USS Miami arrives for overhaul at PNSY on March 1st. NAVSEA image

USS Miami, an American Los Angeles-class “improved” fast attack submarine was undergoing a routine maintenance shipyard availability at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard when she caught fire at 5:41 PM Wednesday evening.

The blaze continued for a full 13 hours until finally extinguished this morning at 6:45 EST.

Rear Admiral Rick Breckenridge, Commander, of Submarine Group Two in Groton, Connecticut commented,

“Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Fire Department and Ship’s force, along with mutual assistance from several other area fire departments, immediately responded and successfully extinguished the fire on USS MIAMI.

“The fire and subsequent damage was limited to the forward compartment spaces only which includes crew living and command and control spaces. The nuclear propulsion spaces were physically isolated from the Forward Compartment early during initial response.

Admiral Breckenridge gave high praise of the heroic actions by the firefighters involved, and acknowledged that minor injuries were sustained by seven response personnel.

“The injured personnel included three Portsmouth Naval Shipyard fire-fighters; two ships force crew members; and two civilian fire-fighters providing support. These personnel were either treated on-scene or transported to a local medical facility for further treatment and all have been released. So all injured personnel have been released and are in good shape. There were no casualties in this fire.

During the firefighting response, the reactor spaces, found in the aft end of the boat, “remained in a safe and stable condition throughout the event.” and shipboard reactor watch standers maintained a reactor room presence throughout the ordeal.

There were no weapons on board and full investigation has begun to determine the cause of the fire.

USS Miami on March 15th:

The USS Miami on March 15th as it enters dry dock to begin an engineered overhaul at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. (U.S. Navy photo by Jim Cleveland/Released)

Buzzard and Galaxy III platforms, image courtesy Nexen

LONDON (Dow Jones)–Output at Nexen Petroleum Inc.’s (NXY) Buzzard oilfield, the largest contributing to the Forties crude stream, has been down following a fire on the platform over the weekend, North Sea traders said Monday.

Further delays and cancellations of Forties cargoes resulting from the fall in production are likely, the traders said.

The U.K.’s Health and Safety Executive said earlier Monday the incident occurred on the Buzzard production sweetening platform, which is linked by a bridge to the main Buzzard facility.

Nexen wasn’t available to comment.

Loadings of Forties crude, the main component of global benchmark Brent, have fallen in April and have been already scheduled to be sharply lower in May following a gas leak on the Elgin field, which also contributes to the Forties stream.

Tight Forties market tends to support the price of Brent futures.

-By Konstantin Rozhnov and Sarah Kent, Dow Jones Newswires

Master of the Bowditch explains the grisly scene upon their arrival:

Patrice was still smoldering, abandoned and adrift when we got there. It took two hours of cooling/reflash suppression before we could safely connect the tow. She didn’t tow well due to jammed rudders, a heavy fuel load and 6 rudders (!) plus Kort nozzles, but we still managed to drag her at almost 6 knots.

and adding:

It was bad, totally burned out, adrift and abandoned on Lake Ontario. The heat was intense, and made connecting up the tow tough. Rudder was jammed about 10 degrees to port, so she didn’t tow very well.

The Bowditch is owned and operated by Abaco Marine Towing, LLC of Clayton, NY, where the Patrice McAllister is now berthed to undergo a series of investigations by both U.S. and Canadia authorities.

As we reported earlier, one crewmember of the Patrice McAllister, the chief engineer, perished as a result of his injuries.  5 other crewmembers were rescued.

Join the discussion on this incident in the gCaptain forum, HERE.

Alaskan Star, photo: Queiroz Galvão

Petrobras announces that on Tuesday (13/03) around 14:30, the drilling rig SS-39 (Alaskan Star), a semi-submersible drilling rig owned by Queiroz Galvao Oleo e Gas S.A caught fire 193 km off the coast of Macae in the Campos Basin.  The fire was extinguished immediately and there were no casualties among the 102 board or reports of any significant environmental impact.

According to a report by Brazilian Energy regulator, ANP, the rig listed as much as 3 degrees during the incident and that a small quantity of drilling fluid, aka drilling mud, was leaked.

Safety devices triggered an automatic shut down of the well and the platform is stable.  An investigation into the incident is underway.

The Alaskan Star is Panamanian flagged and was built by Mitsubishi in 1976.

An unconfirmed photo of the Inzhener Nazarov on fire in the Caspian Sea

A fire on board a Russian oil tanker claimed the life of at least one crewmember in the Caspian Sea on Tuesday.

Russian news agency RIA Novosti, citing a regional Emergencies Ministry, reported that the fire started in the deck housing of the 4,700 dwt tanker Inzhener Nazarov at approximately 12:35 Moscow time and quickly spread to other parts of the ship.  Several crewmen of the 14 on board were forced into the water but were picked up by ships in the area while others stayed on board to battle the blaze.  1 person was reported to have been killed.

Several ships including fire fighting vessels quickly responded to the scene to assist with the rescue and firefighting efforts.

The Inzhener Nazarov was enroute from Turkmenistan to Makhachkala, Russia when the fire broke out.

The incident is currently being investigated.

Costa Cruises can’t catch a break.

Just 6 weeks after the Costa Concordia ran aground off Italy, another one of their cruise ships, the Costa Allegra has caught fire and is now adrift two hundred miles southwest of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.  The vessel remained without power or lights as night fell.

As we know, 200 miles southwest of Seychelles is not exactly the safest place for an adrift vessel in terms of piracy however it has been reported that the vessel does have an Italian security detail on board.

The following is the statement from Costa Cruises:

Costa Cruises has been informed that today at 10:39, Italian time, a fire developed on board Costa Allegra in the engine room, the local electric generators located at the stern. procedures and the system of fire board were promptly activated and the special brigades of the board have occurred, the fire was extinguished and did not extend to any other area of the ship.

There were no injuries or casualties.

As a precaution on board was promptly given the general emergency alarm, all passengers and crew members, not involved in emergency management, they went to muster stations with the safety equipment required.  Currently the ship is over 200 miles south-west of the Seychelles and about 20 miles from Alphonse Island, are ongoing checks on the state of the engine room to be able to restart the equipment necessary to reactivate the functionality of ship. As per procedures, were advised the competent authorities, including the Maritime Rescue Control Centre of Rome, who are following the developments of the situation to give the necessary support. The ship launched a distress signal.

The Company and the competent authorities are working to provide the ship with the necessary support in light of developments. On the site are oceangoing tugs and other support.  On board are 636 passengers of various nationalities and 413 crew members. The ship, which departed Saturday, February 25 from Diego Suarez, was directed to the port of Victoria (Mahé, Seychelles ) where she was scheduled to arrive tomorrow, February 28.

Costa Allegra, built in 1992 by Mariotti shipyards in Genoa, is 28,597 tons, and 188 meters long. With a maximum capacity of 1400 people, has eight passenger decks and 399 cabins.

Piracy Forecast Map for this week

For insight into this question we bring you an article by the US Coast Guard on how a mostly forgotten tragedy changed the face of future rescue operations in this country.

Thirty-one years ago the Coast Guard led one of the nation’s largest search and rescue cases when the 519 passengers and crew of the Dutch cruise ship Prinsendam were forced to abandon ship more than 150-miles off the coast of Alaska after an engine room fire spread throughout the vessel.

Over the course of 24 hours, Coast Guard Cutters Boutwell, Woodrush and Mellon as well as rescue aircraft deployed from Air Stations Sitka and Kodiak would work side-by-side with the U.S. Air Force, Canadian navy and an AMVER-tasked tanker to rescue all hands from 12 to 15 foot seas and 25 to 30 knot winds generated by a nearby Arctic typhoon.

USCG Photo

The Prinsendam was a 427-foot long cruise liner built in 1973. The liner was transiting through the Gulf of Alaska, approximately 120 miles south of Yakutat, Alaska, at midnight Oct. 4, 1980, when fire broke out in the engine room.

With conditions too dangerous for the deployment of small boats from the cutters, survivors were forced to climb aboard the tanker and cutters with the help of two Air Force pararescuemen while hypothermic survivors were ferried to shore by rescue helicopters. The helicopters would then refuel and head back out to the scene for their next load of passengers.

In the immediate aftermath of the rescue, the Coast Guard identified areas of improvement in search and rescue operations which would save tens of thousands of lives in the decades ahead.

In the findings of the Prinsendam investigation, Rear Adm. Richard Knapp noted, “The training and expertise of the Air Force pararescuemen was responsible for the survival of passengers …. It is notable that we were forced to rely on another agency to provide these personnel. I recommend we develop a similar, highly-trained, well-equipped rescue elite.”

Those “rescue elite” would of course become the aviation survival technicians of the Coast Guard rescue swimmer program.

Another deficiency cited in the investigation was the need for rescue helicopters to return to shore to refuel while survivors remained in the water. The critical role rescue helicopters play during extended search and rescue cases would ultimately lead to the helicopter in-flight refueling capability now standard on Coast Guard rescue helicopters.

U.S. Coast Guard photo.

The rescue of the Prinsendam was particularly significant because of the distance traveled by the rescuers, the coordination of independent organizations and the fact that all 519 passengers and crew were rescued without loss of life or serious injury.

These new capabilities would more than prove their value in future cases ranging from the Coast Guard response to Hurricane Katrina to another Arctic rescue when the Alaska Ranger was lost at sea.

At a time when America considers its Arctic future and the role the Coast Guard will play in protecting American lives and national interests in the often harsh conditions found above the Arctic Circle, the Prinsendam rescue serves as a stark reminder of the necessity for a robust Coast Guard presence in America’s Arctic waters.

This article was originally written by  Christopher Lagan and Ademide Adedokun for the blog CG Compass. 

Doola No. 3 tanker

An explosion tore through a South Korean tanker on Sunday morning killing five crew members and leaving 6 others missing.   The unexplained explosion occurred off the coast of Incheon located on the western shore of South Korea after the vessel unloaded a cargo of oil products.  Five people aboard the ship were rescued.

Photos of the tanker, the 4191-ton Doola No. 3, show that the vessel was nearly torn in half by the explosion and was left partially submerged.  The explosion took place about three miles north of Jawol Island near Incheon at around 8:05 a.m. local time, the Coast Guard said.

The Doola No. 3, which usually carries refined petroleum products and chemicals, was carrying 80 tons of Bunker-C oil and 40 tons of diesel oil for fuel when it exploded, according to a coast guard statement.

“The vessel usually transports diesel, but this time it carried gasoline. We are now examining whether it had any relation to the explosion,” an official from Doola Shipping, the owner of the vessel, said in a statement that was obtained by Yonhap news agency.

Yonhap has also reported that the ship’s captain said the explosion may have been caused by static electricity that ignited gasoline vapors from an onboard tank where 11 crew members were working before the blast.

A total of 11 Korean and 5 Myanmarese were aboard the Doola No. 3, the Coast Guard said.

Photo courtesy of the National Science Foundation

Update 2: 13 Jan 2012

A United States Airforce (USAF) C-130 Hercules aircraft departed McMurdo station at 12.35pm today (NZDT) with the 7 injured crew on board. Three of the men are seriously injured.

• The aircraft’s ETA in Christchurch is 8.45pm this evening (NZDT).
• The injured crew will be taken to Christchurch hospital on arrival for assessment and further treatment as required.
• Note that photos and video are not available. The USAF advise there will be no media access or interviews when the aircraft lands in Christchurch.
• RCCNZ’s role in the incident will come to an end once the aircraft lands in Christchurch

UPDATE 13 Jan 2012:

The USAF C-17 Globemaster III aircraft was unable to make its scheduled flight from Christchurch to McMurdo Base overnight because of weather conditions at the destination.

• The Nathaniel B. Palmer carrying the injured crew has arrived at McMurdo, and the injured crew are being transferred by helicopter to the base.
• They will be flown to Christchurch this afternoon (leaving approximately 12.15pm NZDT) on a special flight using a C-130 which was already at McMurdo. The flight is expected to arrive at Christchurch at around 8pm NZDT.

(MARITIME NZ) A United States Airforce (USAF) C17 Starlifter Globemaster III aircraft will leave Christchurch tonight to help recover seven crew injured in a fire on board the Korean fishing vessel Jeong Woo 2 in the Ross Sea early on Wednesday morning (NZDT).

The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) is currently working with a range of agencies to help facilitate the recovery of the seven injured men from the Korean vessel back to New Zealand for hospital treatment.

RCCNZ Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator Greg Johnston said attempts were being made to get a team, including Vietnamese and Indonesian interpreters, on board the aircraft, which was already on a scheduled flight due to leave Christchurch about 9.30pm today.

“Weather permitting, it’s expected that the USAF aircraft will get to McMurdo base about 2am tomorrow (Friday), arriving about the same time as the American research vessel Nathaniel B Palmer, which is currently making her way through the ice with the seven injured crew on board.

“The rescue mission is, however, dependent on the weather and sea conditions, with fog at McMurdo currently causing poor visibility. However, a back up aircraft, a LC 130 Hercules based at McMurdo, is also available if the larger C17 aircraft can’t take off.”

Mr Johnston said once both the vessel and the aircraft had reached McMurdo, the injured crew would be transferred to the aircraft and flown back to Christchurch for treatment.

“All going well, the aircraft will depart McMurdo about 5am, arriving back in New Zealand around 10am, but there are still a number of factors that could cause this to be delayed.”

Two of the seven injured men have received extensive burns (50% and 30% respectively), but have recovered consciousness, and five others have received lighter burns injuries. The Nathaniel B Palmer has medical staff and facilities on board to assess the injured crew’s medical needs, with advice that they are currently stable. The ship’s progress will depend on ice and weather conditions. Three crew have died in the fire.

In the meantime, the 30 surviving crew are all on board the Jeong Woo 2’s sister ship, the Jeong Woo 3, with plans for the vessel to rendezvous with the Korean ice-breaker the Araon, which will collect the crew and take them back to Lyttleton, with the ship estimated to arrive on January 19.

Shot of the Jeong Woo 2 taken from the vessel Nathaniel B Palmer, Credit: Johnny Pierce/Nathaniel B Palmer

Once safe to do so, the wreck of the Jeong Woo 2 will be towed by its sister ship to a position north of 60 degrees south when her future will be decided.

The 51 metre fishing vessel Jeong Woo 2 caught fire in the Ross Sea about 2000 nautical miles (3704 kilometres) southeast of New Zealand and about 600 kilometres north-northeast of McMurdo Base.

A number of vessels responded to the vessel’s distress call, issued in the early hours of Wednesday morning (NZDT). The call was picked up by another Korean fishing vessel, Hong Jin 707, and relayed to RCCNZ by the New Zealand vessel Antarctic Chieftain just before 3am (NZDT) on 11 January.

The R/V Nathaniel B Palmer icebreaker. Photo: Wiki Commons

A Korean fishing vessel caught fire early Wednesday morning in the Ross Sea, approximately 2,000 nautical miles southeast of New Zealand, killing three crew members and injuring several others.  The RCCNZ says that as many as 40 crew members were onboard when it caught fire.

The vessel, the 51 meter Jeong Woo 2, sent out a distress call during the early hours of Wednesday morning which was picked up by another Korean fishing vessel in the area and then relayed to officials from the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ). A number of vessels responded to the call including the two Korean fishing vessels, the Jeong Woo 3 and Hong Jin 707, were able to reach the Jeong Woo 2 and evacuate the crew from the burning vessel.

Three of the crew members were reported missing and presumed dead after the fire tore through the accomodation block of the vessel.  Two others are understood to have suffered extensive burn injuries and another five crew members are also injured with less serious burns, RCCNZ says.

The RCCNZ later confirmed that the injured crew members from the burning vessel had been transferred to the United States research vessel Nathaniel B Palmer, which has medical staff and facilities on board.  The vessel is now sailing to McMurdo Base about 600 kilometers to the southwest.  The trip is expected to take between 24 and 30 hours, depending on ice and weather conditions.

Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator Geoff Lunt said the Nathaniel B Palmer reported on Wednesday evening that the vessel was well alight from bow to stern, but still on an even keel.

It’s been a busy couple weeks for rescue coordinators at RCCNZ.  In December, a fishing vessel with 32 crew began taking on water in the same general area of the Ross Sea and it took 10 days for the rescues to reach the stranded ship due to ice conditions.   Earlier, in 2010, a Korean fishing vessel sank with a crew of 42 while fishing in the Southern Ocean. Only 20 were rescued in that incident.