Casualty Week Mar 3 - Dione - UniPi

March 3 2006

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

Tankers are ‘legitimate’targets warns al-Qaeda

ideologist

EEDDIITTOORRStephen Legall Tel +44 020 7017 5228

AADDVVEERRTTIISSEEMMEENNTTSSMMiikkee SSmmiitthh TTeell +44 (0) 20 7017 4488Fax +44 (0) 20 7017 5007email [email protected]

SSUUBBSSCCRRIIPPTTIIOONNSS:: Scott MagrowskiTel: +44 (0) 20 7017 4720Fax: +44 (0) 20 7017 5007Email:[email protected]

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TANKERS are legitimate targetsfor Islamist terrorists, accordingto a pronouncement from a

prominent Saudi al-Qaeda ideologist.Pipe l ines and o ther in f ras t ruc ture

controlled by “infidels” are also singledout for inclusion in the guidelines.

However, oil wells should be spared asthey represent an economic lifeline forMuslim nations, supporters are advised.

Coming hard on the hee ls of las tweek’s f rus t ra ted a t tack aga ins t theworld’s largest oil processing plant atAbqaiq, the news will concern many inboth the shipping and oil sectors.

I s lamis t t e r ror i s t s have turned ontankers before, most notably blowing upFrench-owned VLCC Limburg in Yemenin October 2002.

Beefed up

However, security specialists yesterdaysaid that security precautions in manySaudi por t s have been subs tan t ia l lybeefed up. They also contended that thestrategy might not be universally backedin the terrorist camp.

The instructions come in a manifestowrit ten by Abdulaziz al Enezi, an al-Qaeda mili tant captured by the Saudiauthorities last year. The two-year-olddocument was recent ly pos ted on anIslamist website.

Mr Enezi argues that disrupting oilsupplies is the best way to damage the USeconomy and to destabil ise the Saudiregime.

Saudi state-owned refineries and oilpipelines, as well as Iraqi facilities, aredescribed as “all in the hands of infidels”.

In edi t ion, Mr Enezi wri tes : “I t i spermissible to target oil interests held byinf ide ls . . . inc luding Amer ican andWestern oil tankers.”

He added that oil pipelines are easytargets because their length makes themdifficult to protect.

Moreover, a t tacks on them do notdirectly detract from Muslim oil wealth.

Experts say that Mr Enezi had the rankof ‘information minister’ in al-Qaeda’sSaudi offshoot, and acted as a spiritualguide to the group.

But ana lys ts c lose to the Lloyd’smarke t yes te rday poin ted tocountervailing tendencies.

Infrastructure

Zaineb al Assam, head of the MiddleEast division at strategic intell igenceforecasters Exclusive Analysis, said thatwhile oil infrastructure was a target forterrorists, the risk was mitigated by theres i s tance of some loca l ce l l s toleadership calls to action.

“This is precisely because they seek toinherit the kingdom’s oil wealth — ratherthan to destroy the infrastructure thathelps generate it.”

But Ms al Assam added there was alack of uniformity surrounding strategy toweaken the House of Saud, and thereforethe target-set was not necessarily fixed.

“Attacks on expatriate workers in the

oil industry are far more likely than onthe facilities themselves because theyaccomplish both objectives of weakeningthe regime and diminishing the westernfootpr in t in the k ingdom,” she sa id ,adding that security measures — such asanti-aircraft batteries which provide coverfor por t s involved in the expor t o fhydrocarbons — had been put in place tocounter the threat.

“With respect to offshore protectionand the safeguards g iven to tankerscarrying Saudi crude, both air and seaforces and Aramco are deployed toprotect critical resources,” she said.

But oil wells, ‘the heart of Muslim wealth’, should be spared, writes David Osler — Friday March 03

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(ii)

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

VVeesssseell TTyyppee FFllaagg CCllaassss GGTT DDWWTT BBlltt CCaassuuaallttyy

ALEXANDROUPOLIS bulker MLT LR 41,342 77,300 1982 Experienced rudder engine trouble at Km 107, Suez Canal Feb 20. Vessel towed by SCA tugs to Great Bitter Lakes to effect repairs. Southbound convoy delayed by 8 hours. Completed repairs and resumed voyage.

ANNE-LISE- fishing DNK 228 — 1971 In lat 61 03N, long 00 33E, Feb 21 with a fouled POULSEN propeller and requesting assistance. Supply

vessel Olympic Provider towing casualty to Lerwick. Arrived Lerwick 22 Feb.

CLEOPATRA S. passenger SLE LR 9,598 1,981 1970 Grounded at Km 64 Suez Canal Feb 20 in dense fog and poor visibility. Vessel refloated with assistance of SCA tugs and towed to Ballah station to effect repairs.

CORA JO general ANT (LR) 3,214 6,033 2006 Engine breakdown in lat 41 37N, long 09 23W, Feb 17. Vessel towed to Vigo and repairs to be commenced Feb 18, ETD Feb 20. General Average declared.

GRENLAND general ATG PR 1,900 2,550 1970 Aground in Aviles port entrance chanel Feb 21.Tugs on scene. Still aground Feb 22, salvor notcontracted.

HIGH RIDER product MHL NK 25,800 41,502 1991 Grounded at Km.340 River Parana Feb 20. tanker Refloated without tug assistance and

proceeding to San Lorenzo, ETA same day. Survey carried out at San Lorenzo Feb 22. Unable to carry out dive inspection. No machinery, internal damage found.

HENG DA 1 refrig PAN — 2,188 — 2003 Struck a reef and sank near Dongjia Island, Fujian province, south-east China, in lat 2517N, long 119 46E, Feb 16. Twenty-nine crew missing, presumed dead.

MYS refrig RUS 973 1,196 1979 Reported Feb 17 drifting with engine trouble in KOMMUNAROV lat 37 30.7N, long 136 19.5E.

NOVA LIGURIA refrig BHS BV 4,361 5,459 1985 Experienced an engine breakdown while transiting the Dardanelles Feb 16. Anchored near Karanlik Liman. Completed repairs by own means and proceeded Feb 17.

REPLENISH fishing GBR — 246 — — Escorted to Lerwick after taking on water in a storm south-east of Shetland Feb 14. Pumps taken to vessel, but unable to drop gear due to gales. Sailed Lerwick Feb 16.

STENA passenger GBR NV 19,638 1,500 1996 Struck a submerged object while entering EXPLORER Holyhead Feb 15. Out of service for about two

weeks. Effecting repairs at Holyhead Feb 20, ETC Feb 27.

WESTERN fishing CAN — 79 — 1937 Grounded at north end of Ogden Channel, BC, MONARCH and sank in lat 53 54.41N, long 130 12.33W,

Feb 2.

AL MANARA (St. Kitts-Nevis)Seychelles, Feb 17 — General cargo

Al Manara was towed to Port bySeychelles Port Authority as a dangerto navigation or pollution. Billed andnot paid. Awaiting arrival of ownersfor sett lement o f towage bi l l .Apparently spare parts have arrivedin Seychel les but vessel has notmanaged to secure the service of anagent. The vessel has to be repairedbecause it can not sail on own steamand no arrangement for towage hadbeen done, as far as we are aware. —Lloyd’s Agents.

AL SALAM BOCCACCIO 98(Panama)

London, Feb 16 — A press report,dated today, states: Egyptian officialssay salvage experts have located thewreck of passenger ro/ro Al SalamBoccaccio 98 which sank in the RedSea almost two weeks ago ki l l ingabout 1 ,000 people . TransportMinister Mohamed Loutfi Mansoursaid the Al Salam Boccaccio 98 wasfound in 800m (2,600 ft) of water,90km (56 miles) from Egypt’s port ofSafaga. He said experts will lower arobotic submersible to take picturesand search for the vessel ’s voyagedata recorder. Only 388 out of morethan 1,400 people on board survivedthe disaster. Ships carry a voyagedata recorder, similar to a aircraft’sblack box, to record information aboutthe vessel ’s locat ion, d irect ion oftravel and weather conditions. MrMansour said the Egyptianauthorities were now working withinternational salvage experts to try torecover the device from the Al SalamBoccaccio 98, which was operated byEl-Salam Maritime. When they launchthe salvage mission at the weekendthey wi l l a lso photograph thewreckage in an effort to establish whythe vessel sank. It is believed that the35-year-old vessel, which was sailingin bad weather, ran into trouble whena f ire broke out below decks. Theaccident has prompted accusations ofnegligence, with the crew accused ofignoring warnings to evacuate afterthe fire took hold and the vessel beganto l ist . The anger of relatives hasincreased because of a lack ofinformation about their loved ones,most of whom were Egyptians workingin Saudi Arabia.

London, Feb 21 — Detai ledinspections of the El Salam MaritimeTransport fleet will begin this week asthe international maritime communityseeks to uncover the causes of the lossof more than 1,000 l ives on boardpassenger ro/ro Al Salam Boccaccio 98earlier this month. The inspections, tobe carr ied out by Tom Al lan, theformer chairman of the InternationalMarit ime Organisat ion ’s Marine

Safety Committee, are designed toeliminate the prospect of a repeat ofthe tragic events of Feb 3 and shedlight on any structural causes thatmay have contributed to the accident.Panama, the flag state for the 1970-bult ro-ro, will also participate in theinspection of three other vessels. TheAl Salam Carducc i 92 , A l Sa lamManzoni 94 and Al Salam Pascoli 96,al l owned by El Salam Marit imeTransport, the operator of the ill-fatedferry, will be the first vessels to beinspected, said Alfonso Castillero,PMA’s deputy director of the merchantmarine department. “The first part, ofcourse , is that they have to do arevaluation of all the ships in thisarea and especially the sisterships,”said Mr Castillero. “This signifies aphysical inspect ion but i t a lsoincludes an evaluation of theoperation and the reactions of thecrew. The human factor, as history hasshown, is very important.” Details ofthe possible role played by the vessel’screw in the disaster should becomeclearer this week with the recovery ofthe voyage data recorder. The blackbox was located last Wednesday (Feb15) and preparations are being madeto recover the unit later this week. Itis hoped recordings on the bridge willshed some light into why a decisionwas taken to continue sailing to Egyptwhile the crew were fighting a fire inone of the lower decks. The IMO hasoffered its support to the Egyptianauthorities and sent Mike Travis fromthe UK Marine Accident InvestigationBranch and Jean-Charles Leclairefrom the French marine investigationdepartment to ass ist in theinvestigation. Mr Travis has specialexpert ise in the interpretation ofVDRs while Mr Leclaire participatedin the inquiry into the loss of theSenegalese ferry J o o l a in 2002.Panama’s second vice-president andhead of the PMA, Ruben Arosemena,is also scheduled to visit Egypt at theend of the month. “I am going to meetthe minister of transport to observethe advances in the process, refine theparticipation of Panama, support theauthorities in Egypt and express ourcondolences for the loss of so manycit izens ,” he said . He said thatPanama was disposed “to collaborateat the highest levels in thisinvestigation.” Mr Castillero said hehoped that the investigation wouldhelp the marit ime community “ toavoid any other events like this in thefuture . ” Findings from theforthcoming inspect ions , he said ,would be presented to the IMO. ElSalam Marit ime has a f leet o f 15vessels, all of which will be inspectedas part of a broader investigation offerries operating in the region. RINA,the c lass soc iety o f the Al Sa lamBoccaccio 98, has also offered its fullco-operation with the investigation.

Cairo, Feb 21 — French and Britishexperts working for the InternationalMarit ime Organisat ion todayrecovered the black box frompassenger ro/ro Al Salam Boccaccio98, which sank in the Red Sea this

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CCOONNTTEENNTTSS

Reports appear in alphabeticalorder under the followingheadings and relevant pagenumber:

MMaarriinnee,, iinncclluuddiinngg OOvveerrdduuee&& MMiissssiinngg VVeesssseellss 11

PPiirraaccyy 1144

PPoorrtt SSttaattee CCoonnttrrooll 1144

SSeeiizzuurreess && AArrrreessttss 1144

PPiippeelliinnee AAcccciiddeennttss 1166

PPoolllluuttiioonn 1166

WWeeaatthheerr && NNaavviiggaattiioonn 1177

VVoollccaanniicc AAccttiivviittyy 2200

EEaarrtthhqquuaakkeess 2200

VVoollccaanniicc AAccttiivviittyy 2200

PPoolliittiiccaall && CCiivviill UUnnrreesstt 2200

LLaabboouurr DDiissppuutteess 2288

AAwwaarrddss && SSeettttlleemmeennttss 3300

RRaaiillwwaayy AAcccciiddeennttss 3300

RRoobbbbeerriieess && TThheeffttss 3300

MMiisscceellllaanneeoouuss 3311

FFiirreess && EExxpplloossiioonnss 3333

AAvviiaattiioonn 3355

PPrroodduucctt RReeccaallllss 3377

PPoorrtt CCoonnddiittiioonnss 3388

PPoorrtt CCoonnddiittiioonnss cchhaarrttss 3388

Receive immediate notice as soon as a Casualty occurs. For further information please contact Andrew Luxton on +44 (0) 20 7017 4625.

© Lloyd’s Marine Intelligence Unit 2005These reports may not be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system, ortransmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photographic,recorded or otherise without the priorwritten permission of the publisher.

month with the loss of more than1,000 people . Transport MinisterMohamed Lutf i Mansour to ld thestate news agency MENA the expertshad brought the Voyage DataRecorder up from the vessel andwould send it to Britain for analysis.The recorder, which stores detailssuch as the position of the vessel,d irect ion of travel and weatherconditions, might throw light on whythe vessel sank. Al Salam Boccaccio98 was on a voyage between Duba andSafaga when it sank on the night ofFeb 2-3. Out of the 1,414 people onboard, only 388 people survived.Witnesses and surviving officers saida f ire broke out on the car deckshortly after the vessel left Duba.However, they have not explained whythe vessel continued to sail out intothe Red Sea for several hours afterthe fire started and why the crewevacuated so few of the passengers.The disaster provoked widespreadcriticism of the shipping company andof the government, which was accusedof reacting too slowly and of laxity inenforc ing safety regulat ions . —Reuters.

ALASKAN FRONTIER (U.S.A.)London, Feb 16 — Following received

from Coast Guard Juneau, t imed1805, UTC: Fishing Alaskan Frontieris now under tow for King Cove, ETA0200, UTC, Feb 17.

London, Feb 17 — Following receivedfrom Coast Guard Juneau, t imed1720, UTC: Fishing Alaskan Frontierarrived safely at Sand Point at 1830,local time, yesterday.

London, Feb 20 — Following receivedfrom Coast Guard Juneau, t imed2030, UTC: As far as the Coast Guardare aware fishing Alaskan Frontierwas to carry out repairs at SandPoint.

ALESSIA (Switzerland)London, Feb 21 — Following received

from Corsen MRCC, timed 1050, UTC:General cargo Alessia (2999 gt, built1999) reported 30 deg list to port inlat 49 07N, long 05 07W on Feb 20.The vessel is proceeding to Brest.(Note — According to LMIU AISAlessia was reported in lat 48 2254.78N, long 04 27 58.5’W at 1056,today, one nautical mile from Brest.)

London, Feb 22 — General cargoAlessia, Brake for Haifa, developedserious list to port on Feb 20 after itscargo of girders was shifted by heavyweather. Firef ight ing tug Abeil leBourbon escorted the vessel to Brest,where it is now safely berthed.

Brest , Feb 23 — General cargoAlessia arrived Brest at 1210, Feb 20,under its own power after the vessel’scargo shifted to port, giving the vessela l ist o f 30 deg. Cargo dischargecommenced Feb 23 and is expected tolast approximately eight to 10 days.The vessel will need to effect repairsprior to reloading. — Lloyd’s Agents.

ALEXANDROUPOLIS (Malta)Port Said , Feb 21 — Bulk

Alexandroupol is (41342 gt , bui l t1982), which entered the Suez Canal

on Feb 20 with the northboundconvoy, experienced rudder enginetrouble at Km 107 in the Canal. Thevessel was towed by Suez CanalAuthority tugs to the Great BitterLakes to effect the necessary repairs.— Lloyd ’s Agents . (Note —Alexandroupolis sailed Singapore Feb4 for Amsterdam.)

London, Feb 21 — A press report,dated today, states : Southboundconvoys transiting the Suez Canalyesterday were delayed byapproximately eight hours after bulkAlexandroupolis in the northboundconvoy experienced engine trouble.Ships in the southbound convoys faceddelays as they had to wait forAlexandroupolis to anchor at BitterLakes, with the assistance of SuezCanal Authority tugs. Traffic in theSuez Canal has now returned tonormal.

Port Said , Feb 22 — BulkAlexandroupolis completed repairsand resumed passage awith thenorthbound convoy of today. — Lloyd’sAgents.

ALICAN DEVAL (Turkey)London, Feb 17 — Following received

from Rome MRCC, timed 1020, UTC:General cargo Alican Deval is stillaground, with tug Nefgtegaz 51 onscene. Salvage operations have beendelayed due bad weather.

London, Feb 19 — Following receivedfrom Rome MRCC, timed 1145, UTC:General cargo Alican Deval is stillheavily aground after another attemptto refloat the vessel on Feb 16-17failed. Due to bad weather driversstill can not inspect the fall extent ofthe damage to the vessels keel. Thesalvage operation is thought to last aslong as 3 weeks.

London, Feb 20 — Following receivedfrom Rome MRCC, timed 0928, UTC:General cargo Alican Deval is stillaground.

AMUNDSEN (Canada)London, Feb 17 — Icebreaker

Amundsen (5910 gt, built 1979) struckthe wharf when departing Tadoussac,Quebec, in lat 48 08.18N, long 6942.48W at 1910, Jan 26.

Montreal , Feb 21 — Damagesustained by icebreaker Amundsen isminor, considered as scratch only. —Lloyd’s Agents.

ANG PANGULO (Philippines)Manila, Feb 20 — The Philippine

Navy is planning to put the repairwork on the yacht Ang Pangulo out totender, which was damaged by fire onJan 14, Philippine Navy spokespersonCaptain Geronimo Malabanan said.The vessel had recently undergonedrydocking at the Keppel Batangasshipyard and was being prepared forsea trials when the fire happened.The presidential yacht remainsmoored at Keppel Batangas shipyard.Capt . Malabanan c lar i f ied thatrepairs to the burned portion of theyacht have not yet started. — Lloyd’sList Correspondent.

ANNE-LISE POULSEN (Denmark)London, Feb 21 — Following received

from Coastguard Shetland MRCC,t imed 1520, UTC: At 1424, UTC,today, agent of f ishing Anne-Lise-Poulsen, OVYX, (228 gt, built 1971),reported that the vessel was in lat 6103N, long 00 33E, with a fouledpropeller and requesting assistance.Supply vessel Olympic Provider isnow proceeding and ETA alongside at1645, UTC. Vessel intends to towAnne-Lise-Poulsen to Lerwick. Thefishing vessel is currently drifting 226degs, at one knot and is well clear ofall oil installations.

ANNE-LISE-POULSEN (Denmark)London, Feb 21 — Following received

from Coastguard Shetland MRSC,timed 1716, UTC: Fishing Anne-Lise-Poulsen: Supply vessel OlympicProvider is now on scene. Towestablished en route to Lerwick whereETA 0300, UTC, Feb 22. Intention is tohand tow to Lerwick harbour tugs atnorth entrance to harbour. Four-hourlyscheduled safety checks established.

London, Feb 22 — Following receivedfrom Coastguard Shetland MRSC,timed 1225, UTC: Fishing Anne-Lise-Poulsen arrived safely in Lerwick at0303, UTC, this morning.

APL PANAMA (Antigua & Barbuda)

London, Feb 10 — Following receivedfrom the operators o f c . c . APLPanama, dated today: APL Panama isst i l l aground. About 550-600containers have been removed fromthe vessel’s deck by a crane. A dredgeris proceeding to the groundinglocation, ETA on scene Feb 25-26. Theintention is to cut a channel from theopen sea to the vessel, which will thenbe used to tow the vessel free.

London, Feb 22 — An APL servicestatus report, dated Feb 21, states:C.c. APL Panama remains groundedoff the coast of Ensenada. Craneshave been assembled on the deck ofthe ship to assist in the discharge ofthe ship. Once these additional cranesare fully operational we expect thatthe speed of discharge of containerswill increase. It is also hoped thatadditional containers will be removedfrom below deck with the help of thisequipment . Approximately 621containers have been removed fromthe ship. The salvors intend to removemost of the containers from the ship,however this may be subject tooperat ional l imitat ions . We wi l lcont inue to not i fy customers ascontainers become available for pick-up. Containers are being dischargedexclusively to ass ist in recoveryefforts; therefore we can not identifyin advance which will be available forpick-up. There is no sign of cargodamage on board the vessel , andreefers continue to be powered bygenerator. Preparations are beingmade to remove a sand build-up fromthe starboard side of the ship that hasinhibited recovery with the use of adredger. Addit ional attempts torefloat the vessel will be made nearthe end of February.

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London, Feb 22 — Efforts continue toremove the c.c. APL Panama whichwent aground on sand some 1 .5nautical miles south-east o f theentrance to the port of Ensenada,Mexico . So far, 716 containers ,weighing 9,506 tonnes, have beenremoved from the vessel. A dredgingvessel is presently en route to thecasualty and will arrive on Feb 25.This will be used by the salvors toclear a channel through the sandybeach, making it easier to tow thel ightened vessel back to sea.Environmental response teamsremain on 24 hour stand by to ensurethat no damage is caused to the localenvironment. The vessel ’s ownerscontinue to work in close co-operationwith the Mexican authorities and thesalvors in order to remove the vesselin a safe and manageable mannerfrom the beach.

ATLANTIC EXPRESS (Panama)London, Feb 22 — Bulk Atlantic

Express (15284 gt, built 1985) lostrudder control, for a short period oftime, in a curve upstream of Batiscananchorage in lat 46 30 43N, long 72 1330W, at 1245, EST, Feb 21. At 1707,EST, same day, whi le , transit ingdownbound, approaching Quebecbridge in lat 46 44 44N, long 71 1717W, the vessel requested theassistance of tug and an icebreaker tohelp avoid striking the bridge. Thevessel c leared the bridge withoutproblems.

B.E.LINDHOLM (U.S.A.)London, Feb 22 — A press report,

dated Feb 17, states: The US Court ofAppeals for the Fifth Circuit upheldthe equal division of damages in acollision case where both vessels wereat fault . In the instant case , aninbound chemical /oi l carrier StoltAchievement (25427 gt, built 1999)and outbound trailing suction hopperdredger B.E.Lindholm (3446 gt, built1985) were in collision in the HoustonShip Channel on Oct 21, 2002. Thetrial court found both vessels to havebeen at fault and divided the damagesequally. The tanker owner appealed,asserting that the primary cause ofthe collision was the steering failureon the dredger as the two vessels wereabout to pass. On appeal, the courtheld that the trial court found variousfaults on the part of both vessels,including regulatory violations by thetanker. The decision of the trial courtwas found not to be clearly erroneous.

BANGLAR SHIKHA (Bangladesh)London, Feb 21 — A press report,

dated Feb 20, states : Coastguardofficials seized a huge quantity ofcomputer accessories and electronicgoods from general cargo BanglarShikha (9927 gt , bui l t 1991) atKarnaphul i channel on Sundayafternoon (Feb 19). Officials said thatthey had been following the BanglarShikha at the outer anchorage since1630 on Saturday and challenged itwhen it reached Karnaphuli channelat 1330 on Sunday. Sensing thepresence of the coastguards, the crews

of the vessel dropped the smuggledgoods into the river. At one stage, thecoastguard personnel stepped into thedock of the vessel and recovered thegoods hidden inside the vessel. Thecoastguard men recovered 39monitors, five Central Processing Unit(CPUs) , three laser pr inters , twoaudio video recorders, two desktopcomputers and other accessoriesworth about TK 1.2 mil l ion. Themaster of the vessel admitted that theseized goods were brought undeclared,but huge consignment o f theunauthorized goods were dropped intothe river, said a spokesman of thecoastguard. (Note — Banglar Shikhasailed Port Klang Feb 14 and arrivedChittagong Feb 19.)

BEAUFORT (Panama)Guayaquil, Feb 17 — To date the

change of owner o f chem.tankBeaufort has not been reported to thisoffice. — Lloyd’s Agents.

BLACK SWAN (Bahamas)Port Said , Feb 21 — Bulk Black

Swan is still under arrest in the GreatBitter Lakes. — Lloyd’s Agents.

BOA VISTA (Panama)London, Feb 20 — Ro/ro Boa Vista

passed Gibraltar, eastbound, Feb 17. Avonmouth, Feb 20 — Milford Haven

Port Authority confirm that ro/ro BoaVista struck the Neyland Pointnavigation beacon at 1625 hrs, Feb 12.No injuries or pol lut ion resulted.Damage to the vessel was minor; as ide access ladder rung part ial lydetached and scraped across a lengthof approximtaley 20 metres. Beacondamage is being assessed. Aninvestigation is ongoing. The vesselsailed late the same day bound forGreece v ia Gibralter. — Lloyd ’sAgents.

BOOMTOWN BELLE II (U.S.A.)See “Hurricane “Katr ina” under

“Weather & Navigation.”

BORDER HEATHER (Isle of Man)London, Feb 17 — A press report,

dated today, states: A fire officer wasseen smoking a cigarette and using amobi le te lephone next to producttanker Border Heather where therehad just been an explosion, a safetyreport has revealed. The MarineAccident Investigation Board lookedinto an incident at Grangemouthdocks and highlighted several majorconcerns. It found the BP tanker wasoverloaded and i ts chief o f f icerfat igued in the lead-up to theexplosion in October 2004 (Oct 31).The vessel had made three voyagesbefore entering dry dock for repairsand then berthed and loaded ultra lowsulphur diesel (ULSD) followed bykerosene. However, the vessel’s secondofficer smelled fuel vapour and founda puddle of ULSD which he reportedto the chief officer, who confirmed itbut took no action. Some motor spiritand vapour trickled down to the bowthruster-room because of an openvalve and a leaking non-return valve.

The vapour was ignited by electricalequipment and the explosion threwflames and burning material throughthe hatches, door and vents in theforecast le deckhouse. No one wasinjured. The fire was tackled by thecrew and extinguished by shore-basedfirefighters after about 40 minutes.The MAIB highl ighted severalconcerns, part icularly the lack ofliaison between the terminal and theCentral Scotland Fire Brigade. “It isunfortunate that part way throughthis accident, a member of the firebrigade was observed smoking andusing a mobile telephone within thejetty area,” the report said.

BREMER VICTORIA (Gibraltar)London, Feb 17 — General cargo

Bremer Victoria arrived NorrsundetFeb 8, sailed Feb 10, returned Feb 13and sailed Feb 16 for Swinoujscie.

London, Feb 21 — General cargoBremer Victoria arrived SwinoujscieFeb 19.

CANADA SENATOR (Liberia)London, Feb 23 — A press report,

dated Feb 22, states : TheTransportat ion Safety Board ofCanada today released i ts f inalinvestigation report into the collisionbetween c .c . Canada Senator andyacht Mondisy of f Saint-Nicolas ,Quebec , on Aug 11, 2004. Theinvestigation revealed that it wasl ikely that the unstructuredwatchkeeping system on boardMondisy led to a s leep debt thatcaused a crew member to fall asleepwhile on duty at the helm.Investigators found that the warningsignals sounded by Canada Senatordid not arouse attention and indicateto Mondisy that it was in danger.Although Canada Senator did notslow down before the collision to allowmore time to assess the situation,course alterations taken by the vesseldid not prevent the col l is ion. Thereport also stated that materials usedin the construct ion of Mondisycontributed to the rapid sinking uponimpact with Canada Senator . Norecommendations were issued by theBoard.

CAPE BAKER (Marshall Islands)See Elise Schulte.

CAPE BRADLEY (Marshall Islands)

London, Feb 18 — As of Feb 17,chemical/oil carrier Cape Bradley wasreported to be still at Bremerhaven.

London, Feb 20 — Chemical /o i lcarr ier Cape Bradley sai ledBremerhaven Feb 18.

CENTURY TEAM (Belize)Busan, Feb 20 — General cargo

Century Team is st i l l in port atWando, carrying out discharging,reloading and resecuring of cargo. Thereloading and resecuring operation isexpected to be completed by Feb 25. —Lloyd’s Sub-agents.

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CLEOPATRA S. (Sierra Leone)Port Said, Feb 21 — Passenger ro/ro

Cleopatra S. (9598 gt, built 1970),which entered the Suez Canal on Feb20 with the southbound convoy,grounded at Km 64 in the Canal dueto dense fog and very poor visibility.The vessel was refloated with theassistance of Suez Canal Authoritytugs and towed to Ballah Station toeffect the necessary repairs. — Lloyd’sAgents.

CMA CGM OTELLO (French Southern Territories)

London, Feb 21 — C.c. CMA CGMOtello (91410 gt, built 2005) lost fourdozen containers overboard in the Bayof Biscay arouind Feb 16-17. Thevessel had sailed Hong Kong Feb 1and passed Gibraltar Feb 15.Following the loss of the containers, itarrived Le Havre Feb 18 and sailedFeb 19 for Rotterdam.

CMA CGM VERDI (Bahamas)London, Feb 19 — Following received

from Coastguard Solent MRSC, timed1635, UTC: C.c . CMA CGM Verdi(65427 gt , bui l t 2004) arr ived atSouthampton earl ier today andreported losing 80 40 foot containerson Feb 18, in the vicinity of CapeFinisterre, as a result of bad weather.Two containers are currently “hangingoff” the vessels stern and are beingrecovered. The vessel was due todepart later today, but MCA surveyorshave suggested it will be two-threedays before the vessel can proceed.

London, Feb 19 — Following receivedfrom Coastguard Solent MRSC, timed1859, UTC: C.c. CMA CGM Verdi wasvisited at its berth in Southampton byan MCA surveyor. The vessel lost 80containers, each 40 feet in length,over the side. Two groups were lost inlat 43 22.3N, long 09 39.1W at 0058,UTC, Feb 18. A third batch was lostin lat 45 25.1N, long 08 11.4W at 0745hrs, Feb 18. The vessel still has twocontainers hanging over the stern,which require recovery. The vesselwas scheduled to depart Southamptonat 2100, UTC, today. However,because of the two containers andothers that need attent ion, thesurveyor did not think that the vesselwould be alble to leave Southamptonuntil Feb 21/22. There are no plansfor the recovery of the missing boxesby the vessel or the Company at thistime.

CONCEL PRIDE (Nigeria)Cadiz, Feb 17 — Understand product

tanker Concel Pride is still in port atAlgeciras. The vessel has been underrepair for a long time, and the ownersare now trying to catch up with theirdebts. In addition, they are bringingin a new crew to get the vessel sailing.— Lloyd’s Agents. (See issue of Jan 9.)

Cadiz, Feb 20 — Product tankerConcel Pride is still in port, underrepairs. — Lloyd’s Agents.

CORA JO (Netherlands Antilles)London, Feb 18 — Following received

from Lisbon MRCC, timed 1240, UTC:General cargo Cora Jo (3214 gt, built

2006) is currently being towed to aSpanish port (possibly Vigo) followingan engine-breakdown in lat 41 37N,long 09 23W. Vessel was stopped forapproximately 10 hours. (Note — CoraJo departed from Trieste on Feb 8,bound for St . Nazaire and wasreported passing through the Straitsof Gibraltar at 2054 hrs, Feb 14.)

London, Feb 18 — Fol lowingreceived from managers of generalcargo Cora Jo, dated today: Cora Jobroke down at around 0700 hrs ,yesterday. The vessel has alreadyarrived at Vigo (under tow) . Arepresentative of the managers isattending the vessel and it is hoped toeffect repairs in Vigo. The vessel’scargo was four engines

Vigo, Feb 20 — General cargo CoraJ o put into Vigo at 0200, Feb 18,assisted by local tug Conde deGondomar on “Bimco towcon” - noclaim for salvage clause. Once dockedalongside by tugs, repairs to the mainengine commenced on the Saturday(on Wartsi la guarantee) and oncerepairs are completed, the vessel isexpected to sail p.m. today, for itsdestination of St.Nazaire (France). Noclaim received regarding cargo. —Lloyd’s Agents.

Trieste, Feb 20 — General cargoCora Jo: Understand that GeneralAverage has been declared, to recoverthe costs of the towage/port of refuge.— Lloyd’s Agents.

COTE D’IVOIRIAN STAR(Panama)

London, Feb 21 — Following receivedfrom Corsen MRCC, timed 1055, UTC:Ref Cote d’Ivoirian Star (11733 gt,bui l t 1998) reported los ing s ixcontainers in lat 48 08N, long 05 49WFeb 16. (Note — Cote d’Ivoirian Starsai led Abidjan Feb 9 , arr ivedPortsmouth Feb 17 and sailed Feb 19for Antwerp, where arrived Feb 20.)

DAMAGE TO VESSEL UNDERCONSTRUCTION, SESTAOSHIPYARD, BILBAO, SPAIN

London, Feb 21— A press report,dated Feb 15, states: A 270-tonneblock of steel being held by fourcranes that was to be placed in a gascarrier under construction at “NavalOne”, Sestao Shipyard, collapsed onthe ship yesterday without causingany injuries. Damage to the cranesand to the hull of the vessel are stillto be evaluated, as is the cause of theaccident which happened at 1435 hrs.There were no injuries to dockworkers as it happened during a foodbreak. Apparently, the block came offone of the cranes , by causes st i l lunknown, and dragged to the otherthree. However, they restrained theblock’s fall and this avoided greaterdestruction. The shipyard has openedan investigation into the causes theaccident . The vessel is due to bedelievered to shipowners Knutsen atend of 2007. Sources of the shipyardsaid it was to early to determine howthe del ivery o f the vessel wi l l beaffected by yesterday’s incident. Asidefrom the disadvantages that thefai lure o f the cranes represents ,

technician will have to assess in thenext hours the damage produced byloosening of the plates in the bottomof vessel, that separates the cargoarea and the bal last tanks. Theincident can also affect the process ofpr ivat izat ion of the shipyard.Although still the losses produced arenot known, the repair or thereplacement o f the cranes couldsuppose a payment o f mil l ions o fEuro.

DISCOVERY (Liberia)London, Feb 18 — A press report,

dated yesterday, states: At least ninepeople were injured when passengerDiscovery (24799 gt , bui l t 1956)caught fire while being dismantled atthe ship-breaking yard at Alang,today. The passenger vessel caughtfire at 1330 hrs and several personswho were trapped inside the vesselwere rescued by 1830 hrs. The firereportedly started in the engine-roomand rescue work by f ire-br igadepersonnel and workers from nearbyplots were hampered because of hightide as the vessel was beached 300feet away from the shore . Theworkers’ injuries were not serious innature and al l the v ict ims weredischarged by evening. Somelabourers jumped from the vessel andmanaged to swim to safety, saidsources. According to Haresh Parmar,secretary of Alang Ship Breaking YardAssociation, the vessel is owned byMahavir Indecto Melt Pvt Ltdsituated on Plot No V-5. The owner ofthe company, Kishore Bansal, couldnot be contacted. (Note — Discoveryarrived Alang Nov 20.)

DYVI PAMPLONA (NIS)Baltimore, Feb 22 — Advised by the

Agents that an accident on vehicleDyvi Pamplona (37237 gt, built 1999)yesterday involved a malfunction inthe vessel’s electrical system. Whilethe ship’s engineers were attemptingto make a repair, there was anelectrical power surge which injuredthree of the engineering crew. Allthree were transported to a localhospital . Two of the crew may bereleased back to the vessel today. Thethird crewman, the e lectr icalengineer, remains in the hospital inserious or critical condition. Therewas no fire on board the vessel and itcontinues to receive and dischargecargo. At this point, the vessel expectsto sail sometime tomorrow for thePort of Charleston. — Lloyd’s Agents.(Note — Dyvi Pamplona sai ledSouthampton Feb 11 and arr ivedBaltimore Feb 21.)

ECE (Marshall Islands)London, Feb 16 — A press report,

dated today, states: An underwatersurvey is to be carried out of thewreck of acid tanker Ece that sank offGuernsey in January. A researchvessel wil l use sonar and remote-controlled submarine equipment tostudy the Ece that sank while beingtowed after a co l l is ion. Frenchauthorities have ordered the Ece’sTurkish owners to take act ion to

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minimise the effects of the sinking.They believe the vessel has begun toleak some of its cargo of 10,000 tonnesphosphoric acid. A British researchvessel starts a s ix-day survey onFriday (Feb 17) at the site, 56 mileswest of Cap de La Hague.

EIDER (Hong Kong)Balboa, Feb 20 — Bulk Eider

completed repairs and sailed BalboaFeb 16 for Vancouver. — Lloyd ’sAgents.

EILTANK 5 (Germany)London, Feb 21 — Information

received from Kiel , dated today,states: Non specific tanker Eiltank 5(1522 gt), homeport Duisburg, ranaground on the river Rhine at 2050,local time, on Feb 19. Before this ithad sustained a rudder failure andthen drifted to the left side of theRhine were it stuck fast, close to thebunker station Lobith. The Dutchtugs En Avant and En Avant II pulledthe vessel free some time later andtowed i t to a nearby yard forinspections.

ELISE SCHULTE (Hong Kong)London, Feb 17 — Following received

from Coast Guard New Orleans, timed1510, UTC: Crude oil tanker EliseSchulte (56239 gt, built 1999), whiletaking on bunkers, had minor contactwith crude oi l tanker Cape Baker(84586 gt, built 2002) at GalvestonLightering Zone at 1600, local time,Feb 15. The Elise Schulte sustainedminor denting above waterline and isbeing inspected with regards toacertaining necessary repairs. (Note— Cape Baker sailed Salvador Jan 28and, according to LMIU AIS, wasstationary in lat 28 57 35.82N, long94 30 34.98W, at 0906, UTC, today.Also according to LMIU AIS, EliseSchulte was stationary in lat 28 5901.44N, long 93 15 07.26W, at 1855,UTC, Feb 16.)

London, Feb 22 — Following receivedfrom the managers of crude oil tankerElise Schulte , dated today: EliseSchulte was involved in ship-to-shipoperations with crude oil tanker CapeBaker , conducted by HeidenreichLightering Services Inc, at GalvestonLightering Area, posit ion lat 2858.7N, long 94 35.9W. At 2047, UTC,Feb 15, after completion of ship-to-ship transfer operat ions , whi lecasting off from the Cape Baker withthe Heidenreich Pilot on board, theflanges of the cargo hoses which werehanging overside on the starboardside of the Cape Baker made contactwith the port side of the Elise Schultein way of No 5 port water ballast tankwell above the waterline, resulting inminor denting to the hull plating ofthe latter vessel. The minor dentingwas inspected by classification societyAB, who confirmed that the damagedoes not affect the seaworthiness ofthe vessel.

ELVITA (Malta)London, Feb 23 — Information

received from Kiel , dated today,states: General cargo Elvita (1707 gt,

built 1979) ran into an embankmentin the eastern part of the Kiel Canalat about 0001, Feb 23. The vessellater came free and berthed inRendsburg harbour.

London, Feb 23 — Informationreceived from Kiel , dated today,states: General cargo Elvita ran ontothe south embankment of the KielCanal, close to Rendsburg but camefree under its own power. Traffic onthe canal was not affected by thegrounding.

London, Feb 23 — Informationreceived from Kiel , dated today,states: General cargo Elvita ran intothe embankment due to rudderfailure.

ESER KAPTANOGLU (Turkey)London, Feb 17 — Following received

from Coast Guard New Orleans, timed1530, UTC: Bulk/c.c. Eser Kaptanoglu(22225 gt, built 1982) had bridge wingstrike quayside loading arm whileberthing at Corpus Christi at 2350,local t ime, Feb 13. Subsequently,when tug tried to pull stern awayfrom loading arm, damage wassustained which resulted in topsidewater ballast tank being holed. (Note— Eser Kaptanoglu sai led St .Petersburg Jan 14 for New Orleans.)

London, Feb 21 — Following receivedfrom Coast Guard New Orleans, timed0105, UTC: Bulk/c.c. Eser Kaptanogluremains at Corpus Christi. Vessel isexpected to complete operations at1200, local t ime, Feb 23, anddeparture is estimated for 1400, localtime, same day.

ESTRADEN (Finland)London, Feb 17 — Information

received from Kiel , dated today,states: Ro/ro Tor Minerva passed theKiel Canal for the first time on Feb 9as i t has been chartered as atemporary replacement for ro /roEstraden which is at present underrepair in Turku. (Note — Estradenwas last reported to have arrivedTurku Feb 8 and sailed same day forNaantali.)

Turku, Feb 20 — Ro/ro Estraden iscurrently at Turku Repair Yard,Naantali. The vessel is expected toreturn to service Feb 28, after repairsare completed. — Lloyd’s Agents.

FAIRWEATHER (U.S.A.)London, Feb 20 — An Alaska Marine

Highway System press release, datedFeb 17, states:The Alaska MarineHighway System announced todaythat it has reached an agreement withthe three marit ime unionsrepresenting AMHS workers to allowcrew members assigned to passengerro /ro Fairweather to operatepassenger ro /ro Chenega onFairweather’s Lynn Canal and Sitkaroutes for the remainder of the winterschedule. Chenega and Fairweatherhave both been in the shipyard inKetchikan for scheduled maintenance.However, Fairweather will continue tobe out of service through mid-Aprilhaving all four of its diesel enginesrepaired. “Chenega and Fairweatherhave been working together on a trial

express run between Juneau,Petersburg, Wrangell and Ketchikanthis winter, ” said AMHS GeneralManager Captain John Falvey.“Obviously, with Fairweather out ofservice, we cannot run Chenega on thesouthern leg. It makes sense to put iton Fairweather ’s Sitka and LynnCanal runs, but under theInternational High Speed Craft Code,our crews are trained for speci f icroutes . The letter o f agreementworked out with the labour unionsallows Fairweather crew to operateChenega for this period of t ime.”Falvey said Chenega wil l sai l arevised Fairweather schedule .Chenega will transit to Prince WilliamSound in mid April for route-trainingin advance of the busy summerseason, and will commence carryingpassengers on May 3. Fairweather isexpected to return to its route in mid-April.

FLORA S. (Cyprus)London, Feb 23 — General cargo

Flora S. arrived Altamira Feb 9 andsailed Feb 10.

FOS (St. Kitts-Nevis)Izmir, Feb 21 — Understand that

towed acid tanker Fos had arrived atAliaga on Feb 11 and had been runaground by bow on the same date.However as per information obtainedtoday, the demol i t ion has notcommenced yet. — Lloyd’s Agents.

GENMAR STAR (Liberia)London, Feb 22 — Bulk/oil GenMar

Star (57082 gt, built 1992) drifted offcourse after a rudder fault and washalted near the European shore ofIstanbul yesterday, causing Turkey toclose the Bosporus to shipping. Amaritime official said the strait wasclosed around 1500, local time, afterthe GenMar Star experiencedproblems. It then dropped anchor offthe coast near the city’s DolmabahcePalace and was being al lowed tocontinue on its journey once othervessels transit ing the strait hadpassed through. Of e ight tankersscheduled to transit the straityesterday, six had passed through andone transit was cancelled due to theafternoon closure, a shipping agentsaid. It said a further 11 tankers werewaiting to pass through the strait.Earlier yesterday, Turkey reopenedthe Dardanelles, south of Istanbul,after closing it during the morningbecause of fog.

London, Feb 22 — A press report,dated Feb 21, states: Bulk/oil GenMarStar, Russia for United States, with86,000 tons of kerosene, narrowlyescaped crashing into a watersideOttoman palace in Istanbul todayafter having a technical failure whilepassing through the Bosporus Strait,o f f ic ia ls said . “We escaped a bigdisaster, ” Sal ih Orakci , head ofIstanbul’s coastal safety management,said. He said the vessel posed noenvironmental danger. GenMar Starbegan dri f t ing towards the 19th-century Dolmabahce Palace after itsrudder stopped working. It managed

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to stop just short of the palace, withthe help of its anchors and specializedteams from the coastal safetydepartment, a spokeswoman for theauthority said. The tanker came to ahalt about 50 metres from the palace,an newsagency photographerreported. (Note — GenMar Star ,Kerch for Corpus Christ i , passedIstanbul 1405, Feb 21.)

London, Feb 22 — Bulk/oil GenMarStar started to drift because of rudderfai lure during her North-Southpassage in the Istanbul Strait at1500, Feb 21 and was prevented fromrunning aground by anchoring infront of Dolmabahce. Tugs Kurtarma 2and Kurtarma 3, a search and rescuevessel and tug Zubeyde Ana belongingto T.D.I were sent to the locationimmediately. After making clear to allvessels navigating under control ofVTS, i t is p lanned to remove thetanker to the anchorage area ofAhirkapi with tug assistance. There isno any environmental pollution.

GRENLAND (Antigua & Barbuda)Gijon, Feb 21 — General cargo

Grenland (1900 gt, built 1970), inballast, is reported to be aground inthe Aviles port entrance channel. Theport entrance is c lear. — Lloyd ’sAgents . (Note — Grenland sai ledLeixoes Feb 15.)

London, Feb 21 — Following receivedfrom Madrid MRCC, t imed 1031,UTC: General cargo Grenlandgrounded at the entrance to Avilesharbour at 0115, UTC, today. Tugs arepresently on scene.

London, Feb 22 — Following receivedfrom Madrid MRCC, t imed 1240,UTC: General cargo Grenland is stillaground. Pumping of oil off the vesselstarted today.

GRENLAND (Dominica)Gijon, Feb 22 — General cargo

Grenland is still aground at Aviles.Port operations are not affected in theleast . The Spanish marit imeauthorities have in place an operationto pump the fuel out of the vessel.Hull and machinery underwritershave appointed a surveyor that is inattendance. Vessel’s P&I underwritershave also appointed a surveyor that isalso in attendance. Owners and hulland machinery underwriters have notyet contracted a salvor. A diver surveywil l be carr ied out tomorrow. —Lloyd’s Agents.

London, Feb 23 — Following receivedfrom the Department o f MarineServices and Merchant Shipping,Inspection and Investigation Division,Bremerhaven, dated Feb 22: Generalcargo Grenland was deleted from theregister o f ships o f Antigua andBarbuda as of Mar 31, 2004. It ispresently flying the flag of Dominica.

GUDRUN (Germany)London, Feb 20 — Product tanker

Gudrun passed Brunsbuttel Feb 17,bound Wilhelmshaven.

HANIFE ANA (Turkey)London, Feb 17 — Following received

from Rome MRCC, timed 1030, UTC:

General cargo Hanife Ana is st i l laground north of Brindisi. Operationto remove oil has not yet commencedas machine to remove i t fai led tofunction.

London, Feb 20 — Following receivedfrom Rome MRCC, timed 0928, UTC:General cargo Hanife Ana is st i l laground.

HARBOURLYNX (Canada)London, Feb 20 — A press report,

dated today, states : FerryHarbourlynx (501 gt, built 1997), thehigh speed passenger-only ferryservice between Vancouver andNanaimo is no longer runningbetween the two cities. The vesselexperienced engine trouble and isawait ing what the owners cal lspecialised parts in order to repair it.They say it could be Feb 28 at theearliest before repairs are completed.Service was suspended on Fridayafternoon (Feb 17).

London, Feb 21 — A press report,dated Feb 20, states : The Brit ishColumbia Government and ServiceEmployees’ Union confirms that it isdoing everything possible to assistmembers who are owed back pay aftertheir employer, the private Nanaimo-based ferry company Harbour LynxCorporation, went into receivershiplast week. The company hadtemporarily suspended services sinceFeb 2, due to engine trouble on ferryHarbourlynx. Noting that the BCGEUand HarbourLynx have been engagedfor months in negotiations for a firstcollective agreement, union presidentGeorge Heyman said : “ I t isunconscionable that this employerfai led to disc lose i ts f inancialproblems during the bargainingprocess, and continued to let memberswork knowing that there might be nomoney to pay them. This company andits managers have abandoned theseemployees who have famil ies tosupport and bills to pay.” Heymansaid, “In receivership situations suchas this, wages owed to working peopleneed to be given a higher priority forrepayment under the law.” The 20BCGEU members who were customerservice and general purpose workers,and engineers and oilers for HarbourLynx are owed three weeks back pay,vacation pay, plus banked overtime insome cases. Harbour Lynx operated adaily passenger-only high-speed ferryservice between downtown Nanaimoand downtown Vancouver.

HENG DA 1 (Panama)London, Feb 17 — A press report,

dated today, states : Thirty-sevenChinese sailors were missing todayafter their cargo ship (ref Heng Da 1,2188 gt, built 2003) sank off south-east China, Xinhua news agency said.A search and rescue operation hadbeen launched after yesterday ’saccident but the chance of findingsurvivors was slim, Xinhua said. Theship, ful ly loaded with “aquaticproducts” and headed for Indonesia,struck a reef near coastal Fuj ianprovince’s Dongjia island at around2300 hrs yesterday, Xinhua said.

London, Feb 17 — Following receivedfrom Beijing MRCC, timed 0715, UTC:Ref Heng Da 1 sank in lat 25 17N,long 119 46E.

London, Feb 17 — A press report,dated today, states: No survivors havebeen found from ref Heng Da 1 whichsank in rough seas off eastern Chinawith 37 people on board, a rescueofficial said today. Helicopters andships were searching near the positionabout five kilometres from Pingtanisland in Fujian province where thefreighter went down after smashingagainst the rocky coast late yesterday,an of f ic ia l with the provincialmaritime rescue centre said. “They’relooking and looking but haven’t foundanything,” said the man. The officialsaid the ship was carrying a cargo ofseafood to Indonesia. Harsh weathercontinued in the area today.

London, Feb 17 — Following receivedfrom Coast Guard San Francisco ,timed 1725, UTC: Ref Heng Da 1 wasreported sinking, after grounding, offFuzhou in lat 25 17N, 119 46E atabout 1527, UTC, yesterday. Two crewreported saved, 24 reported lost.

London, feb 19 — A press report,dated today, states: ref Heng Da 1More rescuers have been sent tosearch for 31 sailors who remainedmissing after a Panamanian freighterran on rocks on Feb 16 of f EastChina’s Fujian Province. The freighterhad a total crew of 37, all which wereChinese . So far, two have beenrescued, remains of four deadrecovered, and 31 others remainmissing, the local salvage source said.The East China Sea Salvage Bureauunder the Ministry o fCommunications dispatched a 14-member rescue team, including 10divers and engineers today to join therescue operations in the sea area offDongjia island of Fujian Province.Currently, five ships are searching forthe missing sai lors in the watersaround the accident site in the EastChina Sea.

London, Feb 20 — A press report,dated today, states : Panama issending an investigator to China tolook into the fatal sinking of ref HengDa 1, the government said onSaturday (Feb 18). The Panamanianagent wi l l work with Chineseauthorities to investigate the sinkingof the vessel, which went down after ithit a coral reef off China’s south-eastern coast on Friday, Panama’sMaritime Authority said in a newsrelease. On Saturday, rescuers inChina’s Fujian province found twosurvivors and four bodies. Thirty oneof those on board the vessel were stillmissing.

London, Feb 20 — A press report,dated today, states: Chinese rescuerstoday found two more bodies fromsunken ref Heng Da 1. The search forthe other 29 missing sailors is stillgoing on with five vessels and onehelicopter involved.

London, Feb 20 — A press reportdated Feb 21 (local time) states: Thebodies of two more dead sailors wererecovered yesterday afternoon fromthe East China Sea where ref Heng

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Da 1 ran into the rocks and sank lateThursday (Feb 16) night. Another 29crew members are still missing. Twosailors were pulled from the sea aliveand five others died on Friday severalhours after the ship hit rocks in heavywaves and quickly sank. A team of 14rescue workers including 10 diversand ship engineers from theShanghai -based Donghai RescueBureau, as well as helicopters andrescue vessels, had been searching thesea near Fujian Province over thepast four days . Rescuers f inal lymanaged to spot the ship yesterdayafternoon when low tides left part ofthe mast exposed. “We were sorry tofind that it was very likely the frontmast, which means the vessel sank onits rear. The result could be most ofthe crew didn’t have time to escapeand were kept inside the workingcabins that are usually in the rear ofa ship,” said Tang Panrun, an officialwith the rescue operation.

London, Feb 22 — A press report,dated today, states: Searchers havediscovered, this morning, the stern ofref Heng Da 1 that sank last week,according to the East China SeaSalvage Bureau under the Ministry ofCommunications. Two sailors wererescued and nine bodies have beenfound so far among the 37-membercrew of Heng Da 1. The remaining 26people are sti l l missing and theirsurvival chances are s l im, saidrescuers. Divers found the ship’s sternat 1045 hrs with the help o f f iverescue ships and one hel icopter.Rescuers said that some of themissing sailors might be in the cabinat the stern. The rescue operation hasbeen extended to a wider area of sea,including areas near local islands, asit entered the sixth day today, localsalvage department sources said.Rescue work is still going on, thoughstrong wind and high waves havehampered the operation.

London, Feb 23 — A press report,dated Feb 22, states : Sixty-sevenvessels and 2 ,377 people aresearching for the 31 Chinese sailorswho went missing after a Panamanianref Heng Da 1 ran aground in the seaarea off East China’s Fujian Provincelast week. The rescue operation hasbeen extended to a wider area of sea,including areas near local islands andpolders. The accident occurred whenthe Heng Da 1 hit a reef . Al l 37Chinese crew members fell overboard.So far only two of the crew membershave been saved and the bodies offour victims recovered. The 31 othersare still missing. The East China SeaSalvage Bureau under the Ministry ofCommunications dispatched a 14-member rescue team, including 10divers and engineers , to jo in therescue efforts. Strong wind and highwaves have hampered the rescueoperation.

HENRY HUDSON BRIDGE (Japan)Genoa, Feb 20 — At about 0530, Feb

19, while c.c. Henry Hudson Bridge(42400 gt, built 1987) was berthing atGenoa with a pilot on board and theassistance of three tugs, the vessel’s

bow came into contact with ro/ro Isoladelle Perle (12804 gt, built 1975),which was already moored at theCalata Gadda pier, undergoingroutine repairs. The stern of Isoladelle Perle in turn bumped against aquay/shore building, causing damageto a warehouse/sheltered structureowned by a local private shiprepaircompany. Isola delle Perle reportsdamage to its forecastle, side shell inway of B-deck and stern ramp.Understand estimated repair time isabout 20 days. Passenger ro/ro Tadla(7838 gt , bui lt 1970) also reportsdamage due to being struck by a bitt.The local Port Authority are presentlyinvest igat ing the cause of theaccident, and official enquiries are inhand. — Lloyd’s Agents.

HIGH RIDER (Marshall Islands)Buenos Aires, Feb 20 — Product

tanker High Rider (25800 gt, built1991) grounded between 0124 and0215, today, while proceeding to SanLorenzo. The vessel is currentlyanchored at San Nicolas north road,loaded with approximately 12,000tonnes of chemicals on board. —Lloyd’s Agents.

Buenos Aires, Feb 20 — Producttanker High Rider refloated, aftergrounding between 0124 and 0215 hrsat km. 3 .40, without obstruct ingnavigation, without the assistance oftugs. It is currently sailing to SanLorenzo where it is expected to arriveat approximately 1600 hrs. — Lloyd’sAgents.

London, Feb 21 — Following receivedfrom Magnus Carriers, operators ofproduct tanker High Rider : HighRider loaded at La Plata, part cargoand sailed for San Lorenzo at 0730hrs on Feb 19 with two river pilots onboard and a draft of 07.40 m forwardand 07.50 aft as per local regulations.At 0105 hrs , Feb 20, whenapproaching land mark “340 Km” thepilot intended to change course a fewdegrees and ordered helm 20 degreesto port and subsequently hard overbecause the vessel was not turningdue to strong current and shallowwater. At 0110 hrs the vesselgrounded on the shallow side of thechannel at a depth of 10.0-10.2 m inway of the bow. The vessel refloatedat 0210 hrs, after taking some ballastin the after peak and running theengine at full astern. While agroundballast tanks in way of groundingwere inspected and nothing untowardwas noted. After refloating the vesselmoved to Nord San Nikolas anchorage(1.5 miles north-west of the groundingposition) where Coast Guard and PortState Control boarded and carried outa thorough inspection of all accessiblecompartments and tested equipment.They also took statements from themaster, the watch of f icer and thehelmsman. When the inspection andall formalities were over at 1010 hrs,on Feb 20, the vessel was permittedto sa i l to her dest inat ion (SanLorenzo) as underwater hul linspection was not possible at thislocat ion because o f restr ic tedvisibility underwater.

London, Feb 23 — Following receivedfrom Magnus Carriers, operators ofproduct tanker High Rider: We areglad to attach herewith class surveyrecord of occasional survey held onFeb 22 at San Lorenzo. Norecommendation/condition imposed.As stated by the master, the vesselsustained a grounding casualtyduring navigation at Parana River,km.340, on the way to San Lorenzoand that the grounding area waslocated at the forepeak tank. Surveycarried out: Due the dark waters andstrong current in the River Plate andParana River it is not possible tocarry out diver inspection. Forepeaktank was internally inspected and nodamages were found. Al l spacesadjacent to the shell were checkedand no leakages, abnormalities orwater ingress were detected. Steeringgear system, propulsion machineryand shaft ing were tested underworking conditions and no vibrationsor abnormalities were detected.

HOEGH GANDRIA (NIS)London, Feb 20 — A SMIT Salvage

BV report states : Lng/Lpg HoeghGandr ia , carrying a cargo ofammonia, required SMIT’s assistanceafter its engine-room had flooded.Hoegh Gandria was located about anhour away from the SMIT office inSingapore. Our salvage team wasdeployed to dewater the engine-roomand to preserve the machinery. Theteam was also standby for possiblefirefighting activities. After beingdischarged of its cargo, the tankerwas taken to a dock for repairs. Asalvage team from SMIT Singaporeconcluded the assistance on Feb 14.

Singapore, Feb 20 — Lng/Lpg HoeghGandr ia remains at Raf f lesAnchorage, Singapore. — Lloyd’sAgents.

HOJIN (Vanuatu)Vigo, Feb 20 — While vehicle Hojin

(55470 gt, built 1990) was docking atVigo ro-ro terminal with a pilot onboard and the assistance of two tugs,the vessel struck the pier at about1200, Feb 18, damaging the upperpart of the pier over an area of onemetre long by 55 cm wide. The PortAuthority will make a claim for deckrepairs. The vessel sustained somescores and scratches on its starboardquarter over a length of 102 cm bytwo cm depth. The vessel sailed at2200 same day for i ts nextdestination. — Lloyd’s Agents.

London, Feb 23 — Vehicle Hoj inarrived Bristol Feb 21 and sailed Feb22.

HORNCLIFF (Liberia)London, Feb 18 — C.C.Ref Horncliff

(12887gt, Built 1992) was in collisionwith Rika (1925 gt, built 1978) whilethey were leaving the Boudewijnlockin Antwerp. Both vessels haveproceeded outwards, but the vesselRika has sustained a small dent andpaint damage.

London, Feb 21 — C.c.ref Horncliffarrived Hamburg Feb 19.

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ISOLA DELLE PERLE (Italy)See Henry Hudson Bridge.

JOANNA III (Greece)London, Feb 16 — Lloyd’s Casualty

representatives in Piraeus report:This morning, general cargo JoannaIII , Larimna for Thessaloniki , inballast, grounded off Kamena Voula.The seven Greek crewmembers onboard were not in jured. A CoastGuard patrol vessel and general cargoJoanna IV immediately proceeded tooffer assistance. There has been nopollution caused and weather in thearea is good.

London, Feb 17 — Fol lowingreceived from Piraeus RCC, timed1145, UTC: General cargo Joanna IIIwas refloated at 1745, local t ime,yesterday by tug Ierax. Vessel is nowsafely anchored in Stylidas Bay forinspection.

London, Feb 17 — Fol lowingreceived from Piraeus RCC, timed1210, UTC: General cargo Joanna IIIcompleted repairs at Stylidas Bay andcontinued voyage for Thessaloniki.

Piraeus, Feb 17 — General cargoJoanna III, Larimna for Thessaloniki,stranded in shal low waters atKenurgio Bay, Kamena Vurla, on Feb16. All seven crew members werereportedly healthy and secure. Nopollution was reported. The vesselwas f inal ly ref loated with tugassistance. — Lloyd’s Agents.

Piraeus, Feb 21 — General cargoJoanna III was inspected by a Classsurveyor and continued its voyage toThessaloniki on Feb 17. No damagewas reported. — Lloyd’s Agents.

KATYA Z. (St. Vincent & Grenadines)

London, Feb 16 — A press report,dated today, states: At 1300, today,general cargo Katya Z., led by ice-breaker Captain Beloussov, sailedtowards Kerchenskiy strait and at1530 reached the Black Sea, KatyaZ.’s manager company Varna Shippingand Trading informs. This evening thecrew will be provided with water andfull check-up of the vessel will bemade. “If all is well we expect KatyaZ . to land in Bourgas in about twodays”, Company manager CaptainVesselin Genov said. “We hope therewill not be any consequences for thecrew and vessel after this 25-day icesaga”, he added. (See issue of Feb 16.)

London, Jan 21 — A press report,dated today, states : Bulgaria-managed general cargo Katya Z. ,which was twice trapped into the icehug of the Sea of Azov, has finallyreached Bulgaria’s Black Sea portBourgas. Katya Z. reached Bourgas onschedule. The ship is in good technicalcondition and all the crew members,14 Bulgarians and three Ukrainians,are in good health. The ship was twicetrapped in the ice.

KELLY LEE (U.S.A.)London, Feb 19 — A press report,

dated yesterday, states: Tug Kelly Lee:The owner of the barge that’s beenlodged against the K and I railroadbridge on the Ohio River near New

Albany plans to begin the process ofheating and removing asphalt cargotoday. Magnolia Marine Transportspokesman Bob Mallette says theheating process will begin in one ofthe cargo compartments at noon,today. Mallette says there will be anasphalt odor in the air, but says it isnot harmful. It could take from five toeight days to remove asphalt from onearea of the barge, which has eightcompartments. Removing all three-thousand barrels of asphalt could takeup to two months. Mallette says oncethe weight has been removed, thesalvage process can then start.

KHALED JUNIOR (Cambodia)London, Feb 23 — Bulk Khaled

Junior arrived Bejaia about Feb 14and sailed Feb 20.

KIM JACOB (Liberia)London, Feb 17 — Fol lowing

received from the managers of crudeoil tanker Kim Jacob, dated today:Kim Jacob sai led yesterday forLisnave shipyard, Setubal, where itwill carry out permanent repairs, ETAearly March.

London, Feb 20 — A SMIT SalvageBV report, states: After refloating onFeb 6 crude oil tankerKim Jacob wastransferred to a safe anchoragelocation, where it was fully examinedand the remaining cargo of crude wasthen pumped ship-to-ship to thelightering crude oil tanker Endless.After completion, Endless deliveredthe remaining crude oil at St. Croix.

KUJAWY (Bahamas)London, Feb 21 — Bulk Kujawy

arrived Cartagena, Colombia, Feb 12and sailed Feb 16.

LCT 6 SAMARINDA (Indonesia)London, Feb 19 — A press report,

dated today, states: One man drownedafter the vessel LCT 6 Samarindacapsized amid rough weather in Munawaters, Southeast Sulawesi. The 14other crew members of the vessel,which transports heavy machineryfrom Jakarta to Sorong, Papua, aremissing. The capsized vessel wasdiscovered by a Kendari-based search-and-rescue team Thursday (Feb 16).The dead man was identi f ied onFriday (Feb 17) . I f there are anysurvivors they may have made it tosmall islands, Amiruddin, head of thesearch-and-rescue team, said. Themachinery transported by the vesselincludes excavators, wheel loadersand rollers as well as vehicles, hesaid.

LINMAR (U.S.A.)London, Feb 22 — A press report,

dated Feb 21, states: Firefighters aretrying to determine what sparked afire aboard a yacht in the OaklandEstuary that caused an estimated$1.5 million in damage. Smoke andflames from yacht Linmar (108 gt,built 1932) early Sunday (Feb 19)morning could be seen from across thewater in Jack London Square. No-onewas aboard the vessel , which wasdocked off the 2400 block of Mariner

Square Drive near Pasta Pel icanrestaurant. Alameda Deputy FireChief Chris Reilly said the fire spreadto al l three levels before i t wasextinguished. “The cause of it is stillunder investigation,” he said. Theyacht contained about 100 gallons offuel when the fire broke out about0300 hrs, police Lt. David Boersmasaid. The boat also has an electricalwater heating system. At the time ofthe fire the yacht was in the custodyof a sales broker with a listed price of$2.4 million. It was insured for $1.4million, police records show. Fourengines, two aerial ladder trucks andtwo ambulances were dispatched tothe scene, Reilly said.

M.PIONEER (Panama)See Vertigo.

MAERSK HOLYHEAD (Venezuela)Curacao, Feb 16 — Lpg Maersk

Holyhead is presently in CuracaoDrydock, under repair. Repairsexpected to be completed within 50days. — Lloyd’s Agents.

MAINE (Cambodia)London, Feb 21 — Fol lowing

received from Piraeus RCC, timed1252, UTC: General cargo Maine isstill hard aground. Tugs are on sceneand salvage operat ions arecontinuing.

London, Feb 23 — Fol lowingreceived from Piraeus RCC, timed1000, UTC: General cargo Maine isstill aground in the same position.The Port Authority of Lemnos is nowco-ordinating operations.

MARIA (Greece)See Monte Rosso.

MISS CAROLINE A. (U.S.A.)London, Feb 23 — A press report,

dated Feb 22, states: Coast Guardsafety officials say they encouragedthe owner of the New Bedford woodenfishing Miss Caroline A. (104 gt, built1979) to s ign up for a voluntarydockside safety exam a month beforethe scalloper sank off Long Island lastweek. Boat owner David M. Breault ofAcushnet never scheduled an examwith the Coast Guard Marine SafetyField Office in New Bedford, safetyco-ordinator Kevin Coyle said. “Hedidn’t contact us,” Mr. Coyle said.Instead, Miss Caroline A. left forfishing grounds near Montauk Point,N.Y. , and ran into trouble lastWednesday night (Feb 15) when theboat lost power and began taking onwater. The three-man crew abandonedship, and all were rescued by the crewof another New Bedford scalloper,Galaxy, which was fishing nearby.Coast Guard officials believe the 68-foot wood-hulled vessel sank about 8.5miles south of Montauk Point in 110feet of water. Up to 90 percent of NewBedford’s fishing fleet participates inthe voluntary vessel inspect ionprogram, which tests safetyequipment and identi f ies v is ib lestructural deficiencies, Mr. Coylesaid . According to Coast Guardrecords, Miss Carol ine A. did not

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receive a voluntary inspection underthe ownership of Mr. Breault. If MissCaroline A. had been signed up for anexam before its doomed fishing trip,safety inspectors would haveexamined the boat ’s sa fety andsurvival equipment and assessed the“general condition of the vessel,” Mr.Coyle said. Since the 68-foot vesselwas made of wood, inspectors wouldhave “ looked for any excess iveleaking or any indication that thewood was defective or rotten,” headded. Mr. Coyle said it is unlikelythat inspectors would have identifieda missing “Jabsco” pump and backupfilter for the generator, which crewmembers have b lamed for thes inking . The exam would have“checked to see i f the boat hadsufficient pumping capabilities,” hesaid, adding that all boats shouldcarry a backup filter. “It’s just goodmaintenance,” he said. Mr. Breaultcontends that Miss Caroline A. didnot need a voluntary dockside safetyexam in New Bedford since CoastGuard safety officials had inspectedthe scalloper in January when it wasdocked in Montauk Harbor. “Thedockside exam was done in NewYork,” he said yesterday. The vesselwas boarded Jan 13 by MontaukCoast Guard officers, who chargedthe vesse l with several sa fetyviolations, including a missing liferaf t , l i fe r ing , f ive portable f i reext inguishers and a copy o f thenavigation rules, according to CoastGuard documents . Mr. Breaultreplaced the safety equipment withinone day and was cleared by the CoastGuard, said Lt. J.G. Brian Zekus ofCoast Guard Marine SafetyDetachment Coram. Before the vesselcould get under way, a storm hit withstrong winds that tore the vessel offthe dock. Miss Caroline A. crashedinto two boats, tearing a large hole inits bow, which later was repaired byMr. Breault and his crew. Mr. Coylesaid he contacted Mr. Breault afterthe Montauk incident and advisedhim to sign up for a voluntary safetyexam when the boat returned to NewBedford. Miss Caroline A. was unableto get insurance because it was madeof wood, Mr. Breault said.

MONDISY (Canada)See Canada Senator.

MONTE ROSSO (Malta)Piraeus, Feb 22 — Crude oil tanker

Monte Rosso (50571 gt, built 1987)collided with barge Maria, which wasberthed at Perama port, during thedeparture o f Monte Rosso fromPerama yesterday morning (Feb 21).A small crack, two metres above thewaterline, was ascertained at the leftfue l tank o f Monte Rosso whichcaused an oil slick of approximately900 to 1000 square metres . Noinjuries were reported. The master ofMonte Rosso was arrested and thesailing of the vessel was prohibiteduntil class inspection and repair ofthe damages. — Lloyd’s Agents. (Note— Monte Rosso arrived Piraeus Feb4.)

MOON STAR (Cambodia)London, Feb 21 — C.c. Moon Star

arrived Nakhodka Feb 11.

MSC JILHAN (Panama)London, Feb 18 — C.c. MSC Jilhan

arrived at Bremerhaven at 0010 hrs,Feb 16 and sailed later the same day,at 1400 hrs , bound for Antwerp,where it arrived at 1418 hrs, Feb 17.

MYS KOMMUNAROV (Russia)London, Feb 17 — Following notice

to mariners issued today: Enginetroubled vessel (ref Mys Kommunarov,973 gt, built 1979) adrift in lat 3730.7N, long 136 19.5E, at 0618, UTC,today.

London, Feb 17 — Following receivedfrom, Japan Coast Guard, timed 0900,UTC: Ref Mys Kommunarov, UFTA,Busan for Sea of Okhotsk, in ballast,is still adrift awaiting assistance. Portvessel to be towed to is not decidedyet.

MYSTIC (Netherlands Antilles)Poznan, Feb 20 — Understand ref

Mystic is still berthed at Szczecin.status of repairs not known. — Lloyd’sAgents.

NAPOCOR POWER BARGENO.106 (Philippines)

See “Tropical Storm ‘Kaijiki’” under“Weather & Navigation.”

NAPOCOR TUGBOAT NO.1(Philippines)

See “Tropical Storm ‘Kaijiki’” under“Weather & Navigation.”

NEPLINE DELIMA (Malaysia)See “Langkawi Area, Malaysia”

under “Piracy.”

NEPTUNIA MEDITERRANEO(Brazil)

Buenos Aires , Feb 20 — C.c .Neptunia Mediterraneo remains underarrest , without developments . —Lloyd’s Agents.

NINA 1 (St. Vincent & Grenadines)

London, Feb 19 — General cargoNina 1 sailed from Antwerp at 2210hrs, Feb 17, bound for Liege.

NORDCARRIER (Sweden)London, Feb 17 — Information

received from Kiel , dated today,states: General cargo Nordcarrier(1689 gt, built 1977) has been berthedat the Southquay of Brunsbuttel forfour weeks with machine damage. Anew machine part had to be built inRendsburg. Today it will be mountedon the vessel. (Note — Nordcarriersailed Umea Dec 21 for Casablancaand according to LMIU AIS wasstationary in lat 53 53 36.84N, long 99 4.32E at 1802, today.)

NORGAS TRAVELLER(Singapore)

London, Feb 21 — Informationreceived from Kiel , dated today,states: Lpg Norgas Traveller (6711 gt,built 1980) was in contact with thenorthern gate of the Brunsbuttel locks

of the Kiel Canal at 1830, Feb 20. Thevessel had sustained a machinefailure and crashed into the gate. At2030, two tugs pulled the vessel sternfirst out of the lock and secured it atthe so-cal led rai lway pi l ings inBrunsbuttel. The vessel had a gash inthe hull beneath the port anchor.(Note — According to LMIU AISNorgas Traveller was in lat 54 26.54N, long 07 43 24.18E at 0817,today, speed 11.8 knots, 11.8 nauticalmiles from Helgoland.)

London, Feb 21 — Following receivedfrom Kiel, dated today: Lpg NorgasTraveller (6711 gt, built 1980) wasfully loaded with dangerous goods. At0200 hrs, today, after inspections byGermanischer-Lloyd the vessel wasallowed to continue its voyage. Thelock of the canal is operating again.

London, Feb 22 — Informationreceived from Kiel , dated today,states : Lpg Norgas Travellercontinued its voyage to Antwerp afterthe machine had been inspected. Thedamage is said to be about 50.000Euro. The vessel had crashed intogate of the Brunsbuttel locks with itsbulbous bow as the machine hadfai led to change from “ahead” to“back”.

NORWAY (Bahamas)London, Feb 20 — A press report,

dated Feb 19, states: The BangladeshGovernment has banned passengerNorway from entering the country’sterr i tor ial waters as i t a l legedlycarries toxic materials. Environmentand Forest Minister Tariqul Islamsaid: “We have information that thevessel is carrying toxic materials likeasbestos and mono-carbon and I haveasked the authorities concerned tokeep vigil so that it cannot enter ourterr i tory. ” The Navy, the portauthorities and the National Board ofRevenue have also been alerted as theGovernment fears some unscrupulousbusinessmen may try to bring suchvessels to Bangladesh, he said. Theannouncement came in the wake ofmedia reports that a local merchanthad made an offer to buy the Norwayto scrap it at the Sitakunda breakingyard in Chittagong. Greenpeace haswarned that the vessel is carrying1,250 tonnes of asbestos and that itwould pose a serious health risk toworkers who dismantle i t . TheBangladesh Environment Lawyers’Association served a notice on therelevant agencies, threatening to takelegal action if the vessel was allowedinto Bangladesh’s territorial waters.Haj j i Lokman Hakim, a shipmerchant based in Chittagong, offeredto buy the vessel for $12 mil l ion,much less than its market price, andwas in the final stages of negotiations.However, reports from Chittagongsaid the merchant had decided tocancel the deal in the face of theGovernment ban. The vessel is nowdocked in open water o f f theMalaysian coast.

NOVA LIGURIA (Bahamas)Istanbul, Feb 16 — Ref Nova Liguria

(4361 gt, built 1985), Alexandria for

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Novorossiysk, experienced an enginebreakdown at 0035, local time, Feb16, while transiting the Dardanellesand anchored near Karanlik Liman.— Lloyd’s Agents.

Istanbul, Feb 17 — Ref Nova Liguriacompleted repairs by own means andupon inspection/formalities it sailedfrom Canakkale 0215, local t ime,today. — Lloyd’s Agents.

NOVA SPIRIT (Malta)Edinburgh, Feb 22 — After general

cargo Nova Spir i t (3936 gt , bui l t1991) , laden with 96 containers ,sai led berth 52, Constantza, ( forNovorossiysk) around 1900, Feb 20, inheavy fog, it struck the quay of berth79 on the starboard bow. This resultedin a hole immediately below theanchor well and some damage to thequay. The incident is now underinvest igat ion. The ship has beentowed to Constantza shipyard. Thevessel is thought to be in no danger ofsinking. The 96 containers have beenplaced on shore. — Danube Research.

NU CLondon, Feb 17 — Following received

from Coast Guard Seatt le , t imed1845, UTC: Fishing Nu C: Refloatingattempts are due to take place thismorning.

London, Feb 18 — Following receivedfrom Coast Guard Seatt le , t imed1508, UTC: Fishing Nu C wassuccessfully refloated yesterday.

London, Feb 18 — A press report,dated Feb 17, states: The salvageoperation for a fishing boat that ranaground continues today off the jettyat Ocean Shores. A helicopter and twobulldozers were used yesterday toright the 59-foot fishing Nu-C and itshould be refloated on this afternoon’shigh tide (at 1500 hrs). State EcologyDepartment spokeswoman SandyHoward says it will be towed to a boatyard in Aberdeen.

London, Feb 20 — A press report,dated Feb 19, states: Fishing Nu C,which ran aground on the North Jettynear Ocean Shores on Feb 12, waspulled off the rocks this morning bytugs, according to the Coast Guard.Officers at Coast Guard Station GraysHarbor had no details on how manytugs were required to remove thevessel, but said that the operationwas successful and was all over by1700 hrs. The vessel ran onto therocks after the crew issued aøMaydayø distress call at 0643, Feb.12. A small diesel spill was reportedafter the vessel ran aground, and theNational Response Corporation, aninternational company specialising inoil spills and disaster response, washired to ørespond to the pollution andto salvage the vessel ,ø the CoastGuard said.

ONEGO TRAVELLER(Netherlands)

London, Feb 16 — Following receivedfrom Bermuda RCC, t imed 1515,UTC: General cargo Onego Travellerremains at Hamilton, with workcontinuing to attempt to dry thevessel out.

OOCL NEVA (Luxembourg)London, Feb 17 — C.c. OOCL Neva

arrived St. Petersburg Feb 12. London, Feb 18 — C.c. OOCL Neva

was reported passing through the KielCanal , at 0816 hrs , Feb 16, onpassage St. Petersburg for Rotterdam.

London, Feb 19 — C.c. OOCL Nevaarrived at Rotterdam at 1850 hrs, Feb17, and sailed at 0620 hrs, Feb 18,bound for Antwerp. The vessel arrivedlater that day, at 1444 hrs, and sailedat 2140 hrs , Feb 18, dest inat ionHamburg.

OOCL QINGDAO (Hong Kong)London, Feb 18 — C.c . OOCL

Qingdao passed through the Straits ofGibraltar at 0038 hrs, Feb 13 and wasnext reported arr iv ing atSouthampton at 0916 hrs, Feb 15. Thevessel departed at 2152 hrs, Feb 16,bound for Rotterdam.

P&O NEDLLOYD MONDRIAAN(Liberia)

London, Feb 20 — More than fourdozen containers were lost overboardfrom c.c. P&O Nedlloyd Mondriaan inthe Bay of Biscay late last week justdays after a similar incident off theDutch coast. The vessel, on charter toMaersk Line, was heading back toAsia . Reederei Blue Star, whichmanages the vessel on behal f o fGerman KG investors, is investigatingand expects to have a clearer idea ofthe cause in the next few days .Weather conditions were said to bebad, with reports that containers fromseveral other vessels in the area hadalso been washed overboard. However,initial reports also suggested faultytwist locks might be to b lame. Aspokesman for Blue Star said thattwistlocks could be one of the reasonsfor the loss but other possible causeswere being examined. No other vesselin the f leet experienced anythingsimilar. In last weekøs incident thevessel apparently lost 50 containersover the side, most of which wereempties being returned to Asia. Onlyfour or five contained cargo. A weekearlier 58 loaded containers had beenwashed into the sea as the vesselheaded from Rotterdam to Hamburg,whi le many more were badlydamaged. The P&O Nedl loydMondriaan was inspected when itarr ived in Hamburg but no f inalconclusions have been drawn aboutwhy so many containers were sweptoff in what were described as windybut not stormy conditions.

PEGVAK (Iran)London, Feb 16 — A press report,

dated Feb 15, states : The init ia lestimates for the causes of the firethat broke out at an Iranianexploratory vessel (general cargoPegvak) Tuesday morning (Feb 14)while it was being repaired in Bakuhave been disclosed. All the crew wereevacuated to safety, with nocasualt ies , and the f ire wascompletely put out, the State FireDepartment o f f ic ia ls said . Theaccident was caused by a violation ofsafety policy by the repair workers,

the Fire Department spokesmanAghali Ismayilov said. The blaze,which started 400-500 metres awayfrom the seashore, is believed to haveresulted from an inflammation of oilproducts. The scrutiny is under wayto confirm the cause.

PRESTIGE (Bahamas)London, Feb 20 — The long-running

factual discovery phase in Spain’s$1bn lawsuit against ABS and itsconsult ing subsidiary ABSGConsulting, formerly ABS MarineServices, is scheduled to conclude atthe end of next month as two criticaloffshoots of the case await decisionsby a US federal court in New York.The main case is not expected to cometo trial as Spain has demanded atleast until the summer of next year asthe litigating parties wend throughthe submission of Spain’s and ABS’expert reports , expert l iabi l i tydiscovery and other pre-trial work.However, the two offshoot decisionsawaited from Judge Laura TaylorSwain of the US District Court for theSouthern District of New York havethe potential to swing the main casedecis ively in one direct ion, oreffectively to decide it altogether. Thediscovery phase has been under wayfor more than two years, and to datehas involved more than 75deposit ions . Spain sued ABS for$750m fo l lowing the incidentinvolving crude oil tanker Prestige inNovember, 2002, alleging the society’snegligence in classifying the tanker asfit for business. Spain amended thecomplaint in July, 2004, to include theABS consult ing subsidiary as co-defendant, raising the damages claimto $1bn. Spain’s contention is thatABS’ al leged negligence had beencontinuous throughout the life of thePrestige . In August , 2004, JudgeSwain dismissed four counter-claimsagainst Spain asserted by ABS. ABSseparately responded to Spain ’samended complaint , denying thecharges level led against i t andpresenting several af f irmativedefences in a legal move possiblydesigned to pave the way for anapport ionment o f b lame. Spain,however, moved in June last year todismiss Spain’s affirmative defences,specifically the society’s claim thatSpain’s charges against it did notstick because by refusing the Prestigea place of refuge the country had itselfeffectively breached international law.Spain’s stance in this regard is that asa nation, and also under internationallaw, it had an “absolute and sovereignright” to deny the Prestige access to aplace of refuge, a course of actionadopted by other European nations inthe vessel ’s path. Judge Swain ’sruling on Spain’s motion to strike outABS’ af f irmative defences is st i l lawaited. No hearings were scheduledby last week. ABS, meanwhile, hasopened up an entirely new legal frontin this convoluted case , a movedescribed by experts as unprecedentedin shipping annals. The class societyhas moved before Judge Swain for asummary judgement under the Civil

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Liability Convention asserting thatthe only forum for litigation under theconvention would be Spain. Theargument is that as the deemed agentof the Prestige owner ABS enjoysimmunity from all damages arisingout of Spain’s lawsuit and should beal lowed to avai l i tse l f o f theconvention l imits as a shipownerwould. Should the judge agree withthis legal v iewpoint i t couldef fect ively scutt le Spain ’spainstakingly compiled $1bn lawsuit.It remains unknown whether JudgeSwain wi l l rule on the motion intandem with the main $1bn lawsuit.

PRINCESS ABA (Antigua & Barbuda)

Edinburgh, Feb 21 — General cargoPrincess Aba (2940 gt, built 1984), inbal last , was in co l l is ion with aUkrainian River Danube convoyconsist ing of one pusher and twobarges at the confluence of the Kiliaarm of the Danube Delta with theMaritime Danube fairway at Mile 43,River Danube, during the evening ofFeb 19. The incident occured inUkrainian terr i tor ial waters . —Danube Research. (Note — PrincessAba, Gaeta for Galatz, passed Sulinawestbound Feb 19.)

London, Feb 23 — General cargoPrincess Aba arrived Galatz Feb 21.

PUERTO DE ALTAMIRA (Panama)Veracruz, Feb 20 — Cutter suction

hopper dredger Puerto de Altamira isstill at at the Veracruz shipyard withonly one engine and one deckcrewmembers watching over it. Thereappears to be a dispute between theMexican and the Dutch owners of thedredging company and this may bethe reason why the decision to repairor scrap the dredger has not beentaken. — Lloyd’s Agents.

QUEEN OF COQUITLAM (Canada)London, Feb 17 — Ro/ro Queen of

Coquit lam (6551 gt , bui l t 1976)experienced fai lure o f No.2controllable pitch propeller and its LOpump while loading vehic les atLangdale Terminal, Howe Sound, BC,in lat 49 25.59N, long 123 28.00W at1415, Feb 9. (Note — According toLMIU AIS Queen of Coquitlam wasreported in lat 49 25 20.76N, long 12326 34.32W at 1549, today, speed 19.1knots.)

REPLENISH (U.K.)London, Feb 18 — A press report,

dated Feb 15, states : FishingReplenish (246 gt, built 1998) wasescorted back to shore yesterday afterit started taking in water in storm-lashed seas. The 72-foot vessel was 50miles south-east of Shetland when thecrew of six alerted the coastguard atLerwick. A rescue helicopter fromSumburgh took extra pumps to theBanff -registered boat . But i t wasunable to drop the gear in the galesand had to return to base. An RNLIlifeboat was sent out instead to escortthe vessel back to Lerwick. RAFKinloss were not i f ied and helpedoversee the rescue.

London, Feb 23 — Following receivedfrom Lerwick Port Authority, datedtoday: Fishing Replenish sai ledLerwick Feb 16.

RIGEL (U.S.A.)Seattle, Feb 16 — Tank barge Rigel

returned to service Feb 13. — Lloyd’sAgents.

ROUGH 47/3BLondon, Feb 17 — A press report,

dated Feb 16, states: Work on a vitalNorth Sea gas plat form (Rough47/3B) has been suspended followinga f ire . Two people were taken tohospital , one with burns and onewith smoke inhalation. Rig crews putout the fire. The Bravo gas storagerig in Centrica’s Rough field, with acrew o f 58 , i s about 20 mi les o f fWithernsea on the East Yorkshirecoast . Twenty- f ive essential staf fremained on the r ig , wi th theremaining 31 taken ashore by boat orhel icopter, a Centrica spokesmansaid. The two injured rig personnelwere taken to Hull Royal Infirmaryfor treatment. One RAF helicopterfrom Leconfield in North Yorkshireand two from Wattisham Airfield inSuf fo lk were scrambled by theAeronautical Rescue Co-ordinationCentre at RAF Kinloss in Scotland.The rig stores North Sea gas for UKconsumpt ion . The p lat form cansupply about 10% of the UK’s peakgas demand. The c losure causedwholesale gas prices to rise 40%, butthey fell again later. A spokesman forCentrica said: “As a precaution wehave reduced manning on theplat form to essent ia l l eve ls . Theremainder o f our personnel havebeen safely evacuated. “The platformhas been depressurised and madeoperationally safe.” Operations at theplatform have been suspended untilfurther notice, the spokesman said.

London, Feb 22 — A press report,dated Feb 21, states: Operations onthe North Sea gas storage platformRough 47/3B, put out of action by afire and explosion, may not resumefully for a month, owners CentricaStorage said. In a statement, Centricasaid: “The initial visual inspection ofthe scene would appear to indicatethere was an apparent failure of acooler unit in one of four dehydrationunits and an explosion occurred inthat vicinity. Following this inspectionwe currently est imate that i t isunlikely that Rough 47/3B will beavailable for one month.” They saidbad weather had restricted helicopteraccess and delayed restor ing ful lpower and other services to theplat form, which was their f i rstpriority. “Detailed examination of theequipment will continue over the nextfew days in paral le l with theinvest igat ion of the cause of theincident and plans to restore safeoperations,” the company said.

SAFE CONCORDIA (Panama)Singapore, Feb 20 — Semi-sub HL

vessel Safe Concordia is still lyinganchored at West Jurong Anchorage,Singapore. — Lloyd’s Agents.

SAGA SPRAY (Hong Kong)London, Feb 19 — Following received

from RCC Victoria, BC, timed 2210:Bulk Saga Spray (29381 gt , bui lt1994) reported losing 14 containersover the side in bad weather in lat 4240.5N, long 177 06.8W, at 1952, UTC,Feb 17. A further 67 containers arereported to have been damaged and anumber are “hanging precariously”.The vessel is proceeding to NewWestmintster.

London, Feb 20 — Following receivedfrom RCC Victoria, BC, timed 2035,UTC: Bulk Saga Spray is expectedback at New Westminster later todayafter losing a number of containerswhile west bound.

London, Feb 21 — Bulk Saga Spray,China for Fraser-Surrey Docks, NewWestminster, BC, reported 14containers lost overboard and 67empty containers damaged, somehanging over the side of the vessel,Feb 17. (See issues of Feb 21 and 22.)

Vancouver, Feb 21 — Bulk S a g aSpray has now arrived Fraser SurreyDocks, Surrey, BC. On attendingvessel surveyor advises 10 to 12 53-ft“new empty” containers, were lostoverboard and he estimates that 90containers have sustained damagesdue to shift of deck cargo while intransit from China to Surrey, BC, onor about Feb 13. — Lloyd’s Agents.

SEABULK PRIDE (U.S.A.)London, Feb 17 — A press report,

dated today, states: Product tankerSeabulk Pride was expected to leavePort Angeles Harbour last night. Thevessel has been undergoing inspectionand repairs in Port Angeles, a CoastGuard spokesman said yesterday. Itsnext scheduled stop is Anacortes,where it will unload about 900,000gallons of oil and fuel. “That’s theplan at this time,” said Petty Officer3rd Class Jeff Pollinger, a spokesmanfor the Coast Guard’s command inSeattle, yesterday. The vessel has notleaked any oil. Coast Guard and stateDepartment o f Ecology of f ic ia lsboarded the vessel Wednesday (Feb15) for inspections. Yesterday crewswere replacing the anchor andPollinger said that may have held upthe vessel’s departure. Pollinger didnot know if the patches on the crackswere checked, but said i t was a“thorough inspection.”

London, Feb 17 — Following receivedfrom Coast Guard Seatt le , t imed1830, UTC: Product tanker SeabulkPride has left Port Angeles and is duein Anacortes today.

London, Feb 17 — A press report,dated today, states: Product tankerSeabulk Pride, that went agroundearlier this month in Alaska, hasarrived safely at Anacortes, the CoastGuard said . Petty Off icer Jef fPollinger in Seattle said some minorproblems were caught and repaired inan inspection at Port Angeles. He saidthere were no leaks when the SeabulkPride headed for the Tesoro refineryat Anacortes. From Anacortes, thevessel will go into drydock at Victoria,Brit ish Columbia, for permanentrepairs.

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SKALVA (Lithuania)London, Feb 20 — General cargo

Skalva arrived Baltimore Feb 16 andsailed Feb 17.

SPEYBANK (Isle of Man)Singapore , Feb 20 — Ro/ro /c .c .

Speybank is currently at Pan UnitedFP East, Singapore. — Lloyd’s Agents.

STAR HERDLA (NIS)London, Feb 18 — On Feb 17,

general cargo Star Herdla wasreported to be still at Dunkirk.

STAR OHIO (Bahamas)London, Feb 16 — At approximately

0645, Feb 16, crude oil tanker StarOhio experienced an engine problemwhile some 50 miles west o f theShetland Is lands. Furtherinvestigation revealed that one of thevessel’s main engine turbo-chargershad failed. The vessel is currently onpassage to Belfast Lough at reducedspeed and is expected to arrive PMSunday (Feb 19), where facilities areavailable to fully inspect and repairthe damaged turbo-charger.Replacement parts have been orderedand are expected to arrive in time tomeet the vessel. Star Ohio was onpassage from Norway to the US Gulfwhen the problem occurred.

London, Feb 16 — Following receivedfrom Coastguard Shetland MRSC,timed 2028, UTC: Crude oil tankerStar Ohio, heading for Belfast, to bemet PM Feb 17 by tug HighlandCourage en route. As of 2008, UTC,today, co-ordinat ion passed toStornoway Coastguard.

London, Feb 17 — Following receivedfrom Coastguard Stornoway MRSC,timed 0022, UTC: Crude oil tankerStar Ohio, under way for Belfast, tobe met by tug Highland Courage inlat 58 00N, long 09 46W.

London, Feb 17 — Following receivedfrom Coastguard Stornoway MRSC,timed 1240, UTC: Crude oil tankerStar Ohio was reported a short timeago in lat 59 42.4N, long 06 59.2W,speed four knots. Weather good.

London, Feb 18 — Following receivedfrom Coastguard Stornoway MRSC,timed 0550, UTC: Crude oil tankerStar Ohio: Tug Highland Couyragemet vessel in lat 58 34N, long 08 58Wat 0400, UTC, presently two milesastern.

London, Feb 18 — Following receivedfrom Coastguard Stornoway MRSC,t imed 1211, UTC: At 1207, UTC,crude oil tanker Star Ohio, underescort of tug Highland Courage was inlat 57 59N, long 09 46.5W. Vesselsproceeding at f ive knots . Windscurrently south-east, force six.

London, Feb 19 — Following receivedfrom Coastguard Stornoway MRSC,timed 0017, UTC: Crude oil tankerStar Ohio in lat 56 48N, long 09 21Wat 0001, UTC, speed 6.6 knots.

London, Feb 20 — Crude oil tankerStar Ohio is currently in lat 54 4433.12N, long 05 38 16.98W, anchoredto effect repairs, ETC two to threedays.

London, Feb 23 — Following receivedfrom Coastguard Belfast MRSC, timed

1153, UTC: Crude oi l tanker StarOhio completed repairs and proceededon voyage at about 2300, UTC, Feb22.

STELKUR (Faroe Islands)Torshavn, Feb 22 — Fishing Stelkur

(457 gt, built 2002) caught fire whilein the harbour at RunavÌk yesterday.The fire was soon extinsguished, butthe vessel sustained considerabledamage. — Lloyd’s Agents.

STENA EXPLORER (U.K.)London, Feb 17 — A press report,

dated today, states: Stena yesterdaycancelled its fast ferry service fromHolyhead to Ireland for a fortnighta f ter the passenger ro / ro StenaExplorer (19638 gt, built 1996) wasdamaged. The incident will leave thetravel plans of hundreds of Welshrugby fans head ing f o r the S ixNations clash in Dublin on Feb 26 inchaos. Supporters could be forcedinto making other arrangements toget to Dublin for the match. Lastnight Stena Line confirmed the highspeed Stena Explorer , whichoperates three times a day betweenHolyhead and Dun Laoghaire, will beout o f ac t i on f or two weeks . Thevessel was damaged as it headed intothe Anglesey port’s inner harbour onWednesday (Feb 15) evening. Thecompany be l i eves i t s t rucksomething below the water line andyesterday brought in teams of diversto investigate. Stena press officerEamonn Hewitt said: “We realise therugby weekend is a busy one and weare now trans ferr ing passengersf rom Stena Explorer to ourconventional ferry Stena Adventurer,which sa i l s f rom Holyhead in toDubin . “Obv ious ly, as StenaAdventurer takes longer to make thecross ing , about three hourscompared to Stena Explorer ’s 99minutes , passengers wi l l have tomake some changes t o the i rarrangements. “We will endeavour tomake sure everybody gets to thematch on time. We will be contactingcustomers who have booked to travelon Stena Explorer up to Mar 3.” Tocope some may be swi tched f romStena, to rivals Irish Ferries, whoalso operate tradi t ional and fastservices from Holyhead.

London, Feb 20 — Following receivedfrom the owners of passenger ro/roStena Explorer, dated today: StenaExplorer is currently at Holyhead,undergoing repair assessment.

London, Feb 20 — Following receivedfrom owners of passenger ro/ro StenaExplorer, dated today, states: Thevessel’s hull has been sealed and thevessel will effect permanent repairs atHolyhead. A mini dry-dock, en routefrom Holland, is due to arrive onWednesday (Feb 22). Once this hasarrived and is in place , i t isanticipated that repairs to the vesselwill take approximately five days.

STOLT ACHIEVEMENT (Cayman Islands)

See B.E.Lindholm.

SUPER-FAST LEVANTE (Canary Islands)

Vigo, Feb 20 — Passenger ro /roSuper-Fast Levante (19808 gt, built2001), which arrived Vigo at 0900,Feb 19, reported suspected damage tocargo inside trailers on the main deckand shelter deck, which wi l l beinvestigated . The vessel is still atVigo and will sail at 1800 today. —Lloyd’s Agents.

TADLA (Cyprus)See Henry Hudson Bridge.

TANANGER (Barbados)London, Feb 18 — Following received

from Sandnes, dated today: Ro/roTananger, sailed from Tananger at1800 hrs , Feb 17, in tow of tugBryteren bound for Stavanger,probably for repairs.

Kristiansand, Feb 20 — Understandro/ro Tananger has been towed toGrenaa. — Lloyd’s Agents.

Aarhus, Feb 22 — Ro/ro Tanangerwas not towed to Grenaa, but to aNorwegian port. After undergoingengine repairs the vessel is nowreportedly back in normal scheduleand is expected to arrived Grenaa at0200 hrs, Feb 23. — Lloyd’s Agents.

TARIFA (Spain)See “Tropical Storm ‘ Delta’” under

“Weather & Navigation.”

TENAKA (Canada)London, Feb 16 — Ro/ro Tenaka (651

gt , bui l t 1964) experienced “hardlanding” while berthing at CortesIsland, BC, in lat 50 06.58N, long 12503.24W at 1755, Jan 16. Damageunknown.

Vancouver, Feb 21 — Ro/ro Tenakastruck the dock at Cortes Island Jan16, however, there were no damagesto the vessel or dock. The incidentwas of a minor nature and there wasno delay to the schedule o f theTenaka. — Lloyd’s Agents.

THOR TRAVELLER (Thailand)London, Feb 21 — Following received

from the owners o f bulk ThorTraveller, dated today: Thor Travelleris currently discharging cargo atLahad Datu. Underwater inspectionrevealed no major damage as a resultof the grounding, only minorindentation.

TRAMP (St. Vincent & Grenadines)

London, Feb 23 — General cargoTramp arrived Queenborough Feb 20and sailed Feb 21.

TRANSFER (Antigua & Barbuda)Belize City, Feb 16 — Understand

from Belize Port Authority that partc.c. Transfer is still on the reef, as asalvage attempt was not successful.Understand the vessel’s underwritershave terminated their contract withthe wreck receivers , and theGovernment of Belize are consideringoptions for the removal of the vessel.— Lloyd’s Agents.

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TUGEN (Luxembourg)Antananarivo, Feb 21 — Product

tanker Tugen left for South Africawith no apparent damage, but stillawait ing conf irmation. — Lloyd ’sAgents.

TYUMEN (Russia)Seoul , Feb 22 — General cargo

Tyumen sailed from Hwasoon at 1700hrs, on Feb 15, bound for dischargingport, Taicang, China, after paying adeposit of Won500Million in cash tothe court. — Lloyd’s Agents.

UGRA (St. Vincent & Grenadines)

Gothenburg, Feb 21 — General cargoUgra proceeded to temporary berth atVanersborg after a small hole wasnoted, oil leakage noted at locks andchecked by Inspectors/surveyors foracceptance. Proceeded for dischargingLidkoping where departed at 1500,Feb 13 and then loaded atOtterbacken, sailed at 1600, Feb 14,loaded glass scrap for Nestved. —Westax Marine Services AB.

VEGA PIONEER (Panama)London, Feb 22 — Hay Point Coal

Terminal update, dated Feb 21: Anincident occurred at BMA’s Hay PointCoal Terminal on Dec 28 whenshiploader No.1 came in contact witha loading crane on bulk Vega Pioneer,which sustained minor damage fromthe contact. The vessel sailed Dec 30.A section of the shiploader boom,which is attached to the mainstructure, was damaged during theincident and requires repairs. Initialest imates indicated that theshiploader would be out of action foraround eight weeks and would berecommissioned in March, weatherdepending. However, unsuitableweather conditions at the berth havethwarted attempts to remove thedamaged boom with a heavy lift shipbrought in for this purpose. As a back-up plan, a jack-up barge with a 250ton on board crawler crane hasarrived at Hay Point from Gladstoneto lift the boom from the shiploader.The operat ion is a lso weatherdependent. This option means thatthe shiploader wil l potential ly berecommissioned in mid-April . Theoutage will decrease port throughputcapacity of the Hay Point Terminal toaround 70% for the duration of therepairs. Additional allocations havebeen secured at Dalrymple Bay CoalTerminal to support shipping demandthrough unti l Apri l . Ef forts arecontinuing to minimise the impact oncustomer deliveries with alternativeshipping arrangements. As a result ofremedial action taken, no significantcongest ion at the terminal isanticipated.

VERTIGO (Jamaica)Aarhus, Feb 20 — Bulk Vertigo is

still at Fredericia, and will be towedto a Polish yard within the next twoweeks. Bulk M.Pioneer, which wasdue to offload the steel cargo fromVertigo, arrived Fredericia Feb 3, butwas blocked by the ITF, and is still

lying alongside. After a number of thecrew took command of the vessel lastweek, and the ITF assisted them byblocking the gangway, the master andthree3 officers were taken from thevessel on Saturday night (Feb 18), asthey felt threatened. The vessel isnow occupied by the crew. — Lloyd’sAgents.

VESTA (Sweden)Gothenburg Feb 19 — Ferry Vesta

(347 gt, built 1998) made a turn toavoid a close situation with a tanker,but ended up at a shallow part in thechannel near Gothenburg and a slightgrounding last Thursday (Feb 16).Vessel did not show any defects orleaking and could proceed on tour asper schedule with its passengersonboard. Incident was just anunfortunate mistake, as the engine“just died and stopped working” whilewe needed some support and speed,and confirm a human error. Diverswere sent down - checking the bottom,but no damage noted and no need forrepair or yard. The incident will beinvestigated by the board of shippingand final report to be presented in duetime. — Westax Marine Services AB.

VICTORIASee “Seizure Of Drugs From Fishing

Vessel North Of Panama” under“Miscellaneous”.

VITA (Antigua & Barbuda)Gothenburg, Feb 22 — General cargo

Vita (2497 gt, built 1990), Vyborg forSeaham, with 3,400 tons of fertiliserand 33 tons of bunkers on board, ranaground around 0100 hours thismorning, 50-60 metres from theshoreline at Kaseberga near Ystad,south-east Sweden. Observat ionsconf irmed that the vessel turnedround and around before groundingnear the coast . Coast Guardconfirming the master allegedly drunkand brought to hospital at Ystad fortests and control o f status . Themaster is a Latvian citizen and thecrew mainly Russian and from BalticStates . Total approximately 10persons, no injuries reported. Aninvestigation commenced by DA andto take decis ion i f master to bearrested during this afternoon.During the day the vessel is to beinspected by divers and thepossibilities for salvage considered.Some leakage in front section but onlysmall amounts involved. No o i lleakage reported. The vessel has beenlightened and part of cargo dischargedbefore salvage procedure commencedand to empty most of oil tanks/bunkerto minimize the r isks involved.Master st i l l in custody at Pol icestation for DA decision. — WestaxMarine Services AB. (Note — Vitaarrived Vyborg Feb 11 and ETA atSeaham was Feb 24.)

London, Feb 22 — Following receivedfrom Gothenburg MRCC, timed 1320,UTC: At 0250 hrs, MRCC wasinformed that general cargo Vita hadrun aground in lat 55 22.7N, long 1403.4E. The vessel remains hardaground, but its crew are in no danger.

Gothenburg, Feb 22 — General cargoVita grounding: A test at the policestation reveals one permille alcohol inblood of the master and confirmed bythe spokesman for the police. The 60year old master complained of “chest-injuries and pain” and was taken to tohospital and remained there duringthe entire day. Despite the result andtests, the master did not agree/deniesallegation of alcohol or that he shouldhave fallen asleep during his watch,but cannot give any explanation to thegrounding or manouvre. We will askthe crew during tomorrow says theCoast Guard. The owner has noliability for crew drunkiness as it fallsback on the individual person. CoastGuard off icers confirm that i f thevessel was bound England, i t hasnothing to do at Kaseberga, where itran aground at a speed of eight knots.Also the vessel was checked by radar,confirming several 360 degree turnsbefore ended up 60 metres from thecoastline. This unlogical manouvredoes not support the masters attemptsto explain his posit ion. Diversexamination of the bottom confirmsgenerally fair and no outlet of oil andonly the small hole in bow/forepeakand possibil it ies to pull it off theground are good, after some shiftingof bunker oil and cargo. — WestaxMarine Services AB.

London, Feb 23 — A press report,dated today, states : The Latvianmaster of general cargo Vita that ranaground in southern Sweden has beenarrested. Police say the master issuspected of being drunk when theship ran into shallows 25 metres fromthe Swedish coast early yesterday.The fre ighter was carrying 3 ,300metric tons of fertiliser. There havebeen no reports of injuries to the crewof 10 or fuel or oil leaks.

Malmo, Feb 23 — General cargo VitaVyborg, Russia to UK port, groundedjust outside Kaseberga, Scania, atabout 0100, local time, Feb 22. Policeand the Swedish Maritime boarded thevessel and tested the master and crewfor alcohol. The master ’s blood testshowed excess alcohol, and he wasarrested for sea-drunkennes. Duringinspection, leakage was found in theforepeak, starboard double-bottomballast tank No 1, starboard side tankNo 1 and the bow propeller-room. Nooil leakage has been observed. Thevessel is st i l l hard aground. Norefloating attempts has been made asyet. The owners’ representative is enroute to the vessel . A hull andmachinery surveyor attended on boardFeb 22. — Lloyd’s Agents.

London, Feb 23 — Following receivedfrom Gothenburg MRCC, timed 1030,UTC: General cargo Vita remainsaground.

WERSE (Antigua & Barbuda)Emden, Feb 22 — General cargo

Werse left berth at Emden at 1305,local time, today, for Brake. — Lloyd’sSub-agents.

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WESTERN MONARCH (Canada)London, Feb 21 — Fishing Western

Monarch (79 gt, built 1937)groundedat the north end of Ogden Channel,BC and subsequently sank in lat 5354’41N, long130 12 33W, at 0231, PST,Feb 2.

YEOSU PIONEER NO.2 (Panama)London, Feb 21 — A press report,

dated today, states : Chemical /o i lcarrier Yeosu Pioneer No.2 (887 gt,built 2000), in a laden condition, isreported to have run aground at 0900hrs, today, close to the port of Chiba.A refloating attempt is planned athigh tide this evening. There havebeen no injuries to the 12 membercrew and no breach of the vessel ’shull.

LANGKAWI AREA, MALAYSIALondon, Feb 20 — A press report,

dated today, states: Nine Indonesians,mainly from the tsunami-hit provinceof Aceh, have been jailed for sevenyears for a pirate attack on producttanker Nepline Delima. A Malaysiancourt sentenced the group for carryingout the armed, pre-dawn attack on thevessel off the northern resort island ofLangkawi in the Malacca Strait lastJune. The tanker was carrying morethan $US3 million worth of dieselfrom Port Klang to Burma when itwas boarded. The attack was foiledwhen a crewman from the vessel leaptinto the pirates’ boat and sped off toalert police.

SARUNA (Panama)See “United Kingdom” under “Port

State Control.”

UNITED KINGDOMLondon, Feb 21 — A press report,

dated today, states: General cargoSaruna detained by Maritime andCoastguard Agency surveyors for anumber of serious defects, remains atanchor in Falmouth Bay. The vessel isnow up for sale at a price of £1.2mil l ion. A spokesman for theRomanian owners , SammmarinaShipping and Trading Limited, said:“We have a representative in the areaand the def ic iencies have beenrectified.” But MCA surveyors havenot released the ship from detention.Falmouth MCA surveyor John Rosssaid: “We have to examine Sarunaagain to see if any of the previousdefects have been rectified. I doubt ifi t wi l l pass an inspect ion and bereleased.”

ATLANTIC MERCADO (Antigua & Barbuda)

Durban, Feb 21 — General cargoAtlantic Mercado is still undergoingrepairs. Understand from local agentsthat the repairs are expected to becompleted on or about Feb 27. —Lloyd’s Agents.

BEI JI ZHOU (Panama)London, Feb 22 — Bulk Bei Ji Zhou

(20704 gt, built 1976), H9VL, whicharrived at Hong Kong at 1850 hrs,Feb 21, is today reported at North-west Lamma Anchorage, Hong Kong,under arrest.

London, Feb 23 — Bulk Bei Ji Zhousailed Hong Kong Feb 22.

BM 2 (Panama)London, Feb 17 — General cargo BM

2 sailed Hong Kong Feb 11.

CAPTIANOUS TAH (North Korea)Alexandria, Feb 22 — General cargo

Captianous Tah is still under arrestand we are unaware of any prospectsfor its release. — Lloyd’s Agents.

CHEN LONG (Panama)London, Feb 17 — A press report,

dated today, states: The 18 Chinesecrew from one of the largest suspectedillegal fishing boats (fishing ChenLong) found in Australian waters arebeing held at the Immigrat ionDepartment’s detention facility inDarwin. A department spokesmansays there are no plans to transfer thegroup to the Baxter detention centrein South Austral ia whi le theinvestigation into illegal fishing iscontinuing. The boat was found with639 tonnes o f f ish on board andfisheries authorities suspect some ofit may have been caught in Australianwaters.

London, Feb 20 — A press report,dated Feb 19, states: Aboriginal searangers say f ishing Chen Long,brought into Darwin last week, couldhave been caught a month ago.Authorities suspect that the vessel,found in Australian waters a weekago, is a mothership that carries thecatch for a fleet of smaller boats. Theyare investigating whether part of the640 tonnes of catch on board the ChenLong was caught i l legally. The 18Chinese crew members are being heldat the Immigrat ion Department ’sdetention fac i l i ty in Darwin.Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporationspokesman Ian Munro says it shouldnot have gone undetected for so long.“In fact, our rangers here suspect theymight have seen it a month ago andtook it to be a freighter,” he said. “DidCustoms overlook it because it simplydoesn’t look like a mothership for af ishing operation? What was thatdoing 100 nautical miles inside the

exclusive zone. If it is a mothership,where’s the flotilla of ships that mustbe serving i t . Why did i t goundetected by radar for so long?”

Darwin, Feb 21 — Fishing ChenLong: We have been advised by theshipping agent looking after thevessel in Darwin that it has beenplaced under detention fo l lowingapprehension in Australian waterswith a large quantity of fish producton board. Austral ian FisheriesManagement Authority are currentlyconducting an investigation into thevessel and the crew. The crew are nolonger on board and are beingdetained at the Berrimah DetentionCentre on the outskirts of Darwin.There is a skeleton Austral iancaretaker crew on board at presentwhilst the vessel is anchored inDarwin Harbour. It is the intention ofthe shipping agent to bring the vesselalongside the Iron Ore Wharf inDarwin Harbour tomorrow afternoon,as the Australian Federal Minister ofFisheries will be visiting Darwin atthat time. — Lloyd’s Agents.

DURSUN CEVAHIR (Turkey)Beirut , Feb 20 — General cargo

Dursun Cevahir: The P&I Club hasprovided the required guarantee andvessel agents are now undertakingthe sai l ing formal it ies . Oncecompleted, the vessel’s next port ofcall declared is Mersin. — Lloyd’sAgents.

FADELSIA (Marshall Islands)London, Feb 21 — Bulk Fadelsia

arrived Bandar Abbas Feb 10 andsailed the same day.

GEPARD (Cyprus)London, Feb 18 — Tug Gepard sailed

from Flushing at 0612 hrs, Feb 16,bound for Gdynia.

JOHN CHEEK (Falkland Islands)London, Feb 21 — A press report,

dated today, states: Argentina’s coastguard detained Falkand Is lands-registered fishing John Cheek (775 gt,built 1985) suspected of operatingi l legal ly in Argentina ’s so-cal led“economic exclusion zone” in theSouth Atlantic . A coast guardstatement last night identified thevessel as the John Cheek and said itwas being escorted to ComodoroRivadavia. Coast guard inspectorsboarded the vessel without resistanceand found 31 crew members onboard aship carrying a load of 100 tons of fishand squid, the independent Argentinenews agency Notic ias Argentinasreported. Argentina c laims an“economic exclusion zone” stretchingsome 200 nautical miles o f f i tscoastline and authorities were quotedas telling Noticias Argentinas thatthe fishing vessel was stopped justinside that boundary. There was noimmediate response from authoritiesin the Falklands.

London, Feb 22 — A press report,dated Feb 21, states: Fishing JohnCheek arrived Comorodo Rivadaviayesterday afternoon escorted by theArgentine Coast Guard and is

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forecasted to have to remain at leasttwo weeks before i ts s i tuat ion iscleared. According to Argentine navalauthorit ies the vessel was caughtearly yesterday red-handed poachingin Argentine waters, 198 miles fromComorodo Rivadavia , but theFalklands’ company Petrel TrawlingLtd and Spanish associates insistJohn Cheek was outside the EEZ andin permanent satel l i te posit ionmonitoring. La Nacion reports thatfollowing normal procedure severalArgentine government departmentsare now involved in the informationgathering of the controversialincident , Customs, Coast Guard,Animal and Food Health Service ,Migration. Eduardo Emilio Coutinho,head of Comodoro Rivadavia CoastGuard Operations said that once theinvestigation is concluded al l theinformation wi l l be sent to theArgentine Agriculture, Livestock,Fisheries and Food Secretary whichwill then decide on the fine. “This(investigation) could take at least twoweeks” , est imated Mr. Coutinhoadding that much will also depend onthe owners’ attitude, “whether theyappeal or not the decis ion” . JohnCheek had 100 tons of squid and hakeon board, now seized, when it wasboarded by a team from the CoastGuard vessel Fique. However Mr.Coutinho said no legal actions will betaken against the master or the crewof the vessel s ince “ there was noresistance. They all collaborated at allt imes so the current procedure ismerely administrative”. The vessel isunder the command of Captain JaimeCortizo Riva and has a crew of 31, halfof which from Galicia and the restChilean and Peruvians. In Galicia thehead of the fishermen’s union MunizRÌos said he had been in telephonecontact with Captain Cortizo Riva whoinsisted the arrest had been done“outside the Argentine 200 milesEEZ”. Furthermore John Cheek has apermanent satellite tracking system“which shows and records at all timethe vessel ’s posit ion” , added Mr.MuÒiz RÌos. Apparently Argentina isconsidering presenting a formalcomplaint to the United Kingdomgovernment once the administrativeinvestigation has been concluded.

London, Feb 23 — A press report,dated Feb 22, states : The Brit ishgovernment “understands” thatf ishing John Cheek arrested lastMonday (Feb 20) by the ArgentineCoast Guard was f ishing “ ininternational waters” said aspokesman for the British embassy inBuenos Aires today. “The UnitedKingdom and the Falkland Islandsstrongly disapprove of illegal fishing,so if the Argentine authorities provean anomaly, then they must proceedas indicated,” added the spokesman,who revealed that the Embassy was incontact with the Argentine ForeignAffairs Ministry. Sources from theArgentine Ministry said they werewaiting for the administrative reportfrom the Coast Guard beforeproceeding. The John Cheek iscurrently being held in Comodoro

Rivadavia waiting to comply withprocedural formalities following thearrest . Jan Cheek, from PetrelTrawling Limited, owners o f thevessel, interviewed by Stanley’s radiostation FIRS, said: “We know we werefishing in international waters and wecontinue to reiterate that at everyopportunity.” In Comodoro Rivadaviathe head of the local Coast Guard postadmitted a delay in the beginning ofthe investigation for bureaucraticreasons. So far the situation of theJohn Cheek is considered a “breach ofregulations” which, according to theArgentine Fisheries law, could mean afine ranging from the equivalent ofUS$33.333 to US$333.333 plus thetotal or part ial for fe i t o f the onehundred tons of squid and hake in thevessel. Another delicate issue whichwil l natural ly fo l low once theadministrat ive invest igat ion isconcluded is the fact that the JohnCheek flies a flag “not recognised” bythe Argentine government.

LIAN CHI SHENGLondon, Feb 22 — A press report,

dated Feb 21, states: State lawyerstoday made their closing submissionsin the trial of a Taiwanese Nationaland a local fishing company chargedwith fishing illegally in Fiji waters.The DPP’s Off ice re inforced theevidence given by Fisheries Ministryofficials, the Foreign Fisheries Agencyand the naval o f f icers to try andconvince the four assessors that thetwo accused did in fact take fish fromFiji waters without having a validl icense . She highl ighted that thenaval officers who had boarded fishingLian Chi Sheng in May 2004 hadfound tuna f ishing equipment onboard, along with fresh and frozenshark fins. Pictures taken on boardthe vessel also showed that the crewhad laid out a Long Line used to catchtuna within Fiji’s Territorial Waterswhich they did not have a license todo. Hung Kuo Hui has been chargedas the skipper of the Lian Chi Shengwhile Waikava Marine Industries hasbeen charged as the charterer of thevessel which was fishing illegally inFiji waters.

LUCKY DOLPHIN (Panama)Haifa , Feb 22 — The Admiralty

Court in Haifa had ruled on the issueof general cargo Lucky Dolphin and itwas due to be sold at auction on Feb19. However this was delayed to alater date, probably to April of thisyear. Therefore, the vessel has notbeen sold yet. — Lloyd’s Agents.

MAHDI (Norway)London, Feb 17 — A press report,

dated Feb 16, states : Chem.tankMahdi, the merchant tanker whichwas impl icated in the case of themissing tanker African Pride in Nov2003, has been released to its owners.The directive to release the vessel wasgiven by the Presidency after thevessel had stayed in Naval custody fortwo years . The vessel , which wasowned by Al-Dawood Shipping Lines,was let o f f the hook with a stern

warning by the hierarchy of theWestern Naval Command, to stayclear o f i l legal act iv i t ies on thecountry’s territorial waters. decisionto release the vessel came from thepresidency and the navalheadquarters , a f ter thoroughinvestigations by the Economic andFinancial Crimes Commission (EFCC)which ultimately cleared the Mahdi.The FOC added that when the vesselwas arrested, the case was handedover to the EFCC, while the productwas evacuated by the NigerianNational Petroleum Corporat ion(NNPC) for laboratory analysis. Therelease o f the Mahdi on Feb 7 ,brought to five, the number of vesselsreleased by the Navy after beingsiezed in 2003 for allegedly pilferingfrom the nation’s crude oil pot.

PAN YUN BO 1 (China)London, Feb 20 — General cargo Pan

Yun Bo 1 is still reported at WesternAnchorage No.1, Hong Kong, underdetention.

RABUK-4 (Russia)London, Feb 18 — A press report,

dated Feb 17, states: The Georgiancoastguard has seized the Russian nonspecific tanker Rabuk-4 in Georgianterr i tor ial waters , accusing i t o fviolating navigation regulations, theGeorgian Coastguard Service toldInterfax. The Russian vessel has beentowed to Batumi port. In line withGeorgian law, the vessel’s owner willhave to pay a fine of 50,000 lari (about$24,000). Failure to do so could resultin the ship being sold at auction. Theowner is entitled to go to court toappeal the ruling.

London, Feb 21 — A press report,dated Feb 20, states: Non specifictanker Rabuk-4 has been allowed toreturn to Russia after paying Georgiaa f ine o f 50,000 Lari , nearlyUS$24,000, for violating navigationregulations in Georgia’s territorialwaters, a source in the Georgian stateborder guard department said.

RAND 1 (Russia)St. Petersburg, Feb 16 — Fish

factory Rand 1 (1058 gt, built 1970) iscurrently under arrest at Kaliningrad,where arrived May 6, 2004. — Lloyd’sAgents.

SAFMARINE PAKISTAN (Cyprus)London, Feb 22 — A press report,

dated today, states: The master andthree crew members of c.c. SafmarinePakistan (15929 gt, built 1998), whohad disembarked at the uninhabitedand remote Suhal i is land inLakshadweep have been taken intocustody for unauthorised entry. Theyhave been charged under Section 14 ofthe Foreigners Act after beingquestioned today, Superintendent ofPolice, Lakshadweep, David LalrimSangha, said. The accused are likelyto be produced before a trial courthere either tonight or tomorrow. Thevessel was on its way to Tuticorinfrom Salalah when it anchored nearthe Suhali island. The master andthree crew members then went to the

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island to take a look, administrationsources said . The guard on dutyimmediately informed the pol icecontrol room and the four werebrought to Kavratti for questioning.There are 15 other crew members inthe ship, which has been detained bythe Coast Guard. Lakshadweep is arestricted area and none can travel tothe territorial Archipelago without theHome Ministry ’s permission,administration sources said. (Note —Safmarine Pakistan sailed SalalahFeb 17 for New Tuticorin.)

SEA SERENADE (Cyprus)Koper, Feb 17 — Ro/ro Chang Po Po,

ex Sea Serenade, is still berthed atIzola shipyard. The vessel has notbeen arrested by court order but bythe the shipyard, as a consequence ofrepair invoices unpaid by the vessel’sowners. — Lloyd’s Agents.

BATUMI, GEORGIALondon, Feb 20 — A press report

dated yesterday, states: A Black Seaoi l spi l l was caused by pipel inerupture in Batumi terminal . Theterminal workers will be liable for thematerial damages on the pollution ofthe sea, announced from environmentprotect ion headquarters . At themoment the level of the pollution isstill unknown. According to initialinformation it will be considerable, asthe spill had began the previous night.Earl ier Georgian Ministry o fEnvironment and Natural Resourcesannounced huge quantity of oil hadspilled near Georgian port Batumi inthe Black Sea. Group of expertsarrived at the incident scene and tookimmediate measures to localise thespi l l . Al l operat ions connected toloading and unloading oil in the portwere stopped.

KHANTY-MANSIISKAUTONOMOUS REGION, RUSSIA

London, Feb 20 — A press report,dated today, states: Two men havebeen kil led in Siberia after an oilpipeline burst in the trench wherethey were working, a local EmergencySituation Ministry spokesman saidtoday. According to the spokesman,the workers had been sent to repair aleak in the pipe owned by theVaryeganNeft o i l company at theVaryegan deposit in the Khanty-Mansiisk Autonomous Area, about1,700 miles east o f Moscow. Theworkers descended into a three-meter-deep trench, which had been dug torepair the leak. The 17-inch pipe thensuddenly burst, engulfing the two menunder emulsified crude (89% water,and 11% crude). The spokesman saidthat “the leak” had been shut off toprevent oil from contaminating waterbasins. Police are investigating theincident, he added.

BATUMI, GEORGUASee under “Pipeline Accidents”.

DIOMID BAY, RUSSIALondon, Feb 18 — A press report,

dated Feb 16, states: The aftermath ofan oil spill in the Diomid bay has beentotally liquidated in Vladivostok. Thecoastal area has been cleared of oiland the soil contaminated with fuel oilhas been removed, the press service ofthe Russian Emergency SituationsMinistry department for thePrimorsky (Maritime) territory saidtoday. Petroleum products spilled intothe sea on Feb 14 during the pumpingof fuel o i l at a boi ler house of ashipbuilding plant located on theDiomid bay shore. About one tonne offuel oil was spilt on the ground andthen got into the sea. The spill areawas 200 square metres . TheProsecutor ’s Office of the Maritimeterr i tory has inst i tuted cr iminalproceedings under the Criminal CodeArticle envisaging punishment for“contamination of the marineenvironment from land-basedsources.”

NEW YORK HARBOUR, UNITED STATES

London, Feb 17 — A press report,dated Feb 16, states : HornbeckOffshore Services, Inc. announcedthat the Company was not responsiblefor the oil spill that occurred earlierthis week into the waters of ArthurKill near Perth Amboy, New Jersey.According to the United States CoastGuard, the terminal has assumedresponsibility for cleaning the spilland has contracted Clean Harbors andAtlantic Response to help with thecleanup. Carl Annessa, HornbeckOffshore’s Chief Operating Officer,stated, “There is currently an ongoinginvest igat ion by the control l ingauthorities into this incident withwhich Hornbeck Offshore is ful lycooperating as a witness. One of ourdouble-hulled tank barges, the Energy8001, was present at the terminal atthe time of the spill. However, theCompany has been advised that it isnot a target of the investigation. As aresult, the Company does not expectthis incident to have any effect onHornbeck ’s f inancial condit ion orresults of operations.”

London, Feb 20 — A press release,dated Feb 19, states : A Unif iedIncident Command comprised of theUS Coast Guard with co-ordinationfrom the US. EnvironmentalProtection Agency, the New JerseyDepartment o f EnvironmentalProtect ion, the New York CityDepartment o f EnvironmentalProtect ion, the New York StateDepartment o f Environmental

Conservation and Chevron ProductsCo continue to respond to a crude oilspil l in the Arthur Kill . The totalvolume of crude o i l spi l led isunchanged from the prior estimate ofapproximately 31,000 gal lons .Approximately 96,000 gallons of oil-water mixture have been recoveredand are currently being stored.Approximately 145,620 pounds of oilabsorbents and other contaminatedsolids have been removed during theclean-up. Unified Incident Command’spriorities are to protect human healthand the environment, and continue asafe , inc ident- free response; toincrease assessments by air and landand develop response strategies. Over-flights of the spill area have beenconducted throughout the cleanup andwill continue, weather permitting; tocontain and clean up impacted areas.The focus areas include the Chevronspill site, Mill Creek, the Tottenvilleand Port Atlantic Marinas and theshorel ine north of Outer BridgeCrossing. Heavy machinery isexcavating the contaminated soil atthe source of the spill. Approximately440 personnel from the Unif iedIncident Command, inc ludingcontractors, are on site working tomanage response efforts and containand clean up the spil l . More than14,000 feet of containment boom hasbeen deployed. On-water oil recoveryis being conducted by seven o i lskimming vessels . Another 40vessels/work boats are being used fora variety o f purposes , such asdeploying or maintaining containmentand absorbent booms. Respondershave also deployed five vacuum trucksand other equipment for the responseeffort.

YUEXI RIVER, SICHUAN PROVINCE, CHINA

London, Feb 20 — A press report,dated today, states: Toxic wastewaterwas flushed untreated into a river insouthern China, prompting thegovernment to cut water supplies to28,000 people for at least four days, alocal official and a Chinese newspapersaid today. The official China Dailysaid that a power plant on the upperreaches of the Yuexi River in Sichuanprovince was to b lame for thepol lut ion, which promptedenvironmental officials to suspendwater supplies to the town of Guanyinlast week. A town leader reached bytelephone said 28,000 people had beenwithout water since Tuesday evening(Feb 14). He said a power plant innearby Xinqiao county had dischargeduntreated wastewater directly into theYuexi. Fire trucks were bringing cleanwater to residents but supplies wereshort, he said. There were no reportsso far o f people s ickened by thepollution, he said. A source at theXinqiao Power Plant said poor qualitycoal may have been partially to blamefor the pol lut ion and that aninvest igat ion was underway. Theplant had temporarily halted powergenerat ion, said the man. Anemployee with a local water supplycompany noticed the river water had

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turned yellow last Tuesday, the ChinaDai ly said . Tests showed i t waspolluted with high levels of fluoride,nitrogen and phenol, also known ascarbolic acid, it said.

BOLIVIALondon, Feb 19 — Thousands of

villagers living on the edge of LakeTit icaca, Bol iv ia , have lost theirhomes and seen crops destroyedfollowing weeks of heavy rainfall. Thegovernment has now declared a stateof emergency in the area, which hasseen water levels in the like rise byaround 250 millimetres (one inch)daily. This has brought water levels toa height of 3,810.03 metres, which isjust short of the record 3 ,811.28-metres set in 1986, according to thegovernment news service ABI. Thedeath toll across the country fromlandslides and floods as a result ofheavy rains has reached 20 this year,with tens of thousands affected.

CANADALondon, Feb 17 — A press report,

dated today, states: Wind and snoware making driving peri lous inOntario. Three people were killed in ahuge pileup near Ottawa. And twopol ice o f f icers were hurt thisafternoon, one ser iously, a f ter acollision on the York-Durham border.It was the latest incident of manythat have resulted from the windy,blizzard-like conditions to hit theprovince.

ECUADORLondon, Feb 20 — A press report,

dated Feb 19, states: EcuadoreanPresident Al fredo Palacio hasdeclared a state of emergency afterdays of heavy rains caused floods intwo lowland provinces, an official saidtoday. The 60-day state of emergencyfor the Guayas and Los Riosprovinces , some 230 ki lometressouthwest of the capital, Quito, willbe accompanied by up to U.S.$2million in aid for farmers, AgricultureMinister Pablo Rizzo said . TheAgriculture Ministry will purchaseseeds and fertilizer for farmers in thetwo provinces, a major rice and corn-producing region. Floods damaged fivepercent of rice crops in both Guayasand Los Rios, but officials have notyet calculated the economic damage.Rizzo said that Ecuador faces no riskof a food shortage. øThe countryøsfood security will not be affected atany time,ø he said.

EGYPTLondon, Feb 16 — Vessels with a

draft over 12.8 metres in today’s firstSuez Canal southbound convoy werenot permitted to enter the Canal, dueto bad weather. Six vessels wereaffected, and are now expected to join

the first southbound convoy tomorrow(Feb 17) . There are currently noindications of further delays.

HURRICANE “KATRINA”London, Feb 22 — A press report,

dated Feb 21, states : SignalInternational, a company known forits work in repairing and renovatingoffshore drilling rigs, will repair thehull of the Boomtown Casino barge(?passenger Boomtown Belle II (10507gt, built 1995)). The barge, heavilydamaged during Hurricane “Katrina”,was moved to Signal last week forhull repairs, according to informationfrom Penn National Gaming, whichowns the casino. Company officialssaid they expect to have the barge’srepairs completed and the casino backin operation by the end of this year.The exact cost of the repairs were notreleased, but company spokesmanRon Schnoor said the hull repairswere est imated at less than $1million.

INDONESIAJakarta, Feb 22 — Landslides and

floods triggered by torrential rainhave ki l led at least 24 people inIndonesia’s eastern city of Manado,search and rescue officials said today.The disaster occurred yesterday in theNorth Sulawesi provincial capital,where parts o f the c i ty wereinundated with one-metre highfloodwaters after hours of rain. Mostof the dead were buried by mud fromlandslides in hilly parts of the city.“Today we found four bodies so thetotal is now 24,” said Rinaldi , asearch and rescue official in Manado,about 2,200 km north-east of Jakarta.Another search and rescue official onthe scene in the seaside city saidrescuers were st i l l searching forsurvivors. — Reuters.

NORWAYLondon, Feb 16 — A press report,

dated today, states: Heavy snows fellduring the night all over southernNorway, snarling traffic, knocking outpower and virtually paralyzing thecapital’s tram and subway system.Motorists were being advised onceagain to leave their cars parked, butskiers could look forward to a greatweekend. As much as 20 centimetresof heavy new snow either fell or wasexpected early today. This time thetemperatures outs ide were muchwarmer than during the winter ’searlier snowfalls, making the snowwet and heavy and difficult to getaround. More than 2,000 householdswere without electricity this morningafter heavy snows toppled powerlines. A spokesman for Midt-TelemarkEnergi said the heavy snow maderepair work “extremely dif f icult ,”adding that there was “danger of morebroken power lines throughout theday.” Many households were alsowithout water, because of cuts inpower to their electrical pumps. Allwestbound trams on Oslo ’s publictransit system, meanwhile, came to ahalt near the end of the commuter

rush this morning, mostly because ofswitching problems on tracks exposedto the heavy snow. Hundreds ofpassengers were stranded insidetunnels, waiting for the system to getback in operation.

PHILIPPINESManila , Feb 17 — Hundreds of

people were feared dead in the centralPhilippines after mudslides triggeredby heavy rains buried houses and anelementary school packed withchildren today, officials and witnessessaid. Footage from local televisionshowed wide areas o f the remotefarming village of Guinsaugon, nearSaint Bernard town in SouthernLeyte Province, covered in reddishmud, with only the tops of coconuttrees and a few tin roofs sticking out.Blocked roads, washed-out bridges,cut communications lines and lack ofheavy equipment were h inder ingrescuers . “Our est imate i s about2 ,500 peop le were bur ied , ” sa idColonel Raul Farnacio, in charge ofthe military’s relief operations. Hesaid 16 bodies had been recovered inGuinsaugon, a community of 3,000 to4,000 at the foot of a mountain wherea minor earthquake was reported thismorning. There were unconfirmedreports at least 200 villagers could bedead and about 1,500 missing, saidSenator Richard Gordon, who alsoheads the Phi l ippine Red Cross .“Help is on the way,” President GloriaMacapagal Arroyo said on television,adding that Navy and Coast Guardvessels were proceeding to the remotecoastal area. Congressman RogerMercado said res idents had beenadvised to leave the vi l lage afterweeks of heavy rain but he laid someof the blame on mining and loggingin the area three decades ago .Sixteen people were killed earlierth is week when heavy ra ins andf lash f l oods h i t south-easternprovinces. — Reuters.

London, Feb 19 — Workers havefailed to find any more survivors of amudslide in the central Philippinesand fear 1 ,800 people died. Thelandslide hit Guinsaugon village inthe town of St Bernard on the islandof Leyte on Friday (Feb 17). A schoolwith 200 pupi ls was amongstbuildings to be crushed by mud after10 days of heavy rain pounded thearea. Only a few dozen people werepulled out of the mud alive. Another11 villages in the area have now beenevacuated in case another landslidehits the area. Government expertssaid that a mild earthquake had hitthe area on Friday and may havecontributed to the landslide. Somehave suggested illegal logging hasremoved forests from the area and lefti t more vulnerable to f loods andlandslides. Search efforts were mademore di f f i cult by blocked roads,co l lapsed bridges and the fear o fsetting off another landslide withdiggers. Helicopters and a dog rescueteam were sent from Manila to helpwith rescue efforts. A United Nationsteam is now on the way to assess thedamage.

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London, Feb 19 — At least tenpeople were missing and feared deadin a landsl ide last night near amining headquarters in the provinceof Zamboanga del Sur in southernPhilippines, reported today. A reportfrom the Armed Forces SouthernCommand as saying that the incidentoccurred at around 1120 GMT in SitioBalabag, Barangay Depore in thetown of Bayog. The landslide comesafter a devastating mountain cave-inburieda village in Southern LeyteFriday, possibly killing an estimated1,400 people . The report said thelandslide site was about 500 metersfrom the headquarters of TorontoVentures Incorporated miningcorporation. Two houses were buriedby mudflows brought about by heavydownpour that is being experiencedacross the region for the past days.Authorities have yet to identify thevictims and owners of the two housesthat were buried by mudflows. Troopsfrom the Philippine army and policeare conducting search and rescueoperations in the area.

London, Feb 20 — A press report,dated Feb 19, states: Aid from manycountries has been of fered for aPhilippines village buried under alandslide on Friday (Feb 17) but hopesof finding survivors are dim. Sixty-eight people have been confirmeddead and 1,800 remain missing fromthe village of Guinsaugon on Leyteisland. Austral ia and China havepledged thousands of dollars in aidand US marines are helping dig at thesite. Efforts to f ind survivors arefocusing on the buried village’s school,a Fil ipino military off icer said.However, he added: “The exact locationof the school cannot be found becausethe landslide pushed everything away.”Dozens of US marines arrived at thesite of Guinsaugon today to lend ahand with the rescue effort. The menwere given shovels to dig throughlayers of rock and mud, amid fearsthat using heavier digging equipmentcould further destabilise the mud,reports stated. Rescue workers havebeen advised to tread carefully in thesoft mud or risk drowning. CaptainRoman Dioso, an Air Force officerheading a team of rescue workers, saidheavy earth-moving equipment wouldbe deployed tomorrow to excavate thecentre of the site. “But,” he said, “thisis one of the most dangerous areas.Every time it rains, the mountainrumbles and we have to run to safety.”The US has put two naval vessels and17 helicopters on stand-by to help therescue effort. Australia has offeredmore than $700,000 and China about$1m to provide shelter and relief tosurvivors. Local officials say the focusis now on recovering bodies and aidingsurvivors, of whom none have beenfound since Friday. Officials said themudslide happened after about 200 cmof rain fell in the area in the space of10 days. Correspondents say the arealies in the path of several typhoonseach year, and that coconut trees —which are common locally — haveshallow roots which leave the soi lvulnerable to landslides.

Guinsaugon, Feb 20 — Hunting forbodies and burying the dead resumedin the central Philippines today, withrescuers holding out little hope forsurvivors in a village of 1,800 buriedby a col lapsed mountainside. TheNational Disaster Co-ordinat ingCounci l said 72 bodies had beenrecovered, with 1,350 villagers stillmissing. Battling deep, shifting mudand steady rain, search teamscontinued to focus on a school packedwith more than 250 children and staffwhen Friday ’s (Feb 17) landsl ideengulfed Guinsaugon, a farmingcommunity in Southern Leyteprovince. “They can see the roof but sofar there is no s ign of l i fe , ”Congressman Roger Mercado saidtoday. Reports that some survivorssent desperate mobi le phone textmessages on Friday had spurred onthe search. There were fresh glimmersof hope yesterday and today whensensing equipment detected soundsfrom the school , but even thenrescuers could not be sure about whatthey heard. “The signs of movementmay be falling rock or running water,”said Colonel Raul Farnacio, in chargeof the army’s operations. A three-year-old girl, among the first to be saved onFriday, died in hospital from injuries,television station ANC said. Fiftyrecovered bodies were buriedyesterday in mass graves sprinkledwith holy water and lime powder — ameasure Health Secretary FranciscoDuque said was necessary to preventdisease from spreading in the hot,fetid conditions. President GloriaMacapagal Arroyo viewed relief goodsand dog teams being flown from amilitary airbase in Manila today. Sheplans to visit the scene of the disaster,about 675 km (420 miles) south-eastof Manila, on Wednesday or Thursday.International agencies have also sentsupplies, but many of the emergencygoods must be trucked to the area onbad roads and around washed-outbridges. Although the president hadpledged to recover all of the bodies forburial, Mercado said a decision waslikely within days about closing offthe devastated area. Around 2,000people from villages near Guinsaugonwere evacuated over the weekend asDefence Secretary Avel ino Cruzwarned of more potential catastrophesbecause rains triggered by the LaNina weather pattern were expectedto last until June. A village in thesouth-eastern province o f DavaoOriental was evacuated today afterfive people were killed in a landslidein the northwestern part of Mindanaoisland on Saturday. In Guinsaugon,hundreds of rescuers, backed by USmarines sent from annual exerciseswith Philippine troops, were warnedto tread gingerly or risk sinking. —Reuters.

Guinsaugon, Feb 21 — Rescueworkers battled through sludge andrubble today, buoyed by scratchingnoises and sounds picked up nearwhere a packed elementary schoolwas buried under metres of mud in adeadly Philippine landslide. So far, 85bodies have been recovered and

relatives have reported 1,371 peoplestill missing. Rescuers, including USMarines dispatched from annualPhilippine military exercises, havefocused efforts on the school afterunconfirmed reports that some of the253 people trapped inside had sentdesperate text messages on Friday(Feb 17) . Late yesterday, se ismicequipment picked up scratchingnoises and rhythmic sounds close tothe school . Provincial governorRosette Lerias refused to give uphope. “We see increasing posit ivesigns to continue.” Rescue conditionsare treacherous. Emergency workersfrom Taiwan, Spain and Malaysia,along with Philippine soldiers andminers, have had to contend withdeep, shifting mud which threatens toswallow them in places. Soldiers arestart ing to pave a path for moreaccessibility. — Reuters.

RUSSIALondon, Feb 18 — A press report,

dated today, states : The Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk airport has resumed itsoperation after a snow cyclone thatswept across Sakhalin Island, airportpress secretary Vladimir Kochkovskyreported yesterday. The airport nowreceives air l iners from Moscow,Vladivostok and Khabarovsk.However, the air service betweenSakhalin and the South Kuriles isdisrupted as before. A bl izzard israging over the islands, and Iturup aswel l as Kunashir cannot receivejetliners. Motor traffic has resumedon the highway between the city ofNevelsk and the town Gornozavodsk.An avalanche buried the road earlythis morning. However, the railwaybetween these cities is being clearedup to this t ime. The avalancheblocked there a fre ighter o f ninewagons with coal. According to chiefof the emergency center in theNevelsk district Georgy Glukhov, railtracks are covered by eight-meter-thick snow there. Low speed of thetrain and emergency braking saved itfrom complete drowning. Despite aheavy snowfal l and bl izzard, theengine drivers noticed an avalanchedownward slide when it was about 20metres to the dangerous section. Theemergency braking could not stop thetrain immediately, and it continued tomove under its own momentum. Theloco and the first wagon were coveredby snow.

London, Feb 18 - Congestion on therailway approaches to Russia’s Blackand Azov seaports has increasedconsiderably within the last few daysas the ports are unable to cope withan increasing amount o f cargo ,according to the management of theNorth-Caucasus railway. The railwayauthority said 18,120 railway cars,mostly with export metals and grain,were blocking the railway, awaitingunloading by the ports . On theapproaches to the port o fNovorossiisk, 10,000 cars are blockingthe railway. The railway authoritysaid the ports were to blame for thejams as their equipment couldn’t copewith the current strong winds. Thick

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ice has practically stopped work atYeisk, Temryuk and Port-Kavkaz.

TROPICAL STORM “DELTA”Tenerife, Feb 17 — Tug Tarifa was

successful ly pul led out from thebottom of the port area, Anaga Basin,by floating crane GPS Atlas yesterdayevening. The tug will now be takenout to high sea to a pointapproximately 15 miles away from thecoast, where it will be sunk again inwaters of more than 1,500 metresdepth. — Lloyd’s Agents.

TROPICAL STORM “KAJIKI”Manila, Feb 20 — Sea trials of tug

Napocor Tugboat No. 1, which werescheduled for Feb 18, did not takeplace as the completion of repairscontinued to be delayed. The NationalPower Corporation said that delays inf inishing the vesseløs enginealignment prevented the undocking ofthe vessel for sea trials. The vessel isbeing repaired at Keppel BatangasShipyard in Bauan. Napocor officialsalso said that even if the repair workhad been finished on time, the seatrials would have been postponed asthe vessel’s crew did not show up. —Lloyd’s List Correspondent.

Manila, Feb 20 — Delays in settlingrefloating and towage charges areholding up the drydocking of bargeNapocor Power Barge No.106. Thevessel , which is due to undergorepairs at Keppel Batangas shipyard,is still being held by Malayan Towageand Salvage Corp, who refloated thevessel after i t ran aground of fSemirara island on Dec 18 last year.Malayan Towage has not yet been paidfor its services. Consequently, thevessel is st i l l moored at KeppelBatangas shipyard under the custodyof the salvor. Napocor personnel haveonly been allowed to board the vesselto remove contaminated oil from itsstorage tanks The salvage companyare asking for a US$2.4 million-dollarbond before turning over the vessel toits owners. In the meantime, Napocorand the Government Service andInsurance System (GSIS) , whichprovided hull and P&I insurance forthe vessel, are still negotiating overwho should sign the bond documents.Napocorøs position is that GSIS, asthe insurer, should be responsible forthe bond, however GSIS, are insistingthat Napocor should be the guarantor.In the meantime, Napocorøs costs aremounting as i t has to pay KeppelBatangas Pesos 4,500 (US$88) in dailywharfage fees. The barge has beenmoored at Keppel Batangas for over amonth. — Lloyd’s List Correspondent.

TROPICAL STRORM “KAJIKI”Manila , Feb 21 — Tug Napocor

Tugboat No.1 is not expected to leaveKeppel Batangas Shipyard anytimesoon because of diffiiculties in gettingthe tug’s insurer to pay for repairs.The tug is in the final phase of repairsand is expected to undergo sea trialsbefore the end of February. Cost ofrepairs is est imated at Pesos10.8million (US$212,000). Officials of theNational Power Corporat ion

(Napocor), owner of the vessel, fearthat Keppel Batangas will detain thevessel unless the insurer pays up.Hull and machinery coverage isprovided by state insurance company,Government Service and InsuranceSystem (GSIS). Napocor officials saidthat they have been negotiating withthe GSIS s ince December for therelease of funds but to no avail. —Lloyd’s List Correspondent.


dated yesterday, states : Extremeweather conditions have led to thecancellation of all Condor high speedferry services depart ing fromGuernsey today. Heavy seas andwinds of up to 30mph are predictedduring the day. The cancel lationsinclude the 1130, GMT sai l ing toJersey and St Malo and the 1915,GMT sailing to Weymouth. A CondorFerries spokesman said they expectthe 1730, GMT conventional ferry toJersey and Portsmouth to depart ontime today. Winds are expected to riseto 35mph, tomorrow.

UNITED STATESLondon, Feb 17 — A press report,

dated today, states: Rain and strongwinds triggered mudslides in the porttown of Unalaska that moved abunkhouse of f i ts foundation,collapsed a warehouse and pushedcars and shipping containers intoDutch Harbor. Slides Monday (Feb 13)down Mount Ballyhoo hit buildingsconstructed along the land side ofBallyhoo Road, which runs parallel toDutch Harbor on the east s ide o fAmaknak Is land in the Aleutianchain. Across the water in downtownUnalaska, winds estimated at morethan 100 mph knocked out windows,tore off siding and lifted off sections ofroofs in the community of 4,300 people800 miles southwest of Anchorage.There were no reports of injuries.Damage to private property, includingbuildings and their contents, couldexceed $1 million, said City ManagerChris Hladick. Official readings at theUnalaska airport recorded winds of 60mph and 77 mph at nearby Nikolskiand Cold Bay, said National WeatherService spokesman DavidVonderheide. But reports of strongergusts easily could be accurate, hesaid. The agency’s computer modelindicated peak winds of 144 mph at5,000 feet, he said. The storm startedmidafternoon Sunday and peaked atabout noon Monday, Betzen said .Residents with wind gauges clockedwinds exceeding 99 mph, the highestreading on their instruments, Betzensaid . Two mudsl ides hit a Paci f icStevedoring bunkhouse, knocking thebui lding more than a foot o f f i tsfoundation. About 40 people lived inthe building, said Lisa Lee, a memberof the off ice staff at the company.Residents were evacuated to hotelsand other housing. The American RedCross of Alaska was assisting eightadults and 11 children with food andclothing, said spokesman JohnRamsey. To the south, another slide

damaged a construction site belongingto Magone Marine, a salvage company,Hladick said. The slide destroyed api l ing that contained 50 tons o fconcrete, he said, and threw a 20-footcargo container into the waterWorkers heard the slide coming andescaped by running onto a barge,Hladick said.

London, Feb 18 — Three people diedyesterday in New York andMassachusetts as a f ierce winterstorm pushed i ts way into theNortheast from the Midwest . Thestorm created below-freezingtemperatures and winds over 75 mph,which knocked out power to more than100,000 homes in New York. Oneperson died when a tree fe l l andcrushed a passing car, and anotherwas killed after a tree crashed ontohis pickup truck. Meanwhile, Friday’sstrong wind gusts turned deadly for aman in Billerica, Mass., when a treefell on his truck. WCVB-TV in Bostonreported that at one point , up to90,000 residents in Massachusettswere without electricity. In Needham,Mass., driving rains and strong windstook some residents by surprise .Power went out across the area,knocking out traffic lights and forcingsome stores in the Needham Heightsarea to close temporarily, the stationreported. The same storm battered theMidwest on Thursday (Feb 16), andthere were st i l l about 100,000customers in Michigan without poweryesterday evening. Some of thosehomes and businesses may remainblacked out until Sunday, officialssaid. Meanwhile, electricity has beenrestored to most homes andbusinesses in Terre Haute, Ind., wherea fast-moving storm has damagedbui ldings at the airport andelsewhere. It may have brought twotornadoes into Indiana. Insoutheastern Minnesota, the snowpiled up just in time for morning rushhour.

London, Feb 20 — A press report,dated Feb 19, states: It will cost about$5 million to repair damage caused byNew Year ’s Day weekend f loodingalong the Carson River in Nevada,federal officials said. Dan Kaffer, headof the US Department of Agriculture’sNatural Resource Conservat ionService, said floods damaged bridges,water l ines and diversion dams.Floods also caused considerableriverbank erosion and dumped trees,rock, gravel and sand on farm andranch f ie lds , he said. Though thedamage is extensive, Kaffer said, notmuch money is available for repairs.Officials’ top priority is to removedebris c logging the Carson anddiversion ditches, Kaffer said. Thenthey will stabilise banks and restorethe r iver. “Opening up thosediversions gets water from the river,and then the farmers can irrigatetheir fields,” Kaffer told the NevadaAppeal . Kaf fer said he was co-ordinating with more than 10 entitiesto f ind funding for repairs . TheCarson Water Subconservancy Districtand the Douglas County and Dayton

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Valley conservat ion distr icts areheading ef forts to f ind funds forrepairs before the irrigation seasonstarts, he added. Earlier this month,President Bush declared Carson City,and Douglas and Lyon counties alongthe Carson a disaster area.

London, Feb 20 — A press report,dated Feb 19, states: Utility crewsworked today to restore power tothousands of homes and businessesfrom Michigan to Maine following aweekend winter storm, while slickroads and heavy winds were blamedfor several deadly accidents. At leastfour deaths were reported in theNorth-east, while at least three peoplewere killed in accidents on icy roadsin Arkansas over the weekend (Feb18-19). Trees toppled by the windkilled two motorists in New York andone in Massachusetts. Another waskilled near Rochester when his vehicleslammed into a truck rig whose driverhad stopped to clear storm debrisfrom his windshield. As far south asTexas, ice and freezing rain canceleddozens of flights over the weekend atDal las-Fort Worth InternationalAirport , inc luding 85 AmericanAir l ines f l ights , according to acompany spokesman. Litt le Rock,Arkansas, had a low of 18 degFahrenheit this morning. Fartherwest, Alliance, Nebraska, bottomedout at -8 deg, the National WeatherService said. A reading of -18 deg wasrecorded in Allagash, Maine, whiletemperatures dipped to a low of 10deg in Rochester . The fierce wind,including a 143 mph gust recorded onVermont ’s Stratton Mountain onFriday, knocked out power andtoppled trees, which were blamed forfour deaths in the North-east. Utilityofficials in New York expected to havecrews working through the week torestore power to the 31,500 customersstill without electricity today. Thatwas down from a peak of 328,000customers three days earlier. Severalstates were operat ing shelters ,providing havens with light and heatfor those without power.

London, Feb 22 — A press report,dated Feb 21, states: According toU.S.Federal officials, it will cost aboutfive million dollars to repair damagecaused by New Year ’s Day weekendflooding along the Carson River inNevada. Dan Kaffer o f the USDepartment of Agriculture’s NaturalResource Conservation Service saysfloods damaged bridges, water linesand diversion dams. Floods alsocaused considerable riverbank erosionand dumped trees, rock, gravel andsand on farm and ranch f ie lds .Though the damage is extensive ,Kaffer says , not much money isavai lable for repairs . Kaffer saysofficials ’ top priority is to removedebris c logging the Carson anddiversion ditches, then to stabilizebanks and restore the river. Earlierthis month, President Bush declaredCarson City, and Douglas and Lyoncounties along the Carson a disasterarea.

BANGLADESHLondon, Feb 14 — A 5.9-magnitude

earthquake today jolted Bangladesh’ssouth-east , but no causal i t ies ordamage were immediately reported,the Meteorological Department said.The quake hit south-eastern port cityof Chittagong and its neighbouringdistr icts at around 0700 hrs , thedepartment said in a statement. Thequake lasted more than a minute inChittagong city, 216 kilometres south-east of national capital, Dhaka, theweather office said.

INDIALondon, Feb 14 — A press reporty,

dated today, states: An earthquake ofmoderate intensity today rockedIndia’s north-eastern and easternregions , tr iggering panic amongpeople though there were no reportsof any loss o f l ives . The tremormeasured 5.7 on the Richter scale andoccurred around 0625, said A.C.Lyngdoh, an of f ic ia l with theseismological centre in Shillong, thecapital of Meghalaya. The epicentre ofthe quake was plotted along thenorth-eastern state o f Sikkim,bordering China. The quake, lasting12 seconds, was fe l t in Sikkim,Assam, Meghalaya, ArunachalPradesh, Manipur and northern partsof West Bengal. The temblor causeddamage to many buildings in Sikkim,including the Raj Bhavan in capitalGangtok, and a monastery. The quaketriggered panic as people rushed outinto the streets of Gangtok and theneighbouring towns of Deoral i ,Tadong, Chandmari and Singtam aswel l as Assam’s pr incipal c i tyGuwahati.

IRANLondon, Feb 19 — A press report,

dated yestreday, states: A moderateearthquake shook a southeasternIranian province today, but no damageor casualties were reported, statemedia reported. The magnitude 5.9quake occurred in Rafsanjan, about465 miles south-east of the capital,Tehran, according to state televisionand the official Islamic Republic NewsAgency.

NEW ZEALANDLondon, Feb 16 — A press report,

dated today, states: An earthquakemeasuring 5.9 on the Richter Scale hitcentral New Zealand early today, agovernment seismologist said. Policereceived no immediate reports o fin jury or damage. The quake,recorded at 0115, was centred 80kilometres northeast of Collingwoodon South Island. The earthquake wasfelt across central New Zealand,Geological and Nuclear Sciences dutyseismologist Geoff Clitheroe said.

Clitheroe said that while it originatedvery deep below the Earth’s surface,“it wasn’t strongly felt, it was a verygentle shake.”

NICARAGUAManagua, Feb 20 — A moderate

earthquake hit Nicaragua today andwas also fe lt in the neighbouringCentral American nation of Honduras,but there were no immediate reportsof deaths or damage. A Reuterscorrespondent in the Nicaraguacapital Managua said local radio hadnot mentioned the quake, which theU.S. Geological Survey in Denver saidhad a magnitude of 5.6. One witnessin the Honduran capital Tegucigalpasaid residents were awaken in thenight by the quake but there werealso no immediate reports of damage.The Geological Survey’s Web site saidthe quake struck at 0659, UTC, at lat13.11N, long 87.61W, or 30 miles westsouthwest of Choluteca, Honduras,and 45 miles east south-east of SanMiguel, El Salvador. — Reuters.

TONGALondon, Feb 18 — A magnitude 5.8

earthquake occurred in Tonga at 1454,UTC, Feb 16.

MIYAKE ISLAND, JAPANLondon, Feb 20 — A press report,

dated Feb 19, states: A volcano on asmall island off eastern Japan had aminor eruption, and residents werewarned of volcanic gases and possiblemudslides. The eruption triggered aminor temblor and released a smallamount of ash, the MeteorologicalAgency said, but there was noimmediate threat of a larger eruption,the agency said. The eruption on Friday(Feb 17) was the volcano’s first sinceMay. White smoke billowed from thecrater today, but there was no othermajor activity, the agency said. Thevolcano dominates Miyake Island, about110 miles east of Tokyo. An eruption inJuly, 2000, forced all 4,000 islanders toevacuate the island. More than half ofthem returned a year ago after theevacuation order was lifted. Thevolcano continues to belch smoke andpoisonous gas that officials said poses apotentially serious risk to residents.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLICGeneva, Feb 17 — Some 2 ,800

refugees from the Central AfricanRepublic crossed into Chad this weekto escape further deadly attacks in

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the lawless north of their country, theUnited Nations said today. “Somerefugees told the UNHCR that theyhad been attacked by bandits, whileothers say they were victims of violentattacks by armed rebels and-or thearmy,” spokesman Ron Redmond ofthe UN High Commissioner forRefugees (UNHCR) told a briefing.Authorities in Chad as well as refugeewitnesses say that since Sunday (Feb12) alone, at least 50 civilians havebeen ki l led in the neighbouringformer French colony, he said. Localaid workers reported last Friday thatmore than 50 villagers had been killedin recent weeks by armed gangs.Litt le is known about the armedgroups operating in the north whohave been storming vil lages sinceJune, shoot ing randomly, loot inghomes and terrorising civilians, theysay. So far this year, 4,300 refugeesfrom the Central African Republichave arr ived in southern Chad,according to UNHCR. New arrivalsare registered in Bekoninga, a villageonly 500 metres from the border. Theyare being taken to Gondje refugeecamp, opened last December to hold15,000 countrymen who fled fightinglast summer, according to Redmond.“The new inf lux is creat ing anenormous strain on the alreadylimited financial resources availablefor our operation in southern Chad,”he said. In all, Chad is host to 45,000refugees from Central Afr icanRepublic, who are staying in threecamps including Gondje, which is 12km north of Gore, the main town insouth Chad. — Reuters.

Bekoninga, Chad, Feb 21 — Thenumber of refugees seeking refuge inChad after f leeing violence in thelawless northern Central Afr icanRepublic (CAR) is climbing steadily,with around 200 crossing the borderdaily. More than 4,000 refugees havearrived so far this month and moreare believed to be on the way. “Manyrefugees report they fled attacks bygovernment forces on civilians whoCAR troops suspected of supportingvarious rebel groups. Refugees alsomention raids by rebel groups whoattack their villages to loot food andcatt le , as wel l as forc ibly recruityoung men,” UNHCR spokespersonJennifer Pagonis told journalists at aregular briefing in Geneva today. Therefugees said they are also sufferingfrom attacks by bandits or coupeursde route. “Some refugees have toldUNHCR they have been victims of allthree groups ø rebels, governmentsoldiers and bandits,” said Pagonis.“The situation in CAR needs to beaddressed urgently by theinternational community, before it istoo late , ” said UNHCR’srepresentative in Chad, Ana Liria-Franch. “Abuses against civilians donot appear to be confined to any oneside ø rebel groups, bandits andgovernment forces are all mentionedby the refugees. It is credible thatthey are indeed terr i fy ing thesehelpless populations.” Liria-Franchcalled for the restoration of humanrights in northern CAR, noting that

everyone had the right to enjoy peaceand security at home without havingto flee. Nevertheless, UNHCR fearsthat the outf low of refugees wi l lcontinue. Many civi l ians are st i l lhiding in the bush in northern CAR,too scared to return home. How longthey can hold out without seekinghelp across the border is uncertain.Most refugees cross the border andstop 500 metres into Chadianterr i tory at BÈkoninga vi l lage ,population 600. Initially, they mustsurvive on food they bring with them,as well as handouts from generouslocal villagers ø people who have verylittle to share. Clean drinking wateris a major concern as there is only onewell in the village. Some refugeeshave no choice but to drink waterfrom a nearby swamp. The refugeesare understandably anxious to moveaway from the border to a refugeesite. Tomorrow, UNHCR will move 300of the new arrivals to GondjÈ refugeecamp. More are scheduled for transferin the coming days. To speed up theprocess of registration and identifyingthe most vulnerable refugees, UNHCRhas brought in extra staff from itsother field offices in southern andeastern Chad. UNHCR and Chadianauthorit ies are discussing thepossibility of opening a third refugeesite near GorÈ in light of continuedrefugee arrivals from the CAR. Some45,000 refugees from the CentralAfrican Republic currently reside inthree camps in the south. GondjÈrefugee camp, 12 km west of GorÈ,opened in December 2005 to decongestthe overcrowded neighbouringAmboko camp site. — Reuters.

COLOMBIABogota, Feb 16 — Colombian aircraft

bombed leftist rebels in one of thecountry’s biggest nature reserves afterattacks on police guarding workersr ipping out plants used to makecocaine, the air force said today. Itsaid it attacked guerrilla camps in LaMacarena nat ional park in thesouthern province of Meta yesterdaynight — a move environmentalistssaid would be catastrophic for thelocal ecosystem. “The bombing wasaimed at the narcoterror ists , ”Colombian air force chief EdgarLesmez to ld reporters . “We areevaluating the results o f theoperation.” Police estimate that cocafields planted in the park help theRevolut ionary Armed Forces o fColombia, a 41-year-old rebel armyknown by its Spanish initials FARC,produce 27 metric tons of cocaineevery year. A FARC mortar attackyesterday brought to 12 the number ofpolice kil led in the f irst month of“Operation Green Colombia,” whichthe government says is a imed atremoving illicit crops from naturalparks, starting with La Macarena, inan effort to restore their biodiversity.An increasing proport ion ofColombia ’s coca f ie lds are beingplanted in the parks as growers flee aU.S.-funded crop-dusting campaign.The government decided not to dust inthe parks after object ions from

environmentalists who said sprayingherbicide would damage protectedecosystems. More than 900 shovel-wielding civilian workers, ringed byabout 1,500 soldiers and police, aremoving through La Macarena, pullingup coca bushes. — Reuters.

Havana, Feb 17 — Colombia and thecountry’s second-largest Marxist rebelgroup, the ELN, met today for asecond round of exploratory peacetalks that as yet have no agreedagenda. Colombian peacecommissioner Luis Carlos Restreposaid a first meeting held in Havana inDecember with commanders of theNational Liberation Army, or ELN,had “unfrozen” ties and created whathe termed a “precarious” trust .European diplomats monitoring thetalks were skeptical about anyagreement but expected the talks tolast through Colombia’s presidentialelection in May. — Reuters.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

London, Feb 20 — A press report,dated Feb 19, states : The newconst i tut ion in the Democrat icRepublic of Congo has officially beenadopted, giving the country a new flagand a new legal framework. Althoughthe constitution has formally comeinto force most changes wi l l onlyhappen after elections due in June.The const i tut ion, approved in areferendum, is meant to transform DRCongo into a real democracy. The textsays the president has to be electedand is only allowed to rule for twoterms of five years. He also has toshare power with an elected primeminister. The parliament has to beelected and a judic iary isindependent. All this is new for theDR Congo, a country which is tryingto emerge from years o f war andwhich had its last free elections 40years ago. The const i tut ion waspromulgated in front of the presidentof the African Union, Denis SassouNguesso and the South Afr icanPresident Thabo Mbeki, who acts as amediator in the DR Congo cr is is .Elections are due before the end ofJune. The constitution says that untilthen the former warlords who arecurrently ruling the country remain inplace.

ECUADORLondon, Feb 21 — A press report,

dated today, states: Ecuador ’s state-run o i l company Petroecuadorsuspended crude exports todayfollowing violent protests that forcedthe c los ing of the country ’s mainpipeline, said Petroecuador executiveEduardo Naranjo. Damages caused byprotestors who occupied one of thepumping stations from the Trans-Ecuadorian Oi l Pipel ine System(SOTE) in the Amazon region Napoprovince shut Ecuador’s daily exportsof 144.000 barrels. Protestors aredemanding more funds from thecountry’s oil wealth for infrastructureand jobs in the province. Petroecuadordeclared that “circumstances beyondour control in the industry”, had forced

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the postponement of shipmentsbecause the “security reserve” of crudeto meet domestic demand had droppedto a critical level. In Ecuador, theaffected pipeline ships 380,000 bpdfrom the Amazon to the port of Balao.Petroecuador said the pipeline wouldbe down for 24 to 36 hours, but aprivate pipeline with a 500,000 bpdcapacity continued operating normally.Ecuador, which is not a member of theOpec cartel of oil producing nations, isthe fifth biggest oil producer in SouthAmerica extracting 532,000 barrels ofoil a day.

Quito, Feb 21 — Ecuador declared astate of emergency today after soldiersopened fire on protesters who invadedan Amazonian oil pumping station andshut down one of the country’s mainprivate pipelines. The state ofemergency prohibits protests andmarches. Leaders of the protest and adoctor at a local hospital said at leastthree people were wounded in theincident. About 600 people were stilloccupying the Sardinia pumpingstation in the Amazon province ofNapo, about 55 miles east of Quito.Local television showed pictures oftroops firing their rifles at dozens ofrock-hurdling protesters. Televisionstations also showed footage ofwounded protesters lying in a localhospital who said they had been shotby soldiers. “We want the governmentto talk to us because this situation isgetting out of hand,” Julio Perez, aspokesman for the protesters said. “Wedid not order people to invade thispumping station.” “The OCP (pipeline)suspended its operations afterprotesters invaded the station ofSardina,” confirmed a spokesman forthe company that operates thepipeline, which is owned by severalEcuadorian and foreign companies.The pipeline has the capacity totransport 450,000 barrels per day butat the time of the stoppage it carried160,000 bpd from the Amazon region toa port in the Pacific coast. Hundreds ofprotesters were also outside the Baezaoil pumping station, which is owned byPetroecuador, the state oil company, apolice spokesman said. The activistsare demanding that the governmentchannel more than $100 million totheir local communities to build roads,bridges and a new airport. The policesent about 300 officers to the area toprotect key oil infrastructure and moreofficers could be sent in if the violenceescalates, the police spokesman said.Protesters damaged another pumpingstation owned by Petroecuadoryesterday, forcing it to shut down itsmain pipeline and suspend exportsfor several hours . Negot iat ionsbetween the government andprotesters broke down late todayafter officials refused to meet theactivists’ demands until they end ageneral s tr ike . Inter ior MinisterAlfredo Castillo, the chief negotiator,was meet ing with Ecuador ’sPresident Alfredo Palacio to try toseek a way to end the protests , agovernment source said. — Reuters.

INDIAGuwahati, Feb 20 — Four policemen

and a civilian were killed today in anambush by separatist guerrillas inIndia’s restive northeastern state ofManipur, police said. Heavily armedrebels fired on a vehicle carrying atleast half a dozen policemen at a busymarket in Thoubal, about 35 km southof Imphal, Manipur ’s capital, theysaid . Four pol icemen were ki l ledinstantly and two others werewounded. A civilian bystander wasalso killed. — Reuters.

INDIA-PAKISTANLondon, Feb 18 — A press report,

dated today, states: Pakistan andIndia today restored train servicealong a line that was severed duringtheir war 40 years ago, establishing asecond rai l l ink between the twoSouth Asian r ivals . The “TharExpress” pulled into an Indian deserttown early today with 200 passengersaboard, the latest step in efforts toovercome six decades of enmity. Thetrain connects the border towns ofMunabao in India’s western state ofRajasthan and Khokrapar, inPakistan’s southern Sindh province.The leaders of Pakistan and Indiaagreed to reopen the rail link - whichwas cut during a 1965 war - during asummit in New Delhi in April 2005.The resumption of people-to-peoplecontact, including new bus, rail andair links, are among the most popularmeasures of the peace dialogue. Theyare enhancing business t ies anduniting citizens separated decades agowhen thousands of families on bothsides were divided by the 1947partition of the Indian subcontinentthat created the new nation ofPakistan.

IRANTehran, Feb 19 — A percussion bomb

exploded in the restive south-westernIranian o i l c i ty o f Ahvaz today,shattering windows but causing noinjuries , the o f f ic ia l IRNA newsagency reported. IRNA quoted anunnamed security official as sayingthe bomb exploded at 2145 hrs..—Reuters.

IRAQLondon, Feb 17 — A press report,

dated today, states: Saboteurs blew upa main o i l p ipel ine in northernBaghdad today, causing a huge fire, apolice said. “A huge fire flared around0930 hrs (0630, UTC) after saboteursblew up a bomb under the oil pipelinethat feeds the al-Doura oil refinery insouthern Baghdad with crude fromIraq’s northern Kirkuk oil f ields,”Captain Ahmed Abdul lah, fromBaghdad pol ice , to ld Xinhua.Firefighters and Iraq security forcesreached the area, where black andthick smoke could be seen pouringinto the sky, he said. There was noreports o f human casualt ies , headded. Meanwhile, a roadside bombwent off today morning near a policepatrol in Baghdad’s northern districtof Sebea Ibkar, wounding twopolicemen, Abdullah said. Separately,

the police found four unidentifiedbodies in execution style in the Shiitedistrict Shula in the northern capital,he said.

London, Feb 18 — A press report,dated Feb 17, states: Gunmen wearingIraqi pol ice commando uni formskidnapped a wealthy banker and hisson in Baghdad, killing five of theirbodyguards, police said. Ghalib Abdal-Hussein Kubba was abducted fromhis home in the western suburb ofYarmouk yesterday night. Meanwhile,police in Baghdad found the bodies ofthree unidentified men who had beenshot in the head. Yesterday, aninquiry was launched into what theUS says is evidence of death squads inthe interior ministry. US Maj GenJoseph Peterson, who is in charge oftraining the Iraqi police, revealed thearrest of 22 traffic policemen allegedlyon a mission to kil l a Sunni man.Sunnis have long accused Iraqi forcesof operating death squads - but theclaims have never been substantiated.Mr Kubba was the chairman ofBasra’s chamber of commerce beforehe moved to the capital to head theBaghdad office of Basra InternationalBank. His son, Hassan, is a lso asenior employee there . Thekidnappers arrived at their home at1930 hrs (1830, UTC) yesterdayevening and killed five bodyguardsoutside , pol ice Maj Falah al -Mohammedawi said . MajMohammedawi said he believed themotive for the kidnapping had beenfinancial. “We think it is a criminalcase because the bank director wasnot killed,” he told the AssociatedPress. “We think the kidnappers willblackmail the family and they areafter money. We have many similarcases of businessmen being abductedfor money.”

London, Feb 18 — A press report,dated today, states : A spate o froadside bombings killed a US soldierand at least nine Iraqis in Baghdadand north of the capital today,officials said. Two Macedonians werekidnapped in southern Iraq, while asearch was underway for a privateGerman plane missing in the north.An Iraqi police major, meanwhile, wasassassinated by drive-by gunmen inthe insurgent stronghold of Ramadi,west of Baghdad. The US militarysaid a roadside bomb struck anAmerican vehicle at about 0800 hrs,in eastern Baghdad, killing a soldierassigned to the Mult i -NationalDivision-Baghdad. The death took thenumber of US personnel killed in Iraqto at least 2 ,273. Shortly after, aroadside bomb exploded on an easternBaghdad highway and killed two Iraqipolicemen guarding an oil tanker, Lt.Bi lal Al i Maj id said . Three otherpolice were wounded and the tankerwas not damaged. Another concealedbomb detonated at 0845 hrs, as apolice patrol passed by in easternBaghdad’s Ghadir area, missing thepol icemen but ki l l ing three Iraqicivilians and wounding four driving intwo cars , Lt . Al i Abbas said. Thepolice chief of Baghdad’s Karradahneighbourhood, Brig. Abdul-Karim

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Maryoush, escaped unharmed from aroadside bomb that targeted hisconvoy. Two policemen were killed andone was wounded in the attack inKarradah, pol ice Maj . AbbasMohammed said . In SaddamHussein’s hometown of Tikrit, a bombblast meant for policemen hit a businstead, killing one passenger andwounding two others, police said. Abystander was ki l led and f ivewounded when a bomb planted on aroad exploded in Baqouba, 35 milesnortheast of Baghdad, police said. Themotive for the attack was unclear.Iraqi police said a US patrol killedthree men trying to plant roadsidebombs in Baghdad’s troubled southernsuburb of Dora. One man was shotdead while trying to place a bomb onthe s ide o f a road, whi le twoaccomplices died when soldiers firedat their car, which contained morebombs that exploded, said Lt .Maitham Abdul-Razzaq. The Britishmil i tary conf irmed that twoMacedonians working for a cleaningcompany in Basra were abductedThursday (Feb 16) morning in thesouthern city. An employee of theMacedonian company, Ecolog, said a$1 million ransom has been demandedfor their release. Maj. Peter Crippssaid the two men were abducted whiledriving with a Macedonian womanwho worked for the same company.“They were in a vehicle travel ingbetween two locations and during thatroute they were somehow abducted,”Cripps told The Associated Press. Thekidnappers took the two men and leftthe woman on the side of the road,where she was picked up by a Britishpatrol , Cripps said . Pol ice wereinvestigating the case. The companyemployee, who spoke on condition ofanonymity because he wasunauthorized to speak to the media,identified the hostages as MacedonianMuslims of Albanian ethnic origin.The company, whose headquarters arein Kuwait, has a cleaning contract atthe Brit ish-control led BasraInternational Airport. Meanwhile,hundreds of Iraqi security personnel,assisted by US personnel, searchedSaturday for a German-owned planefeared crashed in northern Iraq ’ssnow-covered mountain region.German of f ic ia ls were informedThursday that the plane, carrying fiveGermans and one Iraqi , had gonemissing en route to the northern Iraqic i ty o f Kirkuk from Azerbai jan ’scapital, Baku. The plane started itsjourney in Munich Tuesday andtravelled via Hungary to Baku. Policespokesman Hans-Dieter Kammerersaid the plan was for it to continue toSulaimaniyah or Kirkuk in northernIraq on Thursday. The insurgency hashad a devastating impact on Iraq’seconomy, with the o i l industrysuffering $6.25 billion in losses in2005 as a result o f sabotage toinfrastructure and lost exportrevenues, Oil Ministry spokesmanAssem Jihad said today. There were186 attacks on Iraqi oil installationslast year, during which insurgentskilled 47 oil engineers, technicians

and workers, as well as 100 policeprotecting pipelines and other oi lfaci l i t ies , Jihad said. Most of thesabotage took place in the northern oilinstallations, preventing Iraq fromexporting around 400,000 barrels aday from its northern oil fields via theTurkish port of Ceyhan. Iraq producesaround two million barrels per dayfrom its southern and northern oilfields, down by about 800,000 fromlevels before the 2003 US-led invasion.

London, Feb 18 — A press report,dated today, states : A spate o froadside bombings in Baghdad killeda US soldier and at least 11 Iraqis,officials said. An Iraqi police majoralso was killed by drive by gunmen inthe insurgent stronghold of Ramadi,west of Baghdad, in the latest attacktargeting security forces that theUnited States hopes will eventuallytake control of Iraq. The US militarysaid a roadside bomb struck anAmerican vehicle at about 0800 ineastern Baghdad, killing a soldierassigned to the Multi-NationalDivision-Baghdad. Iran’s foreignminister yesterday demanded theimmediate withdrawal of British forcesfrom Basra, saying their presence haddestabilised Iraq’s second largest city.A roadside bomb exploded on aneastern Baghdad highway and killedfour Iraqi policemen guarding an oiltanker. One other policeman waswounded and the tanker was notdamaged. Another concealed bombdetonated as a police patrol passed ineastern Baghdad’s Ghadir area,missing the policemen. But three Iraqicivilians were killed and four peopledriving in two cars were wounded. TheBritish Army confirmed that twoforeigners abducted in the southerncity of Basra were Macedoniansworking for the Ecolog cleaningcompany. A £575,000 ransom has beendemanded for their release.

London, Feb 20 — A press report,dated today, states : Attacks byinsurgents on Iraq’s oil industry costthe country $6.25bn (£3.6bn) in lostrevenue during 2005, according to theIraqi o i l ministry. A total o f 186attacks were carried out on oil siteslast year, claiming the l ives of 47engineers and 91 police and securityguards, a spokesman said. Most ofattacks on Iraqi o i l instal lat ionsoccurred in the north of the country,where crude is pumped throughpipel ines to the Turkish port o fCeyhan. “Iraq lost oil revenues worth$6.25bn in 2005 due to sabotage onthe country’s oil infrastructure,” oilministry spokesman Assem Jihadsaid. The attacks prevented Iraq fromexporting about 400,000 barrels of oila day, the ministry said . Iraqcurrently produces about two millionbarrels of oil a day, mostly from oilfields in the southern and northerntips of the country. However, that isdown by about 800,000 barrels fromproduct ion levels before SaddamHussein’s regime was toppled in 2003.Violent attacks on foreign contractorsin Iraq have also hit the economy,pushing up security costs anddelaying reconstruction projects.

Mosul, Feb 20 — At least five peoplewere killed and 21 wounded todaywhen a bomb exploded inside arestaurant in the northern Iraqi cityof Mosul, police and hospital sourcessaid. The sources said one policemanand four civilians were killed in theblast near Mosul police headquarters.The restaurant is frequented bypolice. — Reuters.

Londson, Feb 20 — A press report,dated today, states: Two Macedoniancontractors kidnapped in the British-controlled area of southern Iraq havebeen released. The two men, whowork for a cleaning contractor, wereabducted from their vehic le nearBasra. They were re leased thismorning, a l though there were nodetails given of the circumstances oftheir release. Their company, Ecolog,had received a $1m ransom demandafter they were seized while travellingfrom work at the UK’s Shaibahmil i tary base . The seiz ing of theMacedonians came days after UKforces launched an invest igat ionfollowing the brief capture of threeIraqis working at the base. Macedoniahas a smal l number of troopsstationed in Iraq, but at least 1,000 ofi ts nat ionals , inc luding ethnicAlbanians, are also in the countryworking privately.

Baghdad, Feb 20 — A suicide bomberstrapped with explosives blew himselfup on a bus in central Baghdad today,killing at least 12 people, InteriorMinistry sources said. The attack inthe mostly Shi’ite Muslim Kadhimiyadistrict wounded at least nine people,the sources said. — Reuters.

London, Feb 22 — A press report,dated Feb 21, states : A car bombkilled at least 21 people in Baghdadtoday. The blast in the southern Doradistrict, the bloodiest in about sixweeks, a lso wounded at least 27people, one day after three bombingskilled 19 people, breaking a relativelull in guerrilla violence.Yesterday,three bomb attacks killed at least 19people , inc luding 12 vict ims of asuicide bomber who climbed on boarda bus in a Shi’ite district of Baghdadand blew himself up.

ISRAELLondon, Feb 19 — A press report,

da ted t oday, s ta tes : TwoPalestinians were killed when Israels taged an a i r s t r ike in southernGaza today, Palest in ian secur i tysources said. Israeli air forces firedat least one missile at a group ofPalestinians, killing two militantsnear the border fence on the Israel-Gaza borders close to Khan Younis,sa id the s e cur i ty s ources andmed i ca l s ources . The two wereidentified as activists of the NasserSalah el-Dein Brigades, the armedwing o f the Pa les t in ian Popu larResistance Committees. Israel Radiosa id the two were a t tempt ing tocarry out an attack or any terror-r e la ted a c t i v i t y near the borderfence. The attack came one day aftera Hamas-led Palestinian parliamentwas sworn in both in the Gaza Stripand the West Bank. Israel is about

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to vote for adopting tough measuresagainst the Hamas-led PalestinianNational Authority today.

Nablus, Feb 20 — Israel i troopskilled an Islamic Jihad commanderand another gunman today, in aflareup in violence before electionwinner Hamas opened formal talks onforming a new Palest in iangovernment . Israe l has moved toiso late a government headed byHamas, whose charter calls for thedestruction of the Jewish state. Israelyesterday hal ted the monthlytransfer of millions of dollars to thecash-strapped Palestinian Authority.Hamas, which became the majoritybloc in parliament on Saturday (Feb18) after a Jan 25 election victory,was expected to hold talks in Gazawith Palestinian President MahmoudAbbas , leg is lat ive leaders andmil i tant groups on forming agovernment . Sami Abu Zuhri , aHamas spokesman, said the militantgroup would try to form “the largestnat ional coal i t ion poss ib le” withIsmail Haniyeh as prime minister byearly next month. Western powers ledby the United States have threatenedto boycott a Hamas-led governmentunless the group renounces violenceand recognises Israel, but they havealso urged Israe l not to takeimmediate steps that would increasethe hardships of the Palestinians.Interim Israeli Prime Minister EhudOlmert told his cabinet yesterdaythat the Palestinian government wasbecoming a “terrorist authority” withHamas in control. “Israel will nothold contacts with a governmentHamas is part of,” he said. Israel’scabinet decided to stop the monthlyf low o f tax revenue to thePalestinians but balked at an earlierproposal to bar all Palestinians fromworking in or travel l ing throughIsrael . In last month ’s e lect ion ,Hamas won 74 seats in the 132-member parliament, trouncing thelong dominant Fatah party headed byAbbas. Hamas has rejected Abbas’scalls to continue to honour past peacedeals with Israel, but has signalledreadiness for a long-term truce i fIsrae l withdraws from lands i toccupied in the 1967 war. In freshviolence today, Israeli troops carriedout a raid in the West Bank city ofNablus and ambushed gunmen fromIslamic Jihad, killing two, includingthe group’s West Bank commander,Palest in ian sources sa id . Fourgunmen were wounded. Is lamicJihad, responsible for several recentsuicide bombings in Israel, has been afrequent target of Israeli militarystrikes. Hamas has largely observed acease- f ire s ince last year. Israel igunners fired artillery shells at Gazain response to rockets fired at Israelitowns . There were no reportedinjuries. Four Palestinians died inviolence with Israel yesterday, two ofthem teenagers shot by troopsconfronting stone-throwing protesterswhile searching for militants nearNablus. Two militants were killed inan air strike in Gaza. — Reuters.

IVORY COASTKorhogo, Feb 20 — Foreign

mediators are pi l ing pressure onarmed factions in the divided IvoryCoast to disarm in time for Octoberelections, but rebels holding the northshow no sign of laying down theirguns. A new cultural centre in thenorthern town of Korhogo and freshcoats o f paint on the town’sadministrative buildings also suggestthe rebels in charge are in no hurry toleave. Foreign mediators helping tooversee the implementation of a peaceprocess to reunite the country andstage elections by October 31 repeatedtheir cal l for disarmament at ameeting in the government-controlledeconomic capital Abidjan on Friday(Feb 17). But such calls have littleimpact in the north, separated fromthe south since a brief civil war in2002-03. “We have to ... bring Ivoriansto understand that disarmament isnot necessarily the priority,” saidCherif Ousmane, a rebel commanderfrom the rebel headquarters Bouakein town for the cultural centre ’sopening at the weekend. For Ousmaneand other northerners, disarmamentis unthinkable until their status asIvorian c i t izens is resolved. Thedivisive question of identity — whoreally qualifies as a “pure” Ivorian —lies at the heart of the war whichexploded when rebels tried to oust thepresident and seized the north of theworld’s top cocoa grower in September2002. Former Prime MinisterAlassane Ouattara, who enjoys strongsupport among the north’s Muslimmajority, was barred from standing aspresident in 2000 by a c lauserequiring candidates to prove boththeir parents were Ivorian-born.Thousands of people o f northernorigin in both halves of the countryhave no identity papers. Many saypolice or soldiers loyal to PresidentLaurent Gbagbo have confiscated orripped them up during house-to-housesearches or at roadblocks . TheNational Statistics Institute, whichwill administer the elections, has saidit will issue special papers to citizenswithout identity documents allowingthem to vote, if they first undergo a“hearing” in which village chiefs andlocal officials testify to the applicant’sIvorian origins. Rebels say disarmingbefore new identity papers aredistributed could leave northernersfurther isolated if they still lack thedocuments after reunification. Thedisarmament process requires bothrebel and government soldiers to turnin their weapons and take upresidence in dozens of special sitesaround the country, with securityprovided by around 11,000 U.N. andFrench peacekeepers. Members ofboth forces who meet the criteriawould then join a new army whichwould deploy across a reunitedcountry. This plan was supposed to becarried out last year in the run up topresidential e lect ions due lastOctober, but rebels pulled out beforeserious preparations began, sayingGbagbo would try to rig the polls.Elections were delayed for a year. A

new U.N.-backed peace plan has beendrawn up but like a string of previousdeals it has begun to founder as pro-Gbagbo and opposition politiciansbicker over how to interpret it. —Reuters.

NEPALLondon, Feb 19 — A press report,

dated today, states: King Gyanendraof Nepal has called on the mainstreamopposition polit ical parties in thecountry to enter into dialogue andpromote democracy. It is the first suchappeal from the king since he seizeddirect control of the country a yearago, but his call to restart “the stalleddemocratic process” was dismissed as“an artificial appeal” by a leadingopposition leader. As he spoke, atleast 3,000 protesters marched in thecapital, Kathmandu. The King calledon “all will ing political parties tocome forth to fully activate, at theearl iest , the stal led democrat icprocess in the greater interest of thenation”. The king was speaking onNational Democracy Day which marksthe anniversary of a popularmovement in 1990 which forced theprevious monarch to establish multi-party democracy. US Ambassador toNepal James Moriarty on Wednesday(Feb 15) said the deepening r i f tbetween the king and the country’spolitical parties was only benefitingthe Maoist rebels. The rebels havecalled for a general strike from April3 , preceded by blockades on thecountry ’s major roads from mid-March. “The regime is counting itsfinal days,” said a rebel statement.“Time has come to make the f inalstrike on the regime that has beenisolated and defamed.” Protesters attoday ’s ral ly, organised by thecountry’s seven mainstream politicalparties , were unimpressed by theking’s speech. “If he is really seriousabout resolving the problems then heshould have directly approached usand not made such a vague appeal,”said Khadga Prasad Ol i , deputyleader of the Communist Party ofNepal.

NIGERIAWari, Nigeria, Feb 17 — Nigerian

militants said that the military hadlaunched a new hel icopter attacktoday on land targets in the southernoil-producing state of Delta and thatthey had tr ied to shoot i t down.Militants from the Movement for theEmancipat ion of the Niger Delta(MEND) said the helicopter targetedethnic I jaw communit ies in theGbaramatu area of the state. Thegroup said this followed an attack onWednesday (Feb 15) in the same area.“Our units there were authorised toshoot down this craft which theyattempted with rockets and machine-gun fire. The chopper immediatelyabandoned i ts mission and f led , ”MEND said in an e-mail statement.“We cannot at this point be certain ifit was hit,” the group added. It wasnot immediately possible to reachNigeria’s armed forces for comment. Anavy source had said Wednesday’s

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attack was not against communitiesbut rather against o i l bargessuspected of being used for oil theft.These are the first major militaryoperations in the Niger Delta sinceMEND staged a ser ies o f attacksagainst the oil industry last month.MEND said the helicopter took offfrom the Osubi airstrip in the statecapital Warri , operated by RoyalDutch Shell, which the militants sayis meant to be a c ivi l ian airf ield.“Operators of craft using the ShellOsubi airstrip must be warned thatthis place is now considered a militaryfacility and we will attempt to shootdown any planes landing or taking offfrom this fac i l i ty, ” the e -mai lstatement said. A Shell spokesmansaid: “The Osubi airstrip is built andoperated for use by the oil industry inDelta state . ” He added that anyquestions on military operations inthe region and “the use of airstripsduring such operations” should beraised with the appropriateauthorities. — Reuters.

Lagos, Feb 18 — Nine foreign oilworkers were taken hostage from anoffshore barge in Nigeria today, asecurity source said . A Shel l o i lfac i l i ty near the Forcados exportterminal was also attacked, andmilitants said they destroyed a gaspipeline running from the Escravosarea to the Kaduna ref inery innorthern Nigeria. A fire broke out at aShell oil facility near Forcados exportterminal, but was later extinguished,a company source said. — Reuters.

London, Feb 19 — A press report,dated today, states : Nigerianmilitants launched a string of attacksin the world ’s e ighth largest o i lexporter overnight, abducting nineforeign workers, bombing a major oilexport platform and sabotaging twopipel ines . Royal Dutch Shel lsuspended exports from the 380,000barrel -a-day Forcados tankerterminal, a senior industry sourcesaid, cutting at least 16 percent ofNigeria’s 2.4 million barrels of dailysupply to world markets . TheMovement for the Emancipation of theNiger Delta said the attacks were aresponse to mil i tary air raids onvillages in Delta state earlier thisweek and would be fo l lowed byanother wave of v io lence “on agrander scale”. “These hostages arehuman shields. Subsequent attacks onother installations will be drastic aswe have no intentions o f takinghostages,” the militants said, callingon all oil workers to leave the delta.The militants said they wanted morelocal control over the Niger Delta’svast oil wealth and the release of twoethnic Iaw leaders, including a militialeader who is on trial for treason.“Expatriates must realise that theyhave been caught up in a war and theNigerian government can do nothingto guarantee the security of anyone,”they added. In military-style pre-dawn attacks, militants in six speedboats stormed an of fshore bargeoperated by U.S. oil services companyWillbros and abducted nine workers -three Americans, one Briton, two

Thais, two Egyptians and a Filipino.They caused an explosion and fire onthe Forcados loading platform, whichdelivers crude oil through pipes tolarge buoys where tankers load, but itwas later extinguished. They blew upa major Shel l crude o i l p ipel inenearby, and another pipeline takingnatural gas to a refinery in northernNigeria operated by state-run NigeriaNational Petroleum Corp, militantand oil industry sources said. Shellbegan to close oilfields feeding theForcados terminal but the full impactof the attacks was not immediatelyclear. The company had already shut106,000 barrels a day of output fromthe Forcados area because of anattack in January. The mil i tantswarned Shell not to try to repair theoffshore loading platform, threateninga more brutal attack. The UnitedStates confirmed three Americanswere among the hostages. Militantssaid these attacks were focused onDelta state in response to military airraids on Wednesday (Feb 15) andFriday. Delta state is on the westernside of the Niger Delta and accountsfor about a quarter o f Nigerianoutput. They accused Shell of allowingthe mil i tary to use an airstr ipoperated by the company to launch itsattacks, and threatened to attack anyaircraft, including civilian planes,using it. The Osubi airport in Deltastate was closed as a precaution, asecurity source said. The military saidtheir aerial bombardment was aimedat gangs steal ing crude o i l f rompipelines.

London, Feb 20 — A press report,dated today, states: Nigeria is facing aserious escalation in the conflict thathas hit the o i l -r ich but poverty-stricken Niger Delta region, as rebelsthreatened yesterday to b low upoffshore tankers, a day after seizingnine foreign hostages, including aBritish man. The warning from theMovement for the Emancipation of theNiger Delta came after a series ofmilitary-style raids that disabled oiland gas pipelines and sabotaged a keyoil loading platform, halting millionsof pounds of production. Shorelinegun-boat attacks have been a keyfeature o f the upsurge in rebelviolence but so far raids have focusedon damaging pipelines, platforms orkidnapping staff, not firing rockets atthe giant oil tankers out to sea. Thefighting in Africa’s largest oil exporterhas regularly sent prices climbing inglobal oil markets. Efie Alari, a self-declared commander of the Movementfor the Emancipation of the NigerDelta, said yesterday his group waspoised to attack foreign crude oi ltankers o f fshore . “We’ l l use ourrockets on the vessels to stop themfrom taking our oil,” Mr Alari said.The group kidnapped nine foreign oilworkers on Saturday, forcing a 20%cutback in shipments from the world’seighth largest oil exporter. It said itcould also destroying shipping. “Thatcan easily be achieved by setting theengine-room and accommodationspace on fire. As long as the integrityof the storage tanks has been

compromised , whatever s toredproducts will serve as fuel to ensurea complete destruction,” the groupsaid . The mi l i tants snatched theBr i ton , three Amer icans , twoEgypt ians , two Thais and oneFilipino from a barge operated by USservices company Willbros during astring of attacks on Saturday (Feb18) which crippled Shell’s 380,000-barre l -a -day Forcados l oad ingplatform and two pipelines.

London, Feb 21 — A press report,dated today, states: A curfew has beenimposed in Bauchi in northernNigerian after at least 13 people werekilled in a sectarian riot. It began asan argument between a teacher and apupil over the confiscation of a Koranin school, but rumours swept the citythat the book had been desecratedand that was the cue for youths, somearmed with machetes, to rampage inthe streets. Reports say two churcheswere burnt in Bauchi before policef ired tear gas and l ive rounds todisperse the crowd. The stategovernor and senior security officialsin the state are meeting to discusssecurity and consider whether to holdan inquiry into the incident. The RedCross say they have recovered 13bodies but this may rise as they hopeto recover more bodies.

London, Feb 22 — A press report,dated today, states: Militants holdingnine foreign hostages said today theyhave no plans to release their captivesin the immediate future and scoffed atNigerian government attempts tosecure their release. The Movementfor the Emancipation of the NigerDelta , or MEND, accused thegovernment of a “ t ime wast ingventure” in searching for a high-levelnegotiation team to end the hostagecrisis that began Saturday (Feb 18).“We have no immediate intention ofsett ing these guys free , ” aspokesperson for the group said in ane-mail. The militants said yesterdaynegotiations hadn’t yet been arrangedfor the re lease o f the three U.S.citizens, two Egyptians, two Thais,one U.K. c it izen and one Fi l ipinoseized from a barge belonging toHouston-based oil services companyWillbros, which was laying pipelinefor Royal Dutch Shel l PLC. Themilitants say they plan to widen theircampaign across the vast region ofswamps and creeks. The militants saytheir key aims are winning therelease o f the delta ’s two mostprominent leaders, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari and former Governor DiepreyeAlamieyeseigha. Dokubo-Asari, whowaged a struggle for autonomy foreight million Ijaws that dominate theNiger delta for years, was jailed ontreason charges in September.Alamieyeseigha was arrested recentlyin Nigeria after fleeing the U.K. onmoney laundering charges. Militantsare also demanding Shell pay localcommunit ies $1.5 bi l l ion tocompensate for environmentalpollution, which Shell has rejected.The Nigerian government says themilitants are little more than criminalgangs.

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PAKISTANKarachi , Feb 18 — Three gas

pipelines in Loti and Pir Koh gasfields owned by state owned Oil andGas Development Corporation wereblown up on yesterday and a driverwas ser iously in jured when alandmine exploded in the eastern partof Balochistan province of Pakistan.According to local media reports, apipeline supplying gas to the Pir Kohgas plant from well No.24 was blownup. “Miscreants planted a powerfulbomb under the pipeline and blew itup,” Dera Bugti DCO Abdul SamadLasi said, adding that a landmineplanted at wel l No.10 stoppedengineers and other staf f f romrepairing a pipeline that had beendamaged earlier. “A bomb disposalsquad has been sent to Pir Koh todefuse the landmine,” he said, addingthat the plant closed earlier in theweek could not resume work becauseof the explosion in the main 16-inchdiameter pipeline. The OGDC driverwas injured when a landmine blew uphis tanker that was carrying water forthe Pir Koh gas plant. Two pipelinesin the Lot i gas f ie ld blown upyesteriday disrupting gas supply tothe plant from wells No 3 and 10.According to official sources, somepeople attacked the Loti gas field areaand fired a number of rockets whichhit the pipel ines . — Lloyd ’s ListCorrespondent.

Karachi, Feb 21 — Pakistan stateowned Oil and Gas Development Co(OGDC) with the help of local gasutility engineers is yet to start repairwork on the ruptured pipelines in Lotiand Pir Koh gas fields in BalochistanProvince of Pakistan. As such gassupply is stopped to some cities. Itcould not be started due to thepresence of landmines in the area,local media pointed out. Meanwhile,tribesmen further blew up a pipelinein the Pir Koh gas field yesterday. Itis reported that armed men planted abomb under the pipeline supplyinggas to the Pir Koh gas plant from wellNo 19 and detonated it yesterdaymorning. The engineers had alreadyclosed the plant due to disruption ofgas supply to the plant from at least 7gas wel ls fo l lowing attacks bytr ibesmen. — Lloyd ’s ListCorrespondent.

PERULima, Feb 20 — Peruvian pol ice

killed a senior Shining Path leaderduring a weekend raid on a rebelstronghold in the country’s centraljungle, the government said today.Hector Aponte, known by the aliasComrade Clay, headed Shining Path’srebel operations in the remote AltoHuallaga region and was shot deadyesterday night after a police assaultthat lasted several hours, InteriorMinistry Romulo Pizarro to ldreporters. “He was a man responsiblefor a lot of deaths,” Pizarro said. Headded that two suspected rebels and ahaul of weapons were also captured inthe operation. The raid followed anattack on police last week in AltoHuallaga that ki l led two off icers.

Authorities attributed the attack toremnants o f Shining Path, whichfought to try to impose communism inPeru between 1980 and the mid-1990s. Shining Path rebels killed atleast 19 police and military officers in2005, according to governmentreports. Currently, Shining Path hasseveral hundred die-hard membersholed up in Andean and jungle areas.— Reuters.

PHILIPPINESManila , Feb 17 — Mudsl ides

triggered by heavy rains buried twovillages in central Philippines today,killing at least four people, officialsand witnesses said. CongressmanRoger Mercado told Reuters that asmany as 2,000 people may have died,according to est imates by localofficials. Sixteen people were killedearlier this week when heavy rainsand f lash f loods hit southeasternprovinces. — Reuters. (See issue ofFeb 16.)

London, Feb 18 — A press report,dated today, states: An explosion neara Philippine army base being used byUS troops has wounded about 20people , reports say. The blasthappened at a karaoke bar on Jolo, anisland hit by attacks by Abu SayyafIslamic rebels. US troops are on Jolofor counter-terrorism exercises. USmilitary of f ic ials said that no USservicemen were among those hurt,and said planned exercises wouldcontinue. A spokesman said AbuSayyaf , which has kidnappedAmericans in the past, did have thecapability to attack the bar. The blasthappened at a temporary karaoke barerected close to the gates of Jolo’sarmy base , Brigadier GeneralAlexander Aleo said. About 250 UStroops are due to join Filipino unitsfor annual exercises beginning onMonday. We don ’t know who wasbehind the attack. But there’s onlyone group capable of doing this, it’sthe Abu Sayyaf.

PROTESTS AGAINSTPUBLICATION OF CARTOONS OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD

Copenhagen, Feb 17 — Denmarksaid today it had temporarily closedits embassy in Islamabad as a resultof days o f v io lent protests overcartoons of the Prophet Mohammadwhich f irst appeared in a Danishnewspaper. “We are not satisfied withthe security s i tuat ion and havetemporari ly c losed the embassy,”Foreign Ministry spokesman LarsThuesen said . The ministry alsoissued a new travel warning forPakistan, urging Danes in the countryto leave as soon as possible. “Thedemonstrations that are currentlybeing held in Pakistan have createdan atmosphere o f very strongantipathy against Denmark andDanes,” the ministry said in astatement. Five people have beenkilled in clashes between police anddemonstrators in Pakistan this weekduring violent protests against thecartoons, f i rst publ ished lastSeptember in the Danish dai ly

Jyllands-Posten and later reprintedby papers in many Western countries.Pakistani police fired tear gas anddetained more than 100 Islamiststoday to contain fresh protests .Pakistan’s foreign ministry said itwas recal l ing i ts ambassador toDenmark for consultations but did notelaborate. A Pakistani Muslim clericand his fol lowers offered rewardstoday amounting to more than $1million to anyone who killed Danishcartoonists who drew the caricaturesof the Prophet. The cartoonists havebeen under police protection since thestorm of protest over the cartoonsbroke out last month. A Danishforeign ministry spokesman said theministry would decide on Monday(Feb 20) whether to reopen theIs lamabad embassy. Danishambassador Bent Wigotski said hewas staying in Pakistan, at a securelocation. The Danish foreign ministrysaid the embassy in Islamabad couldnot at present carry out its consularmission and Danes in need of helpshould contact the German embassy.Denmark has already c losed i tsembassies in Syria, Lebanon, Iran andIndonesia because of threats againststaf f and the di f f i cult securitysituation. — Reuters.

London, Feb 18 — A press report,dated Feb 17, states: Libyans angryover caricatures o f the ProphetMuhammad r ioted at the Ital ianconsulate in Benghazi today, stormingthe building and setting it on fire. Adiplomat said at least 10 people werekilled in clashes with police. It wasthe deadl iest demonstrat ion yetagainst the cartoons, which have setoff violent protests throughout theMusl im world . Libyan securityofficials said 11 people were killed orwounded during the r iot in theeastern city of Benghazi when policefiring bullets and tear gas tried tocontain more than 1 ,000demonstrators hurl ing rocks andbottles. The casualties included policeofficers, but the officials declined tosay how many people had died.Rioters charged the consularcompound and set fire to the firstf loor o f the bui lding, the Ital ianForeign Ministry said . DomenicoBellantone, an Italian diplomat, said10 or 11 people - all Libyan - had died.Antonio Simoes-Concalves, an Italianconsular official in Benghazi, Libya’ssecond-largest city, said Libyan policewere not able to control the crowd.The riot appeared to be a reaction toItal ian Cabinet Minister RobertoCalderol i , who said this week hewould wear a T-shirt printed with thecartoons, which have provokedprotests across the Muslim world. Hisremark was widely publ ished inLibya. Calderol i wore the T-shirtbeneath a suit today. Hours later,I tal ian Prime Minister Si lv ioBerlusconi asked for his resignation,the ANSA news agency reported. InPakistan, the c ler ic MohammedYousaf Qureshi said the mosque andthe religious school he leads wouldgive a $25,000 reward and a car forkilling the cartoonist who drew the

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caricatures - considered blasphemousby many Muslims. He said a localjewellers’ association would also give$1 million, but no representative ofthe associat ion was avai lable toconfirm the offer. Qureshi did notname any cartoonist and he did notappear aware that 12 different peoplehad drawn the pictures. In Denmark,a spokesman for the newspaper,Jyllands-Posten, declined comment onthe bounty offer, but Mogens BlicherBjerregaard, president of the DanishJournalist Union and spokesman forthe cartoonists, condemned it. He saidthe cartoonists - who have been livingunder police protection since last year- are aware of the reward and are“ feel ing bad about the wholesituation.” Denmark, meanwhile, saidit had temporarily closed its embassyin Pakistan and urged Danes to leavethe country. Last week, Denmarktemporarily shut its embassies inLebanon, Syria, Iran and Indonesia.Before today, a total of 19 people haddied in protests over the caricatures,with the deadliest day being February8, when police in Afghanistan shotand killed four protesters outside theU.S. military base in the southern cityof Qalat.

London, Feb 18 — A press report,dated today, states: At least 16 peoplehave been killed in northern Nigeriain violent protests by Muslims overthe cartoons depicting the ProphetMuhammad. Eleven churches wereburned during the riots in Maiduguri,the capital of the north-eastern stateof Borno. Soldiers have been deployedand a curfew imposed, pol ice say.These are the first violent protestsover the cartoons in Nigeria, whosepopulation is nearly equally splitbetween Muslims and Christians.Christ ian leaders in the mainlyMuslim north of the country had beenquick to denounce the publication ofthe cartoons. Residents in Maiduguridescribed demonstrators running wildafter pol ice tr ied to disperse theprotest with teargas . Some weredel iberately target ing the c i ty ’sChristian minority, they said. At least10 churches, some hotels, more than20 shops and over 10 vehicles wereburned by the protesters . Violentclashes State governor Modu Sheriffsaid the state was shocked anddisgusted by the civil disturbance inMaiduguri. At least 15 died in thecity, while one person was killed insimilar riots in north-central Katsinastate . Around 115 people werearrested in Maiduguri and 105 inKatsina, a police spokesman said.

SOMALIAMogadishu, Feb 19 — At least 12

people were killed and more than 40others wounded when rival militiasusing mortars, anti-aircraft guns andartillery clashed in Somalia’s capitaltoday, res idents said . They saidcivi l ians including women andchildren were among the casualtieswhen heavy fighting over territorybroke out between gunmen loyal toMogadishu’s Islamic courts and a localwarlord in the south of the capital.

Each side blamed the other for thehostilities, which highlight generallawlessness in the Horn of Africacountry that has been without afunctioning central government forthe last 15 years and is run by variousclan-based militias. Residents saidthe fighting started early yesterdayand continued through the day.Among the dead, at least four werecivil ians, residents said. Hospitalof f ic ia ls in the capital said 41wounded were brought in, includingseven chi ldren and 12 women. —Reuters.

Nairobi, Feb 20 — At least 15 peoplehave been ki l led and hundreds offamilies displaced in fighting thatstarted on Saturday (Feb 18) betweenrival militias in the Somali capital,Mogadisc io , witnesses said . Theviolence erupted when armed militiasreportedly loyal to Mogadiscio militialeader, Abdi Nure Siyad, also knownas “Abdi Wal”, attacked others whoguard the Islamic courts which arelocated in a former military academysouth of city. Siyad is a member of anewly created group — the Alliancefor Peace and Fight AgainstInternational Terror ism — whichcomprises several Mogadishu-basedfact ion leaders . Other membersinclude Muhammad Qanyare Afrah,Muse Sudi Yalahow, Omar Finnish,Bashir Raghe and Abdirashid ShireI lqeyte . The weekend f ight ingsubsided but resumed today “withintensity, ” Hassan Ade, a localresident, said. Siyad denied startingthe violence. “I was attacked by thesepeople (Islamic court militias) and Iam defending myself,” he said. “Thesegroups are only after one thing —power — and are hiding behindIslam.” Abdullahi Shirwa, a memberof Civil Society in Action, an umbrellaorganisat ion made up of over 12groups in Mogadiscio, however, saidthe fighting was an attempt by thealliance “to arrest the influence of theIslamic courts,” which, he said, hasbrought a semblance of order in areasthey control . Shops, secular andKoranic schools were c losed andpublic transport disrupted as fightingraged. Hospital sources said many ofthe dead and wounded were civilianshit by stray bullets. The number ofthose wounded in various hospitalsyesterday stood at “over 100,” a localdoctor said. Most of the wounded weretaken to the Medina and Hasan Jishospitals, he said. “In our hospital wetreated 100 injured — 50 of themserious,” Shaykhdon Salad Ilmi, adoctor at Medina said. Elders andcivil society groups were trying tomediate between the combatants. In astatement issued today, the Civi lSociety in Action urged an immediatecessation of hostilities. — Reuters.

London, Feb 22 — A press report,dated Feb 21, states: At least sevenmore people have been killed on thefourth day of the heaviest fightingseen in the Somali capital Mogadisciofor several years. Supporters of someof Mogadiscio’s militia leaders haveclashed with an armed Islamist groupwhich says it is trying to establish law

and order. Their opponents say theIslamic courts are terrorising localpeople. More than 22 people have diedsince fighting began on Saturday (Feb18), many of them civilians hit bystray bullets. A witness said todaythat they had seen two people die and15 wounded in a clash in southernMogadiscio ’s Daynile district. Themain airstrip there which is used byaid agencies and businessmen hasbeen shut.

SUDANKhartoum, Feb 21 — Chadian

farmers are being beaten, harassedand killed in cross-border raids bySudanese mil i t ia , at t imes withsupport from Sudanese armyhelicopters, the rights group HumanRights Watch said today. The reportquoted dozens of interviews with someof the tens of thousands of Chadianswho have fled their homes, floodingalready overcrowded refugee campsalong the long and porous Chad-Sudan border. The United Nationsaccuses Khartoum of arming thefeared Arab militia Janjaweed to fightmostly non-Arab Darfur rebels whotook up arms three years agocomplaining of neglect , a chargeSudan denies . That conf l ict hasspilled over into Chad where Darfurrefugees have swel led camps andfighters have brought their campaignof violence. A Chadian farmer said theJanjaweed were targeting non-Arabtribes. “This is not your land ... if youstay you will be killed but if you runwe won’t ki l l you,” he quoted theJanjaweed as saying when he fled hisland. Chad, which is under threatfrom its own insurgents, withdrew itsborder troops to protect i ts mainfrontier towns, including Adre, whichwas attacked in December by rebelssworn to oust President Idriss Deby.Janjaweed militias are believed tohave taken advantage of the vacuumand are raiding deeper into Chadianterr i tory, unchecked by e i therChadian or Sudanese armed forces. —Reuters.

UGANDAKampala, Feb 17 — Ugandan

opposition leader Kiiza Besigye hasappealed to his supporters to remaincalm after an incident in the capitalcity, Kampala, in which two peoplewere shot dead and four otherswounded by an armed man. Theshooting occurred on Wednesday (Feb15) in the Kampala suburb of Mengo,where Besigye was meeting officials ofBuganda, Uganda’s largest ethnickingdom. Witnesses said a largecrowd of about 3 ,000 Besigyesupporters grew angry when a vehiclecarrying some men — among them asuspected security agent — attemptedto push its way through the throng.“They tried to force their way throughthe crowd, but people refused,” saidCharles Mugerwa, a witness. “One ofthem (the men in the car) pulled out agun and fired in the air. When thepeople started throwing stones atthem, he jumped out of the vehicleand started firing at close range. Two

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people were killed, while four otherswere injured. We are st i l linvestigating what triggered off thecommotion that ended up in theshooting,” said Patrick Ogwanga, apolice spokesman. Besigye, the leaderof the Forum for Democratic Change,is the main challenger to PresidentYoweri Museveni in the Feb 23elections. He was unharmed in theshooting. — Reuters.

AUSTRALIALondon, Feb 16 — A press report,

dated today, states: Industrial actionto halt QR trains Freight andpassenger train services acrossQueensland wi l l be disruptedtomorrow due to industrial action bythe Rai l , Tram and Bus Union(RTBU). Members will stop work from1000 to 1300, AEST, to consider theirnext move in a pay dispute withQueensland Rai l (QR) . Unionspokesman Owen Doogan says thet iming has been chosen to avoidaffecting the morning and afternoonpeak hour. He says further industrialact ion cannot be ruled out .Tomorrow’s stoppage is the latestchapter in an on-going row betweenrail unions and QR.

CREW OF PANAMANIAN VESSELAT FREDERICIA, DENMARK

See Vertigo under “Marine.”

GREECEPiraeus, Feb 17 — The Panhellenic

Seamen’s Federation has announcedthat the str ike wi l l cont inue foranother 48 hours, 0600, Feb 20. —Lloyd’s Agents.

London, Feb 20 — A press report,dated today, states: Seamen decidedyesterday to extend their strike actionto Wednesday (Feb 22) , creat ingsupply problems to Greeceøs islandswhile also isolating passengers indifferent parts of the country. Ferrieshave been moored since Thursday(Feb 16) after workers walked off thejob in a bid to push ahead with theireconomic demands, which includehigher pensions and measures totackle unemployment in their sector.The Panhellenic Seamen’s Federation(PNO) announced that the strike willnow run through to 0600 Wednesday.Merchant Marine Minister ManolisKelafoyiannis met with the workersyesterday but failed to convince themto go back to work. Farmers said thatthe strike is having a crippling effecton their business as hundreds oftrucks transporting fresh produceremain stuck at the countryøs ports.Problems have also been caused at theItalian ports of Bari and Ancona byvehicles waiting to cross to Greece.

London, Feb 21 — A press report,dated Feb 20, states: Farmers on theisland of Crete clashed with striking

seamen who kept Greece’s ports closedfor a fifth day today. The protest hascaused food and gasol ine supplyproblems for some Greek islands, andforced farmers to dump perishablegoods. The clashes broke out at theports of Iraklio and Hania, whereprotesting farmers stormed into alocal government building and tried tocut ropes keeping vessels in port.Protesting seamen began the strike onThursday (Feb 16), seeking better payand pension rights. They are due toend the stoppage on Wednesday. Thegovernment has put navy vessels onstandby to transport emergencysupplies, and today appealed to thestriking Greek Seamen’s Federationto restart some commercial shipservices. “This is a very serious issuewhich concerns not only the seamenbut the farmers whose produce isbeing destroyed because of the delayscreated by the strike,” governmentspokesman Theodoros Roussopoulossaid . “ In every str ike there areusual ly provis ions made foremergencies,” he said. “We requestthat one vessel be allowed to sail toeach destination to cover emergencyrequirements.”

London, Feb 21 — Hundreds oftrucks have been stranded at Greekports today after seafarers extended afour-day strike for two more days,Merchant Marine Ministry officialssaid . Trucks at ports around thecountry have turned off their enginessince the strike, over pensions andunemployment benefits , began onThursday (Feb 16) with fresh produceand supplies for the Greek islandsstranded. Supplies from the mainlandare the main lifeline for the Greekislands for products such as food andfuel . “We have problems on theis lands, we are gett ing cal ls o fshortages,” a ministry official toldReuters . “Producers are alsodemanding the produce be moved.”Five naval ships were ready to begintransporting products to the islands ifneeded, particularly fuel, a defenceministry source said. The strike alsoaf fected trucks transport inginternational goods from ports such asItaly. “This is a catastrophe for us,”Thanasis Kakos, President of theGreek International Lorry DriversAssociation, said, adding: “Goods arerotting.” Hundreds of trucks weretrapped at Italian ports waiting tobring goods to Greece, Kakos said.

London, Feb 21 — A press report,dated today, states: The ships willremain docked until 0600 Friday, asthe Panhellenic Seamen’s Federation(PNO) decided on extending the strikefor another 48 hours. In addition,Mercantile Marine Minister ManolisKefalogiannis met with PNOrepresentatives at 1900 today. “We areexpect ing that the Panhel lenicSeamen’s Federation will suspend thestrike, continue the dialogue and todeescalate this crisis affecting allsocial classes and mainly the islandsof Greece,” stated the Minister ofMercanti le Marine fo l lowing themeeting. Meanwhile, the continuousmarit ime str ike has resulted in

serious shortages in basiccommodities and fuel on the Greekislands, while hundreds of truckscarrying perishable goods remainstranded at the ports . EconomyMinister Giorgos Alogoskoufis and theMercantile Marine Minister, who metto discuss the matter, noted that therelevant authorities are reviewing themarit ime employees ’ f inancialdemands, taking into considerationthe particularities of the profession.In the meantime, the Piraeus FirstInstance Court re jected therestraining order filed by the Union ofCoastal Shipowners and ruled thestr ike legal . Governmentspokesperson Thodoros Roussopoulosrejected once again the possibility ofpolitically mobilising the strikers,stressing that the Government is infavour of d ialogue, whi le theOpposit ion attacked the Greekadministrat ion for the way i t ishandl ing the case . Speaking atPASOK’s parl iamentary groupmeeting, party leader GeorgePapandreou attr ibuted ful lresponsibility for the situation withGreek shipping to the Government.Mr Papandreou accused theGovernment of acting like PontiusPi lot and hiding behind thedisagreement and disputes betweenfarmers and marit ime employees,drivers and maritime employees andnew and old workers. At the sametime, as he noted, the islands are introuble. “For one, it is hypocritical forPASOK and its President to appeartoday as judges and it is politicallyirresponsible of them to politicallyexploit the demands of the workers,”responded Government spokespersonThodoros Roussopoulos. Referring tothe clashes of interests between socialgroups, Mr Roussopoulos said, “ThePresident of PASOK knows very wellwho the ones who excelled in socialautomatism pract ices are . ” TheGovernment spokesperson alsostressed that the inst i tut ionaldemands of the maritime employeeshave been satisfied through dialogue,while only the f inancial demandsremain to be discussed. Finally, PAME(All Workers ’ Mil itant Front) hasscheduled a rally for 1800 today atPiraeus ’s central stat ion. In themeantime, trailer trucks are forminglong queues at all of the country’sports . Trucks carrying over 2,000tonnes of perishable goods remainstranded, while if the strike continuesfor another two days , 50% of theproduction will be lost. The problemsfrom the cont inuing str ikes areaccumulating and as a result, manyislands are facing serious shortages inbasic commodities. The ships remaindocked in Piraeus, but the situation iscalm, since everyone is awaiting theunionists ’ meet ing. The PiraeusProsecutor had to intervene thisafternoon, as a ship under foreign flagsailed for Crete to collect some 100trucks carrying perishable goods. ThePNO f i led a written complaint ,c la iming that the ship , which isexpected in Crete in the early hours oftomorrow morning, sai led with

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inadequate personnel, while it has notimplemented the necessary safetymeasures , a l though i t received apermit to sail from the Piraeus PortAuthority. In Crete, producers of fruitand vegetables, and mainly tomatoes,are witnessing their crops perish. InHeraklion, the producers have blockedthe new and old national Heraklion-Lasithi highways, close to the airport,asking for the products to betransferred. In Kavala , a fterdiscussing with the masters of theships, the employees from two localshipping companies decided toperform some shipping routes in orderto transfer food and fuel . Majorproblems were also recorded inIgoumenitsa. As per the truck drivers,the maritime employeesø strike isleading them to destruct ion. OnCephalonia and Zakynthos, there areserious shortages in fuel and medicaloxygen. On Corfu, the situation isbetter, s ince a ferry transferredpatients and oxygen cylinders. OnLesvos, more than 100 trucks carryinglocal products remain stranded at theport o f Myti lene. On Paros , longqueues are being formed at theOlympic Airways counter for a seat inthe daily flight to Athens, while theisland is facing serious shortages indrugs, dairy products andconstruct ion materials . Similarproblems are being recorded on theislands of Serifos, Kythira, Naxos,Donousa, Schoinousa, Koufonisia andTilos. On Chios, the strike has createdmajor problems for the fisheries, as100 tonnes of fish for export remainrefrigerated. No ships have sailed intoAmorgos since last Tuesday, while15,000 lambs will spoil if they are notdistributed to the country’s markets.Finally, on Kastelorizo, the locals areusing their private boats to get toneighbouring Turkey in order topurchase food and drugs.

Piraeus, Feb 22 — The PanhellenicSeamen’s Federat ion (PNO) hasannounced the continuation of thestrike until 0600 hrs, Friday, Feb 24.— Lloyd’s Agents.

SOUTH AFRICALondon, Feb 17 — A press report,

dated Feb 16, states: The staff strikeat the University of KwaZulu-Natalhas ended, university managementsaid today.The dispute was over a payincrease, with the university offeringfour per cent while the workers askedfor eight per cent. “We acknowledgethat staff salaries at UKZN are fallingbehind,” management said. However,there was a broad agreement on theprinciples governing salary disputeresolut ion. “As a result o f thisagreement industrial action has beensuspended and the university is beingreturned to normality.” The terms ofagreement are subject to counci lapproval. Management apologised tostudents and parents for anyinconvenience caused and promisedthey would make up for the time lostin classes. They also agreed to set upa joint executive/union task team todiscuss matters raised during thestrike.

London, Feb 18 — A press report,dated today, states: The Transnetworkers strike moves to the EasternCape today and in particular the portc i t ies o f East London and PortElizabeth. While the ef fect is notexpected to be as dramatic as it hasbeen in Durban and Cape Town,companies outside of Transnet arebracing themselves for staff shortagesbecause the commuter trains won’t berunning. The effect on the two ports ishard to judge but a union spokesmansaid they didn’t expect mass support.Marches are however planned for EastLondon and Port El izabeth. OnMonday (Feb 20) it becomes the turnof Gauteng and the busy metropolis ofJohannesburg and Tshwane (Pretoria)as a three day strike is extended tothat part of the country.

London, Feb 20 — A press report,dated today, states: Tens of thousandsof South African commuters werestranded today as a strike at staterail group Transnet plunged parts ofthe country ’s economic hub ofJohannesburg into transport chaos. Aspokeswoman for Metrorai l ,Transnet’s commuter rail network,said just six percent of trains in thegreater Johannesburg area wererunning, leaving most of the 660,000people who use the service dai lystruggling to get to work. The blacktownship of Soweto was worst hit,with only a handful of replacementbuses shutt l ing commuters intoJohannesburg ’s central businessdistrict, said spokeswoman ThandiMlangeni . “ In Johannesburg thesituation is not good... In Pretoria theservice level is about 40 percent,” shesaid. Transport unions launched thethree-day str ike in the Gauteng,North West , Limpopo andMpumalanga provinces today aftertalks with management broke downover the weekend, local media said.Workers are walking out in a series ofstr ikes across the country overgovernment plans to restructure therail and logistics group.


dated today, states: Postal workers inBelfast are back at work at the end ofmore than two weeks of unofficialindustrial action. Royal Mail saidthere was a backlog of seven millionitems, but that mail was now movingto Britain and deliveries in Belfasthad commenced again. Extra peopleand vehicles are being brought in andthe company is using other mai lcentres across the UK to help processundel ivered post . However, i t isexpected to take up to four weeks toclear the backlog. Royal Mail hadasked staff to go back to work after itagreed to a review of employeerelations. The strike ended yesterdayafter agreement between the companyand the Communicat ion WorkersUnion. The union said its membersregretted the inconvenience the strikehad caused to the publ ic . In astatement today, Royal Mail said allstaff returning to work had attended“welcome back” meetings. “These have

been useful and constructive sessionsfor employees and managers,” it said.“They have been a forum foremployees to start feeding back issuesand for Royal Mail to get commitmentto a shared understanding of the wayforward, including the work of anindependent third party and the needto agree a f lashpoint resolut ionprocess that will ensure that therewill be no form of industrial actionover the next 12 months.” A CWUspokesman said: “At the request ofRoyal Mai l , the union becameinvolved in discussions to help resolvethe dispute and is pleased that RoyalMail has now given a writtenstatement to the union, v ia theLabour Relations Agency, which hasenabled the dispute to be brought toan end and facilitated a return towork.” The union had said it wantedassurances from the company that itwould not interfere with theindependent body brought in toreview employee relations at the firm.It a lso said i t d id not want i tsmembers v ict imised when theyreturned to work. On Thursday (Feb16), the company said it had given theunion the assurances it had asked for.The company’s offer also requiredstaff to agree to a 12-month ban onindustrial action.

UNITED STATESLondon, Feb 21 — A press report,

dated today, states : Nearly 3 ,600Sikorsky Aircraft workers inConnect icut and Flor ida went onstr ike yesterday, b laming higherhealth insurance costs in thecompany’s contract offer as the reasonfor their walkout. Workers withTeamsters Local 1150 overwhelminglyrejected the contract and voted Sunday(Feb 19) in favour of the strike, thecompany’s first since 1963. The unionrepresents 3,500 workers at thehelicopter maker in Connecticut and90 in Florida. Union members beganpicketing early Monday morning at thecompany’s Stratford headquarters andlocations in West Haven, Bridgeport,Shelton and West Palm Beach, Fla.The most recent contract expired atmidnight Sunday. Sikorsky officialscountered that they believed thecontract was a good offer, consideringthat it also included 3.5 percent payraises in each year of the three-yeardeal, pension improvements and a$2,000 ratification bonus. Sikorsky, aunit of United Technologies Corp.,employs about 9,500 workers inConnecticut, including about 3,500Teamsters and 6,000 salaried workers.The company makes civi l ian andmilitary helicopters, including S-76executive transport models, ArmyBlack Hawks and Navy Seahawks. Nonew contract talks were scheduled.Negotiators and the union’s secretarytreasurer, Rocco Calo, cited a doublingof health care co-payments in the firstyear and a 15 percent increase over thenext two years, according to the Website. The proposed contract also wouldhave raised prescription costs anddoctor visit copays, “among othercostly increases.”

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BREACH OF CONTRACT, UNITED STATES

London, Feb 18 — A press report,dated yesterday, states: Hinds Countyjury has awarded over $36 million indamages in a lawsuit againstPrudential Insurance. The family ofDr. Edsel Stewart of McComb filed thelawsuit before the state put a cap onjury awards beginning in January2003. Stewart died in 1999 after hisfamily claimed he had purchased a $1mil l ion l i fe insurance pol icy.Prudential Insurance said a policynever existed. On Wednesday (Feb15), the jury awarded $1.4 million incompensatory damages and $35million in punitive damages againstPrudential. The insurance agent wasassessed damages of $9,600. TheStewart ’s four chi ldren suedPrudential Insurance, Prudential LifeInsurance, Pruco Li fe Insurance,agent James Bateman and others in2002, claiming breach of contract fornot honouring the policy. Prudentialspokesman Bob DeFillippo said theverdict will be appealed.

PERSONAL INJURIES, UNITED STATES

London, Feb 23 — A press report,dated Feb 22, states: The ChicagoTransit Authority has agreed to pay$5 million to a University of Chicagostudent who was severely injuredafter she was struck by a CTA bus inHyde Park in 2001, according to acopy of the agreement. Ki Shih wasbicycl ing to c lass on Hyde ParkBoulevard when a bus travelling inthe same direction hit her, knockedher off her bicycle and ran over her,according to a copy of the lawsuit filedagainst the CTA and the bus driver.Shih suffered multiple fractures inher pelvis and lost the skin off herheel , according to one of herattorneys, Greg Harris of Maywood.Harris and Leonard Becker, who alsorepresented Shih, said the bus waspulling to a stop when it cut her off,but the CTA believes that Shih wasresponsible.

PERSONAL INJURY, CANADALondon, Feb 16 — A press report,

dated Feb 15, states: Canadian PacificRailway must pay four people nearly$1.86 million US for injuries theysuf fered as a result o f a 2002derailment near Minot, N.D., thatspilled a cloud of anhydrous ammonia,a jury here decided today. Thecompany had admitted it was at faultfor the derailment, so the jury of 11men and women was responsible fordeciding how much money eachplaintiff would receive. Jodi Schulz,47, who claimed she has suffered fromasthma and other respiratoryproblems since the derailment was

awarded $938,482 for past and futurelosses. She had been seeking morethan $1.24 million to cover medicalexpenses and emotional pain andsuffering. Jeanette Klier, 51, whoclaimed she has suffered dry eyes,was seeking nearly $360,000 but got$300,191. Mel issa Al lende, 37,claimed she suffered from asthma, dryeyes and post traumatic stressdisorder. She was awarded $450,872,compared with the $705,000 shesought . Her husband, RichardAllende, 37, who also claimed to sufferfrom dry eyes and some emotionalissues , was seeking more than$250,000. He got $168,071. All told,the plaintiffs in the case sought about$2.65 mil l ion. The company hadoffered them about $120,000 - $50,000each for Schulz and Melissa Allendeand $10,000 each for Kl ier andRichard Allende. The trial was held inMinneapolis, where Canadian Pacifichas i ts US headquarters . Thecompany is based in Calgary. TimThornton, a lawyer for the company,declined comment after the awardswere announced. But the companyhad contended the plaintiffs wereseeking too much. “The railroad doesnot dispute that that night was ahorrific night,” Thornton said duringhis c los ing argument Friday. “ I tshould not be a lottery ticket.” Jurorsreceived the case at the end of the dayFriday and began del iberat ionsMonday morning, reaching theirdecision around midday today. Thetr ia l lasted about three weeks .Thirty -one cars in the CanadianPacific train went off the tracks inJanuary 2002 on Minot ’s westernedge . Five tank cars ruptured ,re leas ing anhydrous ammonia , acommon farm fertilizer. One man waski l led and hundreds o f peoplereported injuries ranging from burnsto breathing problems from thechemical cloud that hung over thecity. More than 100 claims were filedagainst the company. Six cases weresettled out of court earlier, includinga wrongful death lawsuit by thewidow of John Grabinger, 38, whodied while trying to escape the toxiccloud.

QUEBEC AREA, CANADALondon, Feb 19 — A press report,

dated yesterday, states: No one wasinjured after a CN trail derailed justsouth of Quebec City. Officials saytwo l o comot ives and f i ve carsskipped the tracks and p loughedinto a woman ’s backyard in Va l -A la in . Res idents a re worr i edbecause the train was carrying fuelf r om an Ul t ramar r e f inery t oMontreal. The accident is believed tohave been caused by i c e on thetracks.

London, Feb 21 — A press report,dated Feb 20, states: Traffic is not yetback to normal after the weekendderailment in Quebec of two trains,one loaded with diesel fuel thatskidded and ended up in a woman’sbackyard. No one was hurt when thetwo locomotives and five tanker carsjumped the track, and only a smallamount o f fuel leaked. CanadianPaci f ic is opt imist ic a train l inebetween Delson and Montreal will berunning by Tuesday (Feb 21), after adramatic derailment during Friday’swindstorm. The high winds blew anumber of cars carrying tal lcontainers off the tracks as a freighttrain crossed a bridge over the St.Lawrence River that links Montreal’sLasalle area to communities on theriver’s south shore. Some of the carsare still leaning at a 45-degree angleover the r iver. The derai lment ispreventing commuters from travellingto and from Montreal by train.. CPfreight trains are being rerouted ontoCanadian National lines. Today, CPspokesman Michel SpÈnard said largecranes had started moving the cars.

SERRES AREA, GREECELondon, Feb 17 — A press report,

dated Feb 16, states: Two people werekilled and 19 injured today when anintercity train collided with a truckand derailed near the northern Greekcity o f Serres , rai lway and f irebrigade officials said. “We have twodead people, one man who is thoughtto have been driving the truck and awoman passenger on the train,” a firebrigade of f ic ial told Reuters. Thetrain, on the Athens-Thessaloniki-Alexandroupol i route , had fourcoaches and was carrying 101passengers, according to a statementby Hel lenic Rai lways (OSE) . Theaccident occured in a remote areanear the village of Chrysso. “The traincrashed at 1407 today with a truckthat was attempting to illegally crossthe track, leading to the derailment,”OSE said. Emergency services rushedto the scene and the more seriouslyinjured were taken to hospital innearby Serres. “Seven of the injuredwere taken by ambulances to Serreshospital, two of whom were seriouslyinjured,” a Greek ambulance servicespokesman told Reuters. Officialsearlier said a total of 30 had beeninjured but later reduced the figure to19.

CASH FROM SECURITY DEPOT,TONBRIDGE, KENT, UNITED KINGDOM

London, Feb 23 — A press report,dated today, states: An armed gangposed as pol icemen to abduct asecurity manager and his family

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© A complete online archive covering the last 10 years of Lloyd’s Casualty Week. For further information please call +44 (0) 20 7017 4779.

AAwwaarrddss && SSeettttlleemmeennttss//RRaaiillwwaayy AAcccciiddeennttss//RRoobbbbeerriieess && TThheeffttss

before stealing up to £40m in one ofBritain’s biggest robberies. A gang ofat least six people tied up 15 membersof staf f at the Securitas depot inTonbridge, Kent, before making offwith the cash. The highlyorchestrated raid involved thesynchronised kidnaps of the depotmanager and of his young son andwife, who was told that her husbandhad been injured in a car accident inorder to leave her home in Herne Bay,Kent . Robbers threatened themanager at gunpoint and forced himto help them gain access to the cashat the depot, enabling them to pull offthe crime which police have said was“planned in detail over time.” Withinhours o f the theft , the Bank ofEngland had been alerted that thecash, which was due to be distributedto banking customers around south-east England, had been stolen. SeniorGovernment ministers were also toldof the theft. The Bank confirmed lastnight that Securitas has reimbursedthem with an initial £25m and willreimburse the exact amount stolenonce a full audit has been conducted.Unconfirmed reports suggest that upto £40m was taken, making therobbery Britain’s biggest ever cashheist . The Bank of England isreviewing its security arrangementsfor storage of banknotes as a result.As forensic of f icers examined thescene last night , detai ls o f themeticulously planned kidnaps thatenabled the robbery to take placeemerged. On Tuesday evening (Feb21), while his wife and son were beingabducted f rom their home, themanager o f Secur i tas ’ main cashdepot south of the Thames was pulledover in his car near Maidstone, bywhat he believed was an unmarkedpolice car. A man wearing a high-visibility jacket and “police-style” hatgot out of the vehicle, which had bluelights in the radiator grill, and spoketo him. The manager, believing themen to be officers, got into their carand was handcuffed. The managerwas then driven in the car, whichmay have been a Volvo or similarvehicle, westbound along the M20 onto the West Malling bypass, where hewas tied up and put into a white van.At an unknown locat ion , gangmembers threatened the manager atgunpoint and told him to “co-operateor his family would be at risk,” aKent police spokesman said. He wasforced to help the armed robbers gainaccess the guarded site and the cashstored at the Vale Road depot, one of11 cash management centres run bySecuritas. At 0100 yesterday, at leastsix men wearing balaclavas, somearmed with handguns, threatenedand t ied up about 15 members o fstaff. The gang spent the next hourloading the cash into a 7 .5-tonnewhite lorry, be fore dr iv ing o f f atabout 0215 hrs . Kent pol ice werealerted to the crime when the shockedbut unhurt staff activated an alarm.The manager, his wife and son werealso uninjured.

COLLAPSE OF WHEAT SILOS,NORRKOPING, SWEDEN

Gothenburg, Feb 20 — Shortly after1400 today two silos containing 5,800tons of wheat co l lapsed, atNorrkoping when one fell into theother and both collapsed. It was in themorning, when the staff came to work,that one s i lo was found s l ight lybroken and commenced to dischargeinto another unit, total of 5,800 tons.Later a crack was noted and aftersome hours emptying, the unit startedto lean and while discharging thecontent, the broken unit first “satdown” then turned towards the otherand into same and which also broke. .No persons were injured. Tonightother units and silos in the area arebeing checked, but so far there is noexplanation to the incident. — WestaxMarine Services AB.

OUTBREAK OF “BIRD FLU”Ljubljana, Feb 17 — Bird flu took a

f irm hold on Europe yesterday,moving officially into Slovenia, andputting countries in the Middle Eastand Afr ica on alert . Germanydiscovered 10 more H5N1 cases ,Greece detected an additional two andAustr ia also reported one more.Hungary was awaiting results from aspecialist laboratory in Britain todetermine whether the H5 virusdetected in three dead wild swans onWednesday (Feb 15) was the H5N1strain. Iraq declared a bird flu alert ina province south of the capitalBaghdad to prevent people fromtransporting birds in and out of thearea, Al Arabiya television reported.The virus killed an Iraqi teenage girlin January. Poultry markets inEurope and Africa alike were hit hardand “a loss of appetite” was evident inWest Africa, where H5N1 outbreaksin Nigeria are worrying neighbouringcountries . The Lowy Institute forInternational Policy, an independentAustralian think tank, predicted thata pandemic could wipe US$4.4 trillionoff global economic output and killmore than 140 mil l ion people . —Reuters.

Jakarta, Feb 18 — Bird f lu haskilled a 23-year-old market worker inIndonesia , a senior governmentofficial said today, citing test resultsfrom the U.S. Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention in Atlanta.The man, the country’s 19th victim ofthe H5N1 avian flu virus, died onFebruary 10 in a Jakarta hospital. Hehad worked at a traditional markettransporting chicken eggs. “We havereceived the test result from CDCAtlanta. Purnomo (the victim) waspositive,” Hariadi Wibisono, director-general of control of animal-bornedisease at Indonesia’s health ministry,told Reuters. He said that brought the

total number of confirmed Indonesianhuman cases of the H5N1 virus to 27.Eight o f those who have had thedisease have survived. The latestIndonesian casualty takes the numberof known cases o f the diseaseworldwide to 171 and the death toll to93. Controlling the virus is a huge, ifnot impossible, task in Indonesia, anarchipelago of about 17,000 islandsand 220 mil l ion people . Thegovernment has resisted the massculling of fowl seen in some othernations, citing the expense and theimpracticality in a country where thekeeping of a few chickens or ducks inbackyards o f homes is widelypract iced in c i t ies as wel l as thecountryside . Agencies haveconcentrated instead on select iveculling, and on public education andhygiene measures aimed atprevention. — Reuters.

London, Feb 19 — A press report,dated today, states : France hasconfirmed it has found the deadlyH5N1 bird flu strain in a wild duck,the first case of the virus in Europe’sbiggest poultry producer. The FarmMinistry says tests show a duck founddead in eastern France on Monday(Feb 13) had the virus , which istransmissible to humans and hasspread from Asia to Europe andAfrica. “This virus is to 99 per centidentical with the virus o f Asianorigin,” the Ministry said in astatement. The tested bird was one ofseveral wild ducks found dead nearLyon in a region famous for thequality of its chickens. Officials saythey have installed a security zone ofthree ki lometres around the spotwhere the bird was found.Veterinarians are checking birdswithin the zone, in accordance withemergency measures planned by theEuropean Union. A few hours beforethe test results were conf irmed,President Jacques Chirac said theGovernment would be vigilant andready to act on a possible outbreak.“It is a situation which we have totake with calm, but which also has tobe taken very seriously,” Mr Chiractold a news conference in Bangkokduring a trip to Thailand. The highlypathogenic avian inf luenza H5N1virus has infected 171 people andkilled 93 of them.

London, Feb 19 — A press report,dated today, states: Health officials inIndia are engaged in a huge cull ofhalf a million birds, after finding thecountry ’s f i rst cases o f the H5N1strain of b ird f lu . Thousands ofchickens which died on a farm inMaharashtra, in western India werefound with the infection. Officials saida dead man, suspected of being thefirst human victim in India, had notdied of b ird f lu . The cul l inMaharashtra killed at least 200,000fowl toay. A three km exclusion zonehas been establ ished around theinfected farm, and another one millionchickens in farms up to 10km awaywill be vaccinated. More than 200veterinary specialists in Maharashtrahave been sent to help destroy thebirds and about 80 people are being

Miscellaneous

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tested there for possible humaninfection as a precaution. Officialsexpect to cull around 300,000 birdsinitially. The outbreak is centred onNavapur in Nandurbar distr ict ,400km north of the Maharashtra statecapital, Mumbai. “Culling of chickenswill continue today and tomorrow,” TPDoke, Maharashtra health director,to ld Reuters today. “We hope tocomplete the process of containing thespread completely in four to five daysin phases.” State authorities have alsobegun distributing protective clothing,masks and preventat ive drugs topoultry workers . In otherdevelopments, Bangladesh increasedsurvei l lance o f i ts borders in anattempt to prevent the smuggling oflive birds or poultry into the countryand authorities in Egypt closed Cairozoo after several of its birds died frombird flu.

Mumbai, Feb 20 — India began door-to-door checks for people with feverand began culling up to a half-millionbirds to contain the f irst bird f luoutbreak in the world’s second-mostpopulous country. France tried to calmconsumer fears at the weekend (Feb18-19) after its first case of the H5N1virus by asking people to eat chicken.As the two distant nations coped withtheir first cases of bird flu, which hasinfected 171 people worldwide andkilled 93, authorities in Egypt shutdown a Cairo zoo and seven other zoosfrom yesterday after 83 birds diedthere, some containing the deadlyH5N1 strain. At least 11 countrieshave reported bird flu outbreaks overthe past three weeks, an indicationthe deadly virus is spreading faster.In India , o f f ic ia ls in the remotedistr ict o f Nandurbar in westernMaharashtra state launched a door-to-door check for people with fever.India, known for its poor health caresystem, was testing about 30 peoplefor avian flu after 50,000 birds died inNandurbar and tests on some fowlsshowed H5N1 strain. “There is noconf irmed case o f human avianinfluenza. I would like to assure thatthe situation is closely monitored andunder control,” India’s health ministerAnbumani Ramadoss told parliament.His statement came after preliminarytests yesterday on a dead farmersuspected to have been India’s firsthuman victim proved to be negativefor the disease . Two persons,including a chi ld had beenquarantined in a hospital inNandurbar after they showed flu-likesymptoms, Maharashtra’s top healthofficial, Vijay Satbir Singh, said. “Weare culling all chickens in the affectedarea,” Maharashtra health directorT.P. Doke said. Earlier, Ramadoss hadsaid between 300,000 and 500,000birds would have to be slaughtered inthe area. Bird flu’s march into theheart of Europe from Asia continuedwith the virus reaching the Germanmainland at the weekend andRomania detecting further cases ofdead poultry. French AgricultureMinister Dominique Bussereau saidyesterday consumers should helpfalling chicken farmers by continuing

to eat chickens. France, Europe ’sbiggest poultry producer, confirmedits first case of the H5N1 virus in adead duck on Saturday. Indian sharesdropped today as investors frettedabout the economic impact. Investorssold shares in farm products makersand hotels , fearing a drop inrevenues, and bought shares o fgeneric drug firms that may begin tosell influenza drugs. Domestic poultryprices fell up to 40% and were likelyto remain depressed for a couple ofweeks, Shashi Kapur, president of thePoultry Federation of India, said.Nepal today banned imports of Indianpoultry and Bangladesh said it hadordered a high alert along its porousborder with India to prevent anypoultry smuggling. Indian analystshave warned if the outbreak is notcontained the economic costs to Asia’sthird-largest economy — which isforecast to grow around 8% in thef inancial year to March, 2006 —would be “very, very high”. More than200 million birds across Asia, parts ofthe Middle East, Europe and Africahave died of the virus or been culled.So far, most victims of bird flu havehad direct or indirect contact withchickens, but experts fear the virusmight mutate into a strain easilypassed among people , causing apandemic in which millions could die.Across the globe, authorities weretaking no chances. In Bulgaria, a manwas put in an isolation chamber andwas being tested for the H5N1 virusafter two of his ducks died. InNigeria , authorit ies were cul l ingpoultry and urging people not to eatsick birds after outbreaks there. —Reuters.

Mumbai, Feb 21 — OIutbreaks ofbird flu continue toi increase withMalaysia and Hungary the latestcountries to report outbreaks today,while in India hundreds of peopleturned up at medical camps in flu-hitareas . At least 15 nat ions havereported outbreaks in birds thismonth. Migratory birds are thought tobe at least one way the disease isbeing carr ied and more than 30countries have now reported casessince 2003, seven of them recordinghuman infections. Bosnia confirmedits first cases of bird flu yesterday,while Malaysia said the H5N1 avianflu virus kil led chickens near thecapital. Tests also confirmed the virusin three dead swans found in Hungarylast week, the government said today.The World Health Organizat ion(WHO) said yesterday that mutationsin the H5N1 virus are seeminglymaking it more deadly in chickensand more res istant in theenvironment , but without yetincreasing the threat to humans. InIndia , 10 people have beenquarantined as officials attempted tocontain a major outbreak of bird flu inpoultry. So far, there are no confirmedhuman cases but thousands of peoplehave been tested just in case. “About500 people have walked intomakeshift medical camps in Navapur(town) to get checked for coughs andcolds since yesterday evening,” said

T.P. Doke, health director o f thewestern state of Maharashtra. Dokesaid authorities had completed a door-to-door search in Navapur where30,000 people had been examined.Another Maharashtra state officialsaid about 300,000 birds have beenculled so far with tens of thousandsmore to be killed. Malaysia steppedup its defenses against bird flu today,killing poultry and sending healthof f ic ia ls to track any humaninfections, after it reported its firstcase of the H5N1 virus in more than ayear. The fresh case of bird flu hitshares of poultry farms and promptedneighbouring Singapore to suspendimports from the central Malaysianstate of Selangor, where officials saidthe virus had killed 40 chickens lastweek. In Europe, o f f ic ia ls urgedpeople to carry on eating poultry meatafter a string of outbreaks in birds,saying European Union authoritieshad the means available to wipe outthe disease . The WHO saysthoroughly cooked poultry meat andeggs are safe to eat but thatassurance has fa i led to calmconsumers . Sales o f poultry andpoultry products have plunged inEurope, parts of Africa and now India.In Italy, 30,000 workers have beenlaid off in the poultry industry asdemand for chicken meat plunged by70 percent. Egyptian officials saidbird flu had spread to new parts of thecountry, adding to the devastation ina poultry industry which provided avital part of Egyptians’ diet. Sales ofpoultry products have fallen 25 to 30percent in India since the outbreakwas first reported at the weekend, anindustry official said today. China’sagriculture minister told state mediamore bird flu outbreaks were possiblethis spring because of the movementof migratory birds after the winterand more shipping of poultry as thenew breeding season begins. Eightpeople have died of bird flu in Chinaand more than 30 outbreaks inpoultry and wild birds were recordedlast year. State media said today thegovernment has banned imports of petand wi ld birds from 10 countriesrecently hit by bird flu. — Reuters.

SEIZURE OF DRUGS FROMFISHING VESSEL NORTH OF PANAMA

London, Feb 17 — A press report,dated Feb 16, states: A joint operationbetween the US Coast Guard andNavy netted more than 2,200 poundsof cocaine from a fishing vessel about40 miles north of Panama, the CoastGuard announced on Thursday. OnFeb 6, a Coast Guard crew deployedfrom San Diego and a Navy frigatebased out of Everett, Wash., stoppedand boarded 40-foot fishing Victoria,north of Panama. Initially, the masterof Victor ia indicated he hadapproximately 300 pounds of fish onboard, but during the boarding themaster stated he had discarded thefish, according to the Coast Guard.The master also c la imed to havefishing poles and line, but none wasfound. During the boarding, Coast

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Guard and Naval personneldiscovered a freshly paintedbulkhead. The wall was removed andthe contraband was found, the CoastGuard said. Four foreign nationalswere also detained.

CHEMICAL FACILITY, CAMP POINT, ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES

London, Feb 19 — A press report,dated today, states: The Illinois StateFire Marshall’s Office is investigatingan early morning blaze that destroyedmuch of the Helena ChemicalCompany ’s fac i l i ty in the AdamsCount town of Camp Point. CampPoint Assistant Fire Chief said thebiggest problem in fighting the blazeearly yesterday morning was theintense cold. It was well below zero atthe time. Potts said there was someconcern about chemicals at the site,and the Quincy Fire Department’shazardous material team was calledin. The business provides farmchemicals, fertilizer and seed to areafarmers. In addition to the state firemarshall, the Illinois EnvironmentalProtection Agency also was called into inspect the site.

CHEMICAL PLANT, BAKERFIELD,CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES

London, Feb 18 — A press report,dated yesterday, states: An explosionand fire occurred at a chemical planttoday and numerous firefighters weredispatched, the Kern County FireDepartment said. The blaze at HondoChemical was a three-alarm fire, theFire Department said in a recordedstatement on a media informationline. It said crews would be on thescene for some time. KUZZ-AM radioreported that a forkl i f t acc identsparked the blaze and 10,000 gallonsof glycerin was on fire. Two employeeswere in the building where the firestarted and both escaped unharmed,KUZZ reported.

COAL MINE, COAHUILA STATE,MEXICO

Mexico City — An explosion in a coalmine in northern Mexico trapped 66people underground and injured sevenothers, rescue workers said today.Civil protection staff were working tofree those trapped in the mine,located in the state of Coahuila, whichborders Texas in the United States.“The information that we have is that66 people are trapped and sevenothers, who were outside the mine butaffected by the explosion, are injured,”said Miguel Angel Beltran, of theCivil Protection agency in Saltillo,capital of Coahuila state. Local mediasaid the explosion occurred in theearly hours of the morning and wascaused by gases that ignited. —Reuters.

San Juan de Sabinas, Feb 20 —Rescue workers today dug franticallyto reach 65 miners trapped in tunnelsunderground after an explosion at aMexican coal mine but there was littlehope of finding them alive. Soldiersand civil protection workers had notyet been able to make contact withthe miners and, one day after the gasexplosion in a remote, semi-desertregion, the workers’ six-hour oxygentanks had almost certainly run out.Scores of anxious relatives waited fornews overnight outside the mine inthe state of Coahuila, which bordersTexas. Soldiers stood at the gates ofthe mine at the town of San Juan deSabinas, stopping family membersfrom going inside . “There is anexplosive mix of methane gas and it isvery dangerous,” said Sergio Robles,head of Coahuila’s civil protectionagency, speaking about rescueconditions underground. “We hold outhope but we have to be realistic ,”Robles said. “With the atmosphereand the risks and with time passing,everything is running against us.”Robles said rescuers were workingaround the clock in shifts but it wasnot clear how near they were to theminers. Ventilators were pumping outgas but the miners’ oxygen tanks hadnow surely been used up, he said. Theexplosion occurred in the early hoursof Sunday. Coahui la Red Crossspokesman Sergio Guajardo said theminers were stuck two milesunderground. The miners’ union saidthe men were trapped only 500 yardsbelow ground, but a further 1.25 milesalong tunnels. The mine is owned byGrupo Mexico, the world’s No 3 copperminer, which also works other mineraldeposits . Seven miners who wereworking closer to the surface wererescued after the explosion. They weretaken to a hospital with first andsecond-degree burns. — Reuters.

San Juan de Sabinas, Mexico, Feb 20— Chances of survival dimmed todayfor 65 Mexican miners trappedunderground by a blast at a coal mine,where emergency workers wieldingonly picks and shovels struggled todig through to the men. A rescue teamgot within 110 yards of where twomen had been working on a conveyorbelt when the gas explosion occurredSunday (Feb 19) but poor ventilationand the risk of rock falls hamperedefforts to save them. Rescuers wereusing only hand tools for fear o fsparking another blast. The rest ofthe men were thought to be in groupsup to 1.25 miles into the mine, nearthe town of San Juan de Sabinas, 60miles south-west of Eagle Pass, Texas.Robles said no contact had been madewith any of the miners but there wereunconfirmed rumours that rescuershad heard knocking in the mine.Explosive methane gas undergroundmade the rescue dangerous and oneworker said i t could take days toreach most o f the trapped. Fortyhours after the explosion, the miners’six-hour oxygen tanks had almostcertainly ran out but mine operatorssaid air pockets might still keep themen alive. “There is always hope,”

said Juan Rebolledo of Grupo Mexico.“Because we really don’t know whatconditions they are in, there could bepockets of air down there,” he said. —Reuters.

HOSPITAL, LIAOYUAN, CHINABeijing, Feb 21 — Chinese police

have charged four people with sellinglow-qual i ty e lectr ical cables thatsparked a f ire in a hospital inDecember which kil led 39 people,state media said. Patients were forcedto jump out of windows to escape theblaze at City Central Hospital inLiaoyuan c i ty in north-east J i l inprovince, Xinhua news agency said.The owner of the store which sold thecables to the hospital, two companymanagers and another man involvedin the sale were among 11 peopledetained in connection with the fire,the agency said in an overnightreport. The hospital’s president andvice director have also been detained.— Reuters.

HOSPITAL, SANA’A, YEMENLonedon, Feb 18 — A press report,

dated Feb 17, states: Firemen andCivi l defense teams put out adangerous fire on Wednesday (Feb 15)afternoon that started in the Saudi-German Hospital in Sana’a, but anest imated US$5mil l ion worth ofdamage was caused. Ismail Abdullah,Director o f the Pol ice and Civi lDefense, to ld Saba news thatfirefighters managed to prevent thefire from spreading to other floors inthe flagship hospital. The fire brokeout in the meeting hall in the upperfloor of the hospital. It took firemenan hour to put the fire out. No onewas killed or injured in the blaze dueto athequick response by firemen, butthere was a lot of damage caused. It issuspected that he fire was caused byan electr ical fault , but pol iceinvestigations are continuing. GhaziSaleh said that the hospital was dueto open officially next May, and thatthe hospital consists of six floors withcapacity of 300 beds, in addition toaccommodation buildings for doctorsand employees of the hospital. Thehospital costs US$100 million he said,adding that the project is a jo intYemeni-Saudi investment . Al -sahwa.net c i ted sources in thehospital that said losses o f thehospital from the fire ran to US$5mil l ion. Init ia l results o f theinvestigation said that the reason wasa technical defect.

OIL DEPOT, HEMEL HEMPSTEAD,UNITED KINGDOM

London, Feb 21 — Investigators haveso far failed to determine the exactcause of a huge blast at a fuel depotnorth of London that led to Europe’sbiggest peacetime blaze, an initialreport said today. A ser ies o fexplosions at the Buncefield oil depotearly on Dec 11 last year spawned athree-day inferno that destroyed mostof the site and sent up a pall of blacksmoke that cast a shadow across aswathe of southern England. Aprogress report on the inquiry into

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what happened said the extensivedamage meant no firm conclusionshad yet been reached. “I am not in aposit ion to say anything withsufficient confidence for it to be otherthan a l ine o f inquiry amongstothers , ” said Taf Powel l , theBuncefield Investigation Manager.“Speculating publicly on causationwould be undesirable because I amnot in a posit ion to conf irm thelikelihood of the theory, nor to dealauthoritatively with the implicationsarising out of the theory.” However, hesaid the initial fires were probablycaused by the ignition of a flammablemixture of fuel and air. A “thick fog”with a strong smell was reported byeyewitnesses and caught on securitycameras shortly before the blasts.Powell’s report said the source of therelease was not yet known but “themost plausible scenarios involvelarge-scale loss of containment ofvessels or pipework within bund A”.The explosions, one of which “was ofmassive proportions”, engulfed 20large fuel storage tanks at the depot,jointly owned by oil companies Totaland Texaco and the country’s fifth-largest , located near HemelHempstead. There were 43 peopleinjured in the incident, none seriously,and it took 180 f iref ighters using250,000 litres of foam and 25 millionlitres of water to douse the flames.Around 2000 residents had toevacuate their homes, 80 businesspremises on an adjacent industrialestate were destroyed or badlydamaged, and the fuel supply to thecapital and south-east England wasdisrupted. The report said LondonHeathrow Airport was still sufferingsupply problems. The Major IncidentInvestigation Board, which was set upto supervise the inquiry, said it wasimportant to discover why theexplosion had occurred, to preventany repeat. — Reuters.

OIL REFINERY, TEHRAN, IRANLondon, Feb 18 — A press report,

dated today, states: A fire which brokeout in the Tehran Oil Refinery thismorning was extinguished withoutany casualties, the head of the TehranMedical Emergency Center told IRNA.Mahmoud-Reza Peiravi said that thecentre rushed ambulances to therefinery, located south of the Iraniancapital, immediately after it receivedthe report. The fire broke out at 0526hrs , (0156, UTC) and wasext inguished f ive hours later byfiremen which arrived from five firestations. Meanwhile, the chief of theTehran Fire Department ’s Publ icRelations Office, Gholam-Reza Kohan,conf irmed that the blaze le f t nocasualties. The fire began from one ofthe luboil tanks in the refinery, Kohansaid, and added that an investigationhas been launched to find the cause.

OIL WELLHEAD, SOUTHERNDELTA AREA, NIGERIA

Lagos, Feb 16 — A fire broke out atan oilwell head in Nigeria’s southerndelta today, forcing Royal Dutch Shellto shut a platform handling 37,800

barrels per day (bpd), the company’sNigerian arm SPDC said. The causeof the fire was not known. It comesdays after a militant group, whichhas staged a series of attacks againstthe oil industry over the past twomonths, had threatened to resume itscampaign o f sabotage . “A f i reincident was reported at a well atSPDC’s Cawthorne Channel f ie ldearly this morning. The cause of theinc ident i s not known and thecompany ’s f i re crew and o i l sp i l lcontro l as we l l as technica lintervent ion teams are be ingmobilised to the site,” SPDC said in astatement. “An overfly showed someoil leakage, but the f ire appearedcontained within the wellhead area.A nearby f lowstat ion, CawthorneChannel-1 has been shut down aspart of efforts to contain the blaze.This has resulted in a deferment ofsome 37, 800 bpd,” it added. The firmsaid it had informed the Nigerianauthorities of the incident and thecause of the fire, volume of oil spilledand effects were under investigation.— Reuters.

PLASTICS FACTORY, GLASGOW,SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM

London, Feb 17 — The operators of aGlasgow plastics factory where ninepeople were killed in a 2004 explosionare to be prosecuted under health andsafety laws, the office of Scotland’sProcurator Fiscal said today. Up to 40other workers of ICL Plastics Limitedand ICL Tech Limited were injuredafter the May 11 blast which flattenedthe factory in the Maryhill area of thecity. The charge against the twocompanies is that they fa i led tomaintain pipes carrying hazardousgas or gases and failed to ensure thehealth and safety of their employees.The morning explosion which rockedthe city prompted a huge emergencyresponse with rescuers using thermalimaging equipment and specialhydraulic supports to find survivorstrapped under the rubble . Theexplosion shattered windows innearby buildings and flying debriscrushed cars parked in surroundingstreets. The Procurator Fiscal said notrial date had been set. — Reuters.

PLASTICS RECYCLING FACTORY,OTAKI, NEW ZEALAND

London, Feb 17 — A press report,dated Feb 16, states: Nearly all of thestaff from an Otaki plastic recyclingfactory destroyed by fire in Januarywill lose their jobs after earlier hopesthey would be able to be kept on.Pacific Plastics Recyclers burned tothe ground in a suspicious fire on Jan23 but the plant’s management hadhoped to keep the 35 staff on withhelp from Work and Income, pendingrebuilding the factory. But companygeneral manager John Cribb has nowsaid 27 will be made redundant. MrCribb had believed Work and Incomewould have been able to help and saida case manager had given themassurances the governmentdepartment would help the companyretain the workers. “Winz indicated

they would subsidise us, possiblythrough Task Force Green, so wecould clean up the site and at thesame time keep our staff employed tilla new factory was completed in aboutsix months,” Mr Cribb to ld theDominion Post. The company alsofaced having to find and train newstaff in six months’ time when thefactory was rebuilt. But Work andIncome Kapiti manager Jacqui Ferrelsaid no assurances or commitmenthad been given that it would be ableto help the company financially.

PLASTICS WAREHOUSE,SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

London, Feb 21 — A press report,dated today, states: Part of a Sydneyplast ics warehouse has beenextensively damaged by a blaze thatbroke out late last night. About 50firefighters took 30 minutes to bringthe fire at the two-level warehouse inWetherill Park, south-west Sydney,under control after a number ofemergency calls about 2330, AEDT,f ire brigade spokesman InspectorGordon Boath said. Although an officearea area was extensively damaged, aplastics storage area was limited tosmoke and heat damage. Insp Boathsaid the f iref ighters did wel l toprevent the fire from spreading to theplastic products.

PREMISES, WESTMINSTER,MARYLAND, UNITED STATES

London, Feb 20 — A press report,dated Feb 19, states: Faulty wiringwas the cause of a fire that caused $1mil l ion in damage to one ofWestminster ’s oldest buildings, theState Fire Marshal’s office said. Theblaze, reported at 0518 hrs, today,damaged the three-story structure at172 East Main Street, which housedthe Fat Cat Cafe and threeapartments. The building dates to the1900s. Investigators determined thatthe f ire was sparked by a wir ingfailure above the ceiling of the third-floor apartment. The occupant of thatapartment told investigators that sheleft and went to stay with friendsbecause the electrical breakers kepttripping, the fire marshal’s office said.More than 100 firefighters from tencompanies spent more than two hoursbringing the blaze under control.

RESTAURANT, BRAINERD,MINNESOTA, UNITED STATES

London, Feb 16 — A press report,dated Feb 15, states: A fire at Iven’son the Bay in Brainerd causedbetween $1.2 million and $1.5 millionin damages to the restaurant, thestate Department of Public Safetysaid today. Firefighters found therestaurant on North Long Lakeengulfed in f lames around 2230Monday (Feb 13) and put the fire outby 0300 the following morning. Therestaurant had smoke detectors andan electronic alarm system, but thealarm company said it didn’t receivean alert , the Publ ic SafetyDepartment said. Investigators saidthey suspect that phone lines weredestroyed by the f ire before the

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©A complete online archive covering the last 10 years of Lloyd’s Casualty Week. For further information please call +44 (0) 20 7017 4779.

FFiirreess && EExxpplloossiioonnss

alarms could go of f . The bui ldingdidn’t have an automatic sprinklersystem. The cause and origin of thefire haven’t been determined

ACCIDENT, TAMPAINTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,UNITED STATES

London, Feb 17 — A press report,dated Feb 16, states : Atapproximately 1650 today a CessnaCitation 701 with five people on boardlanded at Tampa InternationalAirport with a collapsed landing gear.It is currently off Runway 18 left/36Right (east side of the airfield). Therunway is currently closed. It is notimpacting commercial arrival anddepartures at this time. Runway 18Right/36 Left is open and operating(West-side runway). One minor injuryis reported. Tampa FireRescue/Aircraft Firef ight ingpersonnel have responded along withAirport Operations and Airport Police.The emergency response crew iswait ing for the Federal Aviat ionAdministration Safety Inspector torelease and then it will be towed toone of the general aviation facilities— Raytheon Aircraft Services orTampa International Jet Center.

London, Feb 18 — A press report,dated yesterday, states: Authoritiessay the brakes on a private aircraftfa i led to work when i t landed atTampa Internat ional Airport ,in jur ing one person . The roughlanding sent a 90-year-old man to thehosp i ta l and caused s ign i f i cantdamage to the Cessna Citation 701.Tampa Fire Rescue spokespersonJace Kohan says the aircraft toucheddown yesterday afternoon when thepilot pulled the braking system andfe l t the r ight s ide l ock up . Theaircraft pulled hard to the right andveered into the grass where i tstopped. Five people were onboardbut only the 90-year-old man wastaken to the hosp i ta l a f ter hecomplained of nausea. The aircraftwas flying from Miami to Tampa. TIAofficials closed the runway for a fewhours , but a i rport spokeswomanBrenda Geoghagan says commercialairline service was not interrupted.

AIRCRAFT DIVERTED TO LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA,UNITED STATES

London, Feb 23 — A press report,dated today, states : An AlaskaAirlines fl ight en route to Seattlelanded at Los Angeles InternationalAirport a few minutes after take-offyesterday because of cabin pressureproblems, an airline official said. Noone was injured and the 121passengers who had left from OntarioInternational Airport were put onother flights to Seattle, said AlaskaAirlines spokeswoman Amanda Tobin.

It was the second Alaska flight in asmany days to fa i l to reach i tsdestination because of pressurizationproblems. Fl ight 397 left OntarioInternational at 0637. The MD-80landed at Los Angeles International,about 35 miles away, at 0716 aftercrew members not iced thepressurization problem. On Tuesday(Feb 21), an Alaska flight returned toPortland International Airport afterthe cabin’s oxygen masks dropped 15minutes into a f l ight to Denver.Alaska Airlines has had three similarproblems in the last two months. Theincidents involved different types ofaircraft, however, and Tobin said theyappear to be unrelated. The Seattle-based air l ine has commencedpressurization inspections of its entirefleet of 110 aircraft, she said.

CRASH, BOWIE AREA,MARYLAND, UNITED STATES

London, Feb 23 — A press report,dated Feb 22, states: Two men werekilled and a woman was injured todaywhen their Cessna 172S (Skyhawk)crashed while preparing to land at asuburban airport near Washington,DC, during a brief snowstorm. Theaircraft had taken of f f romWarrenton, Virginia, and was makingits second approach to FreewayAirport, Bowie, Maryland, using aglobal posit ioning system. MarkBrady, spokesman for the PrinceGeorge ’s County Fire /EMSDepartment, said two men in thefront o f the aircraft were ki l led .Freeway ’s chief f l ight instructor,Marcel Bernard, said a woman in therear seat suffered serious injuries toher upper body and was later taken toa hospital. The crash site is about aquarter of a mile from the runway.Bernard said it was snowing heavilywith low clouds when the aircraftcrashed just before 1000 hrs. Countyofficials said visibility in the area,about 18 miles east of Washington,DC, was between zero and 500 feet atthe time with a cloud ceiling of lessthan 500 feet. Authorities said theNational Transportation Safety Boardwas sending invest igators to thescene.

CRASH, MT. ISA AREA,QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

London, Feb 22 — A press report,dated today, states: Air safety officialswi l l invest igate the cause of ahelicopter crash that has claimed fourlives near Mt Isa in Queensland’snorth-west. A team of police officersarr ived at the crash s i te nearGunpowder late this afternoon. It isbelieved a pilot from Bundaberg, a 50-year-o ld Mt Isa man, and twoBrisbane men aged 35 and 38 were onboard the helicopter when it crashedin rugged terrain late yesterday. Thepilot was 28-year-old Vita Stott fromBundaberg. The names of the threepassengers have yet to be released.Acting Superintendent Ian Claridgefrom Mt Isa police says reaching thecrash site was difficult. “It’s roughcountry and not easily accessible,” hesaid. “At this stage we don’t know

what time the crash happened, andwe don’t know what the conditionswere.” Police will remain at the sceneovernight whi le o f f icers from theDisaster Victim Identification Squadand the Australian Transport SafetyBureau wil l arrive tomorrow. Thehelicopter was scheduled to pick uptwo more passengers from the MtKel ly mine yesterday afternoon.People at the mine reported hearingthe chopper but it failed to arrive. Itwas reported missing last night, withextensive searches carr ied outovernight and this morning. Thechopper had been fitted with a crash-activated emergency beacon that hadnot been activated.

CRASH, UZBEKISTANLondon, Feb 18 — A press report,

dated today, states : A hel icoptercrashed in southwest Uzbekistantoday, killing five people on board,said an official with the country’semergency situations ministry. Thecrash happened 15 km from themining town of Zarafshon andinvestigations for the causes of theincident are underway. The f ivepeople killed were two crew membersof the Mi-2 helicopter and three localfactory employees.

D-IMRXSulaimaniya, Iraq, Feb 19 — Sixbodies were found today in thewreckage of a smal l p lane thatcrashed in the snow-coveredmountains of northern Iraq three daysago, of f ic ials said. The plane wascarrying at least three Germans fromAzerbaijan to Sulaimaniya airport inKurdish-run northern Iraq whenaviat ion of f ic ia ls lost contact onThursday (Feb 16). “I am standing bythe wreckage right now. There are sixbodies and we have asked for ahelicopter to come from the Americanbase and pick them up,” saidKameran Ahmad, director o fSulaimaniya airport . “The planecrashed and experts are here toinvestigate what happened.” Ahmadsaid he had received an email the daybefore the plane was due to arrivel ist ing the passengers as fourGermans and an Iraqi, but a Germanpolice spokesman said the Cessnaplane was carrying three Germanemployees of a company from a townnorth of Munich, along with an Iraqibusiness partner and two pilots whosenationality was not known. The planebelonged to the f irm and thepassengers were on a business trip,the police spokesman said, decliningto name the company. The plane hadalready f lown from Munich toAzerbaijan en route to northern Iraq.Vi l lagers found the wreckage inmountainous terrain in the Arbadregion on Iraq’s northeastern borderwith Iran, said Saho MohammedSaeed, representative of the Kurdishregional government in the nearbytown of Halabja. Around 1,000 Iraqis,inc luding Kurdish peshmergamilitiamen who know the territorywel l , Sulaimaniya rescue teams,border guards and government teams

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had been scouring the area, backed upby a five-member U.S. military teamand U.S. a ircraft . Ahmad saidaviation officials lost contact with theplane in daylight when it was flyingat 8,000 feet in northern Iraq. Therewas a snow storm at the time, he said.— Reuters.

London, Feb 20 — Cessna 501Citat ion I /SP D-IMRX departedMunich Feb 14 for a flight to Iraq.Intermediate stops were made atBudapest and Baku. The aircraft didnot arrive at its intended destinationand was declared missing. There weretwo crew and four passengers onboard.

EMERGENCY LANDING,BERMUDA INTERNATIONALAIRPORT

London, Feb 22 — A press report,dated Feb 21, states: An AmericanAirlines passenger plane was divertedto the Island after losing power in oneof its engines while flying from theCaribbean to New York last night.Almost half the Islandøs fleet of fire-f ight ing vehic les were sent toBermuda International Airport as theaircraft, carrying 162 passengers,prepared for an emergency landing.Eleven fire service vehicles and 27firefighters were called out to dealwith the incident, but were able toreturn to their stat ions soonafterwards as the AA flight landedsafely just after 2115 hrs. The planewas on route from St. Maarten to NewYorkøs JFK when the pilot reportedan emergency and said he wasrunning low on power in the left sideengine.

EMERGENCY LANDING,FERIHEGY INTERNATIONALAIRPORT, BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

London, Feb 20 — A press report,dated yesterday, states: A TurkishAirbus-320 Atlasjet flight with a totalof 144 people on board made anemergency landing at Budapest ’sFerihegy international airport todayafter reporting an engine fault, theairport authority said. Ibolya Forika,spokeswoman at the airport authority,said the Turkish charter aircraft wasen route from Antalia in Turkey toDresden in Germany. Nobody wasinjured during the landing and theplane is currently being examined.

EMERGENCY LANDING, SAN FRANCISCOINTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,UNITED STATES

London, Feb 19 — A press report,dated yesterday, states: NorthwestAir l ines f l ight heading from SanFrancisco to Japan today returned tothe San Francisco InternationalAirport with a hydraulic problem.Northwest Airlines Flight 27 took offfrom SFO at 1526, today, on it’s wayto Narita, Japan, said airport DutyManager Dennis Neves. Once in theair, the pilot noticed a problem withthe aircraft’s hydraulic system, andreturned to SFO at about 1620 hrs. “Itwas a normal emergency landing,’’Neves said . The aircraft landed

smoothly and was towed to aNorthwest Airlines gate. Neves saidthe hydraulic problem affected the itsnose wheel directional gear. None ofthe 240 passengers was hurt duringthe landing and the emergency slideswere not deployed, Neves said.

EMERGENCY LANDING, SUKKAR, PAKISTAN

London, Feb 18 — A press report,dated today, states: A Cessna aircraftwas badly damaged in an emergencylanding at Sukkar airport, after itsfront wheel jammed. The airportrunway was also damaged, but therewere no injuries to the personsonboard. Sukkur airport remainedunder red alert during the emergencylanding. The aircraft after takingseveral rounds in the air landed atthe airport, but in the process itsfront portion suffered severe damage,as it had skidded off the runway. Therunway was also damaged.

INCIDENT AT DAEGU AIRPORT,SOUTH KOREA

London, Feb 22 — A press report,dated today, states : An airplane,belonging to China’s Eastern Airlinesdamaged i ts le f t wing yesterdayduring i ts take of f f rom a DaeguAirport runway, in South Korea. Nocausal i t ies were reported. Theaccident happened when the left wingof the MU5054 plane, which wascarrying 160 passengers, collided withradar equipment . The Precis ionApproach Radar Equipment is incharge of the navigation of airplaneslanding and taking off in bad weather.It was also “partly” damaged. EasternAirline has begun an investigationwith the local airport authorities.Some South Korean media reportssaid the airport authorities had askedthe Chinese pilots to taxi alongsidethe runway several times before itsactual take off. But Eastern Airlinesdenied the accusation and said itstaxiing airplane was on the correctcourse . I t was the recent airportconstruction projects and expansionsthat caused the incident. EasternAirlines sent a replacement plane topick up all the passengers. The planelanded in Shanghai’s Pudong Airportat 2130 hrs.

INCIDENT, STANSTED AIRPORT,UNITED KINGDOM

London, Feb 16 — A press report,dated today, states : Emergencyservices were cal led to StanstedAirport this morning after twoaircraft co l l ided. A First ChoiceAirbus 321 clipped a parked Ryanair737 as it was being pushed back inthe airport parking area, known asthe apron. The airport’s emergencyservices and Essex pol ice werealerted, but were soon stood down. Nopassengers were on either aircraftand services at the airport have notbeen affected. The aircraft sufferedsome damage and an internalinvestigation has been launched byFirst Choice into the accident. A FirstChoice spokeswoman said passengersdue to board the aircraft, bound for

Arrecife, Spain, have had their flightdelayed for three and half hours whileanother aircraft was prepared. A BAAStansted Airport spokesman describedthe incident as “like a small bump ina car park” . “The Air AccidentsInvestigation Branch has decided thatno investigation is needed,” he said.

N469MDLondon, Feb 23 — Beechcraft Baron

58P N469MD crashed nearBellingham, Washington, at 0245, Feb23, while on a flight from Bellinghamto Ogden, Utah. The aircraft wasdestroyed. The one person on boardwas killed.

N667WPLondon, Feb 18 — A press report,

dated today, states: Bodies believed tobe those o f two men missing in aFebruary 4 plane crash of fHutchinson Island were discoveredyesterday in wreckage on the ocean’sbottom, Mart in County sheri f f ’sofficials reported. Commercial salvagecompany workers found the wreckagein about 50 feet of water, and deputiesrecovered the bodies about 1700 hrs,today, sheriff ’s spokeswoman JenellAtlas said. The bodies were presumedby detect ives to be those o f GlenFornell , 67, of Jupiter, and MarioAlberto Cast i l lo -Zavala , 32, o fHonduras. The discovery came threedays after the Coast Guard recoveredthe decomposed body of Fornell’s wife,Barbara, 52, in the ocean about 20miles northeast of Fort Pierce. TheFornells and Castillo-Zavala, who wasvisiting the couple from Honduras,had been missing since February 4,when the Cirrus SR22 four-seats ingle-engine propel ler a ircraftcrashed about 3 miles off the House ofRefuge on Hutchinson Island. TheTreasure Coast Medical Examiner ’sOffice planned to perform autopsies toidentify the bodies. Glen Fornell, whopiloted the plane, reportedly told airtraffic controllers that he was havingproblems with f l ight instrumentsshortly after liftoff from Witham Fieldin Stuart. The plane, which reportedlywas heading to St. Augustine, wasreturning to the airport when i tcrashed, officials said. The NationalTransportation Safety Board and theFederal Aviation Administration areinvestigating.

N7512GLondon, Feb 23 — A press report,

dated Feb 22, states: A helicoptercrashed between two homes in northScottsdale today, killing a man andwoman who were on board,authorities said. No one on the groundwas injured and of f ic ia ls do notbelieve anyone else was on board thehel icopter, said Dave Cieslak, aspokesman for the Scottsdale FireDepartment. It was not immediatelyclear what caused the crash, but thepilot apparently tried to avoid hittingthe homes, Fire Battalion Chief ChrisSchibi said.

London, Feb 23 — Robinson R22Beta N7512G crashed in Scottsdale,

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Arizona, at 1836, feb 22, while on af l ight from Scottsdale . The twopersons on board were killed.

N759KELondon, Feb 17 — A press report,

dated Feb 16, states: Federal aviationinvestigators still don’t know whatcaused Cessna172RG (Cutlass)N9531B and Cessna 182Q (Skylane)N759KE to collide over El Cajon lastWednesday (Feb 8) , k i l l ing threepeople and scattering burning debrisover neighbourhoods in La Mesa andEl Cajon. A preliminary report issuedtoday by the National TransportationSafety Board said the two aircraftcollided at an altitude of about 2,300feet , about three miles south ofGillespie Field. A professional airlinepilot told investigators he saw the Feb8 crash. The witness said he saw aneastbound aircraft strike the rightside of an aircraft that was headedsouth-west. However, the report doesnot make it clear which aircraft, theCessna 172RG, which was flown bytwo Swedish men, or the Cessna182Q, which was flown by La Jollaorthodontist William Kupiec, 68, wastravel l ing east and which wastravelling south-west. “We have tocontinue our invest igat ion todetermine what happened and seewhat actual ly struck what , ” saidKeith Holloway, a NTSB spokesman.Holloway said more information willbe gathered and analyzed before afactual report can be issued, possiblyin six to nine months. According tothe report, Rangeby and Sigurdsson,in the Cessna 172, took of f f romGillespie Field at 1637 hrs and werefollowed by Kupiec in the Cessna 182about a minute later. Both wereplanning to fly to Brown Field. Thereport does give quite a bit of detailabout where specific pieces of theaircraft landed after the collision.Much of the Cessna 172 landed in agrassy area of Harry Griffen Park andsmaller pieces scattered throughout anearby neighborhood. Much of theCessna 182 crashed through amulberry tree in a home’s back yard,with the top portion of the aircraft’svertical stabilizer found about 1,180feet away and its left wing in thepark, the report said.

N9531BSee N759KE.

FIRE SPRINKLERS, UNITED STATES

London, Feb 16 — A press report,dated Feb 15, states: Four years afterthe government announced the recallof 35 million defective fire sprinklerheads used in nursing homes,hospitals, schools and other buildings,almost two-thirds of them remain inuse in many areas of the nation. But

f ire department o f f ic ia ls in theTruckee Meadows yesterday said thatfire marshals routinely check for theolder or recalled sprinkler productsduring regular inspect ions . Bi l lBurney, acting Reno fire marshal, saidthe Divis ion of Fire Preventionchecked buildings throughout thecommunity when the recal l wasannounced in 2001. He said inspectorshave continued to check oninstallations of sprinklers and he isunaware of any inspector finding anyof the recalled sprinkler heads. RenoFire Department spokesman SteveFrady said even if a recalled sprinklerhead were to turn up in a business,the department wouldn’t immediatelycite the owner for violations. “TheDivision of Fire Prevention wouldwork with the affected facility andsprinkler vendor on any recal l toretrofit or remove and replace, asappropriate,” he said. “A citationwould generally only be necessary ifthere was non-compliance.” No deathsor in juries have been t ied to therecalled sprinklers. But Tyco Fire &Building Products, the sprinklers’manufacturer, says there have beenseveral claims of property damage.Virginia, Ohio, New York, New Jerseyand Washington are among the statestrying to identify facilities still usingthe sprinklers , the NationalAssociation of State Fire Marshalsreported. The recall began in 2001after invest igat ions found that arubber O-r ing in the sprinklers ’valves can be corroded by waterborneminerals. That can prevent the valvefrom releasing water, a failure in 20%to 45% of the sprinklers in lab tests.The sprinklers were sold under threebrands — Central, Star and Gem —all s ince purchased by Tyco. Tycobegan the voluntary recall under anagreement with the ConsumerProduct Safety Commission. Thecompany provides free replacementand installation. Tyco has replaced 12mil l ion sprinklers and identi f iedanother 6 million to be replaced bymid-2007, Tyco Vice PresidentCarmine Schiavone says. Gib Mullan,head of compliance at the CPSC, saysthe recall replacement rate is betterthan average for such a big recall, thefourth-largest in commission history.Many fire marshals said more can bedone. Replacing 30% to 40% of thefaulty sprinklers “is not acceptable,”says Emory Rodgers, deputy chief ofVirginia’s Division of Building andFire Regulation, which aims to get90% of the sprinklers replaced.“People’s lives could depend on it.”The 35 million faulty sprinklers equalthe number of sprinkler heads soldnation-wide in a year, according to theNational Fire Sprinkler Association, atrade group.

LITHIUM ION BATTERIES,WORLD-WIDE

London, Feb 18 — A press release,issued by the U.S. Consumer ProductSafety Commission, dated Feb 17,states: The U.S. Consumer Product

Safety Commission, in co-operationwith Polycom Inc. , of Pleasanton,Calif., today announced a voluntaryrecall in the U.S. of about 21,000l i thium ion batter ies inSoundStation2W wireless conferencetelephones (about 27,700 unitsworldwide) . These batter ies canoverheat, which could pose a fire orburn hazard. Polycom has receivedtwo reports of batteries overheatingand causing minor damage to thetables on which the units sat . Noinjuries have been reported. Therecalled batteries were sold with theSoundStation2W wireless conferencephones, and separately asreplacement batter ies . TheSoundStat ion2W Part Number isprinted on the underside o f thetelephone. Polycom are business tobusiness resellers who sell throughcatalogs, online, telesales, throughoffice supply stores or on the PolycomWeb store and the batter ies ,manufactured in China, were soldfrom August 2004 through January2006 for between $700 and -$900.Replacement batteries were sold forbetween $50 and $90.

PAINTBALL MARKERS, UNITED STATES

Washington, DC, Feb 15 — The U.S.Consumer Product SafetyCommission, in co-operation withBrass Eagle, of Bentonville, Ark.,today announced a voluntary recall ofabout 243 ,000 Blade Turbo andPaintbal l Breakout Players Kit .Consumers should stop using recalledproducts immediate ly unlessotherwise instructed. The carbondioxide cartridges can be forciblyejected out the back of the paintballmarker and break the plastic screw-on cap. This poses a serious risk ofin jury to the paintbal l marker ’soperator who can be hit forcefully bythe CO2 cartridges or the plast icscrew-on cap. Overt ightening thescrew-on cap after the cartridges arepierced can result in a serious impactinjury. The firm has received reportsof at least 73 incidents involving therecalled paintball markers. Seveninjuries have been reported includingan eye injury, facial bruises , andlacerations. The recalled Blade Turbopaintball marker is bright blue with ablack handgrip on the nozzle. Twocarbon dioxide cartridges are insertedinto the back of the marker coveredby a clear plastic screw-on cap. Thes i lver-co lored carbon d iox idecartridges are about three- incheslong. The Paintball Breakout PlayersKit includes a Blade Turbo, blackmask and CO2 cartridges. “BladeTurbo” is printed on the side of thepaintball marker. Paintball markersare somet imes re ferred to aspaintball guns. The Blade Turbo wassold at Wal-Mart, Kmart and sportinggoods reta i lers nat ion-wide f romJanuary 2005 through January 2006

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for about $20. The Paintball BreakoutPlayers Kit was sold at Wal-Martfrom October 2005 through January2006 for about $25. Manufactured inChina. Consumers shouldimmediately stop using the recalledBlade Turbo paintball marker andcontact Brass Eagle to receive a freereplacement screw-on cap which isblack, instead of clear. — ConsumerProduct Safety Commission.

ITALYGenoa, Feb 20 — Port situation:

Genoa: No vessels awaiting berth.

Savona: Three vessels await ingnormal berth, average berthing delaytwo days. Two vessels waiting forspecial berth. La Spezia: No vesselsawaiting berths. — Lloyd’s Agents.

SYRIALattakia, Feb 18 — The wait ing

period for Lattakia port is currentlytwo days and for Tartous it is fivedays. — Lloyd’s Agents.

t

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Port Delays

(Information received from BIMCO, Denmark and Indian Ports Association, New Delhi)

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

Australia Abbots Point 20-Feb-2006 Coal: 1 vessel waiting to load; 1 vessel due 3/3; up to 8 days delay expected due to berth congestion and

cargo availability; stacker reclaimer No. 1 will be shut down for maintenance from 07.00 hrs. 20/2 to

07.00 hrs. 26/2.

Brisbane 20-Feb-2006 Coal: Fisherman Island coal berth: 3 vessels due by 4/3; no delays expected.

Dalrymple Bay 20-Feb-2006 Coal: DBCT berth 1: 1 vessel berthed and loading, 3 waiting; 3 vessels due by 22/2; DBCT berth 2: 1

vessel berthed and loading, 3 waiting; 2 vessels due by 23/2; DBCT berth 3: 3 vessels due by 22/2; 7

vessels waiting, not scheduled; 20 vessels due by 3/3.

Dampier 20-Feb-2006 Iron ore: Parker Point A berth: 1 vessel berthed and loading, 4 waiting; 4 vessels due by 1/3; Parker

Point berth 2: 3 vessels waiting; 2 vessels due by 25/2; Parker Point berth 3: 1 vessel loading; 1 vessel

due 19/2; East Intercourse Island: 1 vessel berthed and loading, 4 waiting; 6 vessels due by 28/2.

Esperance 20-Feb-2006 Iron ore: 2 vessels due by 3/3; up to 1 day’s delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo

availability.

Geraldton 20-Feb-2006 Iron ore: 1 vessel due 23/2.

Gladstone 20-Feb-2006 Coal: R.G. Tanna coal terminal: 2 vessels berthed and loading, 1 berthed and waiting, 17 vessels

waiting; 38 vessels due by 6/4; shiploader No. 2 will be shut down for maintenance from 3-7/4; Barney

Point: 1 vessel berthed and loading, 3 waiting; 13 vessels due by 20/3.

Hay Point 20-Feb-2006 Coal: Berth 1: operations due to resume late March/early April; Berth 2: 1 vessel berthed and loading, 2

waiting; 2 vessels due by 6/3.

Newcastle 20-Feb-2006 Coal: Kooragang 4, 5 and 6: 3 vessels berthed and loading, 13 waiting; 36 vessels due by 9/3; 7-10 days

delay expected due to berth congestion and cargo availability; 14 vessels off port awaiting berths; Dykes

4+5: 1 vessel berthed and loading, 3 waiting; 17 vessels due by 10/3; 7-9 days delay expected due to

berth congestion and cargo availability; 3 vessels off port awaiting coal.

Port Hedland 20-Feb-2006 Iron ore: BHP Iron Ore Pty. Ltd., Mt. Newman (Nelson Point), “A” berth: 1 vessel berthed and loading,

3 waiting; 4 vessels due by 28/2; “B” berth: 3 vessels waiting; 5 vessels due by 28/2; 3 other vessels due

by 8/3, no eta received; BHP Iron Ore Pty. Ltd., Goldsworthy (Finucane Island) “C” berth: 1 vessel

berthed and loading; 1 vessel due 24/2; “D” berth: 1 vessel berthed and loading, 1 waiting; 5 vessels due

by 2/3; there will be a 24 hour shiploader maintenance ca. 25/2; Cockatoo Island: 1 vessel due 24/2.

Port Kembla 20-Feb-2006 Coal: 2 vessels waiting at anchor; 10 vessels due by 9/3; no delays expected.

Port Walcott 20-Feb-2006 Iron ore: 2 vessels berthed and loading, 3 waiting; 12 vessels due by 6/3; shippers currently

experiencing products shortages which will effect berthing.

AzerbaijanApsheron 20-Feb-2006 Oil products: Dubendi terminal: 3 vessels berthed, of which 2 loading (1 crude oil, 1 gasoil), 1 empty

vessel; 2 vessels due by 21/2, both to discharge crude oil.

Baku 20-Feb-2006 Oil products: Bay of Baku: no vessels; Azerneftyag terminal: no vessels; AzerTrans terminal - Nobel

avenue: no vessels; Sangachal district: no vessels; Transserve terminal: closed.

Bulgaria Bourgas 20-Feb-2006 Nine vessels in port operating, of which 7 loading (1 bagged ammonium nitrate, 4 coils, 2 metals), 2

discharging (1 reinforced concrete, 1 benzene); 2 vessels in roads, both to load, of which 1 coils, 1

empty vessel; 12 vessels due, of which 5 to load (1 coils, 1 gasoil, 1 copper concentrate, 1 bulk

ammonium nitrate, 1 wheat), 7 to discharge (1 iron ore, 3 coal, 1 salt, 1 fuel, 1 zinc concentrate).

Varna 20-Feb-2006 Varna East, Varna West, Electrical Power Station, Balchik: Conditions 13-19 February: Twenty-nine

vessels in port operating of which 21 loading (1 chamotte/kaolin, 1 scrap, 1 bulk silica sand/chamotte, 2

bulk wheat, 1 sunflower seeds, 1 bulk sulphuric acid, 1 bulk clinker, 8 soda, 1 hydrochloric acid,

1 silica sand, 1 bagged kaolin, 2 bulk maize), 2 discharging (1 bagged cocoa, 1equipment in packing

cases), 6 discharging/loading (4 containers, 1 containers/small consignments, 1 equipment in packing

cases/miscellaneous cargo); no vessels waiting in roads.

Chile Antofagasta 20-Feb-2006 Three vessels berthed, 4 berths vacant; 19 vessels due this week to load/discharge concentrates, bulk

copper, containers and general cargo.

Arica 20-Feb-2006 Three vessels berthed, 4 berths vacant; 21 vessels due this week.

Iquique 20-Feb-2006 Four vessels berthed, 3 berths vacant; 21 vessels due this week.

Puerto Montt 20-Feb-2006 Two vessels at terminal, 1 berth vacant; 9 vessels due this week.

Punta Arenas 20-Feb-2006 Five vessels at terminal, 2 berths vacant; 14 vessels due this week.

San Antonio 20-Feb-2006 Six vessels berthed, 3 berths vacant; 22 vessels due this week.

San Vicente 20-Feb-2006 Two vessels berthed, 3 berths vacant; 19 vessels due during the week; Steel pier: 1 vessel at terminal, 1

berth vacant; 3 vessels due this week; Coronel pier: 2 vessels at terminal, 2 berths vacant; 4 vessels due

this week; Oil terminal: 1 tanker at terminal, 1 berth vacant; 2 tankers due this week.

Valparaiso 20-Feb-2006 Three vessels berthed, 5 berths vacant; 5 vessels anchored; 20 vessels due this week.

Cyprus Larnaca 21-Feb-2006 Two conventional vessels discharging at berth; 1 conventional vessel due 22/2; no delays expected.

Limassol 21-Feb-2006 Five container vessels loading/discharging at berth, 2 conventional vessels discharging at berth, 1 Ro/Ro

discharging/loading at berth; 4 container vessels, 1 conventional vessel due 22/2; no delays expected.

Egypt Adabiya 20-Feb-2006 Seven vessels berthed (loading/discharging), of which 1 general cargo, 1 tanker, 1 containers, 1 reefer, 3

bulk carriers.

Alexandria 20-Feb-2006 Thirty-seven vessels berthed (loading/discharging), of which 28 general cargo, 5 bulk carriers, 3

containers, 1 cruise vessel; 16 vessels dry-docked; 32 vessels at inner anchorage, 12 at outer anchorage.

Damietta 20-Feb-2006 Twenty vessels berthed (loading/discharging), of which 14 general cargo, 1 bulk carrier, 5 containers; 2

vessels at outer anchorage, none at inner anchorage.

Dekhelia 20-Feb-2006 Ten vessels berthed (loading/discharging), of which 1 general cargo, 5 bulk carriers, 1 tanker, 3

containers; 1 vessel at outer anchorage.

Port Said 20-Feb-2006 Six vessels berthed (loading/discharging), of which 2 general cargo, 4 containers.

Suez 20-Feb-2006 Twelve vessels berthed (loading/discharging), of which 4 general cargo, 1 containers, 5 reefers, 2

passenger vessels; 2 tugs, 1 vessel dry-docked.

Suez Canal 20-Feb-2006 Twenty-six vessels transiting Northbound, 23 Southbound.

Israel Ashdod 21-Feb-2006 No labour problems. Two general cargo vessels loading at berth, 13 vessels discharging at berth (8

general cargo, 5 bulkers), 5 vessels loading/discharging at berth (3 containers, 2 tankers); 2 vessels

waiting at anchorage to discharge (1general cargo, 1 bulker); 16 vessels due, with 2-3 days delay

expected.

Eilat 21-Feb-2006 No labour problems. One general cargo vessel discharging at berth, 1 container vessel loading/

discharging at berth; no vessels waiting at anchorage; 3 vessels due, with no delays expected.

Haifa 21-Feb-2006 No labour problems. Six vessels discharging at berth (2 general cargo, 4 bulkers), 10 vessels

loading/discharging at berth (6 containers, 2 car carriers, 2 tankers); 4 vessels waiting at anchorage to

discharge (1 general cargo, 3 bulkers), 2 vessels waiting at anchorage to load/discharge (1 containers, 1

tanker); 5 vessels under repairs/dry-docked; 24 vessels due, with 2-3 days delay expected.

PakistanKarachi 20-Feb-2006 Four vessels loading at berth (1 naphtha, 2 rice, 1 ethanol), 6 discharging at berth (1 crude oil, 1

fertiliser, 1 coils, 1 general cargo, 2 SB meal), 2 container vessels loading/discharging at berth; 2

vessels waiting at anchorage to load (1 containers, 1 rice), 7 vessels waiting at anchorage to discharge

(1 containers, 1 vehicles, 3 crude oil, 2 fuel oil); no vessels bunkering, none under repairs/dry-docked,

none awaiting orders; 5 vessels due (1 containers, 3 general cargo, 1 MOL), with no berthing delays

expected.

Port Qasim 20-Feb-2006 One rice vessel loading at berth, 3 vessels discharging at berth (1 wheat, 1 iron ore, 1 HSD), 1 container

vessel loading/discharging at QICT berth; 2 container vessels waiting at anchorage to load, 4 vessels

waiting at anchorage to discharge (2 containers, 1 canola, 1 yellow peas).

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Poland Gdansk 20-Feb-2006 Four vessels loading at berth (1 coal, 2 general cargo, 1 bulker), 2 discharging at berth (1 coal, 1

bulker); 12 vessels under repairs/dry-docked; no vessels waiting at anchorage, 1 coal vessel waiting in

roads; 23 vessels due.

Gdynia 20-Feb-2006 Four vessels loading at berth (2 coal, 1 bulker, 1 grain), 3 discharging at berth (1 bulker, 1 general

cargo, 1 grain); 18 vessels under repairs/dry-docked; no vessels waiting at anchorage, none waiting in

roads; 58 vessels due.

RussiaNovorossiysk 20-Feb-2006 Twenty-three vessels in port operating, of which 20 loading (1 pipes/steel, 1 bulk cement, 1 HBI, 1

scrap, 1 pig-iron, 3 copper, 1 coils/steel billets/pipes, 1 slabs, 2 steel billets, 1 coils, 1 bulk fertiliser/

bulk ammonium nitrate, 2 wheat, 1 cellulose, 2 vegetable oil, 1 UAN solution), 1 discharging bulk

sugar, 2 discharging/loading containers; 22 vessels waiting in roads of which 20 to load (2 steel billets,

1 bulk urea, 1 bulk NPK, 1 wheat, 3 copper, 1 WRIC/coils/steel sheets, 1 scrap, 1 slabs, 1 steel

billets/tin plate/coils, 1 barley, 3 vegetable oil, 1 steel billets/WRIC/tin plate, 1 bulk cement, 1 pig-iron,

1 coils), 2 to discharge bulk sugar; 86 vessels due, of which 84 to load (6 bulk NPK, 1 steel billets/

WRIC/pipes/wire rods, 3 vegetable oil, 2 HBI, 1 bulk ammonium nitrate, 3 pipes, 2 wheat, 4 DRI, 15

coils, 2 copper, 7 aluminium, 4 slabs, 1 WRIC/tin plate, 1 coils/steel billets, 16 steel billets, 1 H-beams,

3 steel sheets, 1 copper/zinc/lead, 1 WRIC, 1 UAN solution, 1 steel sheets/coils, 1 scrap, 3 bulk urea, 2

diesel oil, 1 pig-iron, 1 cellulose), 1 to discharge debars, 1 to discharge/load containers; Oil terminal: 2

tankers berthed, both loading, of which 1 crude oil, 1 diesel oil; 5 tankers in roads, all to load, of which

3 crude oil, 2 fuel oil; 10 tankers due, all to load crude oil.

Slovenia Koper 20-Feb-2006 Port working normally. Eight vessels berthed of which 2 loading sawn timber, 4 discharging bulk cargo,

1 discharging/loading containers, 1 car carrier discharging/loading vehicles; 2 vessels waiting at

anchorage, of which 1 to load bulk cargo, 1 to discharge bulk cargo; 15 vessels due over the next 2 days

of which 2 to discharge/load containers, 2 car carriers to discharge/load vehicles, 1 vessel to

discharge bulk cargo, 3 to load bulk cargoes, 6 to load sawn timber/general cargo, 1 tanker to discharge

liquid cargo.

Spain Bilbao 20-Feb-2006 Seventeen vessels operating (1 tanker, 16 other vessels), of which 5 loading, 6 discharging, 6 loading/

discharging.

Sagunto 20-Feb-2006 Twenty-two vessels in port operating, of which 3 loading (1 steel products, 1 cement, 1 bulk fertiliser),

17 discharging (14 steel products, 1 fruit, 1 anhydrous ammonia, 1 gas), 2 loading/discharging general

cargo; no vessels outside commercial wharf; no berthing delays at present.

Sri Lanka Colombo 20-Feb-2006 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. Conventional cargo vessels at BQ 1 and 2 are facing navigation

delays. Seven container/feeder vessels loading at berth, 19 vessels discharging at berth (13 containers/

feeders, 1 steel cargo, 1 bagged fertiliser, 3 bulk cement, 1 Ro/Ro); 2 vessels waiting at anchorage to

discharge (1 container/feeder, 1 bagged soya bean meal); 6 vessels dry-docked, none at new tanker

berth; 7 vessels due (6 containers/feeders, 1 bulk fertiliser), with no delays expected.

Turkmenistan Okarem 20-Feb-2006 Oil products: 1 vessel berthed, completed loading crude oil.

Turkmenbashi 20-Feb-2006 Oil products: 2 vessels in roads, both to load, of which 1 gasoline, 1 unknown cargo; 1 vessel due 20/2

to discharge crude oil.

Ukraine Ilichevsk 20-Feb-2006 Ten vessels in port operating, of which 7 loading (5 steel products, 1 sunflower seed oil, 1 general

cargo), 1 discharging ore, 2 loading/discharging containers; 6 vessels in roads, all to load, of which 4

sunflower seed oil, 1 steel products, 1 sulphur; 19 vessels due, of which 9 to load (7 steel products, 1

barley, 1 oil), 3 to discharge (2 ore, 1 general cargo), 7 to discharge/load containers.

Mariupol 20-Feb-2006 Seven vessels in port operating, all loading, of which 3 steel, 1 sulphur, 1 coal, 1 carbamide, 1 fire-clay;

22 vessels in roads, all to load, of which 12 steel, 4 coal, 1 coke, 3 sulphur, 1 wheat, 1 sunflower

beans/husks; 40 vessels due, of which 31 to load (17 steel, 7 coal, 1 sulphur, 2 fire-clay, 1 sunflower

beans/busks, 1 ammonia/saltpetre/carbamide, 1 ammonia/saltpetre), 5 to discharge equipment, 4 to

discharge/load (2 containers/fire-clay, 1 containers, 1 feldspar/containers/fire clay).

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Odessa 20-Feb-2006 Seventeen vessels in port operating, of which 12 loading (5 metal, 3 scrap, 2 barley, 1 pig-iron, 1 soya

beans), 4 discharging (1 bananas, 1 luggage, 1 citrus, 1 sand), 1 passenger vessel; 12 vessels in roads, of

which 10 to load (7 metal, 1 corn, 1 pig-iron, 1 ore), 2 to discharge sugar; 70 vessels due, of which 45

to load (34 metal, 2 scrap, 2 pig-iron, 1 equipment, 1 timber, 1 ferro alloy, 1 corn, 2 ore, 1 wheat), 7 to

discharge (1 fertiliser, 1 bananas, 3 citrus, 1 general cargo, 1 luggage), 18 to discharge/load containers.

United StatesBeaumont, TX 21-Feb-2006 No new restriction in draft (40 ft. 0 ins. FW max. channel draft reported). Traffic schedule: outbound

21/2 AM, inbound PM 22/2; Louis Dreyfus terminal: no delays expected.

Galveston, TX 21-Feb-2006 No new restriction in draft (normal 39 ft. 6 ins. BW max. channel draft reported - 40 ft. 0 ins. with ideal

conditions). Channel open under normal traffic. ADM-Farmland terminal: 1-2 days delay expected.

Houston, TX 21-Feb-2006 Channel open under normal traffic. Low 44 ft. 11 ins. FW max channel draft reported (up to Shell

Terminal); low 39 ft. 11 ins. FW max channel draft reported above Shell Terminal to 610 Ship Channel

bride; Normal 36 ft. 0 ins. FW max channel draft reported above 610 Bridge to turning basis area.

(Normal Max channel draft is 45 ft 0 ins. to Shell.) LDC Dreyfus terminal: 3-4 days delay expected;

Cargill terminal: 2-3 days delay expected.

Kalama,WA 21-Feb-2006 Kalama export terminal: 8 days delay expected; United Harvest terminal: no delays expected.

New Orleans, LA 21-Feb-2006 Mississippi River terminal berthing delays:

Cenex-Harstates/Myrtle Grove: no delays expected.

Cargill-Westwego: 2 days delay expected.

ADM/Ama: 2-3 days delay expected.

Bunge/Destrehan: 4 days delay expected.

ADM/ Destrehan: 2-3 days delay expected.

ADM/Reserve: 2-3 days delay expected.

Cargill/Reserve: 2 days delay expected.

ADM/Paulina: 2-3 days delay expected.

Zen-Noh/Convent: 1-2 days delay expected.

Cargill/Baton Rouge: No delays expected.

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: 1 day’s delay expected;

Mile 158.0 Myrtle Grove Midstream terminal: 2 days delay expected;

Mile 180.0 Cooper (America) - Darrow: 7 days delay expected.

Portland, OR 21-Feb-2006 Columbia Grain terminal: 2 days delay expected; CLD Irving terminal: 1 day’s delay expected; CLD, O

Dock terminals: no delays expected.

Seattle, WA 21-Feb-2006 Louis Dreyfus (Pier 86) terminal: 2 days delay expected.

Tacoma, Wa 21-Feb-2006 Temco terminal: 2 days delay expected.

Vancouver, WA 21-Feb-2006 United Harvest terminal: 1 day’s delay expected.

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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,, ppaarrtt ooff Informa UK Limited 2005. This casualty information is copyright. Unauthorisedcopying prohibited by law.

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