Ships Monthly - MAY 2006 news

Canadian ferry sinks off British Columbia
The 37-year-old Canadian ferry Queen of the North, originally Stena Line's Stena Danica, sank on March 22 after hitting a rock off Gil Island in British Columbia's Wright Sound. Canadian authorities said the ferry hit the rock at a speed of about 19 knots while travelling well off its intended course, possibly because of a navigational error. Two passengers were missing in the incident but the ship's remaining 99 passengers and crew were safely evacuated by lifeboat and taken to shore by several local fishing vessels and the Canadian Coast Guard's Sir Wilfrid Laurier.

Killingholme's rapid expansion
The Humber Sea Terminal at Killingholme on the south bank of the Humber is set for further expansion. The operators, the Simon Group, have spent more than £63million since 2000 constructing the present four berths at the Killingholme terminal. Now approval is awaited to invest about another £25million to provide berths 5 and 6.

Explosion rocks container ship
Investigations are continuing into the cause of a massive fire that engulfed the container ship Hyundai Fortune, operated by South Korea's Hyundai Merchant Marine, on 21 March while she was sailing in the Gulf of Aden. Patrolling units of the Royal Dutch Navy, Royal Navy and US Navy were directed to the scene and all crew members were safely evacuated.

Busy times at Galway
During the week starting 12 March, an unprecendented amount of cargo arrived in Galway Harbour. In excess of 30,000 tonnes of cargo has come into the harbour during what was one of the port's busiest weeks to date. The harbour was bustling with activity and, according to harbour master Captain Brian Sheridan, 'it demonstrates how important the harbour is to Galway's commercial life'.

Bus to the South Atlantic
When the only working Royal Mail Ship, RMS St Helena, sailed into Portland on 23 March, she collected slightly more than the usual supplies when a brand new single-decker bus was loaded on board. The bus is travelling via the remote South Atlantic British dependency of St Helena, an unusual route for something going to South Africa.

Sisters meet on the Tyne
DFDS acquisition King of Scandinavia (1987/31,788gt) and sister ship Fjord Norway (1986/ 31,356gt) met in the river Tyne on 18 March for the first time since the end of their partnership on TT-Line's Travemünde-Trelleborg route in 1992. The two vessels were berthed at the Royal Quays Terminal, North Shields, after arriving from IJmuiden and on Fjord Line's Bergen and Stavanger service respectively. The spectacle will be repeated over the coming months.

Fire on Star Princess
One passenger died and 11 others were injured when a fire broke out on the morning of 23 March aboard Princess Cruises' Star Princess (2002/ 108,977gt) as she was sailing from Grand Cayman to Montego Bay during a seven-day Western Caribbean cruise. The ship was carrying 2,690 passengers and a crew of 1,123. The blaze was reported at 0310 in passenger accommodations and spread to around 150 adjacent cabins, but the ship's fire crew brought it under control very quickly, although it took over an hour before they were able to completely extinguish it. The fatality followed a cardiac arrest, with injuries caused by smoke inhalation.

Navigator to the UK
Reflecting the growth of the UK cruise market, Royal Caribbean is to base the 3,807-passenger Navigator of the Seas (2002/138,279gt) in the UK next year, replacing the smaller 1,804-passenger Legend of the Seas (1995/69,130gt), which has spent the last two summers operating from Southampton. This move coincides with the delivery of the as-yet unnamed Freedom of the Seas 2 which frees up Navigator for this new deployment.

Landmark for Victory
Lane Victory will this year celebrate the 15th anniversary of being officially recognised as a US National Historic Landmark. She is one of only two World War II Victory ships (out of 534 built) preserved in seagoing condition, and is a memorial to all civilian Merchant Marine and Naval Armed Guard lost at sea in time of war. She was a standard VC2-S-AP2 type, 10,750dwt Victory ship and was built by California Shipbuilding Corp in Los Angeles in 1945. Her cross-compound, oil-fired, triple-expansion steam turbine developed 6,000shp and gives her a speed of 15 knots.