Irish Ferries Resolve Case Of Filipina Beautician

A Filipino woman who won a 25,000 euro ($32,410) cash settlement from Irish Ferries is to set up her own beauty salon, it emerged tonight. Ms Salvacion Y Ortenero Orge, a beautician, was hired by a recruitment agency to work on the vessel Isle of Inishmore for one euro per hour, less than a seventh of the national minimum wage. The beauty parlour on the ship, which operates on the Ireland-Wales route, was closed down last week following queries about her wages. Tonight a settlement worth about 25,000 euro was worked out after hours of negotiations between Irish Ferries management, the SIPTU union and Ms Orge. SIPTU negotiator Paul Smith said Ms Orge, who had refused to leave the ship, would now be returning home to the Philippines tomorrow. “She’s over the moon. She’ll be a millionaire in Filipino terms and she is planning to set up her own beauty saloon there.” He said the settlement, which would have taken Ms Orge nearly 20 years to earn in the Philippines, would also allow her to educate her children. Ms Orge had said that under her contract she was expected to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week, aboard the Isle of Inishmore and was offered just three days off a month – the equivalent to earning just over one euro an hour. As part of the settlement, SIPTU secured a letter of undertaking from the recruitment company that hired Ms Orge, guaranteeing that she would not be discriminated against when seeking any future employment. “We believe this woman could have been victimised and there would be little we could do to protect her. That’s why the settlement is very important,” said Mr Smith. However, the dispute about pay conditions at Irish Ferries is set to continue, following the serving of strike notice on the company last week. SIPTU members are claiming that Irish Ferries is outsourcing jobs on its ships to workers from the Far East and Eastern Europe, without disclosing their pay and conditions. “The company have been apologising for what happened to Ms Orge but they still intend to replace the current officers with agency crew and to use low-cost cheap labour,” said Mr Smith. A statement from Irish Ferries said an agreement had been reached between Ms Orge, SIPTU and Irish Ferries‘ director of human resources Alf McGrath after talks during the ship’s sailing to Wales today. “Irish Ferries confirms that an agreement has been reached between the company, SIPTU and Salvacion Y Ortenero Orge the details of which all parties have agreed to keep confidential,” the company said. Isle of Inishmore

Sailor Faces Special Court-Martial

A Disgraceful Navy Sailor who refused to board a Persian Gulf-bound ship because of his opposition to the war in the Iraq will face a special court-martial - the military equivalent of a civilian misdemeanor trial, the Navy announced Friday. The Navy said it has referred criminal charges of absence without leave and missing the movement of a ship against Petty Officer 3rd Class Pablo Paredes, 23. He faces a maximum of one year in jail, forfeiture of pay, reduction in rank and a bad-conduct discharge if he's convicted. No date for a court-martial has been set. Paredes remains assigned to a transient personnel unit at Naval Base San Diego, said Navy spokeswoman Capt. Jacquie Yost. He is required to show up for work every day but is free to leave the base at the end of the day. Jeremy Warren, a civilian attorney who is representing Paredes, said his client is looking forward to defending himself and moving on with his life. "He wasn't naive, and he didn't expect the Navy would turn a blind eye to it, but he is glad that they're not seeking a general court-martial" - a proceeding reserved for the most serious offenses, Warren said. Paredes, of New York City, has applied for contentious objector status, and a decision is expected next week, Warren said. A Navy chaplain who met with Paredes in January wrote it was "morally imperative" his request be granted, Warren said. Paredes, a weapons-control technician who joined the Navy in 2000, refused to board the USS Bonhomme Richard on Dec. 6 as it left for a six-month tour in the Pacific and Indian oceans. He has said he was young and naive when he joined the Navy and that he "never imagined in a million years we would go to war with somebody who had done nothing to us." (PUSS!) Yellow Spined Coward Pablo Paredes

Tugboat Takes Disabled Processing Ship Under Tow

A Coast Guard cutter towing a disabled fish processing ship turned the vessel over to a tug Wednesday morning for the rest of the trip to a safe harbor. There are 204 people aboard the 325-foot Independence, which began drifting in the Gulf of Alaska on Monday after it lost its ability to steer in rough seas. The tug reached the Independence about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday and took over towing the ship to Cape Spencer and Juneau, the Coast Guard said. The vessels are expected to arrive in Cape Spencer on Friday before continuing about 80 miles east to Juneau, according to the Coast Guard. The ship's steering system failed in 20-foot seas with blowing snow and winds as high as 60 mph. The weather calmed Tuesday and improved even more Wednesday, except for some morning fog, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Gail Sinner. The Cutter Storis took the Seattle-based Independence under tow on Tuesday. Other than the failed steering system, there have been no reports of anything else wrong with the ship or any disturbances, Sinner said. The Independence--owned by Trident Seafoods Corp. in Seattle--ran into trouble about 7 a.m. Monday, when the port rudder failed as the ship was heading back to Seattle following the end of its cod season, said Trident attorney Joe Plesha. Crew members disconnected a hydraulic piston driving the damaged rudder. Later Monday, another piston controlling the vessel's other two rudders also failed. The system is not designed to operate on just one piston, Plesha said. The cause of the system failure is unknown. The Independence, a floating processor built in 1938, has a history of mechanical and other problems, according to Coast Guard records. Between 1994 and 2001, the Coast Guard investigated 10 incidents involving the vessel in Alaska, Washington state and Oregon. Seven involved mechanical problems and three involved discharge of oil, recotsf.JPGrds show.

Nuclear-Powered US Submarine Enters Chinhae Port

A local leading civic group confirmed on Wednesday that a U.S. nuclear-powered submarine was anchored at a military base in South Korea. Green Korea United confirmed that the U.S. nuclear-powered submarine SSN-688-LA was at the naval base in the southeastern naval port city of Chinhae. The civic group made public the photograph of the USS Los Angeles (SSN-688) that they took on March 16 at the base, claiming that the presence of the submarine within Korean waters breached the 1992 Joint Declaration on Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The declaration stipulates that the two Koreas are only allowed to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The civic group said that the submarine anchored in the naval base on March 16 to replenish Korea's military supplies, raising suspicion that the submarine Might Have dumped nuclear waste from its nuclear reactors into an island near the port during its stay. ``We've suspected the American nuclear-powered submarine of anchoring at the Korean territory two or three times a year, but we confirmed it with a photograph this time,'' the civic group said. ``The government and the U.S. should give up pushing forward with the joint military tactics of nuclear-powered submarines on the Korean Peninsula,'' it added. The ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) and the South Korean Ministry of Defense denied any dumping of nuclear waste but acknowledged that the submarine had entered the peninsula. ``The submarine was on the Korean Peninsula to participate in a military exercise. But the claim that it has dumped nuclear waste is not true,'' a CFC official said. ``American nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers come into our waters to take part in joint military drills on a regular basis,'' he added. ``No nuclear waste was dumped because the radioactive check that we performed on the submarine showed no evidence of change in nuclear waste,'' a defense ministry official said. Asked about the civic group's claim that the port call of the submarine breached the denuclearization declaration, he declined to comment, saying only that it is not for the defense ministry to comment on.
The picture taken on March 16 shows the nuclear-powered USS Los Angeles (SSN-688) anchored at a naval base in Chinhae, South Kyongsang Province. Green Korea United released the picture on Wednesday.

Ice On Lake Pepin Is Holding Back The First Towboats Of The Season

Three Towboats have made it as far as Wabasha on the Mississippi River, but as of Friday morning none had made it through Lake Pepin. All three - the "Kelly Lee," the "Mark Shurden" and the "Magnolia" - passed through Lock and Dam Four at Alma, Wis., this week but stopped short of trying to make it through Lake Pepin because of ice on the lake. All three Towboats are pushing barges. Last year, the first towboat of the season made it to St. Paul on March 20.
The Mark Shurden

13 Bodies Recovered From The Ship MV Polaris

Firefighters recovered on Saturday 10 more bodies from a Greek-registered fishing vessel "the MV Polaris" that caught fire in dry dock in Tema harbour, bringing to 13 the number of bodies recovered so far, Ghana News Agency reported. At least 17 people were feared to have burnt to death when they became trapped in the MV Polaris when it caught fire at the PSC Tema Shipyard, about 25km east of Accra on Friday. They are believed to be 14 Ghanaian nationals, one Greek, one Russian and one Guinean. The vessel had been undergoing maintenance work at the dry dock for the past three months. MV Polaris Two companies near the shipyard were also seriously gutted by the fire. Firemen and workers with the Ghana National Fire Service, Tema Oil Refinery, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and National Disaster Management Organisation were on Saturday still searching for bodies. The fire affected the seawater-pumping house which serves as a coolant for Ghana's only refinery causing an immediate shutdown. Energy minister Mike Ocquaye said it also melted Valco's conveyor belt, which is owned by US aluminium giant Kaiser, in addition to a water pump. VALCO had been preparing to reopen the smelter in the next few months, and is now counting losses of at least $3m. Sources said the fire was caused by an oil spill from the Tema Oil Refinery pipeline that has been leaking for the past week, Ghana news agency quoted them as saying. Witnesses said the fire was ignited when fire coming from welders working on the vessel caught the oil on the water. Stephen Quansah, a mechanic, said he and his colleagues who were working on the vessel, heard an explosion at 10:30 GMT on the vessel that caught fire. The Managing Director of the state-owned Tema Oil Refinery, Kofi Sarpong, said the refinery would deliver normal supplies and appealed to the public to remain calm. He said the Residual Fluidised Catalytic Cracking plant had been reactivated to ensure uninterrupted supply of fuel. Tema Shipyard

Crews Free Ship Aground In Ventura County

Salvage crews on Thursday freed a grounded sailing ship that became stuck earlier this week while entering Channel Islands Harbor in stormy seas. Beachgoers cheered as the crew tugged the San Pedro-based Irving Johnson out of the sand bar. "The boat is free," said Chris Grisafe, a spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard. "She's seaworthy for the immediate purposes." Salvage crew members were inspecting the boat to assess the damage, he said. Teams emptied the water and dug a temporary berm on the shore side of the boat so that waves breaking on the beach would instead bounce back and push the boat to sea. Salvagers planned to tug the boat five miles to Ventura Harbor, Grisafe said. Twenty passengers and crew members were aboard the 90-foot brigantine when it hit the sandbar Monday. They were rescued after they fell or jumped into the chilly waters. Three of them were treated for hypothermia. Irving Johnson

Coast Guard Racing To Rescue Seattle-Based Ship In Gulf Of Alaska

The Coast Guard is rushing to rescue 204 fishermen who are on a processing ship that lost power in the Gulf of Alaska Monday and is drifting aimlessly in high seas and strong winds. The Coast Guard received a report Monday morning from crewmembers aboard the Seattle-based processor Independence that they had an engineering problem with one of the ship's three rudders. Later in the day, a crewmember reported that the ship's steering had failed as well, leaving the ship adrift about 95 miles south of Kayak Island, which is 62 miles southeast of Cordova, Alaska. Weather conditions at the ship's location are 50-60 knot winds with 20-foot seas. Two Coast Guard Cutters, the Storis and Morgenthau, are en route to the ship, as is a C-130 aircraft. There are no reports of any injuries on board the Independence. Processing Ship Independence ~*~

Coast Guard Cutters Storis and Morgenthau

Pirates Release 3 Kidnapped Asian Sailors

Pirates have released three Sailors kidnapped in the busy shipping lane between Malaysia and Indonesia, Japan's Foreign Ministry said Monday. Two Japanese and a Filipino sailor were abducted last week when pirates attacked a Japanese-registered tugboat in Malacca Strait. The rest of the tugboat's crew later arrived safely in Malaysia. ``It's like I'm finally back in the world of the living,'' Shunji Kuroda, one of the kidnapped Sailors, said in a phone interview with Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, from his hotel in Thailand. The sailors were released early Monday in the southern Thai province of Satun, and they are ``generally in good health,'' said Japanese Foreign Ministry official Masahiro Takagi. He said Japanese officials planned to take them to Penang, Malaysia, when they get approval by Thai authorities. Thai authorities plucked the three from a small boat in the waters about 12 miles off the coast, NHK said. Earlier Monday, the boat's Japanese Captain, Nobuo Inoue, 56, spoke by phone with the shipping company's president and confirmed that he and his two abducted crew members were safely released, Takagi said. The ministry official declined to say whether ransom was paid. Inoue, Kuroda and the Filipino sailor, Edgardo Sadang, 41, were greeted by Japanese officials and the company president, who traveled from Penang at the news of their release, at their hotel in Satun. Kuroda said the pirates took the three to an island after changing boats more than five times, adding that the attackers ``were very cautious.'' ``The night after we were kidnapped, we took a small boat to an island. We had to jump off the boat before reaching the shore and we waded through water to reach a sandy beach,'' he said. He said he was fine, adding ``I only suffered a cut on my foot when we had to walk through mud in jungles.'' The tugboat was attacked March 14 off Malaysia's Penang island, near the opening of the pirate-infested channel that separates Indonesia's Sumatra island and peninsular Malaysia. ``We regret the pirate attacks and we'll work with the region's governments to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents,'' said Yoshinori Katori, chief of the Consulate division at the Foreign Ministry. Last year, the International Maritime Bureau recorded 37 pirate attacks in the strait, which is used by 50,000 vessels each year.

Naked Sailors Swim For Shore

Five Chinese fishermen shoved their clothes into plastic bags and jumped Naked overboard into Wellington Harbour in a spur-of-the-moment bid for more money, police say. The men were Sailors on one of two South Korean Squid Boats which had been working off the Falkland Islands and were anchored about 450 metres offshore in Wellington Harbour on Saturday afternoon. The boats were due to berth at Aotea Quay this morning. The ship's agent raised the alarm about 11.30pm on Saturday and the police launch Lady Elizabeth III and tug boats were sent to search the water and shoreline. Two of the men were quickly found by pilot launch Tarakena and pulled from the water. The Squid Boat Doo An 11 found two others soon after, but a fifth was still missing when the search was called off at 3am yesterday. A second search of the coastline yesterday failed to find any sign of the missing 31-year-old. Senior Constable Dave Martin said he initially feared the man had drowned, but after questioning the men with the help of an interpreter, he was satisfied the man had made it ashore. Mr Martin believed they decided to flee the boat on the spur of the moment. "One jumped overboard and started swimming and the others who saw him decided to follow. "They put their clothes in a plastic bag and followed him." The missing man is believed to have been the first one into the water and would have had a 10-minute lead on the others, he said. It was likely he came ashore near Kaiwharawhara then got dressed into his wet clothes and fled into the night. When asked why they jumped ship, the Sailors said "more money, more money". Squid Boat

Body Of Tugboat Captain Found On Mississippi River

A body found on the west bank of the Mississippi River has been identified as that of a Tugboat Captain missing since January. An autopsy showed that Chester Cheramie, 40, drowned, the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office said. The Orleans Parish coroner's office used dental records to determine the body's identity. Cheramie's tugboat sank Jan. 25 about four miles south of the Hale Boggs Bridge. Last Sunday, a crew member of a boat spotted a body floating near the riverbank, St. Charles Parish officials said. The cause of the sinking was unknown. The river level was high and the current was strong because of upriver snow melt and spring rains, but the Coast Guard was unsure if that was a factor. The Coast Guard is investigating the accident.

Pirates Free 2 Kidnapped Sailors

Pirates yesterday released two Indonesians they seized days before off the island of Borneo, but the fate of Japanese sailors in a separate attack was still unknown, a navy spokesman said. Brigadier General Malik Yusuf told The Associated Press that the hostages - the captain and ship engineer of KM. Tri Samudra - were released at Paning River in Indonesian Borneo, known as Kalimantan. Earlier, Yusuf mistakenly reported the release of two sailors kidnapped Monday when pirates attacked the Idaten, a Japanese-registered tugboat, in the Malacca Strait, a busy shipping lane between peninsula Malaysia and Indonesia's Sumatra island. "Those who were released today were two Indonesians from an Indonesian KM Tri Samudra taken hostage by other hijackers in Indonesia's Kalimantan (Borneo) Island," Yusuf said. "What happened in Penang was the capture of five hijackers - four Filipinos and one Malaysian - of Idaten, while the whereabouts of the hostages were still not known," he added. He did not provide further details of the hijacking of the Indonesian ship. "I have to apologize for the mistake that happened because we received news about the incidents almost at the same time," he told the Associated Press. In Monday's incident, about 15 armed pirates attacked the Japanese tugboat off Penang island. The vessel owners had said they had not been contacted by the pirates or received ransom demands. Malaysia authorities had earlier said they believe the pirates were Indonesian and had taken the hostages back into Indonesian waters after kidnapping them.

James R. Barker Is First Ship Out!

A new Twin Ports shipping season got under way Thursday as the James R. Barker loaded coal at the Midwest Energy Resources Co. terminal in Superior. The 1,004-foot-long vessel was scheduled to leave Thursday night carrying 57,000 tons of coal up the North Shore to fuel generators at Minnesota Power's Taconite Harbor plant. The Coast Guard Cutter Alder planned to escort the Barker during its first trip of the season. The Soo Locks won't open until March 25, but before that, Midwest will begin to serve customers on Lake Superior. "We like to get a jump on the season," said Fred Schusterich, Midwest's president. The Barker is expected to return to Midwest this weekend for another load of coal, which it will haul on Lake Superior to a power plant in Marquette, Mich. In 2004, Midwest shipped 18.8 million tons of coal through its Superior terminal. Schusterich said he expects business at the facility to surpass 20 million tons this year. Last year, Midwest's first shipment of coal left the Superior terminal March 17, as well, but it was the Paul R. Tregurtha, not the Barker, breaking trail.

5 Remanded In Connection With Tugboat Kidnapping

Five men have been remanded in connection with the abduction of the skipper and two crew members of Japanese-registered tugboat Idaten. The five – four Thai crewmen of a fishing boat spotted near the scene of the kidnapping and the boat captain, a Malaysian captain – were remanded at the Manjung magistrate’s court on Friday morning. They have been remanded for five days. On Monday, pirates in three fishing boats boarded the tugboat and kidnapped Idaten’s captain Nododuo Indue, 54, chief engineer Shunji Kuroda, 51, both Japanese, and third engineer Sadang Paliawan, 41, a Filipino. The incident happened 45.5 nautical miles west of Tanjung Hantu, Lumut.

Queen Mary Future In Doubt

The California operator of the Queen Mary has filed for bankruptcy, putting in doubt the future of the famed ocean liner turned tourist attraction, a spokeswoman for the company said. The move follows a rent dispute between the city of Long Beach, where the ship has been docked for 37 years, and the company that leases the Art Deco treasure that once transported celebrities and politicians across the Atlantic. Queen's Seaport Development Inc., which leases the ship, filed for Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles on Tuesday, a day before it had to come up with $3.4 million in back rent to Long Beach. The city, which owns the ship, had threatened to terminate the company's 66-year operating lease if it did not repay what officials said were inappropriate rent credits taken for upgrades to the ship and developing the surrounding area. The Queen Mary, commissioned by Cunard Line and built in Britain, made its maiden voyage in 1936. It was the choice of entertainers such as Bob Hope and Bing Crosby and statesmen such as Britain's Winston Churchill. The ship was retired from regular service and turned over to Long Beach in 1967. City officials had hoped to make the ship, part of which is now a hotel, the center of a seaside tourist development in the Los Angeles area. But other attractions never materialized and the ship has struggled to turn a profit.

The Queen Mary has been docked at Long Beach for 37 years.

Pirates Abduct 3 Sailors From Tugboat In Malacca Strait

Japan has called on the governments of three Southeast Asian nations for help after armed pirates kidnapped three Sailors from a Japanese tugboat they attacked in the Malacca Strait. More than 10 armed Pirates on a Small Boat fired on the Japanese-registered 323-tonne tugboat Idaten in Malaysian waters around 1030 GMT on Monday, kidnapping two Japanese and one Filipino crew member. The Idaten, owned by Japanese shipping firm Kondo Kaiji, was carrying 14 crew members. The officials said the other 11 were unharmed. A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Tuesday that Japan had called on the governments of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore for cooperation. "Through the embassies in each nation, we have asked for their help in finding information, ensuring the safety of the three kidnapped men, and investigation," she said. Singapore said it would do all it could. "Our port authority has immediately alerted our Coast Guard and all Ships within Singapore waters to the incident," its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. "Singapore will render whatever assistance we can." The Tugboat arrived at the Malaysian island of Penang on Tuesday evening. Japanese officials said it was unclear where the Pirates went after the attack, although Malaysian police and the Indonesian navy were searching for them. "There is no real progress," chief cabinet secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda told a news conference, adding that no contact had been made with the kidnappers. Malaysia's Marine Police Force Commander Abdul Rahman Ahmad told Kyodo News on tuesday that five ships had been deployed in the search, but he believed the pirates had already fled across the border into Indonesia. ''They have definitely crossed the border, somewhere in Sumatra's many northern islands around Aceh. We have contacted our Indonesian partners about this,'' he said. The Malacca Straits, one of the world's busiest sea lanes, was rated second worst in terms of piracy by the International Maritime Bureau, an ocean crime watchdog, last month. The narrow strait betwewen Malaysia and Indonesia, with Singapore at its southern entrance, carries more than a quarter of the world's trade and almost all of Japan and China's crucial oil imports. The Japanese-registered tugboat Idaten. Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan scrambled to rescue four ship's officers and a sailor kidnapped by pirates in audacious armed raids on a tanker and a tugboat in the Malacca Strait. Malaysian police inspect the Japanese tugboat Idaten after it reached Penang.

Solar Ship Sails The Ocean Green

It is the ship of the future - powered by the sun, wind and waves. The futuristic vessel has no conventional engines, uses no fossil fuels and releases no harmful emissions into the atmosphere or pollution into the sea. The first ship to use the technology will be a cargo vessel that will transport up to 10,000 cars from Britain to Australia, New Zealand and other countries. If successful, it will be used on passenger ferries and cruise ships. Wave energy is harnessed by 12 dolphin-like fins on the ship's hull, while sun and wind energy is collected by three giant, fin-like sails covered in solar panels. The sails and fins will also help the ship to cruise at 15 knots, and stability will be provided by a slim monohull that will have two smaller support hulls, known as sponsons, on each side. Once harnessed, the sun, wind and wave energy will be combined with hydrogen and stored. A spokesman for Wallenius Wilhelmsen, the ship's Scandinavian designers, said: "This will be the first truly environmentally friendly ship, protecting the atmosphere and marine species. It will transform ocean transport." The international firm transports 160,000 cars a year, including Jaguars and BMWs, from Southampton to Australia, New Zealand and other countries. The vessel will include a cargo deck the size of 14 football fields. It will be able to carry up to 10,000 cars in emission-free conditions. At 250 metres long, it will be shorter than the Queen Mary 2 (345 metres) and the QE2 (293 metres), but more than three times the length of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet (70 metres). The ship is called the E/S Orcelle after the orcelle dolphin - or the Irrawaddy dolphin, one of the world's most endangered species. E/S stands for "environmentally sound ship". The ship's design means it will not need to carry ballast water, used to stabilise traditional vessels. The collection and disposal of ballast water has worried marine conservationists for years. Many fragile species are collected inadvertently when a ship takes thousands of tonnes of water from the sea for ballast. When the water is emptied back into the ocean, often thousands of kilometres away in alien environments. Wallenius Wilhelmsen will unveil a model of the E/S Orcelle at Expo, the world trade fair, in Aichi, Japan, next month. The company's chief executive, Nils Dyvik, said a ship with some of the Orcelle's "environmentally friendly characteristics" could be launched within five years, but the "complete version" might not be crossing the oceans until 2025. Mr Dyvik expected it would be more expensive than a conventional cargo ship, which costs up to $110 million. Mr Dyvik said the E/S Orcelle "represents the achievable goal of a zero-emission cargo ship". E/S Orcelle-E/S stands for Environmentally sound Ship. The ship is named after the Irrawaddy dolphin known as in French as the Orcelle dolphin.

Bosphorus Closed As LPG Ship Sinks

Turkish authorities closed the Bosphorus shipping channel yesterday to all traffic after a Ship carrying liquefied petroleum gas sank due to bad weather, a shipping official said. Seven LPG tanks floated to the surface after the ship sank, two of them still posing a risk. "Two tanks on the rocks ... still pose a danger," Transport Ministry deputy under-secretary Baris Tozar said, saying a disaster had been prevented by precautions - but also by luck. Ninety ships were waiting to enter the Bosphorus channel, including five vessels longer than 200 metres. L.P.G. Cargo Ship

liquefied petroleum gas tanks

The Bosphorus is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes

Jordanian Ship Sinks With 10 Egyptian Sailors Aboard

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Saturday confirmed that a Jordanian ship, which disappeared on Jan.4 off the Libyan coasts, sank with 10 Egyptian Sailors on board missing, the official MENA news agency reported. Two months after its disappearance, Libyan and Egyptian authorities concluded that the ship had most probably sunk, an Egyptian Foreign Ministry source was quoted as saying. The ship Alexandros left the Jordanian port of Aqaba for Tunisiavia the Suez Canal on Dec. 31 last year. It sent an SOS on Jan. 4 before disappearing near the Libyan coasts. After strenuous search operations, the Libyan authorities told the Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Feb. 1 that the ship was not foundin the Libyan territorial waters. Jordanian Ship Alexandros

Navy Tests a New Look

Sailors aboard the San Diego-based amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa (LHA-1) are taking an active role in one of the Navy’s latest changes, helping to test new concept uniforms for the time when Sailors step out of dungarees and into the future of Navy uniforms.
The Navy’s Task Force Uniform initiative is designed to test four new concept uniforms that will be superior to current working uniforms in both style and function.
“This new uniform initiative is great, we’re all very excited to be one of those on the short list of ships and commands participating,” said Tarawa’s Command Master Chief, CMDCM Michael Schanche. “As the Navy’s mission changes and expands, so do the tools we use to accomplish the mission.”
Tarawa is one of only 21 commands Navy-wide selected to test these new battle dress utility style blue and gray uniforms. The new uniforms are designed to eventually take the place of utilities, wash khaki, coveralls, woodland green, aviation green, winter working blue and tropical uniforms. Features on the new uniform include blue and gray woodland versus digital pattern camouflage, performance t-shirt versus cotton undershirt, and 8-point versus round top cover.
“I think one of the best things about replacing all these uniforms with one versatile one is that it will lighten your typical Sailor’s sea bag load significantly,” Schanche said. “Something important to note is that these uniforms are going to replace only the working uniforms, not the most traditional and most recognized Navy dress uniforms.”
In all, 60 Tarawa personnel are wearing the new uniforms and participants are already praising them.
“I think they’re more comfortable, more durable, and instills more pride in their wearer,” said Operation Specialist 2nd Class Dale Church. “It’s a lot easier to get into battle dress with these.”
“I like all the pockets, the comfort factor is the biggest thing I think,” said Airman Lisa Godbehere. “I work on the flight deck all day and in these, I find I’m a lot less sweaty by the end of the day.”
The new uniform initiative comes after a Navy wide survey last year that determined most Sailors were unhappy with both the number of, and the quality of current uniforms.
“Utilities and coveralls are just too hard to maintain, I work in Deck Department, so all it takes is one gob of haze gray paint on my uniform and it’s ruined,” said Tarawa crewmember Seaman James Gardner. “I can’t wait to get one of these new uniforms.”
While the final decision on the new uniform won’t be made until January of next year, the consensus is that Sailors are definitely ready for a change.
“I’ve had a lot of people ask about these, so I’m sure there are a lot of Sailors who can’t wait to get one of these new uniforms,” said Schanche. “However, we’re doing this gradually. We want the uniform the Navy finally chooses to be the best one.”

Problems In Budgeting For Navy Ship Construction

A General Accounting Office study cites problems by the Navy in budgeting for ship construction that could affect Maine and Mississippi shipyards that are in line to build the Navy´s next-generation destroyer. The new report by the investigative arm of Congress found that cost overruns could hinder efforts to modernize the fleet as money for new ships is earmarked to pay for vessels approved years earlier. "From fiscal years 2001 to 2005, 5 to 14 percent of the Navy´s ship construction budget, which totalled about $52 billion over the five-year period, went to pay for cost growth for ships funded in prior years," the report said. "This reduces the buying power of the budget for current construction and can slow the pace of modernization. "The Navy is in the early stages of buying a number of advanced ships, including the Virginia class submarine, DD(X) destroyer, CVN 21 aircraft carrier and Littoral Combat Ship," the report added. "The Navy´s ability to buy these ships as scheduled will depend on its ability to control cost growth." Maine´s Bath Iron Works and Ingalls Shipyard in Mississippi are scheduled to build the DD(X). The Navy has drastically scaled back construction of the new ship and has announced plans to save money by having the yards take part in a winner-take-all competition for the program. In its study, the GAO assessed eight ships under construction or just completed, including a destroyer built at Ingalls and one built at BIW. It found that Congress has appropriated $2.1 billion so far to cover cost overruns on the eight ships, and estimated that the number could exceed $3 billion. A major issue, said the GAO, was that the Navy doesn´t accurately estimate the costs for the ships, so extra funds must be appropriated in following years. A spokeswoman for Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, said her office would be talking with the Navy about the GAO´s recommendations that it establish realistic estimates, prices and budgets. "When we´re looking, however, at cost overruns, we need to understand, as this GAO report rightly points out," Antonia Ferrier said, "that these overruns sometimes have nothing to do with the yards themselves. They have to do with the process the Navy uses in calculating what a naval vessel might cost. Budget increases on the various ships were greater for new programs, less for established ones like the DDG destroyers made at BIW and Ingalls. But costs did increase for the $1 billion destroyers, according to the GAO. The DDG 91 and DDG 92, built at Ingalls and Bath, respectively, saw a budget increase of $80 million and $55 million. Overall, increases in labor-hour and material costs account for 78 percent of the cost growth, while overhead and labor-rate increases account for 17 percent. Navy-furnished equipment accounts for 5 percent of the growth. Aerial looking over The Bath Iron Works Ship Facility.

Cache Of Firearms Seized Inside Passenger Ship In The Philippine Islands

The Philippine Coast Guard here seized a cache of firearms made in Danao City inside a passenger vessel before it left for Hilongos town, Southern Leyte province Wednesday night. Petty Officer 2 Bonifacio Lastimosa of the Cebu Coast Guard Station said the firearms were found inside a traveling bag at the second deck of MV Gloria 3 owned by the Gabisan family. The bag contained 5 Ingram Machine Pistols; 16 .45 caliber pistols; 12 .38 caliber revolvers; 29 magazines for .45 caliber; and 10 magazines for Ingram, Lastimosa said.

The Philippine Coast Guard

Only Prison Ship In U.K. To Close

HMP Weare, docked in Portland Harbour in Dorset, will be shut by the end of the year as the Prison Service says necessary renovations are too costly. The government purchased it in 1997 as a temporary overcrowding measure and intended to close it in 2000. HMP Weare, originally a troop ship in the Falklands war and then a floating jail in the US, had been heavily criticised in prison service reports. The vessel's seaworthiness certificate is due for renewal next year and "substantial investment" would be necessary to keep the ship operational, a Prison Service spokeswoman said. Last year Anne Owers, the chief inspector of Prisons, criticised conditions on the Weare and said it should be closed down unless a huge amount of money was spent on refurbishment. Mark Leech, editor of the Prisons Handbook, welcomed the decision to close the ship and said: "The Weare is a relic of a bygone age. Prisoners will be reallocated to other prisons in the South West or, where appropriate, closer to their home area, the spokesman said. But Brian Caton, general secretary of the Prison Officers' Association, said: "We would urge the Labour government to look more seriously at how they are going to manage rising prisoner population while at the same time taking prison places out of commission." Many of the 200 prison officers on mobile contracts will be moved to other jails while others will be offered early retirement and given the chance to take redundancy. Prisons minister Paul Goggins said everything possible would be done to avoid compulsory redundancies. Martin Narey, chief executive of the national offender management service, said: "Staff will know the level of investment necessary to keep the prison open. "The decision to close the Weare was not an easy one, but it was necessary. "They have made the best of an unsuitable facility and kept the prison working effectively for seven years when we anticipated using it for only three." HMP Weare: The vessel off the Dorset coast currently holds 400 inmates

Engine Trouble Stalls Carnival Ship Off Yucatan

A five-day cruise to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula has turned into a "cruise to nowhere" because of engine problems aboard the Carnival cruise ship Ecstasy, company officials said. The Ecstasy was standing off the port of Progreso, Mexico, Thursday awaiting arrival of parts for a repair, Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz said. The ship, with more than 2,000 passengers, departed Galveston 12 hours late Monday but so far is expected to return to Galveston on schedule at 8 a.m. Saturday, she said. Passengers were advised in writing before departure that an engine problem had developed on last week's Ecstasy cruise, de la Cruz said. A letter distributed to passengers offered a full refund if they chose not to sail. "The letter defines several different scenarios and one of them was that the ship might not be able to go to any port," de la Cruz said. Although the letter warns of a possible "cruise to nowhere," it calls a trip without any Mexican port visits "unlikely." The vessel was scheduled to arrive in Cozumel, Mexico, at 9 a.m. Wednesday and arrive in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, for a day's visit Thursday. Although the ship's speed and itinerary changed, all other systems and services are normal, de la Cruz said. Passengers will receive a 50 percent refund on this week's cruise and a 25 percent discount on any three- to eight-day future cruise with Carnival, de la Cruz said. Passengers also are to receive $40 each to cover the cost of meals they purchased before departing Galveston, she said.

Brazilian Navy Launches New Submarine

The Brazilian navy launched the biggest and most advanced submarine ever built in Brazil Wednesday, an achievement that President Luiz Inacio da Silva said "makes Brazil and our navy proud." The conventionally-powered submarine, named "Tikuna" after an Amazon Indian tribe, is the fourth submarine constructed in Brazil. It took nearly 10 years to build. The submarine was christened by Angela Maria de Sousa Carvalho, the wife of navy chief Adm. Roberto de Guimaraes Carvalho. She gave a short speech and pressed a button that sent a bottle of champagne sliding down a rope to burst on the ship's black hull. "This launch makes Brazil and our navy proud," Silva said in a statement read by a navy official. "Our shipbuilders have reached a level of technical capacity that is a credit to the Brazilian navy." Silva attended the ceremony with Vice President and Defense Minister Jose Alencar but did not address the audience. After the inauguration, Silva shook hands and spoke briefly with the men who built the submarine, which was begun in 1996. Then he took a brief tour of the vessel, which measures 200 feet long and 20 feet wide. The Tikuna will be able to dive 660 feet or more. But the navy said it could not divulge how much deeper the submarine could dive because the information is classified. The navy is expected to test the submarine until December, when it will officially join the Brazilian fleet. According to the navy, only 15 countries are capable of building submarines, and Brazil is the only country in the Southern Hemisphere besides Australia with the technological know-how to build one. The Tikuna is adapted from the German IKL-209 submarine but includes various innovations conceived by Brazilian engineers, the navy said. Brazil has long hoped to produce a nuclear-powered submarine. The country's nuclear plans have been scaled down, but President Silva said in 2002 he would revive the submarine program.

Towboat Crewman Drowned

A Greene County man, whose body was found in the Elizabeth M. towboat that was recovered Friday, died from drowning, a deputy Beaver County coroner said. Rick Conklin, 40, of Crucible and three other Crewmen on the Elizabeth M. were killed Jan. 9 when the towboat washed over the dam at the Montgomery Locks and Dam in Industry. The boat had remained lodged on the downriver side of the dam until Friday, when a salvage company raised it and recovered Conklin's body from the engine room. Chief Deputy Coroner Renea Esoldo said an autopsy revealed that Conklin, an apprentice pilot on the boat, died from asphyxiation due to drowning. The body will be released to Conklin's family members, who are planning a funeral with military honors. Conklin was a veteran of the Persian Gulf War.
The towboat Elizabeth M in better days
The towboat Elizabeth M is towed down the Ohio River near Industry, Pa. after the body of crewman Rick Conklin was recovered aboard earlier in the day on Friday. Three other crewmen were killed when the boat sank Jan. 9 just downriver from the Montgomery Island Dam, about 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. Three crewmen survived.

Boater Rescued Safely After Going Overboard At Texas Dam

A Boater got the ride of his life when he fell overboard and was swept through a floodgate of a dam. Authorities said the man and a female companion were boating on Lake Austin on Monday when the boat's motor quit and the current carried the boat up against the Tom Miller Dam. A security guard atop the dam threw a rope to the woman and guided her to a rescue boat, but Dirk Hoekstra fell into the water. "A second later is when my feet got sucked in by the water gate and that's when I went through," Hoekstra told reporters. He said he managed to take a good breath before he went under. "It was twisting me around like a rag doll and threw my arms all over the place and it just keeps flipping me from whirlpool to whirlpool," Hoekstra said. He said he surfaced a quarter- to a half-mile downstream from the dam, made his way to a house on shore and called 911. He "is one of the luckiest persons in Austin right now," said Bryan Fitzpatrick of the Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services.

14 Crewmen Missing After Ship Clash In Yellow Sea

Fourteen Sailors, including nine South Koreans and four Myanmarese, went missing in the Yellow Sea early Tuesday after a South Korean freight ship clashed with a vessel from the Marshall Islands and sank, the South Korean Coast Guard said. The agency said the Korean freighter, Sun Cross, was heading to Japan from China with 15 crewmen aboard when it collided with the Marshall Islands' Rickmers Genoa at 5:45 a.m., 136 miles southeast of Qingdao, an eastern Chinese port. The Rickmers Genoa Thirteen crewmen from Sun Cross went missing, while two Myanmarese were rescued by the Rickmers Genoa, from which one crewman out of the 27 aboard also went missing.YELLOW SEA

Flooding Derails Sea Protest Ship

Two Coast Guard vessels and three rescue aircraft escorted a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Ship to Port aux Basques Sunday night. The Farley Mowat was carrying 28 passengers from the conservation group to the Magdalen Islands. They were supposed to monitor the birth of harp seals as part of the group's protest against the seal hunt. However, the boat began to take on water Sunday morning. Alex Cornelissen, the first officer on the Farley Mowat, said water rapidly came through a small hole in the main engine room. "I think we were just unlucky," he said. "We might have hit an ice floe underneath the waterline and it probably just punctured the hull at the wrong spot." Cornelissen said the ice was not particularly thick, and the hole is only about 25 millimetres in diameter. "It is a very small hole but the water came in very, very rapidly," he said. Cornelissen said an underwater welder will be sought Monday to repair the boat. A decision on whether to continue their excursion to the Magdalen Islands will be made in the next couple of days.The ship Farley Mowat was escorted by the Coast Guard to Port aux Basques

US Navy Investigates Dolphin Deaths

The U.S. Navy has launched an investigation to determine if there is any connection between a mass beaching of dolphins in the southeastern state of Florida and nearby naval maneuvers involving a sonar-equipped submarine. Investigators said Saturday that the USS Philadelphia was conducting exercises with Navy SEALS (special teams) 65 kilometers from the Florida coast where as many as 70 dolphins inexplicably beached themselves on Wednesday. At least 20 rough-toothed dolphins died. Scientists believe that loud bursts of sonar, heard for miles under the sea, can disorient or scare marine mammals. In March 2000, four different species of whales beached themselves in the Bahamas after a U.S. Naval battle group used active sonar in the area. Experts are conducting necropsies on the dolphins looking for trauma signs that may have been caused by loud noises.

Coast Guard Rescues 6 People And A Dog Near Santa Cruz Island

The U-S Coast Guard responded to a call around from a capsized vessel at Chinese Harbor near Santa Cruz Island tonight. A sudden wind shift caused the vessel to capsize off the Ventura coast. All six people on board _ and a dog _ made it to shore, where they awaited the rescue team. A Coast Guard helicopter hoisted them one-by-one onto a Cutter Blackfin boat and transported them to a dock in Ventura. USCG Cutter BLACKFIN

Coast Guard Looks For Man Who Fell From Flatboat

The Coast Guard is searching for a man who fell off of a flatboat this weekend near the intersection of Bayou Bienvenu and the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. Petty Officer Stacey Pardini says a driver called, saying he had seen two men on a flatboat on Bayou Bienvenu, and then saw one of them fall in. She says the Coast Guard sent two small boats and a helicopter. Once they had confirmed the report with the man remaining on the flatboat, they began searching.

Navy to Commission New Guided-Missile Destroyer Nitze

The Navy will commission the newest Arleigh Burke-class Guided-Missile Destroyer, USS Nitze (DDG 94), during a 1 p.m. EST ceremony March 5 at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. John F. Lehman, former Secretary of the Navy, will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Elisabeth Scott "Leezee" Porter, the widow of Paul H. Nitze, is the ship's sponsor. In a time-honored Navy tradition, Porter will give the order to "man our ship and bring her to life!" The destroyer honors Paul H. Nitze, Secretary of the Navy from 1963 to 1967. Nitze raised the level of attention given to quality of service issues, including establishing the first personnel policy board and retention task force, obtaining targeted personnel bonuses, and raising command responsibility pay. Nitze was also a strong advocate for advanced education opportunities for officers and worked to enhance cooperation of senior Navy staff. Nitze graduated from Harvard University in 1928. After working in investment banking, he entered government service in 1941. From 1944 to 1946, Nitze served as director and then vice chairman of the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey and was awarded the Medal of Merit by President Harry S Truman. Nitze's 40-year commitment to government service spanned various roles, including assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs; deputy secretary of defense, U.S. delegation to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT); assistant secretary of defense for international affairs; chief negotiator for the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty and special advisor to the president and secretary of state on arms control. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan awarded Nitze the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his contributions to the freedom and security of the United States. Nitze is the 44th ship in the Arleigh Burke class of guided-missile destroyers. This highly capable multimission ship can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, in support of the National Military Strategy. Nitze will be capable of fighting air, surface and subsurface battles simultaneously. The ship contains myriad offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense needs well into the 21st century. Cmdr. Michael Hegarty of Oklahoma is Nitze's first commanding officer, leading a crew of about 32 officers and 348 Sailors. Built by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, the 9,200-ton Nitze is 511 feet in length, has an overall beam of 66 feet and a navigational draft of 33 feet. Four gas turbine engines will power the ship to speeds in excess of 30 knots. USS Nitze (DDG 94) In drydock
DDG 94 - USS Nitze
Arleigh Burke Class AEGIS Destroyer for the United States Navy
Length: 505'
Beam: 66'
Depth: 41'-10"
Draft: 20'-8 1/4"
Displacement: 6,605 (light ship), 8,422 (full load)
Other Data: 4 geared gas turbines, 100,000 horsepower, twin screws, twin rudders, steel superstructure, 2 stacks, 1 mast. Complement of 32 officers and 351 enlisted.

US: Navy to Sink USS America

The Navy plans to send the retired carrier USS America (CV 66) to the bottom of the Atlantic in explosive tests this spring, an end that is difficult to swallow for some who served on board. The Navy says the effort, which will cost $22 million, will provide valuable data for the next generation of aircraft carriers, which now are in development. No warship this size or larger has ever been sunk, so there is a dearth of hard information on how well a supercarrier can survive battle damage, said Pat Dolan, a spokeswoman for Naval Sea Systems Command. The Navy's plan raises mixed emotions in Ed Pelletier, who served on the America as a helicopter crewman when the ship cruised the Mediterranean Sea shortly after its commissioning in 1965. He said he was "unhappy that a ship with that name is going to meet that fate but happy she'll be going down still serving the country." Pelletier, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., is a trustee of an association of veterans who served on the America. Issues surrounding a vessel bearing the name of its country can be more sensitive than for other ships. In 1939, Adolf Hitler, fearful of a loss of morale should Germany's namesake ship be sunk, ordered the pocket battleship Deutschland renamed for a long-dead Prussian commander. Since its decommissioning in 1996, the America has been moored with dozens of other inactive warships at a Navy yard in Philadelphia. The Navy's plan is to tow it to sea April 11 - possibly stopping in Norfolk, Va. - before heading to the deep ocean, 300 miles off the Atlantic coast, for the tests, Dolan said. There, in experiments that will last from four to six weeks, the Navy will batter the America with explosives, both underwater and above the surface, watching from afar and through monitoring devices placed on the vessel. These explosions would presumably simulate attacks by torpedoes, cruise missiles and perhaps a small-boat suicide attack like the one that damaged the destroyer USS Cole in Yemen in 2000. At the end, explosive scuttling charges placed to flood the ship will be detonated, and the America will begin its descent to the sea floor, more than 6,000 feet below. The Navy has removed some materials from the ship that could cause environmental damage, Dolan said. Certain aspects of the tests are classified, and neither America's former crew nor the news media will be allowed to view them in person, Dolan said. The Navy does not want to give away too much information on how a carrier could be sunk, she said.
The carrier America, decommissioned in 1996, is moored at a Navy yard in Philadelphia. The Navy plans to tow it to sea on April 11 - possibly stopping at Norfolk - before taking it to the deep ocean.

'Pirate Ship' Back Under New Name

A Notorious Pirate fishing vessel has been found near Australia's sub-Antarctic marine territory, one of six longlining for the "white gold" Patagonian toothfish in defiance of international rules for the region. The rust-streaked Ross is best known as the boat that was pelted with eggs by frustrated Australian legal fishermen when it was in the Heard Island zone 18 months ago. Then named the Alos, the vessel has fished in the Southern Ocean under several names, companies and flag states for at least five years. The Ross is publicly blacklisted by the regional fisheries organisation, the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources - but an Armed Australian Patrol Ship was powerless to stop it recently inside the commission area. The ship was under the flag of the African country of Togo, which is not a commission member. This means the vessel is not subjected to the organisation's rules setting quotas for toothfish in the region. "They are fishing with impunity and there is nothing anyone can do about it," said federal Fisheries Minister Ian Macdonald. "That's the bit that absolutely angers and frustrates me. We need to change international law so that flag states that don't control their vessels should be put out of the market." Senator Macdonald next week will seek to strengthen the laws at a six-nation meeting in Paris. This will be followed in Rome by a UN Food and Agriculture Organisation meeting on global illegal fishing. The Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators, which backs the Paris meeting, said although sub-Antarctic territorial waters were now much more secure, the high seas problem was glaring. "We are backing measures which would effectively create an international licensing regime," said coalition spokesman Martin Exel. The crew of Australian patrol ship Oceanic Viking, chartered under a $90 million fisheries protection program and armed with a heavy machine-gun, saw four of the six longliners fishing just south of Heard Island. "ALOS"
Now Called: Ross
ex- Lena / ex - Cap George
ex - Conbaroya Tercero
Colour: White & Grey
Year built: 1975
Flag: Ghana
Rego: S7PM
Brief History: Believed to be renamed the Ross and flagged to Togo. Photographed fishing illegally in the French EEZ in December 2002, and in the Australian EEZ in January and September 2003.

Alos was built in 1975, registered from 1984 to 1998 as the Combaroya Tercero (III) and owned by Paresis Trawling Ltd in Namibia, a subsidiary of Grupo Oya. In 1998 the vessel was sold to Cormorant Ltd, reflagged to St Vincent & Grenadines and renamed Cap George charter to a licensed French operator.

In March 2000, the vessel was chartered to Cap Bourbon for fishing in Kerguelen waters as a joint venture between Oya’s parent company, Oyalves SL, and Cap Bourbon.

In June 2001 the vessel was sold to Juan Manuel Oya Perez of Lena Enterprises Ltd (member of Grupo Oya). The vessel was renamed Lena and registered in Seychelles.

In December 2002, Lena was photographed in the French EEZ and again in January 2003, at the same time as the Lince was arrested by French authorities in the same area. In March 2003, Lena was seen in Durban, South Africa resupplying

In May 2003, the vessel was sold again to Alos Co. (GH) Ltd, owned by Spaniards Jose Fraga Sanchez and Jose Quelle Pena, and a Ghanaian resident, Steven Abrokwa. (These same two Spaniards were involved with the first boat named ‘Lena’ that was apprehended by Australian authorities in early 2002). Alos Co. Ltd renamed the vessel Alos and flagged her to Ghana close to the time that Seychelles deregistered the Lince, Rubin, Viking and Praslin.

The vessel was identified fishing in waters around Kerguelen in May and July 2003 and believed to be transshipping toothfish at sea. She was seen in Mauritius in July/August 2003.

Alos was last seen by an Australian fishing vessel in September 2003, and was chased and photographed within the Australian EEZ of Heard Island. The vessel is believed to have been renamed the Ross and flagged to Togo.~*~ Australian patrol ship: Oceanic Viking