Boiler Explosion Kills Engineer on Product Tanker off Italy
An engineer working aboard a Turkish-managed product tanker was killed on Monday, January 8, in an engine room explosion. The vessel, the MT Torc, was underway at the time in the Mediterranean and the shipping company is promising an investigation to determine the cause of the explosion.
Besiktas Shipping based in Istanbul reports there was a boiler explosion in the engine room of the Torc (13,200 dwt), while the tanker which is registered in Malta was sailing to Italy. They report that the second engineer, Mehmet Alta? of Turkey, was severely injured in the explosion. He passed away shortly after the incident before medical help could reach the vessel.
The Italian Port Authorities and Coast Guard, Ankara MRCC, and Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were all contacted Besiktas reports. The ship was working with the authorities to arrange for an immediate medical evacuation of the injured crewmember. The Italian authorities however canceled the helicopter evacuation when they were informed that the engineer had succumbed to his injuries.
The product tanker was built in 2010 and it was acquired in 2020 coming under the management of Besiktas and operating in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. She is 419 feet (128 meters) in length with 14 tanks.
Records show the vessel had just completed what RINA terms an “expanded inspection” at the end of December while the vessel was in Greece. The data shows that no issues were identified and the vessel was not cited for any deficiencies. She departed Greece days later on January 2 and made a brief stop at the Malta anchorage on January 5.
The authorities initially instructed the vessel after the explosion to continue on her course to Genoa where she was expected to arrive on January 11. Her AIS signal however now shows that she is inbound to Naples where she will arrive this evening.
Besiktas said it is deeply saddened by the loss of its colleague and is working with the authorities to determine the cause of the explosion. In addition, after the investigation by the Italian Authorities, the company reports it has arranged an investigation to be performed by an international expert organization for the incident analysis.
The shipping company shows on its website that it has over 60 years experience managing vessels. Its current fleet is shown as 34 ships, mostly product tankers, as well as two each bulk carriers and crude oil tankers. They also have a containership and an ethylene carrier under management. The company works with major charterers in the crude oil, product, chemical, gas, container, and dry bulk shipping segments.
Two Crew Killed, Third Burnt in Fire Aboard Containership Docked in Houston
A fire aboard the Panama-flagged containership docked in the Port of Houston killed two crewmembers and left a third in critical condition with burns. The local fire departments and U.S. Coast Guard are reporting the fire is out and an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the early morning blaze.
The containership Stride (24,777 dwt) arrived in the Port of Houston late on January 7 and was docked at the Barbours Cut Container Terminal. The vessel built in 1997 is 597 feet in length (182 meters) with a capacity of 2,174. It is owned by Danaos Shipping of Greece and was arriving from Guatemala and Honduras.
A fuel barge was alongside this morning when a fire was reported aboard the vessel at approximately 0330 local time. The Baytown Fire Department reports it was told three crewmembers were missing and that the fire was in the engine room. They searched the vessel locating the crewmembers and arranged for one who had been burnt to be airlifted by Life Flight in critical condition. The other two crewmembers were deceased when they were located. No other injuries or fatalities were reported.
A picture Tweeted by the local TV station shows soot on the rear of the funnel. The fire was extinguished and did not spread.
The U.S. Coast Guard and the Port of Houston Fire Department will be monitoring the vessel for at least the next 24 hours.
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