Notable incidents
5 May 2017 - Southern Ocean Loss
Refrigerated cargo ship, 1993-built, 10,629 gt Uruguay Reefer (IMO:
9017264) suffered a massive intake of water on May 5th in her number two hold,
possibly as a result of striking ice, eventually forcing the crew to abandon
ship on May 7th. The flooding was initially reported from a position about 100
nm off Elephant Island, an isolated outcropping in the Southern Ocean near the
tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The vessel still had propulsion and her master
planned to seek assistance from two company-owned vessels in the vicinity of
the Falkland Islands. On Sunday, vessel operator Baltmed Reefer Services
reported that the Uruguay's crew was unable to halt the ingress of water and
that flooding was worsening in persistent rough weather. Early on May 7th the
master ordered abandon ship, and all 42 of the Uruguay's crew safely
transferred to another merchant vessel, the reefer Taganrogskiy Zaliv (also
operated by Baltmed).
23 February 2016 - Icebreaker aground in Antarctica – high winds break moorings
Australia-chartered icebreaker
Aurora Australis went aground in Antarctica off Mawson Station. The 6,600-gt P&O vessel (built 1989) was on a resupply mission. The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) confirmed the ship had broken free of its mooring lines during a blizzard on Wednesday afternoon. A total of 67 passengers and crew were on board, but no injuries were reported. Bad weather has prevented a full inspection of the hull. The AAD said winds of up to 130 kilometres per hour were recorded just before the ship broke free. Aurora Australis is owned by P&O Maritime Services and chartered by AAD and is due to be replaced by a new AUD 500m ($358m) icebreaker in 2019.
There are regular casualties in ice areas as these two
spreadsheets demonstrate.
Increased Risk of Grounding in
Barranquilla, Colombia
View previous incidents.