Latest news with #US-flagged
The Sun
3 days ago
- The Sun
Russian captain in North Sea crash due in UK court
LONDON: The Russian captain of a ship which struck an oil tanker in the North Sea was to enter a plea Friday in a UK court after being charged with a crewman's death. Vladimir Motin, 59, was due to appear for a hearing at London's Old Bailey criminal court charged with gross negligence manslaughter. His container ship, the Portuguese-flagged Solong, rammed into the jet-fuel-laden Stena Immaculate on the morning of March 10, setting both vessels ablaze and triggering a massive off-shore rescue operation. The US-flagged tanker, which had been chartered by the US military, was anchored 13 miles (21 kilometres) from the port of Hull, northeastern England, at the time of the crash. One Solong crew member, Filipino Mark Angelo Pernia, died in the collision, which also sparked fears of ecological damage after a tank containing fuel was ruptured. Plastic pellets from the container ship were also found floating in the sea in the following days. Motin, from Primorsky, St Petersburg, appeared by videolink from prison in Hull in the last hearing in April, when the judge pushed back the plea hearing due to the lack of a Russian interpreter. No foul play A preliminary report found that 'neither the Solong nor Stena Immaculate had a dedicated lookout on the bridge' at the time of the incident and that visibility was 'patchy'. The UK government has ruled out foul play. The stationary oil tanker was operating 'in compliance' with watch requirements for an anchored vessel, its owner Crowley has insisted. The Solong penetrated one of Stena's cargo tanks, 'releasing aviation fuel into the sea and onto the bow of Solong', the Marine Accident Investigation Branch detailed in its report. 'The aviation fuel was ignited by the heat generated by the force of the collision,' it said. It took nearly two days to extinguish visible flames on board in a huge firefighting operation. Both vessels have been relocated to different ports for salvage operations and damage assessments. Ernst Russ, which owns the Solong, and Crowley have filed legal claims against each other. While environmental disaster from the jet fuel spillage was averted, the coastguard undertook a clean-up operation after discovering clumps of plastic pellets, or nurdles, in the sea and washed ashore. The nurdles -- tiny pieces of plastic resin which are non-toxic but pose a risk to wildlife -- came from the Solong which was carrying 15 containers of the pellets. More than 16 tonnes (16,000 kilograms) of plastics were removed from beaches in northeastern Lincolnshire, according to the local council.
The Sun
3 days ago
- The Sun
Russian captain in UK Court over deadly North Sea crash
LONDON: The Russian captain of a ship which struck an oil tanker in the North Sea was to enter a plea Friday in a UK court after being charged with a crewman's death. Vladimir Motin, 59, was due to appear for a hearing at London's Old Bailey criminal court charged with gross negligence manslaughter. His container ship, the Portuguese-flagged Solong, rammed into the jet-fuel-laden Stena Immaculate on the morning of March 10, setting both vessels ablaze and triggering a massive off-shore rescue operation. The US-flagged tanker, which had been chartered by the US military, was anchored 13 miles (21 kilometres) from the port of Hull, northeastern England, at the time of the crash. One Solong crew member, Filipino Mark Angelo Pernia, died in the collision, which also sparked fears of ecological damage after a tank containing fuel was ruptured. Plastic pellets from the container ship were also found floating in the sea in the following days. Motin, from Primorsky, St Petersburg, appeared by videolink from prison in Hull in the last hearing in April, when the judge pushed back the plea hearing due to the lack of a Russian interpreter. No foul play A preliminary report found that 'neither the Solong nor Stena Immaculate had a dedicated lookout on the bridge' at the time of the incident and that visibility was 'patchy'. The UK government has ruled out foul play. The stationary oil tanker was operating 'in compliance' with watch requirements for an anchored vessel, its owner Crowley has insisted. The Solong penetrated one of Stena's cargo tanks, 'releasing aviation fuel into the sea and onto the bow of Solong', the Marine Accident Investigation Branch detailed in its report. 'The aviation fuel was ignited by the heat generated by the force of the collision,' it said. It took nearly two days to extinguish visible flames on board in a huge firefighting operation. Both vessels have been relocated to different ports for salvage operations and damage assessments. Ernst Russ, which owns the Solong, and Crowley have filed legal claims against each other. While environmental disaster from the jet fuel spillage was averted, the coastguard undertook a clean-up operation after discovering clumps of plastic pellets, or nurdles, in the sea and washed ashore. The nurdles -- tiny pieces of plastic resin which are non-toxic but pose a risk to wildlife -- came from the Solong which was carrying 15 containers of the pellets. More than 16 tonnes (16,000 kilograms) of plastics were removed from beaches in northeastern Lincolnshire, according to the local council.
Press and Journal
16-05-2025
- General
- Press and Journal
Aberdeen harbourmaster gives insider account after deadly Solong ship crash
Port of Aberdeen's harbourmaster has detailed the complex operation to remove dangerous cargo from the Solong – the fire-ravaged container ship involved in a fatal North Sea collision that remains the focus of a major investigation. Aberdeen's South Harbour is now acting as caretaker for the vessel, which sustained severe structural damage in the crash and the fires that followed. Harbourmaster Benji Morrison told the port's annual general meeting that the Solong is now, 'effectively just a hull'. The Portuguese-flagged vessel arrived under tow on March 28, following a high-impact crash with the stationary Stena Immaculate – a tanker carrying aviation fuel for the United States Air force. The incident claimed the life of one crew member and triggered a large-scale salvage operation. Mr Morrison gave an in-depth account of how his team scrambled to prepare for the ship's arrival with just three days' notice. 'This wasn't something I expected in my first year as harbourmaster,' he said. 'But when the SOSREP calls on a Saturday afternoon, you know it is serious.' The Solong collided with the US-flagged Stena Immaculate on March 10. The crash caused a series of explosions and fires that ravaged the Solong for more than a week. Tragically, 38-year-old Filipino crew member Mark Angelo Pernia lost his life in the incident. The ship's captain, Vladimir Motin of St Petersburg, Russia, has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter. Despite the damage, 36 remaining crew members from both vessels were rescued in a tense operation. Aberdeen was identified as the preferred port to manage the casualty drawing on recent experience handling the MV Lowlands Diamond just months earlier. To prepare for the Solong's arrival, a specialist shore tension system had to be shipped overnight from the Netherlands and rigged quayside in time for the vessel's arrival on Friday morning. 'She was a dead ship with no mooring capability,' Mr Morrison explained. 'We had to decide how we were going to moor this vessel and how we were going to safely keep it there. 'We had to look at everything: environmental risks, emergency procedures, offloading operations, and maintaining safety for the rest of the port. 'We knew there was dangerous cargo on board, that cargo was very fire-damaged and there was a lot of damage from the fire-fighting efforts to extinguish the fire. 'There was also a lot of broken glass on the deck and we had to put a pilot onto the vessel.' The Marine Accident Investigation branch, along with Humberside Police and Police Scotland, boarded the ship as soon as it was secured in South Harbour. In the six weeks since, teams have removed its cargo, offloaded all fuel bunkers, and disposed of contaminated firefighting water in line with waste management regulations. 'The next stage for us now is really caretaking,' said Mr Morrison. 'We are keeping daily watch on this vessel to make sure she maintains her structural integrity and remains safe in port.' The Solong is expected to be towed for recycling, though the final destination has not yet been confirmed. Mr Morrison said the back-to-back handling of two casualty vessels has helped cement the Port of Aberdeen's growing reputation as a key port of refuge. He added: 'We are very well strategically placed as being a port that can offer the UK resilience in times of conflict or national and international emergencies.'
Fibre2Fashion
06-05-2025
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
Bipartisan bill reintroduced to boost US shipbuilding, maritime sector
US Senators Todd Young (Republican, Indiana) and Mark Kelly (Democratic, Arizona) recently reintroduced the Shipbuilding and Harbour Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act, comprehensive legislation to revitalise the US shipbuilding and commercial maritime industries. There are currently 80 US-flagged vessels in international commerce, while China has 5,500. US Senators Todd Young and Mark Kelly recently reintroduced the Shipbuilding and Harbour Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security for America Act, comprehensive legislation to revitalise the US shipbuilding and commercial maritime industries. Both originally introduced the act in December 2024. The legislation aims at establishing national oversight and consistent funding for US maritime policy. The piece of legislation aims at closing this gap and boost the US Merchant Marine by establishing national oversight and consistent funding for US maritime policy, making US-flagged vessels commercially competitive in international commerce by cutting red tape, rebuilding the US shipyard industrial base, and expanding and strengthening mariner and shipyard worker recruitment, training and retention, a release from Young's office said. Young and Kelly originally introduced the act in December last year. Since the introduction, the urgency to boost American shipbuilding has emerged as a priority of bipartisan consensus this year, particularly after the office of the US trade representative revealed the findings of its investigation into China's shipbuilding dominance and President Donald Trump's signing of a shipbuilding executive order, said the release. 'Building and staffing more US-flagged ships will create good-paying American jobs, make our supply chains more resilient, lower costs, and strengthen our ability to resupply our military at times of war,' Kelly, a US Navy veteran and the first US Merchant Marine Academy graduate to serve in Congress, said. The SHIPS for America Act would coordinate US maritime policy by establishing the position of Maritime Security Advisor within the White House, who would lead an interagency Maritime Security Board tasked with making whole-of-government strategic decisions for how to implement a National Maritime Strategy. The bill also establishes a Maritime Security Trust Fund that would reinvest duties and fees paid by the maritime industry into maritime security programmes and infrastructure supporting maritime commerce. It would establish a national goal of expanding the US-flag international fleet by 250 ships in 10 years by creating the Strategic Commercial Fleet Programme, which would facilitate the development of a fleet of commercially operated, U.S.-flagged, American crewed, and domestically built merchant vessels that can operate competitively in international commerce. It will set up a Rulemaking Committee on Commercial Maritime Regulations and Standards to cut through the US Coast Guard's bureaucracy and red tape that limits the international competitiveness of US-flagged vessels, modify duties to make cargo on US-flagged vessel's more competitive, requiring that government-funded cargo move aboard US-flagged vessels, and requiring a portion of commercial goods imported from China to move aboard US-flagged vessels starting in 2030. It will expand the US shipyard industrial base, for both military and commercial oceangoing vessels, by establishing a 25-per cent investment tax credit for shipyard investments, transforming the Title XI Federal Ship Financing Programme into a revolving fund, and establishing a Shipbuilding Financial Incentives programme to support innovative approaches to domestic ship building and ship repair. It will accelerate US leadership in next-generation ship design, manufacturing processes and ship energy systems by establishing the US Centre for Maritime Innovation, and supporting regional hubs for maritime innovation across the country by establishing a Maritime Prosperity Zone programme. The legislation will be introduced in two pieces in the Senate, the SHIPS for America Act and the Building SHIPS in America Act. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Bloomberg
02-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Lawmakers Revive Bipartisan Bill to Restore US Shipbuilding
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers are reintroducing legislation that aims to revive American shipbuilding, riding off momentum of an executive order from President Donald Trump announced earlier this month. The bill would put duties on vessels owned or operated by a 'country of concern' — namely China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. It would also establish a 25% tax credit for shipyard investments and create a program to boost the number of US-flagged vessels over 10 years by 250.
