Blog Archive Apr-Aug 2011

Taking a look at current ships in the news and providing insight into the tracking of ships worldwide.

Yacht's Journey Across the World enters the Northwest Passage
World's Fastest Sailing Ship Heads to Honolulu
MS Bremen Gives Explorers a Chance to Discover the
       Northwest Passage
exactEarth expands its constellation
Eshamy's Northern Passage
Pirates Release MV Sinin
Pirate Attack on Swedish Tanker
Arctic Research Heats up This Summer
Indian Warship Thwarts Pirate Attack on Greek Vessel
Tamil Migrant Ship Intercepted, Believed to be Headed to Canada
Pirate Attack on Million Barrel Oil Tanker
Search Resumes to solve Greatest Canadian Arctic Mystery
Northern Sea Route Opens Early
Barge Collision Closes New Westminster Bridge
Tugboat Sinks off St. Paul Island in Bering Sea
EU NAVFOR Warship Disrupts Suspected Pirate Skiff in the Gulf of Aden
EU NAVFOR Press Release: Warship Sinks Somali Pirate Skiffs
Canadian Maritime Rescue
exactEarth Announces Multiple exactAIS® Service Orders
President Peter Mabson Presents to IMO Nav 57
Piracy Update: Hijacked Vessel Released as another Vessel
becomes Mother Ship
Greenpeace vessels protest oil drilling in Arctic Waters
Ship dislodged after running aground outside Montreal
Vessel has Engine Trouble - Crashes into Pilot Ship
Panamanian Vessel Runs AGround off the Coast of the Phillipines
Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Chosen as Royal Charity
Second Pirate attack of the Week
Vessel Crashes into Railway Bridge
MT Gemini Hijacked
Successful Launch of HIP on ISRO's Resourcesat 2
Pirates Release MV Thor Nexus for close to $5 Million Ransom
Important Revisions to AIS Operational Use from EUNAVFOR and NATO Counter-Piracy Operations off Somalia
Susan K Hijacked outside Oman
Ship Blocking St. Lawrence has been Dislodged

August 29, 2011
A South African sailboat, Imvubu, set sail back in February 2010 from Cape Town, South Africa on a mission to travel across the world.  The boat has now directed its course through the Northwest Passage reaching Cambridge Bay on August 27.  The Imvubu has had quite the adventure so far travelling from Africa through the Caribbean now to Canada and you can read the daily blog updates here. For each stop, the two person crew also puts together a slideshow of the city and the interesting people they encounter along the way.

Imvubu is a 53-foot Barens Seatrader sailing yacht weighing in at 40 tons.

exactAIS® track of the Imvubu as it travels around the Northwest Territories, Canada.

August 29, 2011
Russian sailing vessel, Pallada has left the city of Los Angeles for it's next destination- Honolulu. The ship is carrying over 100 cadets from Russia and set sail from the city of Vladivostok back on July 1. During the four-month expedition, the Pallada will call at ports in the United States, Canada and Japan. The trip is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Soviet cosmonaut Yury Gagarin's space flight and the 270th anniversary of the discovery of "Russian America" by Russian seafarers.  Guinness World Records lists the Pallada as the fastest sailing ship in the world as the vessel can reach speeds in excess of 18 knots.

exactAIS® track of the Pallada as it moves from California towards Hawaii.

August 22, 2011
Enthusiastic passengers have been lining up to take a cruise through the spactacular Northwest Passage aboard the MS Bremen. The famous passage starts in Alaska before the BREMEN sails through the Canadian Arctic, the heart of the Northwest Passage. The MS Bremen offers the highest ice class for passenger ships (E4), so it is able to penetrate even dense pack ice.  For more information about the cruise or to follow the journey of the MS Bremen, click here for the Hapag-Lloyd Cruise website.

Also offering trips to the Northwest Passage is Worldwide Quest operating in Canada with the vessel MV Akademik Ioffe. For over 15 years they have offered expedition cruises to the High Arctic where you can experience comprehensive programs focused on the natural history and cultural components of the voyages. Follow the Akademik Ioffe's journey through their blog.

exactAIS® track of the MS Bremen as it made its way from Alaska to the Canadian Arctic this summer.

exactAIS® track of the MV Akademik Ioffe also travelling through the Northwest Passage this summer.

August 19, 2011
exactEarth is excited to announce the successful launch of two new advanced AIS satellites designed to extend our exactAIS® constellation and increase the capacity of our global vessel monitoring service. The addition of these spacecraft brings the exactEarth constellation to five operational satellites.

Click here for the full press release

August 17, 2011
Eshamy, an Amel 51 Mango sailboat, has been taking an incredible journey this summer across the Northwest passage.  Below is an excerpt from the Eshamy's latest blog update:

"The past few days have been rather grey and foggy so we haven't seen very much! We've continued along Lancaster Sound (dodging a few icebergs still) and into Barrow Strait passing the bird sanctuary Prince Leopold Island which we didn't see due to fog. This morning we started heading south down Peel Sound with the sun shining and a steady breeze from the north northwest. Around noon, was out on deck changing sails when we looked north and saw fog rolling in..quite quickly too. The wind and sea picked up as well so we had an exciting afternoon sailing down Peel Sound in the fog."

Click here to follow the travels of the Eshamy and crew on their sailor blog.

Image of the Eshamy along with the exactAIS® track of the Eshamy as it made its way around Baffin Island down to King William Island outside Nunavut, Canada.

August 15, 2011
MV Sinin, a merchant vessel, that had been captured by Somali pirates in February this year, was released on Saturday after several months of negotiations. The vessel, which had 21 persons onboard, including nine Indians, is expected to reach Colombo, Sri Lanka in another week. MV Sinin is a 52,000-ton Malta flagged and owned bulk carrier. The ship was attacked by Somali pirates 315 nautical miles off Masirah (Oman) when she was on a journey to Singapore from Fujairah.

exactAIS® track of the MV Sinin now departing from the Somali coast.

August 5, 2011
Ten pirates boarded the tanker Gotland Sofia on July 31 while the crew unloaded the cargo of oil to an adjacent vessel outside the port of Cotonou in Benin. The crew, consisting of four Swedes, 18 Filipinos and a Ukrainian, proceeded to lock themselves in. The pirates tried to get into where the crew had blockaded themselves, but fled when units from Benin's navy fleet approached.

"In this case, nothing happened, but a lot of people become anxious. It is a situation that may involve substantial risks," said Jonas Engström, security manager at shipping firm Wisby Ship Management. While the crew escaped unhurt, the attack raises once again the question of whether ships should be able to arm themselves in the battle against pirates. "Had you asked me a year ago I would have been a staunch opponent against having armed guards, but today I am much more hesitant," continued Engström.

exactAIS® track of the Gotland Sofia showing the tanker outside Cotonou on July 31.

 Arctic Research Heats Up this Summer 

July 22, 2011
Arctic nations are spending this summer collecting evidence to support upcoming submissions to the UN for land ownership decisions.  Earlier this month, Moscow sent a nuclear-powered icebreaker to explore the extent of its northern continental shelf while Canada announced that this summer's annual military exercise in the Arctic will be the largest in recent history.  The US have also sent in their Coast Guard Cutter HEALY (WAGB - 20), the newest and most technologically advanced polar icebreaker.  The HEALY will be spending the summer in the arctic with the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St Laurent, conducting Arctic Ocean hydrographical research and mapping the Extended Continental Shelf (ECS). 

With Arctic sea ice melting at a much quicker rate than predicted, it now appears possible that the thick, hard multi-year ice that poses the greatest risk to ships will disappear forever within five to 10 years. The Northwest Passage would then be easily accessible for ice-strengthened vessels and icebreaker-escorted convoys to operate safely throughout the year.  

exactAIS® track of the Rossiya on a second mission to determine the boundaries of Russia's continental shelf in the Arctic.

exactAIS® track of the CCGS Louis S. St. Laurent now mapping Canada's continental shelf.

exactAIS® track of the USCSC HEALY conducting research outside Alaska.

July 19, 2011
The Indian frigate, INS Godavari successfully warded off a pirate attack on the Greek merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden.  The Greek cargo vessel MV Elinakos sent out a distress call on July 16 when the Godavari rushed in to aid the vessel.  An eight member Somali pirate team had made an attempt on the Greek ship when they were spotted by the commandos near the cargo vessel.  The pirates then sped away, dumping their arms and ammunition into the sea.

exactAIS® position of the MV Elinakos as it rounds Yemen.

 Tamil Migrant Ship Intercepted, Believed to be Headed to Canada

July 13, 2011
A human smuggling ship, the MV Alicia, was apprehended Monday by Indonesian authorities carrying close to 90 Sri Lankan migrants. Whether or not the ship was actually headed for Canada is up for debate. There have been numerous media reports suggesting the final destination was actually New Zealand. However, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that "charts indicating the boat was prepared to travel to Canada" were found aboard the vessel. Federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney stated "This incident in Indonesian waters of a vessel believed to contain illegal migrants destined for Canada in a human smuggling operation underscores the need for Parliament to act in passing our anti-human smuggling legislation."

Click here for the full story

July 6, 2011
A tanker carrying about 1 million barrels of fuel oil is on fire off the Yemeni coast after pirates used a rocket-propelled grenade to attack the ship. The 274-meter (900-foot) Brillante Virtuoso was going to China from Ukraine when the grenade was launched into the ship’s accommodation block.  All crew on board have been brought to safety and the ship is now being towed by tugs to eliminate any chance of oil spillage. Click here for the full story.

exactAIS® track of the Brillante Virtuoso along the coast of Yemen.

July 5, 2011
The world could soon learn what happened to the doomed ships of Sir John Franklin's 1845 expedition to discover the Northwest Passage. The voyage was the demise of Franklin and the 128 men he took to the Canadian Arctic after the Royal Navy ships HMS Terror and HMS Erebus he led became trapped in ice, where it is presumed they sank somewhere off Nunavut's King William Island. "We are continuing our search for an as yet undiscovered national historic site," Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent said in announcing the resumption of the search. "This is the year I hope we will solve one of the great mysteries in the history of Arctic exploration." Dives will take place throughout the summer in hopes of recovering the lost vessels.

Click here for the full story

July 4, 2011
Last week, the Transpetrol-controlled Panamax ‘Perseverance’ sailed from Murmansk for China laden with 70,000 tonnes of condensate. She was escorted by the Russian nuclear powered icebreaker ‘Yamal’. Painted with shark teeth, "Yamal" broke ice along the Northern Sea Route for the season's first larger oil-tanker. The sailing season along the Northern Sea Route has started earlier than ever before, as the Arctic sea ice heads for another major melt. The maximum extent of Arctic sea ice was also at its lowest ever measurement before the melting season started this year. ‘Perseverance’ is an ice-class 1A tanker and is expected to be in China around 20th July, which is almost half the time the vessel would have spent from Murmansk to China if sailing via the Suez Canal. 

exactAIS® track of the Yamal en route to China.

June 30, 2011
The railway bridge across the Fraser River in New Westminster was closed after it was struck by a gravel barge being towed by a tug.  Police say the barge, Ken Mackenzie, struck the bridge early in the morning on June 28.  Early reports indicate that the damage to the bridge may be extensive, however that will be determined by authorities investigating the incident.

Click here for the full report

exactAIS® track of the Ken Mackenzie

June 27, 2011
Four crew members aboard a tugboat that sank in the Bering Sea on Sunday, June 26, made their way to a barge and were rescued without injury by the Coast Guard.  The four were aboard the 68-foot tugboat Aries when it sank 109 miles east of St. Paul Island.  The Coast Guard received a call from the tug at 6:11 a.m. reporting the vessel was taking on water and that the crew were putting on survival suits. "The plan right now is for the tug Blarney from Naknek to head out there," Coast Guard Officer Jonathan Lally said. The tug could reach the anchored barge as early as 2 p.m. Monday, Lally said. The cause of the sinking has not been determined.

exactAIS® track of the tug Blarney making its way to the sunken Aries.

June 20, 2011
On the morning of June 19, the Portuguese frigate Vasco Da Gama, disrupted a skiff which was suspected of launching an attack on MV Ejnan in the Gulf of Aden.  The warship intercepted a distress call from the Ejnan reporting that it had been attacked by the skiff and immediately proceeded to the area in order to investigate the incident.  By following the directions and recommendations made to the Ejnan, the vessel fended off the pirates and is now reported as safe.  The four pirates aboard the skiff have now returned to Somalia after the pirate paraphernalia on board was confiscated by the Vasco Da Gama crew.

 
exactAIS® track of the Ejnan travelling through the Gulf of Aden.

 

June 14, 2011
On the morning of June 10, the EU NAVFOR German warship FGS Niedersachsen detected a suspected Pirate Action Group (PAG) while conducting a routine patrol in the Southern Somali Basin.  As the Dhow was considered to be a real threat to shipping in the area, the German warship decided to disrupt the vessel but fears for the safety of the hostages on board prevented the Niedersachsen from taking direct action against the vessel.  Instead, to remove the Dhow's ability to launch further attacks, the warship opened fire on the 2 attack skiffs sinking them in the process.  Without attack skiffs, it is highly unlikely that the suspected pirates could successfully board a vessel.  Having lost its skiffs, the Dhow changed course and made its way back toward Somalia. 

Click here for the EU NAVFOR homepage

June 10, 2011
Amidst controversy over federal budget cuts, the Canadian Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre was called into action this week to come to the aid of the recreational boat Rebecca Jean.  The boat's operator became disoriented in the fog after the steering gear had failed.  The boat was 22 kilometres east of Catalina, on the Bonavista Peninsula when the Coast Guard vessel Cape Roger was dispatched and brought the Rebecca Jean to safety. The proposed Federal budget includes plans to close the Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre in St. John's, which handles emergency marine calls. The operation is being transferred to the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centres in Halifax and Trenton, Ontario, affecting as many as 12 jobs in St. John's.

exactAIS® track of the Cape Roger making its way to the distress call of the Rebecca Jean off the coast of Newfoundland.

 exactEarth Announces Multiple exactAIS® Data Service Orders

June 8, 2011
exactEarth announced that it has recently booked multiple orders for exactAIS®.  The orders, which have been placed by government agencies in several countries including South Africa and  Japan, are in excess of CDN $2 million over the next 12 months.  These major wins solidify the high customer interest exactEarth has seen even in the early stages of deployment of the exactView constellation.  exactEarth had previously offered its data services to the Japanese Coast Guard free of charge in the wake of the recent devastating tsunami that swept through the Pacific Rim.  The JCG were extremely pleased with the detection results possible with exactAIS® and have now converted their trial into a full service order.

Click here for the full press release

 President Peter Mabson Presents to IMO NAV 57

June 7, 2011
Presented by Peter Mabson June 7th, 2011, this presentation provides an organization and system overview, discusses development plans and outlines current data performance. Capabilities and key attributes are highlighted.

Click here for the presentation download

May 30, 2011
After a $2.5 million ransom was delivered Thursday morning, the Togo-flagged MV Khaled Muhieddine K and her crew of 25 have been released from pirate control and the vessel has started to sail away to safer waters.  The ship was hijacked back in January of this year.

Speculation has started to grow surrounding the nearby previously hijacked ship MV Orna which is now said to be acting as a pirate mother ship. Orna was reported making a good course of 072 degrees at a speed of approximately 7kts on May 27. Vessels in the area are advised to navigate with extreme caution.

exactAIS® track of the Khaled Muhieddine K sailing away from the coast of Somalia.  The Orna is close by as speculation grows of its use as a pirate mother ship.

May 26, 2011
Greenpeace has sent two vessels in after the oil rig Leiv Eriksson to protest against Cairn Energy’s plans to attempt the deepest drill ever in Arctic waters. Shortly after the Greenpeace vessels, Esperanza and Arctic Sunrise, spotted the oil rig they have been shadowing the vessel in efforts to oversee the drilling. Greenpeace have now deemed the situation a “tense standoff” but Danish navy officials assure the media that the oil drilling will follow all protocol and that the Greenpeace vessels will have no reason to interfere with the proceedings. A NATO warship, Vaedderen, has been brought in to escort the Eriksson into Greenland waters and carry out maritime surveillance in the area while reporting what the Esperanza and Artcic Sunrise are doing. Greenpeace argues that offshore drilling puts the Arctic at risk of a major oil spill or other environmental accident and that the resources in this region are limited to be able to effectively carry out damage control.

exactAIS® tracking of the four vessels shows just how closely Greenpeace ships Esperanza and Arctic Sunrise are tracking Leiv Eriksson. The Vaedderen is shadowing the Eriksson very tightly to ensure Greenpeace vessels do not interfere with the drilling.

May 25, 2011
The Sten Suomi has successfully been dislodged after it ran aground at St. Zotique just Southwest of Montreal on May 23 in the late evening.  There were no injuries, no spillage and no damage reported to the ship.  The incident did not disrupt maritime navigation but an investigation into the grounding will commence shortly.

exactAIS® track of the Sten Suomi making its way into Montreal before running aground.

May 24, 2011
The 54,000-ton cargo ship RHL Fidelitas arrived to the port of Odessa in Ukraine when suddenly the Liberian-flagged ship experienced engine failure. Without power to reverse the propellers, the inevitable happened.

The ship kept moving in towards the port's docks as a pilot ship came in to try and stop it. The vessel was moving at a considerable speed and was not able to stop in time. The Fidelitas crashed against the dock, destroying part of it, as it proceeded to crush and sink the pilot ship.  Remarkably, the ship itself did not sustain any damage.

Photos of the RHL Fidelitas courtesy of EnglishRussia

May 9, 2011
A Panamanian-registered vessel, the MV Double Prosperity, has run aground off the Sarangani province in the Philippines.  The ship has at least 21 Filipino crew on board that are anxious to be rescued.  The Coast Guard has sent Special Operations Group divers' teams to the area to help tow the vessel out of the area.  The owner of the vessel had arranged for tugboats to be sent to aid in the rescue of the crew members but are not expected to arrive later on Tuesday.  The ship ran aground 2.5 nautical miles off Kiamba town early Sunday morning and has been stuck there since.  The Coast Guard has now confirmed initial reports that human error caused the ship to run aground.  Luckily, there have been no signs of oil spills.

exactAIS® track of the Double Prosperity hitting the southern tip of the Philippines.

May 6, 2011
When Prince William and Kate Middleton tied the knot, they requested charitable gifts in lieu of wedding presents and have selected 26 honourable charities across Britain, New Zealand, Canada and Australia to be the special receipients.  Among those charities selected was the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary.  Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, who declined an invitation to the royal wedding due to election campaign duties, made a $50,000 donation to the CCGA earlier this week.  Donations to the charities can be made at www.royalweddingcharityfund.org.

Visit the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary website for more information

May 5, 2011
The vessel, Full City, has just been attacked this morning in the Arabian Sea with 24 Chinese sailors on board.  The Panama-registered cargo ship had made its way through the dangerous Gulf of Aden when it was attacked by seven pirates 450 nautical miles off the coast of Mumbai.  In response to this latest attack, China has launched an anti-piracy campaign in efforts to rescue the ship and its crew.

exactAIS® track of the Full City shows its course through the Gulf of Aden heading into the Arabian Sea.

May 4, 2011
The Parmelia 1, a refuelling vessel, crashed into the railway bridge at Fremantle stalling rail access in and out of the West Australian port city.  The crash damaged railway lines and hundreds of commuters were affected.  Luckily the Public Transport Authority assisted in helping the 65 metre vessel to be towed out before any fuel spilled.  Early reports suggested the incoming tide caused the ship to crash into the bridge but authorities are still puzzled as to why the ship could not counteract the tide.  An investigation is now under way.

exactAIS® track of the Parmelia 1 as it circled the port of Fremantle, Australia before crashing into the railway bridge.

May 2, 2011
The MT Gemini has been pirated off the coast of Kenya early Saturday morning.  The Maritime Port Authority of Singapore said a distress call was received at 11:50 a.m. when the Gemini was en route from Indonesia to Mombasa, Kenya.  The condition of the 25 crew members on board has not been released as of yet and the owner of the vessel has not responded to requests for comment. 

Click here for the full story

exactAIS® track of the MT Gemini making its way from Indonesia into Kenyan waters.

April 20, 2011
The Indian Space Resource Organization's PSLV rocket has been launched successfully carrying three satellites.  One of those satellites,Resourcesat 2, is carrying an AIS payload that will greatly increase the detection range for exactAIS®.  Check out the YouTube video of the launch!

April 19, 2011
Two oil tankers collided in Macau airport’s restricted area yesterday morning and the maritime authority estimated that 2,000 litres of light diesel oil has been spilled into the sea.  Assistance was sent to the scene and reports have stated that the oil spill is now under control.  It is expected that Macau's beaches, coasts and port facilities will not be affected.  The tanker Kuok Cheong Ho collided with another tanker Kuong Chau No. 1 around 8 a.m. on April 18.

Click here for the full story

April 13, 2011
The MV Thor Nexus was freed yesterday afternoon after the pirates had received $4.77 million from the owners the previous day.  The vessel had been on its way from Bangladesh to the United Arab Emirates when it was hijacked on Christmas Day 2010. The pirates left the ship on Monday and it has since sailed away under the watch of a nearby Navy ship. The vessel is expected to arrive in Mombasa within the next five days.

exactAIS® track of the released Thor Nexus as it makes its way to Mombasa.

April 8, 2011
The EUNAVFOR and NATO Counter Piracy Operations off Somalia have made revisions to AIS operational use in areas of high piracy risk.  Earlier advice had suggested that when ships travel to areas where pirates and armed robbers are known to operate, the master had the discretion to the switch their AIS off if they believed it might compromise the safety or security of his/her ship.  New recommendations advise masters to leave AIS transmitting across the entire high risk area with the AIS transmission restricted to ship's identity, position, course, speed, navigational status and safety-related information.  AIS is critical in allowing maritime authorities visibility into potential piracy incidents as vessels can be closely monitored and high risk targets can be identified with deeper traffic analysis.

April 8, 2011
In the early morning of April 8, the Susan K was headed to Sudan when it was attacked by 10 pirates only 35 nautical miles off the Omani coast.  The vessel had six Filipino and four Ukrainian crew members on board when it was attacked.  There have been no further updates on the attack but the EUNAVFOR is closely monitoring the situation.

exactAIS® track of the Susan K as it neared the Omani coast on April 8

April 1, 2011
In the early morning of Thursday, March 31, a ship found itself stuck in the St. Lawrence Seaway in Montreal for several hours.  The BBC Steinhoft got wedged in the canal perpendicular to the shore, between the Jacques Cartier and Victoria bridges.  Tugboats were able to dislodge the ship around 2 p.m. ET but not before at least eight other vessels were significantly delayed due to the blockage.  The cause of this incident is yet to be determined but early speculation points to human error.  There have been no reports of any environmental damage and none of the crew on board were injured.

Click here for the full story

exactAIS® track of the BBC Steinhoft as other vessels behind are blocked from passing