Recorded Vessel Loss Dispatches for July 28, 2008 (Maritime Losses Around the World)

N2007-built 54,454-dwt Panama-flagged Japanese-owned bulker Stella Maris, with 18 crew, was seized and captured by Somali pirates on July 20 near Calula, a port in Somalia’s breakaway northern region of Puntland. (Mon. July 28 2008).

Malta-flagged cruise ship Zenith, with 1,819 passengers and 619 crew, collided with the Greek-flagged cruise ship Aegean Pearl, with 504 passengers and 349 crew, at Greece’s main port of Piraeus on July 28. No injures reported but port authorities were not allowing the vessels to sail until the damage to both ships was assessed. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Mon. July 28 2008).

113-m Cypriotic flagged cargo M/V Wilson Saga (IMO 8918461) was caught by currents and collided with a pierhead in at Bremen on July 27. The starboard bulwark of the ship was damaged, the hull suffered breaches and gashes. The ship suffered water ingress. The repair will be undertaken in Bremen and is to last until July 30. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Mon. July 28 2008).

Dutch tug Gepke III, built 1957, took on water and developed a port list at a quay on the Merwede river on July 27. With the assistance of other vessels, the tug was soon dewatered and righted. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Mon. July 28 2008).

Russian cargo ship Borealis collided with the wreck of Volnogorsk, which had sunk last November, in the Ukrainian part of the Strait of Kerch. No assistance was requested. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Mon. July 28 2008).

Unidentified cargo vessel sank at the confluence of the Meghna and Dakatia rivers in Chandpur, Bangladesh, on July 25. One of three crew reported missing. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Mon. July 28 2008).

Unidentified barge with 182 passengers sank after hitting a rock on the Oubangui river in northern Congo on July 23. At least 45 people reported drowned and 70 others remain unaccounted for. At the time of the accident, the barge was on its way to the capital of the Central African Republic Bangui, having filled up with passengers, sacks of maize and barrels of oil in the Congolese town of Mobayi-Mbongo. It sank near Gbongi, in Bosobolo territory, more than 600 kilometres (370 miles) northeast of Mbandaka, the capital of northern Equateur region. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Mon. July 28 2008).
Belgian inland water craft Amorsita ran aground at Enkhuzen on July 25. The vessel suffered water ingress but was patched and refloated. From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Mon. July 28 2008).