Crude oil tanker Zephyr I (IMO 9255880) collided
with container ship GSL Grania (IMO 9285653) early on September 27th local time in the Malacca Strait, halfway between Malacca City and Singapore.
Apparently both vessels were in load and both were sailing east. The tanker was
reported to have struck the container ship in the starboard stern, causing both
ships to sustain heavy damage. Both ships were anchored after the collision. The
tanker was loaded with bitumen and was heading for China, while the container
ship was en route from Savannah to Tanjung Pelepas, ETA September 27th.
2002-built, Palau-flagged, 59,719 gt Zhen 1 (Equasis
listing) is owned by Skylla Navigation Corp care of Monumont Ship Management
Ltd of Istanbul, Turkey.
2004-built, Liberia-flagged, 83,133 gt GSL Grania is
owned by Global Ship Lease 32 LLC care of manager ConChart Commercial of
Athens, Greece. ISM manager is Technomar Shipping Inc of Athens, Greece. It is
entered with UK Club on behalf of Global Ship Lease 32 LLC.
Passenger ship Galaxy (IMO 9333694) arrived at Amsterdam
on September 26th in preparation to accommodate 1,000 asylum seekers.
It will spend at least six months docked in the Coen Harbour. The Dutch
government chartered the vessel for six months with a possible renewal period
at the end in order to relieve overcrowding at the Ter Apel reception centre in
Groningen, where hundreds of asylum seekers have had to sleep on the grass
verges outside the building. The ship will also accommodate some refugees who
have been granted residency but who were currently waiting for a permanent home.
Education and day care facilities will be provided on board. The number of beds
could be increased to 1,500. The government has agreed to finance an extra
2,500 flexible homes in the city. The first residents are expected to move in
at the start of October.
2006-built, Sweden-flagged, 48,915 gt Galaxy is owned by
Tallink Sea Line Ltd care of HT Shipmanagement OU of Tallinn, Estonia. It is
entered with Gard AS on behalf of Tallink Sea Line Ltd. Gard is claims leader
for Hull and Loss of Hire on behalf of AS Tallink Grupp.
General cargo ship VF Glory (IMO 9486271) ran
aground in the shallow waters of Umashima Island in the Kurushima Straits off
the coast of Imabari, Japan, on September 27th. There were 18
Vietnamese crew members on board, none of whom were injured. Neither was there
any report of an oil spill The ship had left Niihama Port on September 20th and was heading for South Korea in ballast. A tug pulled the ship out a few
hours after the grounding. As of September 28th the vessel was at
Imabari anchorage.
2008-built, Panama-flagged, 6,491 gt VF Glory is owned by
Philocean Line SA care of Ocean Eleven Shipping Corp of Seoul, South Korea. It
is managed by Vietnam Ship Service JSC of Hanoi, Vietnam. It is entered with
Japan Club (Tokyo Office in charge) on behalf of Philocean Line SA.
