Month: January 2016

Some 156 passengers and crew were rescued after a Malaysian-flagged ferry Zuhairi collided with a lightless barge and partially sank near Semporna port, Malaysia, in the evening hours of January 6, according to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.

As the ferry was slowly sinking, the authorities managed to rescue the passengers within an hour following the collision.

Some 21 people were hospitalized after sustaining minor injuries.

The exact number of passengers travelling aboard the ferry is unknown, however, the officials said that the ferry was presumably sailing with 160 passengers, of Malaysian and Filipino origin.

At the time of the incident, Zuhairi was on its way from Bongao island in southern Philippines to Semporna.

The Sabah Marine Department has formed a team to investigate the cause of the collision. The team will conduct interviews to establish the cause of the accident.

According to the officials, the barge that took part in the collision could not be located at present.

No new crew members or debris from the sunken supramax bulk carrier Bulk Jupiter have been detected during the recent search operations, the vessel’s owner and operator Gearbulk said in a statement.

Bulk Jupiter sank on January 1 about 150 nautical miles off the coast of Vung Tau, Vietnam, killing two of the crew members, with 16 still missing, and only one survivor.

A fleet of vessels and planes, under direction of the Vietnamese Coast Guard are participating in the operations from where Bulk Jupiter issued distress signals.

Gearbulk said that Bulk Jupiter departed Kuantan on December 30, 2014, at around 20:00 hours local time, with 19 crew members, all Filipinos, on board and about 46,400 mts of Bauxite in bulk, stowed in all five of her cargo holds.

The vessel issued distress signals at 22:54 hours local time on January 1. The Japanese Coast Guard received the distress alert and immediately initiated a search and rescue operation. One lifeboat and a life raft, both empty, from Bulk Jupiter have been observed by M/V Zim Asia in the vicinity.

The tug boat, M/V OLNG Muttrah, picked up one surviving crew member in the area, identified as the chief cook Angelito Roxas.

Container shipping company American President Lines Ltd has kick started its Guam Saipan Express (GSX) service with the arrival of U.S-flagged vessel, APL Guam at the island of Guam for the first time on 1 January 2016.

“We are thrilled to kick-start 2016 with the first cargo shipment on the GSX route,” said John Selleck, APL General Manager, Guam/Micronesia.

“With 75% of Guam’s inbound freight originating from the U.S. mainland, the GSX service provides essential cargo shipments from the U.S. mainland to Guam and Saipan. Moreover, with the GSX’s connections in Yokohama and Busan, we connect Guam and Saipan with the world through APL’s global network.”

Designed primarily to give Guam and Saipan shippers an alternative option for shipments from the U.S. mainland to these markets and vice versa, the GSX service connects with APL’s weekly U.S.-flagged Eagle Express service (EX1) in both Yokohama, Japan and Busan, South Korea.

Prior to calling Guam, the 1,100-TEU APL vessel made its first call to Saipan. Upon returning to Yokohama, APL Guam will begin its regular two-week rotation, calling Guam, Saipan, Busan and Yokohama on Saturday, Sunday, Thursday and Tuesday respectively. In particular, the fortnightly GSX service is scheduled for weekend arrivals for ready cargo availability on Monday mornings in both Guam and Saipan.