The solitary journey of the Modern Express
The scenario of the ship that refuses to sink is a familiar situation for rescue teams and maritime authorities since the Liberty Ship Flying Entreprise ran adrift in the English Channel in the winter of 1952. A notable difference with the Modern Express is that the master stayed on board till the very end, until he was evacuated, following 15 days of drift and futile efforts to restore the stability of the vessel.
Although relatively recently built, a number of deficiencies have been reported on the Modern Express in the Port of Antwerp since 2012.
Tianjin : business as usual
CMA CGM Christophe Colomb was at Tianjin from August 12 to August 17. The French container ship is expected at Southampton and Dunkirk on September 20 and 22. She has been exposed for a long time to the air pollution that followed the explosions and fires occuring from August 12 on at the logistic areas of the Chinese port.
Alarm in Cherbourg n°2
Flying the flag of Saint-Vincent-et-Grenadines, the Serval, a tugboat built in 1977, is arriving at Cherbourg. In January 2015, the most recent inspection of the Serval in the port of Gdynia in Poland revealed eleven deficiencies. This precarious state has been noted for the past eight years. In 2007, the Serval had been detained in Denmark with 23 deficiencies.
The Serval is not coming to Cherbourg to be demolished. It’s in the port in Normandy to tow an old, abandoned tuna boat that has been stuck in the wharf since the summer of 2007. It will be towing into the risks and perils of the sea. The Marginella, built in 1985, measures 55 meters in length. Its operating crew comprises 25 sailors. It belongs to the Soviet tuna fishing fleet. It is the last survivor of eleven units of tuna seiners from the Tibiya project, built between 1980 and 1986 with the exception of Tibiya, which was converted into a service boat in the Caspian Sea.
Ezadeen, the livestock and migrant carrier
The worse has happened. The smugglers used a livestock carrier to transport men, women and children. The Ezadeen was expected at the port of Sète (France), the leading European port for the export of livestock. Sète came near to import surviving human beings. Like the Blue Sky M and the East Sea, the Ezadeen is an old hull, she is 49 years of age and maritime inspectors in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea have pointed out 204 deficiencies from 2007 to 2014. Initially built as a general cargo carrier, she was converted to livestock carrier in 2010. Her call papers show she is a regular visitor to the port of Beirut and to the Syrian port of Tartous.
Christos XXII, the salvage tug which brings bad luck
Unable to tow the Victoriaborg (*) to Saint Malo port of refuge, the salvage tug Christos XXII had yet won fame in the Channel Sea. Exactly one year ago, the Greek tug was towing a German training ship, the Emsstrom, bound to a Turkish ship-breaking yard.
The towed Emsstrom collided with Christos XXII following a wrong move of the latter off Torbay along the Devon coastline. Emsstrom took on water after the collision and sunk.
Christos XXII took on water too. The eight crewmen were evacuated and the salvage tug had to be towed and stationed in the Weymouth Bay. An oil spill was feared. The incident happened in January 2013.
