterviolence erupted in September, 2000,Israeli forces erected dozens of road-blocks in the West Bank, choking travel.Israel said the restrictions werenecessary to stop Palestinian attacks,but Palestinians charged they were partof a plan to ruin their economy andforce them to surrender.

Jenin, West Bank, Jun 16 — Israeliforces shot dead a Palestinian militantin a restaurant and arrested severalother suspects in the West Bank town ofJenin today, local witnesses andmilitary sources said. Witnesses said anIsraeli undercover unit entered Jeninearly in the morning, cornered anumber of militants and killed 25-year-old Islamic Jihad member Majed al-Saadi. Israeli military sources saidforces had been trying to arrest awanted militant and fired when he triedto escape capture. A 55-year-old taxidriver driving past the restaurant wasseriously wounded by gunfire, medicssaid. Military sources said troops werefired on during the raid. Elsewhere, inthe West Bank city of Nablus, a churchand a mosque were damaged whenIsraeli troops carried out controlledexplosions nearby during a raid in theancient Casbah quarter, witnesses said.Military sources said the blasts werenecessary to clear away barrels thatwere blocking a narrow alley and whichthey feared might have been booby-trapped. “There was some minordamage unfortunately but the intentionwas not to damage the holy sites,” amilitary source said. — Reuters.

NEPALKathmandu, Jun 14 — At least 21

Nepali policemen have been killed and12 wounded as Maoist rebels ambushedtwo police trucks in the west of thecountry, a police spokesman said today.The rebels planted a landmine whichexploded as the trucks passed, and thenopened fire on the convoy, thespokesman said. The attack, the biggestsince Sher Bahadur Deuba was re-appointed prime minister on Jun 2, tookplace at Khairikhola, 450 km west ofKathmandu, said spokesman AjayChatkuli. “There was a big explosion.Two trucks used by the police werecompletely damaged,” Chatkuli said. Hesaid the two trucks were carrying 37policemen on their way to clear a road-block put up by the Maoists in the area.“The blast was followed by a briefgunbattle between the police party andthe rebels,” Chatkuli said. “The rebelssubsequently fled into the forests.” Hesaid the wounded policemen were beingflown to hospitals in Kathmandu.Reinforcements had been sent to thearea to hunt the rebels, he added. TheMaoists have been fighting since 1996to overthrow Nepal’s constitutionalmonarchy and set up a communistrepublic in the world’s only Hindukingdom. More than 10,000 people have

been killed in the insurgency that haswrecked the economy of the poorHimalayan country. — Reuters.

NIGERIALondon, Jun 14 — A press report,

dated Jun 12, states: The centralNigerian state of Adamawa hasdeclared a curfew in the capital Yola,following clashes between Muslims andChristians in a nearby town. A statespokesman said the move was designedto prevent more violence. The attacksparked revenge riots in the northerntown of Kano, which left at least 37Christians dead. Adamawa stategovernment spokesman Willie Zalawiesaid the dusk-to-dawn curfew had beenextended to Yola, to ensure that thepresence of displaced people fleeingviolence in the town of Numan did notincite further rioting. He said the crisiswas related to religion, and sentimentscould be easily whipped up. The latestfighting began when the local chief, aChristian, complained that the minaretoverlooked his palace compound. TheRed Cross says that in two days offighting, 41 people were killed and 145injured. At least 2,000 people weredisplaced when their homes wereburned to the ground. Police have nowreinforced the area, which is reportedlycalm. The state government has alsoordered that the chief stand down, anddirected that the mosque be rebuilt in aless controversial location.

London, Jun 16 — A press report,dated today, states: Some 60 banditsambushed a team of riot policemen on ahighway in the northern Nigerian stateof Yobe and killed four of them, theNews Agency of Nigeria reportedyesterday. Before ambushing thepolicemen on Monday (Jun 14), thebandits opened fire at four commercialvehicles on the Potiskum-Fika road,leaving one passenger dead, state policespokesman Ali Alkali said yesterday.Alkali said the passengers who escapedthe ambush alerted the riot policemen,but four of them were shot dead by thebandits.

London, Jun 17 — A press report,dated Jun 16, states: At least eightpeople were killed and thousandsdisplaced in south-eastern Nigeriawhen armed youths attacked a village,torching homes and destroying crops ina dispute about land, residents saidtoday. The attacks, against the villageof Ikot Eyo Ndem in Cross River state,were sparked by disagreements betweenvillagers in nearby Efut Iwang overland rich in palm oil, residents andpolice officials said. “The clash was veryserious... They destroyed houses and alot of property,” said Cross River policespokesman Joseph Eze. Survivors inIkot said armed youths brandishingcutlasses and locally made shotgunsattacked their remote village at night,forcing most of the roughly 30,000residents to flee. They said they hadcounted eight bodies but suspectedmany more could have been hunteddown and killed outside Ikot. A Reuterswitness saw at least 40 homes burnedto the ground. Eze said no deaths hadbeen reported to the police, althoughthe deputy speaker of Cross River state

assembly, Dominic Aqua Edem, toldReuters two people had been killed,including Ikot’s village chief.

PAKISTANWana, Pakistan, Jun 12 — Pakistani

warplanes, backed by helicoptergunships, bombed hideouts of al Qaeda-linked militants today in a fourth day offighting in the mountainous tribalregion bordering Afghanistan. Pashtuntribesmen also heard artillery fire asthe Pakistani forces intensified anassault in the Shakai area of SouthWaziristan, 250 miles south-west ofIslamabad. Casualty updates werescanty today but officials have countedat least 54 people killed in the fightingsince the offensive began. Residentssaw air strikes on the slopes of thenearby Tangari hills, where brush andboulders provide fine cover forguerrillas. Afghan refugees in SouthWaziristan were given 72 hours to leaveby authorities. Locals saw many Aghansquitting the Karikot refugee camp a fewmiles south of Wana and said they wereheaded back to Afghanistan. Elsewhere,militants exploded a bomb in DeraIsmail Khan town, 80 miles east ofWana, killing one man and woundingfour at the house of a senior official inPakistan’s paramilitary border force.The army launched the latest offensiveafter attempts to negotiate an amnestywith tribesmen protecting the foreignmilitants failed. “The fighting is goingon,” military spokesman Major-GeneralShaukat Sultan told state-run PakistanTelevision, adding the operation wouldcontinue to its “logical end.” Sultan saidyesterday 35 militants and 15 soldiershad been killed the previous two days,and a local government officer todayreported another soldier killed. —Reuters.

PHILIPPINESManila, Jun 11 — Security forces at a

Manila port seized 10 crates of bomb-making material bound for the southernPhilippine today and said militantslinked to the al Qaeda network werelikely behind the shipment. One dockworker who was caught trying to bringthe shipment onto a passenger ferryhad been arrested, but denied knowingwhat was in the boxes, said Lieutenant-General Alberto Braganza, Manila’smilitary commander. The cratescontained plastic explosives, blastingcaps, rolls of detonating cords and timefuses, officials said. The man was tryingto load them onto a ferry leavingtomorrow for Zamboanga. The arrestedman said a Muslim trader had askedhim to ship the boxes declared asgeneral merchandise valued at 20,000pesos ($358), Braganza said. — Reuters.

London, Jun 13 — A press report,dated today, states: Three communistguerrillas and a policeman have beenkilled in clashes in the Philippines. Amilitary spokesman says threemembers of the New People’s Armywere slain in a firefight with an airforce combat patrol near the town ofMaragondon, about 50 kilometressouth-west of the capital, Manila.Authorities believe the same NPA unitwas behind a raid on a state-run power

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Polit ical & Civil Unrest

plant in January that left three soldiersand four guerrillas dead. Meanwhile,the NPA raided a police post in a remotetown north of Manila, as thePhilippines marked the anniversary ofindependence from US colonial rule. Amilitary spokesman says the rebelskilled a policeman, wounded a secondofficer and seized four guns from thepolice armoury.

SAUDI ARABIALondon, Jun 13 — A press report,

dated today, states: The Al-Qaeda terrornetwork kidnapped a US aeronauticsengineer and killed another US nationalin Saudi Arabia, according to astatement attributed to the group andposted on an Islamist website. “Ourfighters of the Fallujah Brigade in theArabian peninsula have kidnapped anAmerican, Paul M. Johnson Jr., born in1955 and working as an aeronauticsengineer,” said the statement signed“Al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula.”The statement was accompanied byseveral photographs of the American, acopy of his work permit, driving licenceand health card, according to which hewas working for top US defencecontractor Lockheed Martin and camefrom the state of Maryland. The USState department in Washingtonconfirmed a US citizen had beenreported missing in Saudi Arabia by hisfamily but declined to confirm he hadbeen kidnapped. “We do have anAmerican missing in Saudi Arabia,”State Department spokesman StuartPatt said. “We heard that an Islamicwebsite was making a claim but wehave had no direct contacts with anyorganisations or persons claimingresponsibility. “The individual has beenmissing since early today (Saturday).He is a private US citizen, living inSaudi Arabia. His family reported himmissing.” The Islamist websitestatement said the kidnapped manworked with Apache helicopters. Thegroup also claimed responsibility for thekilling of “another American” in thesame area of the capital Riyadh whereit said the kidnapping took place. A USnational was killed in a drive-byshooting in Riyadh yesterday, the latestin a string of attacks on Westerners inSaudi Arabia by suspected Islamistextremists since early May. According tolocal security forces he worked for anelectronics firm in the oil sector. He wasnot named. On Tuesday (Jun 8), anotherAmerican who worked for Vinnell Corp,which helps train the Saudi NationalGuard, was shot dead at his home inRiyadh. An Irish cameraman was shotdead and a BBC journalist criticallywounded in another attack in the Saudicapital on Jun 6, just a week after ashooting and hostage-taking rampage inthe eastern oil city of Al-Khobar left 22people dead, including four Westerners.The US embassy last night called againon American residents to leave.

THAILANDLondon, Jun 11 — A press report,

dated today, states: Four bombs went offin Yala yesterday — two in Than Todistrict, one in Banang Satar districtand another outside the residence of the

Betong district chief — causingproperty damage but no injuries. Agroup of separatist rebels was thoughtto be responsible. Violence resumed onthe eve of the symbolic 40th day afterthe Krue Se Mosque massacre inPattani on Apr 28, in which 32separatist militants were killed in aclash with security forces. The first twobombs in Than To district exploded 15minutes apart. The first, planted nearBan Kok Chang checkpoint on the Yala-Betong highway, went off at 2215 hrs. Ittore holes in the walls of the checkpointbooth. The second blast occurred 100metres away, outside Rian Ekpanichgrocery store. The impact shattereddisplay cases and debris scattered onthe footpath. Police said the bombs hadbeen left in the rubbish bins near thecheckpoint and the store. In BannangSata district, a bomb went off at theentrance to a mosque. The bomb washidden inside a drainage pipe runningparallel with the road frontage. Earlier inthe day, a bomb went off outside theofficial residence of Betong district chiefChaiyos Thongchai, knocking downsections of the fence. The bomb waspacked in a water cooler, left at the sceneby two men on a motorcycle. Onlygunpowder was used, suggesting theperpetrators did not intend to kill anyone.No injuries were reported. Police saidthey believed one group was responsiblefor the four explosions. An intelligencesource said authorities had been on alertsince Jun 7, when separatist-style attacksresumed. The culprits may have beenconnected to militants who staged the Apr28 raid at Krue Se Mosque, theintelligence souce said.

London, Jun 17 — A press report,dated today, states: Authorities inThailand say five police have beenwounded in a bomb blast in the troubledsouthern province of Narathiwat. Two ofthose hurt are said to have sufferedsevere leg injuries. Officials say thebomb exploded in a park as the policewere taking a break. A policeman and aschool guard were shot dead earlier inthe day in two separate incidents in thesame province. Violence by suspectedIslamic separatists in the southernprovinces has left more than 200 peopledead since January.

SAUDI ARABIASee under “Political & Civil Unrest.”

CANADALondon, Jun 14 — A press report,

dated Jun 11, states: British Columbia

ferry passengers were today assuredthat a labour dispute involving vesselmaintenance workers would not disrupttheir travel plans. BC Ferry Servicesissued a statement saying it hadreached a deal with the BC Ferry andMarine Workers’ Union late today,meaning the union will not picket ordisrupt ferry traffic, and that all ferryworkers will continue to report to work.“It will assure there is no impact on thetravelling public,” said Gerald Foley,spokesman for BC Ferry Services. “Theparties have worked it out and we havereached an agreement.” The agreementdid allow for unionised members todistribute information leaflets at theentrance to vehicle ticket booths, saidBC Ferry Services. The dispute involves185 maintenance workers employed byDeas Pacific Marine Inc, a subsidiary ofBC Ferry Services. Meanwhile,negotiations continued today betweenthe union and Deas Pacific to determinewhether there would be a lock-out.Union president Jackie Miller wasreluctant to comment on the progress oftalks. BC Ferry Services had gone tothe Labour Relations Board earlier inthe day to request a guarantee thatpickets do not impact ferry service. Inturn, the union asked the board todeclare BC Ferry Services as an ally,clearing the way for information picketsto take place at ferry terminals. Theunion was in a legal strike positionafter the company served lock-outnotice this morning. Miller had warneddelays could happen if there aremechanical problems on the ferrieswhile maintenance workers are lockedout. However, she said the union did notwant to shut down ferry services. Themaintenance workers have beenwithout a contract since October. Theyoverwhelmingly rejected the company’smost recent offer earlier this week in avote supervised by the labour board.Increased working hours, reduced wagerates and job security are the mainissues in the dispute.

London, Jun 15 — A press report,dated Jun 14, states: British Columbiaferry workers locked out today by theiremployer have asked the provinciallabour relations board to let the unionpicket individual vessels, not ferryterminals. The union wants to be ableto put a picket line in front of a vessel ifit is having maintenance work done,said spokeswoman Jackie Miller of theBC Ferries and Marine Workers Union.“We are not intending to go down andshut down vessels and shut down runsor disrupt ferry service,” she said.“Certainly as vessels start to breakdown and aren’t able to be repairedthere will be the inevitable result thatthere will be some service disruption,but we’re attempting to minimise thatas much as possible.” The disputeinvolves about 200 workers at DeasPacific Marine Inc, a subsidiary of BCFerry Services that performs vesselmaintenance work. The BC Federationof Labour issued a so-called “hot”declaration on one vessel, ro-ro Queen ofNew Westminster, today. Federationpresident Jim Sinclair said his grouphad learned the vessel needs generalmaintenance work and is at the

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Political & Civil Unrest/Kidnappings/Labour Disputes

Tsawwassen terminal. The uniondeclaration ensures no union memberconnected to the federation will handleany work on the vessel, he said. Millersaid her union’s request about picketingindividual vessels would go to thelabour board tomorrow. Deas Pacifichas said it is losing about $50,000 a daybecause a clause in the contractstipulates that if there is a possibility ofa labour dispute, no work is done eventhough union employees are showing upfor work every day. The dispute is overhours, wages and job security. Miller’sunion also represents staff who work onthe vessels. An agreement was reachedlate on Friday (Jun 11) that the unionwould not picket or disrupt ferry traffic,and that all ferry workers wouldcontinue to report to work. Theagreement did allow for unionisedmembers to distribute informationleaflets at the entrance to vehicle ticketbooths.

London, Jun 17 — A press report,dated Jun 16, states: Locked-out ferrymaintenance workers at Deas PacificMarine cannot set up pickets at BCFerries’ terminals the Labour RelationsBoard said today. The BC Ferry andMarine Workers’ Union had argued thatBC Ferries and Deas Pacific should bedeclared “allies” under the BritishColumbia Labour Code. The BCFMWUwent to the LRB after the 185 workerswere locked out on Monday (Jun 14).The union wanted permission to picketin front of vessels normally maintainedby the Deas workers, but the BCFMWUsaid there was no plan to interfere withpassengers. However, the LRB ruledthe two companies are not allies,despite Deas being a wholly-ownedsubsidiary of BC Ferries.

FRANCELondon, Jun 12 — A pres report, dated

today, states: Disruptions of French railtraffic were possible from 2000,yesterday until 0600, Monday (Jun 14)because of a planned strike by trainconductors, said the railroad operator,SNCF. Eurostar service between Parisand London, Thalys service betweenParis and Brussels and the TGV andCorail in France may face a “fewdisruptions,” the railroad said in astatement. The Transilien commuterservice north of Paris may be “slightlydisrupted” because of a parallel strikeby train controllers, it said.

London, Jun 15 — A press report,dated today, states: Electricity workershave cut power to parts of France asthey began a national strike againstgovernment plans to partially privatisestate-owned utilities. About 12 percentof Electricite de France’s output was cutoff by wildcat strikes overnight —plunging areas of Bordeaux in thesouthwest and Grenoble to the west,the officials of the Communist-linkedCGT labor union told Reuters. Amongthose targeted for power cuts wereconservative deputies who backchanges to EdF’s legal status, whichcould allow the sale of up to 30 percentof the utility. The draft law will alsochange the status of the state gasutility Gaz de France.The head of theCGT urged Chirac to abandon the draft

law, which parliament debates latertoday. “A decision of this nature andimportance cannot be taken when thereis so much controversy, when expertadvice on other ways of responding tothe challenges facing EdF and GdFhave not been accepted,” BernardThibault told RTL radio. Protestmarches also were planned today inParis and other cities. The governmentargues that changes would enable theutilities to attract private investors tohelp fend off growing competition inEurope’s energy market, which is goingthrough a process of deregulation. Itinsists that the utilities will not be fullyprivatised and that the state willremain the majority shareholder.Industry Minister Patrick Devedjian,whose chateau in southwestern Francealso had its power cut late yesterday,said the government would not backdown in the face of strikes. Job actionlate yesterday and today is the latest ina series of disruptions in recentweeks.Last week, workers cut powersupplies to three Paris railway stations,leading to the cancellation or delay oftrains ferrying half a million people towork.There also were media reportsthat dozens of households that had beencut off because of unpaid bills werereconnected by staff as part of protests.

London, Jun 16 — A press report,dated Jun 15, states: French powerworkers have stepped up their protestsagainst plans for the partial sell-off ofthe country’s state owned electricityfirm EdF. Electricity supplies to thehomes of Prime Minister Jean-PierreRaffarin and other politicians havebeen cut. The action follows localisedpower cuts, strikes, drops in power andmarches by disgruntled unionmembers. The cuts came on the day theFrench parliament was debating a draftlaw paving the way for EdF’sprivatisation. Earlier, parts ofBordeaux and Grenoble were plungedinto darkness as unions staged awalkout ahead of a parliamentarydebate on the government’s plans.Strikers were reported to be targetingregions represented by deputies thatback the proposed sell-off. As the actionescalated the CGT said 70,000 workerstook part in marches across France -claiming between 4,000 and 5,000joined such a protest in Paris. Energymarket traders said the strike pushedup prices on France’s electricity market.Meanwhile, ministers and EdF havevowed to stand by the reforms despitethe widespread protests.

INDIALondon, Jun 13 — A press report,

dated today, states: India’s mostprofitable steel plant is struggling tokeep its iron ore stocks above thedanger mark after agitating workersstopped the movement of ore from itsproduction unit two days ago. Nearly1,000 ad hoc miners of the Bhilai SteelPlant, the most profitable unit ofgovernment-run Steel Authority ofIndia Limited (SAIL), stopped workearly Friday (Jun 11) at the plant’s onlyproduction unit at Dalli Rajhara inDurg district. The workers have beenlying on railway tracks to prevent

trains that carry 12-13 thousand metrictonnes of iron ore daily to the plant 100km away, plunging the plant in itsbiggest ever crisis since it wascommissioned 45 years ago. Theirdemand — SAIL recognise them asregular staff and accord them all thedue benefits. A local political outfit witha strong base among the workers, theChhattisgarh Mukti Morcha, is fuellingthe agitation. The crisis comes close onthe heels of a severe coal shortage thatforced the plant to cut short itsproduction by 30 percent earlier thisyear. The plant’s management hasagreed to discuss strikers’ demands, butnot before they return to work. But thestrikers have rejected the offer, sayingthere is no room for discussion. “Thestrike is nothing but a terror tactic,”said Ashok Singhai, the plant’s chief ofcommunications. “They (the strikers)have totally blocked iron ore supply tothe plant. “The management askedthem to return to work and themanaging director agreed to discuss thedemands with a delegation of thestriking staff on Jun 15. But they haverejected the dialogue offer outright.”

NIGERIALondon, Jun 10 — The ports of Lagos,

Port Harcourt and Warri are closed dueto the national strike which startedyesterday in protest at increases in fuelprices. According to local reports, thestrike is being observed in some states,whilst normal or partial activities areongoing elsewhere. In Lagos, the strikeappears to be in force. All activities areparalysed with banks, schools andmarkets remaining closed. All domesticflights were also cancelled at theairport in Lagos. (See issue of Jun 11.)

London, Jun 14 — A press report,dated Jun 11, states: Labour groupsrepresenting millions of Nigerianworkers abandoned a crippling three-day general strike today. The NigeriaLabour Congress said it wassuspending the strike to give thegovernment time to “ensurecompliance” with a court order toreduce gasoline and kerosene prices, asstrikers had demanded. But if theprices do not come down within sevendays, or the government “resorts to thetactics of manipulating supply, wereserve the right to resume the strikeagain,” congress leader AdamsOshiomhole told reporters.

UNITED KINGDOMLondon, Jun 11 — A press report,

dated today, states: Civil servants atvehicle testing centres in NorthernIreland are to consider the future oftheir strike action. Members of the civilservice union Nipsa began strike actionlast month at nine centres across theprovince. It is part of a wider disputeover pay, which has been ongoing sincelast December. Thousands of MoT testsand practical driving examinationshave been affected by the industrialaction. Up to now, civil servants at theDriver and Vehicle Testing Agency havevoted to continue their action, but thereis growing concern about the effect oncustomers. It is also creating a backlogfor MoT and driving tests, which will

17


Labour Disputes

have an impact on centres for severalmonths. Nipsa representative SamJohnston said the meeting would giveDVTA staff a chance to give their viewson the strike. Yesterday, public serviceswere further disrupted after RateCollection Agency staff staged anunofficial walkout. The strike action, byup to 60 members of Nipsa, seriouslyaffected the Agency’s Belfast andCraigavon offices. Union officials say itwas a show of support for four membersof staff who were suspended withoutpay.

BREACH OF CONTRACT, UNITED STATES

San Francisco, Jun 16 — A Californiajury awarded $28 million in damages toZF Micro Solutions in its case againstNational Semiconductor Corp , a makerof chips used to control powerconsumption in electronics, according toa regulatory filing released today.National Semiconductor, in a filing withthe US Securities and ExchangeCommission, said it intended to appealany judgment entered against it on thematter. National Semiconductor agreedin 1999 to design and manufacture achip for ZF Micro Devices Inc, thepredecessor to ZF Micro Solutions.National Semiconductor said it wasthen sued by ZF in April, 2002, on“various contract and tort claims.” ACalifornia Superior Court jury in SantaClara on Monday (Jun 14) awarded $28million to ZF Micro on its claims ofintentional misrepresentation, andadditional damages of $1.95 million,National Semiconductor said.Addressing a counter-claim, the juryalso awarded National Semiconductor$1.1 million for a breach-of-contractclaim. — Reuters.

EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE,UNITED STATES

London, Jun 17 — A press report,dated Jun 16, states: A federal judgetoday finalised a $1.2 millionsettlement for 91 people wounded whenpolice fired rubber bullets and beanbagsto disperse crowds at the 2000Democratic National Convention in LosAngeles. US District Court JudgeFlorence-Marie Cooper approved thesettlement after no one appeared incourt to object to the deal. She hadgiven her preliminary approval lastmonth. The confrontation occurred onAug 14, 2000, as police broke up acrowd assembled to hear rock groupRage Against the Machine performoutside Staples Centre, where theconvention was held. “We’re pleasedthat the settlement’s been finalised, andwe hope that the LAPD and other policedepartments will take this case as alesson that they cannot intimidate andinjure people who are exercising theirFirst Amendment rights,” said leadattorney James Muller. A city attorney’s

spokesman had previously said thesettlement would “justly compensate”innocent participants who were injuredoutside the convention. The citypreviously settled other lawsuitsstemming from the disturbance,including $60,000 to seven injuredjournalists and $1.2 million to a womanwho lost her eye during the scuffle.

FRAUD, UNITED STATESLondon, Jun 16 — A press report,

dated Jun 15, states: An Austin, Texas,jury yesterday ordered two formerofficers of a Dallas foundation to pay$14 million in punitive damages fordefrauding the charity, in one of thelargest awards ever against foundationofficials. John Vinson, the assistantattorney general who tried the case,called the fraud by two former officersof the Carl B. and Florence E. KingFoundation “one of the worst, mostegregious cases of misappropriation ofcharitable assets in the country.” Hesaid the judgment sounded a warningfor other foundations: The abuses at theKing Foundation were detailed in aGlobe Spotlight series last year, whichalso revealed that Paul C. Cabot Jr, ofNeedham, had been taking more than$1 million in annual pay from hisfamily foundation, whose assets haddwindled to less than $5 million by lastyear. Massachusetts Attorney GeneralThomas F. Reilly is investigating theCabot trust. In the Texas case, the juryruled on Friday (Jun 11) that Carl L.Yeckel, the King Foundation’s ex-chiefexecutive, and Thomas W. Vett, itsformer secretary, should repay $7.5million they took from the $32 millioncharitable fund to pay themselveslavish salaries and to finance Europeanvacations, private club dinners, andother personal expenses. The totaldamages of $21.5 million are supposedto be paid to the foundation, but Vinsonsaid it was unlikely Yeckel and Vetthave the money. The state may foregoits $250,000 in attorneys’ costs, Vinsonsaid, so that any recovered funds goback to the foundation. Yeckel’s sister,Dorothy Yeckel, became suspicious ofher brother ’s extravagant lifestyle,including his $1 million paycheck, in2002 and brought the matter to theattention of the state. According todepositions and evidence presented atthe trial, held in Travis County ProbateCourt, Yeckel and Vett took their wiveson trips to Europe, Australia, andRussia, charging about $200,000 intravel expenses to the foundation. Theexecutives routinely used thefoundation credit card to pay thousandsof dollars in restaurant bills, purchasesat retail stores, and $6,531 for healthclub memberships, according to courtrecords. Vinson said Vett engaged in“double dipping,” by paying a doctor’sbill with the foundation’s credit card,and then submitting the bill a secondtime for reimbursement to himself.

London, Jun 17 — A press report,dated today, states: A federal juryyesterday returned a $77 millionverdict against Elie Samaha’sFranchise Pictures, finding that itdefrauded Intertainment Licensing byinflating budgets on a slate of feature

films including “Get Carter,” “TheWhole Nine Yards” and “3000 Miles toGraceland.” The nine-person jurysitting in Santa Ana, California, foundthe fraud by “clear and convincingevidence,” a relatively high threshold ofevidence that allows Intertainment toreturn to court today to ask for furtherpunitive damages. After about 12 hoursof deliberation, the jury also foundbreach of contract but no violation ofracketeering statutes. The latter meantIntertainment does not get the $115million it had asked for — or anopportunity to ask US District JudgeAlicemarie Stotler to treble thedamages under terms of the RacketeerInfluenced and Corrupt Organisations(RICO) Act. Samaha was not personallyheld liable for any wrongdoing. “We’rethrilled by the results — this wasmake-or-break litigation forIntertainment,” Intertainment attorneyScott Edelman said. “It has been a longand painful process for Intertainment toachieve justice, and this is just the firststep.” Intertainment, a Germanproduction-licensing outfit, hopes torecover further damages duringarbitration in the autumn against othercompanies allegedly involved in thefraud, including Comerica Bank and thecompletion companies WorldwideFilmCompletion and Film Finances.Attorney Bill Price said Franchisewould probably appeal the verdict.“Since we were prevented from puttingon the core of our case, we think we gota pretty good result in that context,”Price said. “We think the jury wouldhave come to a different conclusion ifthey had heard the other evidence.” Thedefence centered on a claim thatIntertainment CEO Barry Baeressecretly agreed to go along with thebudget-padding scheme. They furtherclaimed that the lawsuit was a ploy byIntertainment to get out of amultipicture agreement it could nolonger afford after the collapse of theNeuer Markt exchange. Price saidpretrial rulings by the judge preventedthe jury from hearing evidence thatIntertainment allegedly requestedinflated budgets from other producersand inflated budgets on pictures beforeit struck a five-year, 55-picturedistribution deal with Franchise inMay, 1999. The pact unraveled twoyears later when Intertainment claimedit had been paying 70% to sometimesmore than 100% of the feature budgets,not the 47% it had agreed to withFranchise. Franchise freelyacknowledged that the budgets wereinflated but claimed it was only withBaeres’ blessing. Baeres denied anysuch agreement during the trial.

LEGAL MALPRACTICE, UNITED STATES

London, Jun 17 — A press report,dated Jun 16, states: A jury hasawarded a manufacturer of toyhelicopters $3.6 million in its lawsuitagainst a Lafayette, Indiana, law firmthat represented the company in thelate 1990s. Lite Machines Corp sued thelaw firm of Bennett Boehning & Clary,claiming it had committed malpracticeand cost the company more than $8

18


Labour Disputes/Awards & Settlements

million in damages, mostly in lostprofits. A Boone County jury heardseven days of testimony before reachinga verdict last Thursday (Jun 10) infavour of Lite Machines and awardingthe damages. The company, whichmanufactures and markets expensiveremote-controlled model helicopters,claimed the law firm mishandled itslawsuit against a New York businessthat sold it a defective $12,000 machinein the early 1990s. That lawsuit wasfiled in 1993 but not resolved untilSeptember, 2000, when a judge foundthat Lite Machines had suffered $2.6million in damages, but that thecompany had failed to limit its losses bynot giving up on the machine sooner.The judge reduced that award to$260,000, plus interest. Lite MachinesPresident Paul Arlton said thecompany’s lawyers failed to presentevidence of repeated assurances fromthe machine’s maker that it would makerepairs. “The judge did not hear a verysignificant portion of our case, andeffectively we lost by default,” Arltonsaid. Roger W. Bennett, a partner in thelaw firm, said the original case was avery technical dispute.

LIBEL, UNITED STATESLondon, Jun 11 — A press report,

dated Jun 10, states: A man whochallenged the reference to God in theUS Pledge of Allegiance in court won a$1 million judgment today against aminister who allegedly libelled him inan article on the Internet. MichaelNewdow said he did not expect toreceive any money from the Rev. AustinMiles. In 2002, Newdow won a courtdecision on behalf of his daughter thatit is unconstitutional to force publicschool students to recite the pledgebecause of the reference to “under God.”In an Internet posting shortly after thefederal appeals court ruling, Milesaccused Newdow of perjury, saying helied about his daughter suffering“emotional damage” and “a sense ofbeing left out” for not reciting thepledge at school. Miles soughtunsuccessfully to have Newdow, anattorney, removed from the CaliforniaState Bar. Newdow denied ever makingthe comments. “I never said that,” hesaid. “I only said she had a right to go toschool and not be indoctrinated inreligion.” The appeals court decision onthe pledge has been appealed to theSupreme Court by the government andthe Elk Grove Unified School District.The high court has not yet ruled.

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE, UNITED STATES

London, Jun 15 — A press report,dated today, states: A cardiologist whowas ordered to pay $1.6 million in amedical malpractice lawsuit will appealthe York County Superior Courtjudgment, the doctor ’s lawyer said.Chris Nyhan, who defended Dr. AlanHymanson, said he would appeal lastweek’s jury verdict to the MaineSupreme Judicial Court. The jury foundthat Hymanson was negligent when headministered the clot-busting drugRetavase to Joan Healy of Wells whenshe was brought to York Hospital in

March 1999. The jury said YorkHospital was not negligent. Healy wasbrought to the hospital aftercomplaining of chest pains. After beinggiven the drug, she suffered a brainhaemorrhage that left her unable towalk or speak. She died two days laterin York Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit.Nyhan said Hymanson followed propermedical procedure, and that the state’smedical malpractice review panel hadearlier determined that he was notnegligent. “The jury verdict bears verylittle relation to the medicine involvedin the case,” he said. “This case presentsa very serious issue of whether or notphysicians should be punished forcomplying with all appropriate medicalstandards in an emergency situationwhere someone is literally in animmediate prospect of death without amedication that the patient needs.”Mark Randall, a Portland attorney whorepresented the Healy family, saidHymanson incorrectly interpreted theguidelines for administering Retavaseand that there was no conclusivemedical evidence that it was evenneeded. Randall said the AmericanCollege of Cardiology and the AmericanHeart Association published explicitinstructions in 1996 regarding Retavaseand drugs like it because they carry arisk of bleeding in the brain. Retavaseis designed to break up blood clots inheart arteries when a person is havinga heart attack. “It turns out the jurydoubted the fact that (Healy) washaving a heart attack that would havemade her a candidate for this drug,”Randall said.

London, Jun 16 — A press report,dated Jun 12, states: A South Carolinacouple whose baby suffered braindamage as a result of a cardiac arresthas settled a medical malpracticelawsuit for $4.6 million. Matt and LindaParkins sued Pediatric Associates P.A.of Spartanburg, Dr. William W. Burns ofSpartanburg and Greenville HospitalSystem. The lawsuit alleged that their20-month-old son, who suffered from asubstantial adrenal insufficiency, wasstricken because the defendantsdecided to wean him off the syntheticcortisone Cortef. The boy suffered“past and future irreparable braindamage” after his breathing and heartfunction ceased, according to thelawsuit. The boy, who was born inMarch 1997, suffered cardiac arrest inNovember 1998. Spartanburg attorneyWil l iam U. “Bil ly” Gunn, whorepresented Burns and PediatricAssociates, said the sett lementagreement should not be interpretedas an admission of mistakes by hisclients. Gunn said the boy’s form ofadrenal insufficiency was “extremelycomplicated and extremely rare.”Gunn said his clients decided to weanthe child off the drug in July 1997 toobserve his progress. He said thedecision was “appropriate andreasonable under the circumstances.”The Parkinses’ lawsuit says their sondid not thrive while off Cortef, insteadbecoming “increasingly ill in a morefrequent fashion.” It says thedefendants fai led to respond byresuming Cortef treatment.

NON-DISCLOSURE OFINFORMATION, UNITED STATES

London, Jun 15 — A press report,dated Jun 14, states: Today marks endof the PayPal federal class actionlawsuit, a lawsuit which sees the eBay-owned firm having to pay $9.25 milliondollars in settlement. The case wasbrought in 2002 when some customersof PayPal complained that the firm didnot disclose certain information abouttransactions and did not properlyprocess transaction limits the usersplaced on their accounts. Attorneys forthe plaintiffs had asked for $3.3 milliondollars in damages which would comeout of the total settlement made.

PATENT INFRINGEMENT, UNITED STATES

London, Jun 17 — A press report,dated Jun 16, states: Shell Oil Co, aunit of Royal Dutch/Shell Group,Europe’s second-largest oil company,must pay Dow Chemical Co’s UnionCarbide Corp. $153.6 million indamages for infringing a patent forcatalysts, a federal judge ruled. ChiefUS District Judge Sue L. Robinson inWilmington, Delaware, added morethan $40 million in interest to anoriginal judgment of about $112 millionthat was imposed during a 2003 jurytrial, according to court papers. “Shellhas failed to prove by clear andconvincing evidence” that it shouldn’t beheld liable in the case, Robinson said inentering the new judgment Jun 9following post-trial motions. UnionCarbide sued Shell in 1999, saying itcopied catalytic processes to makeethylene oxide, which is used inshampoo, toothpaste, polyester fibersand antifreeze. A jury in 2001 decidedShell did not infringe. In 2002 the USCourt of Appeals for the Federal Circuitreversed the verdict and ordered a re-trial. Shell spokesman Johan Zaaymanin Houston said the company was“deeply disappointed with the decision”and planned to appeal.

WRONGFUL TERMINATION OFDISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT,UNITED STATES

London, Jun 11 — A press report,dated Jun 10, states: An internationalarbitration board has ordered Rock ofAges Corp. to pay almost $6.5 million toone of its former distributors. KurtSwenson, chairman and chief executiveofficer of Rock of Ages, announced todaythat a three-member tribunal of theInternational Chamber of Commercehas awarded Granite Stone BusinessInternational — a company thatformerly did business as Eurimex —$5.4 million in damages and about $1.1million in interest. Swenson said theaward was based on the claim that Rockof Ages wrongfully terminated adistribution agreement with Eurimex inlate 2000 for distribution of graniteoutside the United States. AlthoughRock of Ages prevailed on each of thefour other claims brought by Eurimex inthe arbitration, Swenson described theadverse ruling as an unforeseensetback. “We are disappointed by thisdecision,” Swenson said in a preparedstatement from Rock of Ages

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Awards & Settlements

headquarters in Concord, N.H. Rock ofAges spokesman Doug Goldsmith inBarre said the company has twochoices. “We either decide to pay it orwe decide to appeal it,” he said.Eurimex had sought damages of $25.3million, plus interest, moral damages,attorney’s fees and costs, in connectionwith the termination of the twodistribution contracts. The arbitrationhearing was held in Luxembourg a littlemore than a year ago. Swenson saidRock of Ages “... has sufficient resourcesto pay this award.”

ALABAMA, UNITED STATESLondon, Jun 11 — A press report,

dated today, states: Two area trainderailments, 22 miles apart and in thespace of three hours, do not appear tobe related, according to a CSXspokesman. Neither derailmentresulted in injuries. The LimestoneCounty derailment took place at 1430,yesterday. The southbound train carriedgrain. It started in Princeton, Ind., andwas bound for Oglethorpe, Ga. Itconsisted of two locomotives and 65loaded cars. Ten cars derailed. “Weexpect to get the tracks open thisafternoon,” said CSX spokesman GarySease. Sease said the company does notknow what caused the derailments. TheDecatur incident happened at 1710. Thenorthbound train carried mixed cargo.The train had six locomotives and 102cars, two of which carried hazardousmaterials. A portion of the train was onthe Tennessee River bridge when itderailed. Twenty-three of the Decaturcars derailed. Two contained hazardousmaterials. One contained anhydrousammonia and the other containedresidue of molten sulfur. None of thehazardous materials leaked, accordingto Sease. CSX contractors used a craneto re-rail the 23 derailed cars shortlyafter midnight. Sease said possiblecauses of derailments include themechanical condition of the locomotiveand rail cars, the condition of the trackand the operating practices the crewwas using. CSX must report bothincidents to the Federal RailroadAdministration. Sease said CSX shouldbe able to clear the tracks for traintraffic late today. Until the track iscleared, CSX will route trains throughChattanooga and Atlanta.

PLYMOUTH, UNITED KINGDOMLondon, Jun 17 — A press report,

dated Jun 16, states: An investigationis under way after a train carryingradioactive waste was derailed inDevon on Monday (Jun 14). Theincident occurred at DevonportDockyard in Plymouth. A spokesmanfor DML, which runs the yard, said thelocomotive was partially derailed,although the trailer carrying the wastemodule was not. It said there was nosafety risk and the Health and Safety

Executive’s Nuclear InstallationsInspectorate had been informed. At thetime the train was probably travellingat only 2mph, the company added. In astatement, DML said: “At no time wasthere any radiological or conventionalsafety hazard to anyone on our site ormembers of the public outside of thesite. The incident will be the subject ofa full independent regulatoryinvestigation in addition to our ownformal investigation.” The dockyard,which is located approximately twomiles from Plymouth city centre, hastwo diesel locomotives for moving newand used submarine fuel.

RAIGAD DISTRICT, MAHARASHTRASTATE, INDIA

London, Jun 16 — A press report,dated today, states: At least 18 peopledied when a train derailed during heavymonsoon rains in western India, officialssay. The passenger train came off thetracks as it crossed a river near theKonkan coast in western Maharashtrastate at around 0610, local time, today.Many people are feared trapped incarriages hanging from the bridge inRaigad district, while the engine fellinto the river, correspondents say. Thetrain is said to have been travellingfrom Mangalore to Bombay. Reports saidthe derailment, between Veer andKaranjadi, 200 km to the south ofBombay, was caused by boulders whichhad fallen onto the tracks in the rains.The first 11 coaches, including theengine, had gone off the rails, astatement on the Konkan Railwaywebsite said. At least 40 passengerswere injured in the accident involvingthe Matsyagandha Express train. Theyhave been taken to a hospital in Mahad,12 miles from the accident site. Rescueand medical teams were on the scenetrying to help trapped passengers.“Many people are feared trapped insidethe two coaches hanging from thebridge,” a senior railway official said.But the rains and the hilly terrain werehindering rescue operations. “It is verydifficult to approach the accident site.The only approach is through a windingroad over the hills,” a doctor at thehospital said. India’s Railway MinisterLaloo Prasad Yadav said the route onwhich the accident happened was proneto landslides.London, Jun 17 — A press report, dated

Jun 16, states: At least 20 people havebeen killed and over 100 injured after atrain bound for Mumbai derailed whilecrossing a bridge. Ten coaches and theengine of the Matsyagandha Expressjumped the rails on the western Konkancoast today after the engine crashed intolarge boulders that had rolled down fromthe mountainside due to heavy monsoonrains lashing the area. Officials saidrescue workers struggled to removebodies from three coaches that hungfrom the bridge after the accident thathappened in pouring rain about 160 kmsouth of Mumbai. Railway engineerstried to remove the damaged coachesfrom the tracks to make way for othertrains, which were either diverted orcancelled. Officials said the train washeaded for Mumbai from the southerncoastal city of Mangalore.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, UNITED STATES

London, Jun 17 — A press report,dated Jun 16, states: Five train carscame off the track while pulling into arail yard in Salt Lake City today. Alittle after 1000 hrs five Union Pacifictrain cars derailed at the Roper Yardarea. No one was injured in theaccident and Union Pacific says it won’timpact their main rail operations.Investigators are trying to determinewhat forced the cars off the track.

SHAANXI PROVINCE, CHINALondon, Jun 15 — A press report,

dated Jun 14, states: A freight trainderailed near a railway station west ofXi’an, capital city of Shaanxi Provincetoday, but no casualties wereimmediately reported, the localgovernment said. The accident occurredat around 1125 hrs when freight trainNo. 19095 derailed near YanglingRailway Station, cutting the railwayline connecting Lanzhou, in GansuProvince, and Lianyungang, in eastJiangsu Province. The local railwaybureau organised relief efforts, and thecause of the derailment was beinginvestigated.

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, UNITED STATES

London, Jun 11 — A press report,dated Jun 10, states: Seven cars of afreight train carrying hazardousmaterials derailed today on the northside of South bend, Indiana. None of thehazardous materials spilled and therewere no evacuations after the 0300 hrsderailment, authorities said. Noinjuries were reported. Several tankercars ended up on their sides, and thederailment blocked some streets in thearea. Authorities said the tracks wereheavily damaged.

TARNAGULLA AREA, VICTORIA,AUSTRALIA

London, Jun 11 — A press report,dated Jun 10, states: A freight trainderailed in central Victoria tonight. Apolice spokeswoman said about 15carriages of the train, which wascarrying wheat, came off the tracksafter 2200 hrs, near Tarnagulla, west ofBendigo. No one was injured and it wasnot yet known what caused thederailment, the police spokeswomansaid. Police from Inglewood andBendigo were travelling the scene andthe train line was expected to be closedfor several hours, she said.

COLLAPSE OF BUILDING, MEDAN,INDONESIA

London, Jun 11 — A press report,dated today, states: A new section ofHotel Sahiba in Medan, which wasbeing constructed, suddenly collapsedyesterday, leaving six constructionworkers injured. The new section was a

Miscellaneous

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Awards & Settlements/Railway Accidents/Miscellaneous

three-storey building, an extension ofthe old hotel building. The old hotelbuilding itself was unaffected by theincident. Several witnesses said thatthe building suddenly collapsed wheneight construction workers wereworking inside the building. Thebuilding collapsed at 1000 hrs, wheneight workers were working on theground floor. A preliminaryinvestigation found that the incidentstemmed from poor construction on thesecond floor of the building, whichcaused the building to collapse,according to the Medan Teladan Policesubprecinct chief Adj. Comr. IrwanAnwar.

COLLAPSE OF COAL MINE,FANGSHAN DISTRICT, CHINA

London, Jun 11 — A press report,dated today, states: Rescue workershave found that all 10 people trappedsince Sunday (Jun 6) in a collapsedsuburban Beijing mine have died, localmedia reported today. The workers inthe Beijing Coal Corp Daan Shan Mineturned up dead yesterday night aftersome 100 hours of rescue work,according to the Beijing Times.

DRUGS SEIZED ON CYPRUSVESSEL IN UNITED STATES

London, Jun 10 — Following pressrelease received from MTI Networks,USA, timed 1811 today: Crude oiltanker Pearlmar (38900 gt, built 2002)was inspected by US customsauthorities on Jun 9 after arriving fromEsmeraldas, Ecuador. Between 70 and100 pounds of cocaine were found in thetransom space above the rudder, whichis located below the waterline outsidethe hull of the ship. Following theinspection, the vessel was not detainedand no arrests were made. Pearlmar isdischarging its cargo as planned andauthorities have not advised us for anydelays. Stelmar is a signatory to thevoluntary US Customs Sea CarrierInitiative Agreement and are co-operating fully in the ongoinginvestigation. (Note — Pearlmararrived Martinez Jun 9 fromEsmeraldas.)

GAS WELL BLOWOUT, PERTHBASIN, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

London, Jun 11 — Following receivedfrom ARC Energy, dated Jun 10: ARCEnergy Ltd advises that an incident hasoccurred at the drilling location of theexploration well Tarantula 1. Atapproximately 0800, WST, whileperforming a routine wireline survey,gas flowed up the drill pipe. Blow outpreventers were closed around the drillpipe, but gas continues to flow up thedrill pipe to surface. The rig (Century24) has been shut down and all crewhave been evacuated without injury.Resources have been mobilised toensure control is restored and impactsminimised. Participants in L11 andTarantula 1 are: Origin EnergyDevelopments Pty Limited (Operator)67.00% ARC Energy Limited 33.00%.(Note — Drilling of the gas explorationwell Tarantula 1 commenced 1300, May24 using drilling rig Century 24 in lat29 25 20.52S, long 115 08 18.51E.)

London, Jun 11 — A press report,dated today, states: Origin Energy hasprovided an update to earlier reportsregarding the incident that occurred atthe drilling location of the explorationwell Tarantula 1 yesterday morning. Atno stage since the incident occurred hasthere been a fire or explosion at thesite. The site remains stable with gasand water continuing to flow toatmosphere through the drill pipe. Awater deluge system has been set up atthe drill site as a precaution tominimise the risk of ignition. An expertteam is now being flown in to assist inthe control procedures and is expectedto be on site tomorrow afternoon.Following the shut down of the rigyesterday, Origin is advised that fouremployees of the drilling contractorreceived first aid treatment for scaldinginjuries to their arms.

INDONESIAN FISHING VESSELSDETAINED BY AUSTRALIA

London, Jun 16 — A press report,dated today, states: Almost allIndonesian fishing boats caughtillegally in Australian waters will bedestroyed under a new policy outlinedby Federal Fisheries Minister IanMacdonald. Under the changes, illegalfishermen will no longer be able to waitfor trial aboard their boats in Darwinharbour, giving time for their financiersto send the $5000 bond needed forAustralian authorities to release thevessel. Boat captains and crew whohave been caught once will beremanded in Darwin’s Berrimah jail,while first-time offenders will be sentstraight home. With no crew to claimthe boat, it will be torched. The movecomes after a Darwin coroner this yearrecommended fishermen be repatriatedimmediately after a fisherman died,apparently from an epileptic seizure, incramped conditions aboard a boat whileawaiting trial.

CHEMICAL PLANT, ELMIRA,ONTARIO, CANADA

London, Jun 11 — A press report,dated today, states: Firefighters neededthree hours to control a fire at achemical plant near Waterloo, Ont. Theblaze broke out at Crompton Chemical,formerly Uniroyal, in Elmira thismorning. Witnesses said they heardseveral loud explosions. No one washurt in the fire, but residents facedsome anxious moments as a tower ofblack smoke filled the sky over thetown. Residents were instructed to stayindoors, close their windows, and turntheir air conditioners off. A layer ofsolvent in a wastewater storagetreatment tank is believed to havecaught fire, officials told The CanadianPress. The fire released carbonmonoxide and carbon dioxide, butresidents have been assured that no

dangerous chemicals were released. TheOntario Ministry of the Environment isinvestigating the incident. Cromptonmakes chemicals such as petroleumadditives, rubber chemicals, andsynthetic lubricants. The company hasfaced criticism in the past for itsenvironmental record.

CHURCH, BROWNFIELD, TEXAS,UNITED STATES

London, Jun 16 — A press report,dated Jun 15, states: A fire that beganin the afternoon and smoldered into thenight destroyed the Brownfield Churchof Christ yesterday despite firefighters’efforts. The Brownfield FireDepartment was called at about 1520hrs, said Fire Chief Marvin Dawson,and the building continued to smolderuntil at least 2015 hrs. Last night thatthe fire was about 90% out, but the hotspots will smolder for days. Firefightersfrom surrounding communities lent ahand. Meadow, Tahoka, Morton,Levelland and Wellman firefightershelped battle the blaze. Dawson, thefire chief, said this was by far the worstfire he had ever seen in Brownfield.Dawson said he doesn’t believe thebuilding can be built back. He said hehopes it stands long enough for aninvestigation into how the fire started.The church lost it’s auditorium and thecentre of the building. The churchoffices were the only thing leftuntouched by the blaze.

COAL MINE, GUIZHOU PROVINCE,CHINA

London, Jun 10 — A press report,dated today, states: At least nineminers were killed in a coal mine gasexplosion in southwestern GuizhouProvince yesterday morning, accordingto local government sources. The blastoccurred at 1010 hrs at the YongliuColliery in Luobie Township ofLiupanshui City, said an official withthe provincial coal mine administration.An investigation into the cause of theexplosion and rescue work were underway, said the official.

COAL MINE, RIO TURBIO AREA,ARGENTINA

London, Jun 16 — A press report,dated today, states: Two miners died ina coal mine fire that continued ragingtoday, and authorities said there waslittle chance of rescuing another 11miners still trapped below. “It is notvery likely” that the other men werealive, one rescue worker said after histeam members finally accessed thedamaged tunnel through an alternativeroute, more than 20 hours after the firebroke out late on Monday (Jun 14).Galleries collapsed some sevenkilometres underground. About 100miners escaped. Some were treated forsmoke inhalation. Community officialPaulino Rodriguez said two unidentifiedbodies have been recovered and takento be autopsied at a hospital in RioTurbio, in southern Patagonia region.Rescuers tried to reach the 13 workerswho were trapped after a conveyor beltbroke down and caught fire, miningauthorities said. Today, rescuers werestill trying to extinguish the fire a

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Miscellaneous/Fires & Explosions

union official said. Rio Turbio Mayor,Matias Mazu, told reporters thatrescuers were sealing off some tunnelsin order to draw the smoke out andchoke the fire.

London, Jun 17 — A press report,dated today, states: ArgentinianPresident Nestor Kirchner has rushedto his home province after a coal minecave-in in southern Argentina killed sixminers and trapped eight others.Authorities said the chances of thetrapped people being rescued werefading. Rescuers pulled the bodies of sixminers from the Rio Turbio coal mine inSanta Cruz province, some 2,800 kmsouth-west of the capital, and weretrying to reach those still trappedyesterday. Mr Kirchner set out from thecapital at midday to follow rescuers’progress on the ground. But Rio TurbioMayor Matias Mazu told reporterschances of their getting out alive are“almost nil” due to the amount ofcarbon monoxide emitted by the fire onMonday that sparked the collapse.

COAL MINE, SHAANXI PROVINCE,CHINA

London, Jun 15 — A press report,dated today, states: Fifteen people wereconfirmed killed and seven others werestill missing as of 0600, today, in a coalmine blast that occurred yesterdayafternoon in north-west China ‘sShaanxi Province, local officials said.The blast took place at 1650 yesterdayin the No 1 coal mine of the HuanglingMining Co, Ltd when 85 miners wereworking underground. Of them, 65miners were rescued, including fiveinjured miners who were rushed tohospital. The 15 killed people includedtwo rescuers, according to theprovincial bureau for supervising safetyin coal production. A task force hasbeen set up to search for the missingminers and to deal with the aftermathof the accident.

FORESTS, RUSSIALondon, Jun 11 — A press report,

dated today, states: Twenty five forestfire outbreaks over almost 1,100hectares are reported in the Far EastRussia. Eight new outbreaks werereported over the past 24 hours. Theblaze destroyed 499 hectares of forests,the regional environmental protectiondepartment told Itar-Tass today. Thereare large congflagrations in theKhabarovsk territory, Kamchatka andSakhalin. Two hundred and forty-fivepeople are working in the fire zones inthe Khabarovsk territory, and the totalnumber is more than 420 in the wholeFar East region. Thirty aircraft andhelicopters carry out patrol flights andconvey firefighters to the zones.

GRAIN ELEVATOR, CASHION,OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES

London, Jun 15 — A press report,dated Jun 14, states: It took nearly 19hours for firefighters in Cashion toextinguish a grain elevator fire. The firein the upper portion of the ShawneeMills grain elevator started yesterdaynight. Firefighters said small openingsand a maze of grain chutes made itdifficult to fight the blaze. According to

the Oklahoma State Fire Marshal’sOffice, one firefighter was slightlyinjured. Edmond, Kingfisher, El Renoand Deer Creek fire crews helped theCashion Volunteer Fire Departmentfight the blaze, which started inside theShawnee Mills grain elevator. Firecrews from surrounding cities were stillon the scene late today to fight theblaze, which was still smoldering.Officials said the cause of the fire isstill under investigation.

LUMBER YARD, WEST JORDAN,UTAH, UNITED STATES

Salt Lake City, Jun 16 — An extremistenvironmental group has claimedresponsibility for a $1.5 million lumberyard fire in Utah, officials said today.The FBI has determined the StockBuilding Supply fire in West Jordanwas arson and said the letters “ELF”were spray painted on property at thesite of the blaze. The ELF letters arethose of the Earth Liberation Front, anextremist environmental groupresponsible for millions of dollars indamage. The FBI is also investigating aone-page fax sent to Salt Lake Cityradio station KSL with an ELF headingand claiming responsibility for the fire.The fax said the Stock Building Supplylumber yard was targeted because itignored warnings to repair its pollutingforklifts. — Reuters.

OIL REFINERY, HAIFA, ISRAELLondon, Jun 16 — A press report,

dated today, states: A small-scaleexplosion occured this morning at theoil refinery compound of Haifa’sindustrial zone. Eleven people werelightly-to moderately injured in theincident, and seven of them were takento hospital. Twenty-three ambulancesarrived at the scene. The explosion wasapparently caused by a mechanicalmalfunction in one of the refinery’sovens. Police said that no dangerouschemicals were released in theexplosion, and promised to furtherinvestigate the incident.

PREMISES, JASPER, GEORGIA,UNITED STATES

London, Jun 15 — A press report, fromJasper, Georgia, dated Jun 14, states:Fire investigators were searching forthe cause today of an overnight blazethat virtually destroyed a popularPickens County sporting goods store,authorities said. More than 50firefighters from three counties battledthe blaze, which was reported around0145 hrs. The blaze destroyed thebuilding as well as the store’s $6 millioninventory, owner Jerry Stover said. Itwas not immediately clear whatsparked the fire. No injuries werereported.

PREMISES, LAWRENCE, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES

London, Jun 16 — A press report,dated Jun 15, states: Fire engulfed theHerald Community Newspapersbuilding in Lawrence this afternoon,fire officials said, but no serious injurieswere reported. Nassau County FirecomSupervisor Charles Parker said theoccupants of the building, at 379

Central Ave. were evacuated after thefire began about 1515 hrs. It wascontained by about 1730 hrs, Parkersaid. The Lawrence-Cedarhurst FireDepartment battled the blaze, with helpfrom firefighters from Inwood,Woodmere, Hewlett, Valley Stream,Meadowmere Park and Long Beach.The fire marshal was investigating thecause of the fire, Parker said.

PREMISES, WORMELOW,HEREFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM

London, Jun 12 — A press report,dated today, states: An old ballroom inHerefordshire has been gutted by fire.More than 60 firefighters spent thenight tackling the blaze at Park Hall atWormelow. Crews from as far afield asEvesham and Droitwich Spa inWorcestershire were called out at about0100, BST, today. Sub officer RonMorris, who was one of the firstfirefighters on the scene, said it provedto be a very difficult blaze to contain.He said: “We had difficulty getting thewater supply there. We had to run out ahose from about half a mile away to thenearest hydrant and the water supplywas very poor. It wasn’t until WelshWater boosted the pressure that we gota decent supply.” Crews were still thereat this lunchtime.

PUBLIC HOUSE, BRETFORTON,WORCESTERSHIRE, KINGDOMLondon, Jun 14 — A press report,

dated today, states: Plans to restore anhistoric Worcestershire pub which wasbadly destroyed by fire are to beunveiled. The National Trust, whichowns the 14th century Fleece Inn atBretforton near Evesham, will hold anopen meeting to show villagers theplans.

SCRAP YARD MORECAMBE,LANCASHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM

London, Jun 11 — A press report,dated today, states: Sixty-fivefirefighters are trying to stop a majorblaze at a scrap metal yard fromspreading to nearby houses. Fire breakshave been created after the blaze brokeout at 0320, BST, today at MorecambeMetals on the White Lund estate,Morecambe, Lancashire. Residents havebeen warned to stay indoors and keepwindows closed. Eight crews are at thescene as more than 2,000 tonnes ofmaterial is said to be on fire. Retainedcrews from Bolton-le-Sands, Carnforth,Silverdale and Hornby are also helpingfight the fire. The thick smoke from thefire can be seen several miles away andsome nearby roads have been closed.

TELEPHONE EXCHANGE,MUSSELBURGH, EAST LOTHIAN,SCOTLAND

London, Jun 16 — A press report,dated today, states: More than 15,000households in Musselburgh have beenleft without telephone lines after anovernight fire in a nearby BritishTelecom exchange. Musselburgh,Gullane and Longniddry are among theareas affected by the phone blackout,which has also caused problems for

22


Fires & Explosions

mobile users. Portable pay phones havebeen brought in, in case people need tomake calls to the emergency services.BT said it could be days before servicesare back to normal. Lothian andBorders Police said it was treating thefire as suspicious. The fire affected bothfloors of the two-storey building inMansfield Road, which is near thecentre of the town. According to BritishTelecom, more than 17,000 customerswere initially affected but services tosome outlying areas have been restored.The company said its engineers wouldassess the extent of damage toequipment as soon as it was deemedsafe for them to go into the premises.Extra police officers have beenintroduced in an attempt to ensure thatemergency response times are notadversely affected. A police spokesmansaid: “Due to last night’s fire at the BTexchange, there has been a partial lossto the 999 and normal telephone servicein parts of the East Lothian area.

London, Jun 17 — A press report,dated today, states: A 13-year-old boyhas been charged in connection with afire at a telephone exchange which cutoff services to thousands of homes inEast Lothian. Tuesday’s (Jun 15) blazecaused extensive damage to the BTexchange in Musselburgh and affectedabout 25,000 customers in the town andsurrounding area. Lothian and BordersPolice said the boy had been arrestedand charged with wilful fireraising. Areport will be submitted to the Reporterto the Children’s Panel. BT said about300 customers were still withoutservices, but was hopeful that everyonewould be reconnected by the end oftoday.

WILDFIRES, IRANLondon, Jun 12 — A press report,

dated today, states: Fars provinceEnvironment Protection Office reportedtoday fire in the past two days hasburned 100 acres of pastures in theBemoy National Park located 10 kmnorth of Shiraz city. The fire broke outaccidentally by a few teenagers’negligence who had camped out there.According to another report by the sameoffice, fire also burned 50 acres of theprotected area of Kohe Siah (BlackMountain) near Arsanjan city.

WILDFIRES, UNITED STATESLondon, Jun 11 — A press report,

dated Jun 10, states: Firefightersbattled a wildfire today that destroyedtwo houses before flames jumped acrossthe Rio Grande and forced evacuationsin surrounding neighbourhoods. Firecrews initially responded to a house firebut wind gusts up to 35 mph carried theblaze to a second home nearby and thento trees across the river, said Fire ChiefBett Clark. Sixteen homes wereevacuated. A huge plume of smoke roseinto the sky as fire engines werepositioned to help protect homes, and ahelicopter dropped water on the flamesfrom overhead. Clark said high windsand dry terrain made conditions ripe fora fire. Gov. Bill Richardson activatedthe state’s emergency operations center.“The good news is the fire is low but it’swindy - that’s not good,” he said.

London, Jun 12 — A press report,dated today, states: Fire officials wereoptimistic that a 7,300-acre fire ineastern Arizona will bypass a tinymountain community of vacation homesand wooden cottages. Residents packedup their belongings and 25 fire enginesstood guard around the edges ofNutrioso, but the wildfire, burning tothe south-west, appeared to be headedaway from the community. The fire was30% contained last night and remaineda little more than a mile from the areadesignated as the trigger point forevacuations, authorities said. BobDyson, a spokesman for the crewfighting the blaze, said the fire wascooling down and had not moved anycloser to Nutrioso since Thursday.

London, Jun 12 — A press report,dated today, states: In New Mexicofirefighters were bolstering linesaround a blaze that has burned 57,500acres in Lincoln National Forest, in theCapitan Mountains. The fire was 80%contained. To the north-west, officials inAlbuquerque said a fire that destroyedtwo buildings and led to the evacuationof more than 100 homes was sparked bymetal work, and three men werearrested on charges of negligence,officials said. The fire had burned anestimated 80 acres and continuedsmoldering yesterday, but officials saidthe flames were staying on the ground.

London, Jun 15 — A press report,dated Jun 14, states: Firefighters weregaining on a 7,897-acre wildfire burningin the Apache-Sitgreaves NationalForest, making officials optimistic thatthe blaze could be fully contained thisweek. The Three Forks Fire was 75%contained by last night. The blaze didn’tgrow yesterday and burned mostly inits interior, said Dorman McGann, aspokesman for the crew fighting thefire. If the fire continues to lay downand weather conditions co-operate, theblaze could be fully contained byThursday, McGann said. Officials closeda 107 square mile area next to the blazebecause of fire danger. The fire, whichwas burning meadows, pine, spruce andfir trees, remained a little more than amile from the area designated as thetrigger point for evacuations. But thefire has not moved any closer toNutrioso since Thursday.

London, Jun 16 — A press report,dated Jun 15, states: Firefighters wereusing bulldozers and hand toolsyesterday to clear a line around ahuman-caused blaze that has burnedabout 2,500 acres in the ZuniMountains in western New Mexico. TheSedgwick Fire, which flared from acampfire, was burning pinon, juniper,ponderosa pine and mixed conifer treesin rugged terrain in the Cibola NationalForest, 14 miles west of Grants. Nostructures are threatened by the fire,which was five per cent contained andwas sending smoke into Grants. Therewere about 300 people assigned to theblaze, along with six helicopters andtwo bulldozers. Two C-130 militaryaircraft also were standing by to dropfire retardant if needed. The fire nearlydoubled in size Sunday, but much ofthat was due to burnout operations byfirefighters.

London, Jun 16 — A press report,dated Jun 15, states: Firefighterscontinued battling the 60,400-acrePeppin Fire in the Capitan Mountainsin the Lincoln National Forest. “We areconducting some additional burnout onthe south-east flank today (Monday),”said Margo Whitt, fire informationofficer.The fire was burning interiorislands of vegetation as temperaturesrise and humidity falls. The month-oldfire, which was 85% contained, wassparked by lightning six miles north-east of Capitan in south-central NewMexico. The blaze has burned 12 cabinsand mixed conifer, ponderosa pine,pinon and juniper trees in ruggedterrain. There were 200 people assignedto the fire, along with two helicopters,five engines, one bulldozer and twowater tenders. The Peppin Fire has costalmost $6.4 million, officials said.

C-FSQJLondon, Jun 16 — On Jun 12, Stinson

108-2, C-FSQJ, departed SouthRiver/Sundridge airport, Ontario andwas landing on Runway 30 at Orilliaairport. During the landing roll,directional control of the aircraft waslost and the aircraft groundloopedcoming to rest on its back on therunway. The aircraft was substantiallydamaged; the pilot was not injured. Thewind was reported to be a 90 degreelight crosswind.

C-GBILLondon, Jun 14 — A press report,

dated Jun 13, states: The informationcollected so far in the crash of a Cessna182P (Skylane) (C-GBIL) near PrinceGeorge Airport on Monday (Jun 7)suggests no failure of the engine orcontrols, a Transportation Safety Boardspokesman said on Friday asinvestigators recovered the body of thepilot and effectively stopped therecovery of aircraft wreckage. BillYearwood said eyewitness accounts ofthe aircraft’s movements before thecrash and the lack of a mayday callmeant it was not likely mechanics werethe cause of the crash. “So we’re downto trying to determine whether the pilotlost control because of the weather orlost control due to physiologicalincapacitation,” he said. Pilot BenGuilliamse, 71, was killed when theaircraft crashed near Highway 16 northof the airport just after take-off at 0700on. Monday. He was given a specialclearance to fly because the weather didnot allow for a regular clearance. Hisremains were recovered Thursdaymorning more than 20 feetunderground, Prince George RCMPsaid. Airport general manager StiegHoeg said investigators were not able torecover much of the engine. Therecovery operation last week washampered by water and mud in themarshy area where the aircraft went

23


Fires & Explosions/Aviation

down, he said. Yearwood said an autopsyreport would help determine whetherGuilliamse was killed in the crash, or lostconsciousness or died while flying. TheTSB is assisting the coroner ’sinvestigation by collecting and examiningradar data, eyewitness accounts, andevidence from the crash site such as theangle the aircraft hit the ground. A boardletter outlining its findings should beforwarded to the coroner’s office in thenext two months, he said.

C-GJSTLondon, Jun 15 — A press report,

dated today, states: A 42-year-oldMasson man is missing and presumeddead after an aircraft crashed into theOttawa River between Cumberland andMasson. As of last night, police saidAlain Bourbonnais and his float planewere missing. Meanwhile, a ferrybelonging to a company owned by Mr.Bourbonnais’ father continued to patrolthe waters around the crash scene intothe night. Alain, who worked for thecompany, used the aircraft, believed tobe a de Havilland Beaver, to fly to afishing camp, friends said yesterday.Residents on both sides of the river, inaddition to motorists on Highway 174,first reported to police a small aircraft,with red and white markings, indistress just before 1400, yesterday. TheOttawa Fire Department’s search andrescue unit soon discovered an oil slickon the water. Firefighters would laterfind pontoons and other debris from thedowned aircraft, all about one-and-a-half kilometres east of the Cumberland-Masson ferry. Some eyewitnessesreported seeing some black smoke fromthe aircraft before it went down, whileothers saw the aircraft in the air andthought everything seemed normal. Thepilot may have been attempting to landwhen gusting winds caught the wingsand catapulted the aircraft into a nosedive and into the chilly waters,witnesses said. At least one witnessreported that the aircraft flipped twicebefore landing in the water. Police saidthere was no distress signal from theaircraft, though Ottawa police reportedat least two separate witnesses called toreport an aircraft in trouble. Diverssaid the fuselage of the aircraft likelysettled in 10 to 12 metres of water andparamedics on the scene said timeworked against a successful rescue,turning it from a rescue mission to oneof recovery by late afternoon.Investigators speculate that strongspringtime currents also may havemoved the debris down river. OPPdivers worked until about 2015. Therecovery effort is to resume thismorning. Gatineau police took over theinvestigation last night along withinvestigators from the TransportationSafety Board.

London, Jun 16 — On Jun 14, DeHavilland DHC-2 (Beaver) C-GJSTcrashed in the Ottawa River in thevicinity of Masson, QC while the pilotwas performing touch-and-go landings.The pilot was fatally injured and theaircraft was destroyed.

London, Jun 17 — A press report,dated Jun 16, states: Investigators hopethe wreckage of a float aircraft which

went down in the Ottawa River onMonday (Jun 14) will reveal whatcaused the fatal crash. Divers pulledthe body of the pilot from the wreckageof the submerged aircraft late Mondaynight. Salvage crews, assisted byinvestigators from the TransportationSafety Board, yesterday brought theremains of the De Havilland DHC-2(Beaver) (C-GJST) back to shore fromthe crash site. Once out of the water,the aircraft was expected to be taken tothe TSB’s lab at the Ottawa airport fordetailed examination. TSB seniorinvestigator Charles Laurence saidtechnicians will be examining theaircraft for any mechanical problemswith the flight controls, engine orgauges, as well as examining safetyequipment such as the seat belts toensure it was working properly.Laurence said the TSB would also checkthe aircraft’s service records and thequalifications of mechanics who workedon it. “We have not seen anything thatwe could make a judgment on rightnow,” he said, adding it could be sometime before the cause of the crash isknown.

C-GVYELondon, Jun 11 — Cessna A185F

floatplane, C-GVYE, operated by BigRiver Air Ltd, crashed while landing onthe Taltson River, NWT and came torest inverted in 10 feet of water at1700, Jun 7. The pilot and front seatpassenger were able to egress theaircraft. The two rear seat passengerssustained fatal injuries. The TSB isdispatching two investigators to theaccident site.

CRASH INTO SEA OFF GABONLibreville, Jun 16 — The families of

people killed in a plane crash off Gabonlast week fear a protracted and possiblyfruitless fight for compensation after itemerged the aircraft was not insured,family members said today. “We havelittle faith in a quick reaction with anyfinancial support for the families...andeven less that Gabon Express willcompensate families,” said NdongGermaine, 28, a student who lost anuncle in the crash. The government saidlate yesterday it would take legal actionagainst the company and had banned itfrom operating because it had failed toinsure its aircraft. “Gabon Express andits directors will be taken to court forlying and concealing information which,had it been known, would haveprevented them from obtaining anoperating licence,” Transport MinisterPaulette Missambo told statetelevision.Investigators have recoveredtwo black box flight recorders from thetwin-engined plane, which will be sentto London for examination, Missambosaid. — Reuters.

CRASH INTO TALSTON RIVER,NORTH WEST TERRITORIES,CANADA

See C-GVYE.

CRASH, CARSON CITY AREA,NEVADA, UNITED STATES

London, Jun 17 — A press report,dated Jun 16, states: One man died

today when a Cessna 337 (Skymaster)crashed near Carson City, Nevada, andauthorities said they were trying todetermine whether anyone else was onboard the aircraft. “We don’t know ifmore than one person was on board.The burn site was pretty severe,”Sheriff Ken Furlong said. “There couldbe more. We’re trying to find out fromthe family who should have been on theplane.” The crash started a fire thatburned about an acre of land. Thevictim was trapped in the wreckage ofthe aircraft, described by Furlong as“total destruction.” Authorities said theaircraft had made one landingapproach but then circled around theairport, flying low, and crashed justeast of the airport as it made a secondapproach.

CRASH, PEORIA, ILLINOIS,UNITED STATES

London, Jun 14 — A press report,dated today, states: A 24-year-old pilotwas killed yesterday after his planecrashed. The accident occurred shortlyafter the plane disconnected from aglider that it assisted in gettingairborne. Miller Wilder waspronounced dead at the runway nearTurf Soaring School, 8700 W. CarefreeHighway at Pleasant Valley Airport,Peoria.

CRASH, RIGA AREA, LATVIALondon, Jun 14 — A press report,

dated Jun 13, states: A small privateaircraft crashed in the Andrejsala areaof Riga last night, killing two people.One of the two people killed wasreported to be “Latvijas Aeroklubs”board member Janis Vitins, who waspiloting the Belorussian-madeAiroprakt A 22. The cause of the crashwas unclear but poor weatherconditions were being mentioned as afactor. The aircraft crashed and burstinto flames at around 1900 hrs. CivilAviation Administration DirectorGeneral Maris Gorodcovs said that theaircraft was not yet certified in Latvia,and since it was still in an experimentalstage, it was bound by variousrestrictions, including flying overpopulated areas. He added that Vitins’aircraft only had authorisation to flyover the Spilve Airport zone.

CRASH, TAMARACEITE, CANARY ISLANDS

London, Jun 15 — A press report,dated Jun 14, states: Two men werekil led in Gran Canaria when theaerobatics aircraft they were flyingcrashed, it was reported today. The twovictims, a Spaniard and a German,were participating in a model airplaneenthusiasts’ convention, organiserJaime Roura told EFE. The accidentoccurred around 1330 hrs during anair show in Tamaraceite, a few milesfrom the island’s capital of LasPalmas. The Soviet-made aerobaticsaircraft, which was reportedly in goodcondition, brushed the ground as itwas performing a somersault, lostcontrol and crashed, Roura said. Theengine and a wing broke off on impact,landing several yards from theaircraft.

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Aviation

EMERGENCY LANDING, BRADLEYINTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATES

London, Jun 15 — A press report,dated Jun 14, states: A ContinentalAirlines jet that declared an in-flightemergency landed safely at BradleyInternational Airport at 1530, today.Continental Airlines flight 1526 fromHouston experienced a leak in ahydraulic system, the Federal AviationAdministration said. The Boeing 737sat on the runway at the airport northof Hartford shortly after landing andemergency vehicles were swarmingaround it. Passengers were checked andDepartment of Transportationspokesman John Wallace said therewere no reports of injuries. Officialssaid there were 70 people on board theaircraft. Rescue workers helped themoff the aircraft as it sat on the runway,Wallace said. The FAA said the aircraftwould remain on the runway for sometime and might disrupt other traffic atthe airport. The airline said the jetwould be towed to a gate. DaveMessing, a spokesman for Continental,said the hydraulic problems onlyaffected the ability to steer theaircraft’s nose wheel. That impaired theaircraft’s ability to steer once on therunway but did not affect its ability toland. The pilot declared the emergencyas a matter of protocol, Messing said.

EMERGENCY LANDING, DULLESINTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,UNITED STATES

London, Jun 12 — A press report,dated today, states: A flight fromBradley International Airport toWashington’s Reagan National Airportwas diverted today after a flightattendant discovered a suspiciouspackage in a bathroom, a spokesmanwith the Transportation SecurityAdministration said. The aircraft, U.S.Airways flight 1403, landed withoutincident at Dulles International Airportoutside Washington. About 80passengers were on the flight. The FBIhas the package and was questioningsome passengers today, said Ann Davis,a spokeswoman for TSA. Nothing wasfound in a search of the plane, Davissaid.

EMERGENCY LANDING, NETAJISUBHASH BOSE AIRPORT,KOLKATA, INDIA

Karachi, Jun 17 — Bangladesh stateowned flag carrier Biman BangladeshAirlines said that one of its aircraft hadto make an emergency landing at NetajiSubhash Bose Airport in Kolkata,India, yesterday morning, due tomechanical trouble immediately aftertake-off for Dhaka. The aircraft (ADZ)left Zia International Airport at 1020,local time, and reached Kolkata at1050. The aircraft took off on its returnflight BG-091 to Dhaka at 1130. But theaircraft, carrying about 80 passengers,had to make an emergency landing atKolkata airport after take-off due to aleaking valve. Therefore, passengerswere evacuated through the emergencyexit and taken to a Kolkata hotel. Twoengineers of Biman were flown toKolkata to effect repair work. After

necessary repairs the aircraft was flownback to Dhaka and it reached ZIia at1230, yesterday. — Lloyd’s ListCorrespondent.

EMERGENCY LANDING, PALMBEACH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,UNITED STATES

London, Jun 11 — A press report,dated today, states: Spirit Airlines jetheading from Fort Lauderdale to NewYork made an emergency landing atPalm Beach International Airport whena detector malfunctioned and indicatedsmoke or flames were in the cargo area,fire-rescue officials said. People onboard the aircraft also reported a smellthat one crew member likened tocigarette smoke, said Mike Arena, PalmBeach County Fire-Rescue battalionchief. Firefighters found no problems onthe aircraft, which made the emergencylanding at about 1430, yesterday, lessthan an hour after taking off. SpiritAirlines spokeswoman Laura Richesonsaid she was not aware of a faultyindicator. The smell prompted the pilotto make the “precautionary landing,”she said. Spirit reported anotheraircraft took the 137 passengers onboard to New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

G-BUANLondon, Jun 11 — A press report,

dated Jun 10, states: A report into aplane crash off the Isles of Scilly lastyear has revealed the aircraft may haverun out of fuel. The Cessna aircraft wascarrying veteran air crew, who were allmembers of the Fleet Air ArmSquadron, when the accident happenedon Oct 4, 2003. The plane had to ditchin the sea and the men were rescued bya fishing boat. The Air AccidentInvestigation Branch has updated itsreport after it discovered the planeprobably had less than two gallons offuel on board. The AAIB’s originalreport had blamed the crash, six milessouth of the Isles of Scilly, on a doublemagneto failure which affected theengine. But investigators say they havesince found no evidence that theaircraft had been refuelled since Aug20, 2003. The report says, even on themost conservative of estimates, thatwould have left little fuel in the plane’stanks.

INCIDENT AT CHITRAL AIRPORT,PAKISTAN

Karachi, Jun 17 — Pakistan state-owned airline Pakistan InternationalAirlines (PIA) said today that one of itsFokker aircraft carrying 36 passengersand four crew while coming fromPeshawar skidded off the runway afterlanding at the Chitral airport innorthern area of Pakistan at 0840yesterday. As a result, the aircraft’styres burst and the fuel tank leaked.The aircraft was damaged in theincident. Its engine, rotating fan andwheel were destroyed. A special reliefaircraft was later sent by the PIA fromPeshawar to fly out passengers waitingat Chitral airport. Meanwhile,according to the press release issued byPIA, a Chitral bound flight PK 660departed from Peshawar yesterday. Itsaid: “The aircraft was fully serviceable

at the time of departure and theweather given was good. It landed inChitral normally but after landingencountered some technical fault due towhich it could not stop on the runwayand skidded off of the runway. All thepassengers and the crew were safe anddisembarked normally. The aircraft wasslightly damaged. The authoritiesconcerned are investigating theincident.” — Lloyd’s ListCorrespondent.

INCIDENT AT DALLAS-FORTWORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,TEXAS, UNITED STATES

London, Jun 11 — A press report,dated today, states: A Delta commuteraircraft with 40 people aboard veeredoff a runway after landing at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport today.No one was injured. Officials say theaircraft, operated by ChautauquaAirlines, arrived from Oklahoma Cityand stopped about 60 feet on the side ofthe runway. DFW airport authoritiessaid there were 37 passengers andthree crew members on Flight 6490.The runway was shut down, but DFWofficials said there were no significantdelays. The incident is underinvestigation.

INCIDENT AT PENN YAN AIRPORT,NEW YORK, UNITED STATES

London, Jun 17 — Authorities say twoteenagers escaped serious injuries butcaused one million dollars worth ofdamage to an aircraft. The accidentoccurred after Anoinette Bailey, ofSuffolk County, went to the Penn YanAirport 45 miles southeast of Rochesterto inspect an aircraft for her employeron Tuesday (Jun 15). Investigators saidthat Bailey left her 13-year-old nieceand a friend in a car while she wentinto an office. Bailey saw the frienddriving the car and tried to jump in butwas unable to stop it from crashingthrough a hangar door and into aConstellation Brands wine company jet.Investigators said the children weretreated at area hospitals and released.

INCIDENT AT PITTSBURGHAIRPORT, UNITED STATES

London, Jun 15 — A press report,dated Jun 14, states: Authorities inPittsburgh say a U-S Airways jet veeredoff a runway early today after it hit abird. They say the incident, which cameafter the aircraft touched down,disabled a steering mechanism. Theaircraft ended up mired in the mud.The passengers had to be taken by busto the terminal, where they waitedseveral more hours for their luggage.The flight had already been delayed inNorth Carolina because of storms. Anairline spokeswoman said the bird wasa turkey — but an airport official sayscrews found a dead owl.

N200BELondon, Jun 14 — A press report,

dated today, states: Two men werekilled yesterday after their BeechcraftKing Air 200 crashed on a mountain inGreenbrier County. The aircraft wentdown in a wooded area on BigMountain, about half a mile outside the

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Aviation

Rupert town limits. The plane took offfrom Summersville at about 0815 hrsand was headed for Greenbrier ValleyAirport in Lewisburg, according toState Police 1st Sgt J.L. Cahill, whowas heading the investigationyesterday. He said the two pilots wereon their way to pick up passengers inLewisburg to fly them to Charlotte,North Carolina. He said the men werekilled on impact. The flight fromSummersville to Lewisburg takes about15 minutes. Cahill said employees fromRader Aviation Co, which ownsSummersville Airport, contacted StatePolice at 1050 hrs after their aircraftdid not land on time. Two aircraft fromRader Aviation and a State Policehelicopter assisted in the search. Thecrash site was found on the mountainshortly afterward.

London, Jun 15 — Beechcraft King Air200, N200BE, crashed near Lewisburg,West Virginia, 1803, Jun 13, while on aflight from Summersville, WV, toLewisburg. The aircraft was destroyed.The two persons on board were killed.

N2065TLondon, Jun 17 — A press report,

dated Jun 16, states: A student pilotcrashed a helicopter during a landingTuesday night (Jun 15) at HamptonRoads Executive Airport on Va. 58. Noone was hurt. Elliot R. McNeese, 25, ofVirginia Beach, was practicing landingsat the airport at 1820 when the crashoccurred, said Sgt. D.S. Carr, statepolice spokesman. McNeese was alonein the helicopter, owned by ChesapeakeBay Helicopter, Carr said. No costestimate was available for the damageto the helicopter.

London, Jun 17 — Schweizer 269C-1,N2065T, made a hard landing on therunway at Hampton Roads ExecutiveAirport, Virginia, at 2249, Jun 15. Theone person on board was not injured.

N401CKLondon, Jun 15 — Following press

release from Coast Guard Juneau,dated Jun 14, states: Three CoastGuard rescue helicopters and theircrews responded to an aircraft thatcrashed on Long Island near Kodiakthis afternoon. The Coast Guardreceived notification of a possiblemissing aircraft about noon today fromFederal Aviation Administrationofficials in Kodiak. A Coast Guard AirStation Kodiak helicopter crew flying inthe area detected an aircraft ’semergency locating transmitter andhoned in on its signal. The crew locatedaircraft wreckage. Two additional CoastGuard helicopter crews transported aKodiak fire department rescue teamand an Alaska State Trooper to thescene. The emergency services teamwill use extraction equipment to removethe aircraft’s sole, deceased occupant.One of the Coast Guard helicoptercrews transported the unidentifiedman’s body to Kodiak.

London, Jun 16 — A press report,dated Jun 15, states: Alaska StateTroopers say an Anchorage man died inan aircraft crash on Long Island, nearKodiak, yesterday. Mark D. Muellerwas the only person on board the

aircraft. Mueller was piloting aBeachcraft aircraft on his finalapproach to Kodiak yesterday at noon,when the signal tower in Kodiak lostcontact with the aircraft. Four minuteslater, the FAA received an EmergencyLocation Transmitter tone. A CoastGuard helicopter located the aircraft onLong Island, about five miles east ofKodiak. Positive identification ofMueller was made today. NTSB andFAA authorities have responded to thescene to investigate the cause of thecrash.

London, Jun 16 — Beechcraft 18,N401CK, crashed into the water nearKodiak, Alaska, at 1933, Jun 14. Theaircraft was destroyed. The one personon board was killed.

London, Jun 17 — A press report,dated today, states: A plane thatcrashed on Long Island was headedaway from the Kodiak airport as itcame down, a National TransportationSafety Board official said. Air safetyinvestigator Clint Johnson said that’sperplexing because the plane was on itsfinal approach to the airport when airtraffic controllers lost contact. Theaccident Monday (Jun 14) took the lifeof pilot Mark D. Mueller of Anchorage.Johnson of the NTSB’s Anchorage officevisited the crash site Tuesday with aninvestigator from the Federal AviationAdministration. The plane crashed onthe south end of Long Island, abouteight miles east of Kodiak StateAirport. Based on the approximately800-foot-long path of wreckage anddamaged trees, Johnson believes theaircraft was travelling east at relativelyhigh speed. Experts will considerseveral types of evidence to determinethe cause of the accident, includingdebris, air traffic control tapes, radarrecords and weather data.

N4602YLondon, Jun 14 — A press report,

dated Jun 13, states: A single-engineaircraft crashed at a suburban Phoenixflight school this afternoon, killing thepilot. The aircraft had been towing aglider as part of a ride offered at theTurf Soaring School when it wentstraight up in the air, then fell nosefirst and crashed at the end of theschool’s runway, Peoria police Lt ScottLekan said. The glider detached fromthe aircraft before the crash and landedsafely. Authorities did not immediatelyrelease the victim’s name but said heworked at the school. Investigators withthe Federal Aviation Administrationand the National Transportation SafetyBoard were expected to look into thecrash, Lekan said.

London, Jun 15 — Piper PA-25-235(Pawnee), N4602Y, crashed near Peoria,Arizona, at 2304, Jun 13, while on alocal flight from Peoria. The aircraftwas destroyed. The one person on boardwas killed.

N611HALondon, Jun 14 — A press report,

dated Jun 13, states: Federal AviationAdministration investigators arelooking into an aircraft crash that killedone man yesterday morning. Theaccident happened around 0725 hrs at

the Pueblo Memorial Airport. Officialssay the pilot was performing “touch andgo” manoeuvres. He had left the runwayand was gaining altitude when theaircraft suddenly slammed into theground.

London, Jun 15 — Hispano HA-200SAETA, N611HA, crashed near Pueblo,Colorado, at 1317, Jun 12, while on alocal flight from Pueblo. The aircraftwas destroyed. The one person on boardwas killed.

N641AELondon, Jun 15 — EMBRAER ERJ-

145, N641AE, operated by AmericanEagle Airlines Inc, struck a barricade atChicago O’Hare International Airport,Illinois, at 2350, Jun 11. The aircraftsustained a hole in its fuselage.

N8577DLondon, Jun 16 — On Jun 10,

Northwest Airlink Canadair RegionalJet flight No.FLG5802, departedOttawa/MCIA, Ontario and wasdestined to Detroit, Michigan (KDTW).The aircraft flight crew observed a lowoil pressure reading on No.2 engine andshut it down. The aircraft diverted toToronto/LBPIA and landed withoutfurther incident with AFF on standby.Maintenance replaced the carbon sealcover O-ring and the aircraft wasreturned to service.

BATTERY CHARGERS, UNITED STATES

Washington, DC, Jun 15 — The U.S.Consumer Product Safety Commissionannounces the recall of 4,900 ReedyQuasar Pro Battery Chargers (chargesbatteries used to power remote controlrace cars) in co-operation withAssociated Electrics Inc., of CostaMesa, Calif. Consumers should stopusing recalled products immediatelyunless otherwise instructed. Adefective fuse and program error in thecharger can cause the battery packsbeing charged to overheat and explode,posing a risk of serious injury toconsumers. Associated Electrics hasreceived three reports of incidentsinvolving exploding battery cells. Oneconsumer sustained a bruised hand,while another received an eye injuryfrom flying debris. The recalled 611Quasar Pro Chargers weremanufactured from February 2002through February 2004. The greycharger box has words “Quasar Pro”printed in yellow on the front andshows a display of “QUASAR PROVERSION 1.0” when first turned on.The recalled chargers either have nobarcode label on the underside or abarcode label with the numbers “611”or “611A.” Sold at hobby dealers nation-wide from February 2002 throughFebruary 2004 for about $200.Manufactured in China. Consumers

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Aviation/Product Recalls

should stop using the chargerimmediately and contact AssociatedElectrics to receive a free repair. —Consumer Product Safety Commission.

CRANBROOK BICYCLES, UNITED STATES

Washington, DC, Jun 16 — The U.S.Consumer Product Safety Commissionannounces the recall of 12,000 Huffy“Cranbrook” Bicycles in voluntary co-operation with Huffy Bicycle Company,of Springboro, Ohio. Consumers shouldstop using recalled productsimmediately unless otherwiseinstructed. The handlebar couldunexpectedly loosen causing the riderto lose control of bicycle. The recallinvolves single-speed “Cranbrook”bicycles with 26-inch wheels. Thebicycles were sold in both men’s (model56462) and ladies’ (model 56472) styleframes. The name “Cranbrook” isprinted on the frame of the bicycle.Serial numbers included in the recallrange from SNHHE04C52556 toSNHHE04C64557. Serial numbers andmodel numbers are located on thebottom bracket of the frame, where thecrank is attached to the bicycle. Sold atWal-Mart stores nation-wide fromApril 2004 through May 2004 for about$80. Manufactured in China.Consumers should stop using thebicycles and contact Huffy Bicycle todetermine if the product is a part ofthe recall. Consumers will receive afree replacement handlebar and stem.— Consumer Product SafetyCommission.

MAZDA MOTOR VEHICLES, JAPANLondon, Jun 11 — A press report,

dated today, states: Mazda Motor Corpsaid yesterday it will recall 19,492 MPVminivans for free repair of defectivesteering wheels and another 3,625 MPVminivans of an older model for freerepair of defective automatic cruisecontrol devices. Subject to the recall fordefective steering wheels are MPVsproduced between March and November2003, while the recall for the cruisecontrol problem concerns unitsproduced between May 1999 and March2002, Mazda said in a report filed withthe Ministry of Land, Infrastructureand Transport.

MITSUBISHI MOTOR VEHICLES,WORLDWIDE

London, Jun 15 — A press report,dated today, states: Mitsubishi Trucksin Japan is recalling around 450,000vehicles, on top of 180,000 recalled lastmonth. An internal inquiry is said tohave found dozens of additional defects,including some which have causedinjuries or fires. In previousannouncements, the companyacknowledged model-wide defects whichhad been covered up and had led to thedeaths of two people. Last week,Japanese police arrested a formerpresident of the truck division’s parentcompany, Mitsubishi Motors, and fiveother executives for defectconcealments.

London, Jun 17 — A pressreport,dated today, states: Mitsubishibowed to consumer and political

pressure late yesterday by agreeing tofoot the full bill for a rash of safetyrecalls affecting cars, buses and trucks.Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand hadearlier persuaded its Japanese parentto pay for parts for three sets of recalls,affecting about 1200 vehicles on NewZealand roads, but not labour costs forthose bought outside its dealer network.That provoked an outcry from consumergroups, importers and AssociateTransport Minister Harry Duynhoven,who said Mitsubishi had a moralobligation even if it was not legallybound to fix used imports. On Friday anAuckland motorist was unable to stopat an intersection, promptingMitsubishi to accelerate recall plansand ask the Land Transport SafetyAuthority to ground the 1996 and 1997VR4 automatic transmission modelsimmediately. Mitsubishi Motors NZmanaging director John Leighton saidhis company had decided to foot the fullbill for all recalls, including those of 843used-import Mitsubishi Fuso trucks andbuses with a design fault in their front-wheel hubs. Owners have until Jul 2 toget these inspected. However 29 trucksand one bus have already been orderedoff the road as being outside acceptablewear limits since the LTSA issued arecall notice on Friday.

POWER AMPLIFIERS FOR SOUNDSYSTEMS, UNITED STATES

Washington, DC, Jun 16 — The U.S.Consumer Product Safety Commissionannounces the recall of 2,157 LinnPower Amplifiers and Linn MelodikBass Extension Loudspeaker Systemsin voluntary co-operation with LinnInc., of Jacksonville, Fla. Consumersshould stop using recalled productsimmediately unless otherwiseinstructed. The amplifier’s capacitorscan overheat, blow a fuse, and damagethe products to which they areconnected, presenting a fire hazard.Among the 70 reported incidents, therewere two reports of heat damage to thecover of the connected speakers. Noinjuries reported. The Linn AV5150 2-Channel Power Amplifier comes inblack or silver and is 3 inches by 15inches by 14 inches; all serial numbersof this model are recalled. The LinnLK240 Single-Channel Power Amplifiercomes in black or silver and is 3 inchesby 12 Ω inches by 12 æ inches; all serialnumbers of this model are recalled. TheLinn AV5150 Melodik Bass ExtensionLoudspeaker System comes in blackash, American cherry, or maple and is19 inches by 25 inches by 19 inches;only serial numbers 1001 to 714451 arerecalled. The model numbers and serialnumbers are on the front panel, printedon the bottom of the product, or on thecontrol panel near the main powersupply. Sold at specialty retail storesthroughout the U.S. and Canada fromMay 1996 through December 2003 forabout $1895 (AV5150); $1300 (LK240);and $4265-$4950 (AV5150 Melodik).Manufactured in Scotland. Consumersshould stop using the amplifiersimmediately and contact Linn forinformation on how to obtain free repairof the recalled product. — ConsumerProduct Safety Commission.

SLOW COOKERS, UNITED STATESWashington, DC, Jun 15 — The U.S.

Consumer Product Safety Commissionannounces the recal l of 146,000General Electric Cool Touch SlowCookers in voluntary co-operationwith Select Brands Inc., of Lenexa,Kan. Consumers should stop usingrecalled products immediately unlessotherwise instructed. Distributor Wal-Mart Stores Inc., of Bentonville, Ark.The heating element can drop to thebottom of the slow cooker and meltthrough the plastic outer shell, posinga burn hazard to users. Wal-Mart hasreceived 27 reports of scorched ordamaged countertops, though noinjuries have been reported. Therecalled General Electric (GE) CoolTouch 6 Quart Slow Cooker has aremovable blue ceramic bowl with aglass l id . The enclosure thatsurrounds the ceramic bowl is made ofplastic. The GE logo is located on thefront of the unit underneath thetemperature control knob. The modelnumber 168945 is located on a silverlabel on the bottom of the base. Soldexclusively at Wal-Mart stores nation-wide from June 2003 through May2004 for about $28. Manufactured inChina. Consumers should immediatelystop using product and return the slowcooker to Wal-Mart for a full refund.— Consumer Product SafetyCommission.

WALL OVENS, UNITED STATESWashington, DC, Jun 8 — The U.S.

Consumer Product Safety Commissionannounces the recall of 1,400 DCS wallovens in voluntary co-operation withDynamic Cooking Systems Inc. ofHuntington Beach, Calif. Consumersshould stop using recalled productsimmediately unless otherwiseinstructed. When the oven is in the self-cleaning mode, the oven’s exterior doortemperature exceeds the allowablesurface temperature limits under theindustry voluntary standard forhousehold electric ranges. Sustainedcontact with the door during self-cleaning mode could cause burns. Thesewall ovens come in single or doubleoven models in three colour options:Stainless steel, black, or white. TheWall Oven/Single models have theseserial numbers indicating the date ofmanufacture in 2003 and 2004 (theblank can be any of the letters Athrough L): 03_00001A to 03_00155Aand 04_00001A to 04_01093A. The WallOven/Double models have these serialnumbers (the blank can be any of theletters A through L): 04_00001A to04_00210A. The serial numbers arelocated on the oven frame’s left trimpost, approximately 12 in from thebottom. Open the oven door to read theserial number. Appliance sold at dealersnation-wide from January 2003 throughMay 2004 for between $2,179 and$3,920. Manufactured in USA.Consumers should not use the oven inself-cleaning mode until freereplacement doors have been installed.Call the company to makearrangements for free replacement ovendoors. — Consumer Product SafetyCommission.

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Product Recalls

NIGERIASee under “Labour Disputes.”

PANAMA CANALLondon, Jun 11 — A press report,

dated Jun 10, states: The Panama

Canal restored full capacity yesterdaymorning, 42 hours ahead of schedule.Additional resources are being assignedto reduce the extraordinary backlogthat has accumulated over the lasteight-nine days. It is hoped that delayswill be brought back to normal levels bythe end of next week.

London, Jun 15 — Although lockworks were completed on Jun 9, there isstill a severe backlog of vessels waitingto transit the Panama Canal. Currentdelays are approximately as follows:Panamax vessels: three-four days andregular vessels under 91 feet: two-three

days At 0001, Jun 14, 94 vessels wereawaiting Canal transit. It is anticipatedthat it will take approximately oneweek to clear the present backlog. Thenext lock overhaul will take place fromJul 5 until Jul 15. Pre-booking isstrongly recommended.

SYRIALattakia, Jun 5 — Waiting time is

presently one day at Lattakia and fourdays at Tartous. — Lloyd’s Agents.

t

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Port Conditions

Port Delays

Country/Port Date of report No.of vessels waiting and/or days delay

AustraliaAbbot Point 15-Jun-2004 Coal: 8 vessels due by 3/6; up to 1 day’s delay expected due to berth congestion.Dalrymple Bay 15-Jun-2004 Coal: 3 vessels berthed, 8 anchored; 54 vessels due by 3/8; vessels berthing in order of cargo

availability; depending on type of cargo required, delays of up to 14 days can be expected.Hay Point 15-Jun-2004 Coal: 2 vessels loading; 9 vessels due by 27/6; up to 2 days berthing delay expected subject

to cargo availability and berth congestion. Gladstone 15-Jun-2004 Coal: R.G. Tanna coal terminal: 2 vessels berthed, 4 anchored; 33 vessels due by 17/7; 1-8

days delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo availability. Barney Point: 5 vessels due by 20/7; up to 1 day’s delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo availability.

Newcastle 15-Jun-2004 Coal: Kooragang 4, 5 and 6: 2 vessels loading, 4 waiting; 23 vessels due by 29/6; Dykes 4+5:1 vessel loading, 2 waiting; 14 vessels due by 29/6; 1-5 days delay expected prior to berthingdue to planned maintenance at Kooragang terminal and heavy shipping schedule.Grain: 3 vessels due by 23/6, all to load wheat; up to 12 days delay at present due to berth congestion and cargo availability.

Port Kembla 15-Jun-2004 Coal: 8 vessels due by 10/7; CB1: 4 vessels due by 25/7; up to 3 days delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo availability. Grain: 4 vessels due by 28/6, 3 to load wheat, 1 canola; up to 3 days delay at present due to berth congestion and cargo availability.

Port Hedland 15-Jun-2004 Iron ore: BHP Iron Ore Pty. Ltd., Mt. Newman (Nelson Point), “A” berth: 1 vessel berthed and loading, 3 anchored; 8 vessels due by 28/6; 1-7 days delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo availability; “B” berth: 6 vessels anchored; 5 vessels due by 24/6; 1-7days delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo availability; shiploader is undergoing maintenance until 07.00 hrs. 16/6; BHP Iron Ore Pty. Ltd., Goldsworthy (Finucane Island): 1 vessel berthed, 2 anchored; 3-11 days delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo availability; Westyard “D” berth: 1 vessel berthed and loading, 2 anchored; 3 vessels due by 24/6; 1-3 days delay expected due to berth congestion and cargoavailability. Due to heavy demand for product, acute cargo shortages are being experiencedat wharf stockpiles. Vessels will continue to berth as product becomes available.

Dampier 15-Jun-2004 Iron ore: Parker Point: 1 vessel berthed and loading, 1 anchored; 13 vessels due by 29/6; 1-4 days delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo availability; cargo shortages are evident, long delays are anticipated and vessels may berth out of turn; East Intercourse Island: 1 vessel berthed and loading, 2 anchored; 12 vessels due by 28/6; up to 3 days delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo availability; cargo shortages are evident, delays are anticipated and vessels may berth out of turn.

Port Walcott 15-Jun-2004 Iron ore: 2 vessels berthed and loading, 3 anchored; 17 vessels due by 10/7; up to 1 day’s delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo availability.

Mackay 15-Jun-2004 Grain: 1 vessel due 17/6 to load sorghum; 3 days delay expected due to cargo availability.Melbourne 15-Jun-2004 4 vessels waiting to load, of which 2 wheat, 1 wheat/barley, 1 barley; 3 vessels due by 1/7, 2

to load wheat, 1 barley; up to 5 days delay at present due to berth congestion and cargo availability.

Geelong 15-Jun-2004 Grain: 6 vessels due by 27/6, 3 to load barley, 2 barley, 1 canola; up to 3 days delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo availability.

Portland 15-Jun-2004 Grain: 5 vessels due by 9/7, 3 to load barley, 2 wood-chips; up to 19 days delay expected dueto berth congestion and cargo availability.

Port Adelaide 15-Jun-2004 Grain: No. 27 berth: 7 vessels due by 27/6, 5 to load wheat, 1 canola, 1 barley; 2-9 days delay expected due to berth congestion.

Port Giles 15-Jun-2004 Grain: 2 vessels due by 4/7, both to load wheat; up to 1 day’s delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo availability.

Wallaroo 15-Jun-2004 Grain: 1 vessel due 16/6 to load wheat; up to 1 day’s delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo availability.

Port Pirie 15-Jun-2004 Grain: No. 2 berth: no vessels scheduled. Berth will be closed to shipping from 1/7 to 9/8 for electrical upgrade in silo control room.

Port Lincoln 15-Jun-2004 Grain: 5 vessels due by 10/7, 1 to load barley, 4 wheat; up to 1 day’s delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo availability.

Geraldton 15-Jun-2004 Grain: 5 vessels due by 21/6, 1 to load feed, 3 wheat, 1 barley; 2-10 days delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo availability.

Kwinana 15-Jun-2004 Grain: 10 vessels due by 28/6, 8 to load wheat, 2 barley; 1-9 days delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo availability.

Albany 15-Jun-2004 Grain: 5 vessels due by 5/7, all to load wheat; 1-7 days delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo availability.

Esperance 15-Jun-2004 Iron ore: 4 vessels due by 21/6; up to 2 days delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo availability. Grain: 7 vessels due by 23/6, 2 to load barley, 2 wheat, 2 feed, 1 unknown cargo; up to 4 days delay expected due to cargo availability and berth congestion.

BulgariaBourgas 14-Jun-2004 Three vessels in port operating, of which 2 loading (1 bulk ammonium nitrate, 1 metals), 1

discharging iron ore; 6 vessels waiting in roads, of which 5 to load (1 chemicals, 1 bulk ammonium nitrate, 1 bulk ammonium sulphate, 2 empty), 1 other vessel; 7 vessels due of which 3 to load (1 scrap, 1 containers, 1 sulphur), 3 to discharge (1 containers, 1 billets, 1 zinc concentrate), 1 passenger vessel.

Colombia Buenaventura 16-Jun-2004 Shore crane operational. Ten vessels berthed (3 containers, 4 general cargo, 3 bulkers), 4

general cargo vessels anchored; 22 vessels due (14 containers, 3 general cargo, 3 bulkers, 1 tanker, 1 PCC), with 3 days delay expected for general cargo, 1 day for bulkers.

EgyptAlexandria 14-Jun-2004 Thirty-one vessels berthed (loading/discharging) of which 24 general cargo, 4 bulkers, 1

Ro/Ro, 2 tankers; 8 vessels at inner anchorage, 9 at outer anchorage.Damietta 14-Jun-2004 Eighteen vessels berthed (loading/discharging) of which 12 general cargo, 3 bulk carriers, 3

containers; 5 vessels at outer anchorage, 1 at inner anchorage. Suez Canal 14-Jun-2004 Twenty-three vessels transiting Northbound, 30 Southbound.

Georgia Supsa 11-Jun-2004 Oil products: 2 vessels due by 24/6, both to load crude oil. Terminal due to be shut down for

maintenance of off-shore cargo lines for ca. 3 weeks in July. Dates will be confirmed nearer the time.

IndiaMumbai 15-Jun-2004 No labour problems. Four vessels loading at berth, 5 discharging at berth; expected delays:

container vessels: 12 hours; bulkers: 1-2 days on completion of 50% of cargo documents; general cargo vessels: berthing within 24 hours of arrival.

Calcutta 15-Jun-2004 Two vessels loading at berth, 6 discharging at berth; 1 vessel bunkering; 20 vessels due, with no delays expected.

Cochin 15-Jun-2004 Two vessels loading at berth, 4 discharging at berth, 1 other vessel in port; 1 vessel waitingat anchorage to load, 1 waiting at anchorage to discharge;1 vessel under repairs, 2 dry-docked; 17 vessels due, with no delays expected.

Chennai 15-Jun-2004 Four vessels loading at berth, 5 discharging at berth, no other vessels at berth; 2 vessels at outer anchorage in not ready status; 29 vessels due, with the following delays expected: TNEB coal, steaming coal, fertiliser, others: up to 1 day; scrap, iron ore, containers: up to 2 days.

Mormugao 15-Jun-2004 No labour problems. One vessel loading at berth, 2 discharging at berth; no vessels loading at anchorage; 1 vessel waiting at anchorage to discharge; 5 vessels under repairs/dry-docked, none awaiting orders; 15 vessels due (7 iron ore lumps /fines, 1 RP coke, 1 HSD, 1 phosphoric acid, 3 coking coal, 1 met coke, 1 MOP), with the following delays expected: RP coke, met coke: 4-5 days; coking coal: 2-3 days; HSD, phosphoric acid, MOP: no delays expected.

Kandla 15-Jun-2004 Six vessels loading at berth, 2 discharging at berth; 2 vessels waiting to load; 2 tankers discharging at berth; 21 vessels due, with no delays expected; 8 tankers due, with up to 1 day’s delay for edible oil/chemicals expected.

Mangalore 15-Jun-2004 No labour problems. Two vessels loading at berth, 6 discharging at berth; 1 vessel waiting for berth to load; 10 vessels due, with no delays expected.

Jawaharlal Nehru 15-Jun-2004 One vessel discharging at liquid berth; 1 fertiliser/raw materials/cement vessel due; 7 tankers due; no delays expected for berthing at LB-01/LB-02.

Paradip 15-Jun-2004 Three vessels loading at berth, 3 discharging at berth; 1 vessel waiting at anchorage to discharge; 17 vessels due, with no delays expected.

Tuticorin 15-Jun-2004 Three vessels loading at berth, 6 discharging at berth; 2 vessels waiting to load at anchorage, 1 waiting to discharge at anchorage; 1 vessel awaiting orders; 9 vessels due, with no delays expected.

Visakhapatnam 15-Jun-2004 Six vessels loading at berth, 5 discharging at berth; 2 vessels waiting to load at anchorage; 21 vessels due, with 1-2 days delay expected.

Iran Neka 11-Jun-2004 Oil products: 1 vessels berthed, discharging crude oil; 3 vessels to berth 11/6, all to

discharge crude oil; 11 crude oil vessels waiting.

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Port Conditions

Israel Haifa 15-Jun-2004 No labour problems. Eight vessels discharging at berth (3 general cargo, 5 bulkers), 7

vessels loading/discharging at berth (4 containers, 1 car carrier, 2 tankers); 1 bulker waiting at anchor to discharge, 5 vessels waiting at anchor to load/discharge (2 containers, 3 tankers); 4 vessels under repairs/dry-docked, 1 awaiting orders; 22 vessels due, with 2-3 days delay expected.

Ashdod 15-Jun-2004 No labour problems. Twelve general cargo vessels loading at berth, 5 vessels discharging atberth (3 general cargo, 2 bulkers), 5 vessels loading/discharging at berth (3 containers, 1 car carrier, 1 tanker); 3 vessels waiting at anchor to discharge (2 general cargo, 1 bulker), 4 container vessels waiting at anchor to load/discharge; 1 vessel under repairs/dry-docked, 2 awaiting orders; 7 vessels due, with 2-3 days delay expected.

Kazakhstan Aktau 11-Jun-2004 Oil products: 2 crude oil vessels berthed; 2 vessels in roads; 3 vessels due by 16/6.

RussiaNovorossiysk 14-Jun-2004 Seven vessels in port operating, of which 6 loading (1 scrap, 1 bulk cement, 1 DRI, 1 pig-

iron, 1 steel billets, 1 diesel oil), 1 discharging/loading containers; 3 vessels waiting in roads, all to discharge bulk sugar; 57 vessels due of which 56 to load (1 DRI, 7 aluminium, 3 slabs, 5 pig-iron, 5 copper, 11 bulk NPK, 2 bulk cement, 1 HBI, 10 coils, 1 bulk urea, 1 UAN solution, 1 steel billets/coils, 2 steel billets, 1 wheat, 1 steel sheet, 1 paper, 1 diesel oil,2 vehicles), 1 to discharge/load containers. Oil terminal: 1 tanker berthed loading crude oil; no tankers in roads; 16 tankers due, all to load, of which 14 crude oil, 2 fuel oil.

Tuapse 14-Jun-2004 Oil products: 2 vessels berthed, of which 1 loading crude oil, 1 fuel oil, 1 gasoil; 2 vessels in roads, 1 to load naphtha, 1 gasoil; 5 vessels due by 21/6, of which 3 to load gasoil, 2 crude oil.

Sri LankaColombo 14-Jun-2004 Berthing/unberthing (pilotage) delays being experienced on breakbulk/conventional

vessels. Delays to conventional vessels are due to the fact that container/feeder vessels are given priority at breakbulk berths if there is container congestion, and vessels loading at Northern and Eastern ports of Sri Lanka are granted priority berthing. Conventional cargovessels at BQ 1 and 2 are facing navigation delays. Occasional rains being experienced. Six container/feeder vessels loading at berth, 23 vessels discharging at berth (1 containers/feeders, 3 bagged sugar, 1 bulk gypsum, 1 bagged fertiliser, 1 steel cargo, 2 Ro/Ros, 1 bagged maize, 2 bulk cement); 1 container/feeder vessel waiting at anchorage to discharge; 3 vessels dry-docked, 1 awaiting orders from principals, 1 at new tanker berth; 7 container/feeder vessels due, with no delays expected.

TurkmenistanOkarem 11-Jun-2004 Oil products: 1 vessel berthed loading crude oil; 1 vessel in roads to load crude oil.

UkraineOdessa 14-Jun-2004 Sixteen vessels in port operating, of which 8 loading (5 metal, 1 wood, 1 scrap, 1 barley), 6

discharging (1 sugar, 3 metal, 1 rice, 1 bananas), 2 discharging/loading containers; 4 vessels in roads, of which 1 to load sunflower oil, 1 to discharge sugar, 2 to discharge/load containers; 46 vessels due, of which 23 to load (22 metal, 1 ferro alloy), 1 to discharge citrus, 22 to discharge/load containers.

Mariupol 14-Jun-2004 Nine vessels in port operating, of which 8 loading (4 steel, 1 coal, 3 fire-clay), 1 discharging chrome ore; 3 vessels in roads, all to load, of which 2 steel, 1 sulphur; 40 vessels due, of which 37 to load (16 steel, 13 coal, 3 fire-clay, 2 ferrous metals, 1 sulphur, 1 sunflower beans, 1 fertiliser), 3 to discharge equipment.

Ilichevsk 14-Jun-2004 Twelve vessels in port operating, of which 9 loading (1 barley, 1 oil, 1 sulphur, 6 steel products), 1 discharging steel products, 1 loading/discharging containers; 4 vessels in roads,all to load, of which 1 pipes, 1 ferro nickel, 2 steel products; 9 vessels due, of which 6 to load (1 wood-pulp, 5 steel products), 1 to discharge ore, 2 to load/discharge containers.

United StatesNew Orleans 15-Jun-2004 Mississippi River terminal berthing delays: Cenex-Harstates/Myrtle Grove: no delays;

Cargill-Westwego: 2 days delay expected; ADM/Ama: 2-3 days delay expected; Bunge/Destrehan: 1 day’s delay expected; ADM/Destrehan: 2-3 days delay expected; ADM/Reserve: 2-3 days delay expected; Cargill/Reserve: no delays; Peavey/Paulina: 1 day’s delay expected; Zen-Noh/Convent: 1 day’s delay expected; Cargill/Baton Rouge: no delays; Mississippi River mid-stream buoys - estimated berthing delays based on new vessel presented as load-ready and weather permitting: Mile 121.5 ADM (Gemini) - Destrehan: no delays; Mile 158.0 Cargill (K2) - Convent: 1 day’s delay expected.

Seattle 15-Jun-2004 Louis Dreyfus (Pier 86) terminal: 1 day’s delay expected.Corpus Christi 15-Jun-2004 Interstate grain terminal: 1-2 days delay expectedTacoma 15-Jun-2004 Temco terminal: 2 days delay expected.

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Port Conditions

Kalama 15-Jun-2004 Kalama export terminal: 2 days delay expected; United Harvest terminal: no delays. Vancouver, WA 15-Jun-2004 United Harvest terminal: 2 days delay expected.Portland, OR 15-Jun-2004 Columbia Grain terminal: 2 days delay expected; CLD Irving terminal: 2 days delay

expected.

YemenHodeidah 13-Jun-2004 All berths are vacant; 2 vessels berthed, none anchored; expected waiting times: general

cargo/bagged cargoes/containers: no delays; bulk cargoes: up to 2 days.

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Port Conditions

Published by Lloyd’s Marine Intelligence Unit, part of T&F Informa plc, Sheepen Place, Colchester, Essex CO3 3LP.

Lloyd’s Marine Intelligence Unit does not guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, nor acceptresponsibility for errors or omissions or their consequences.

Copyright © Lloyd’s Marine Intelligence Unit, part of T&F Informa plc 2004. This casualty information is copyright. Unauthorisedcopying prohibited by law.

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Casualty Week Jun 25 - Dione - UniPi

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