Published: 2 Jul 2009
4 crew feared dead off China, 29 off Qatar as IMO warns safety has become a casualty of the Recesssion
FOUR crew are presumed lost after a Singapore-registered bulker and a Chinese vessel collided in the East China Sea yesterday Fairplay reports. The 159-tonne Chinese ship, which was carrying sand, collided with the 69,548dwt Beilun Dolphin at 0400 off east China's Zhejiang province,
MEANWHILE Tradewinds reports 34 are feared dead after an offshore support vessel capsized and sank off Qatar.
Five people were rescued and one body recovered after the 5,750-hp anchor-handling tug supply (AHTS) unit Damas Victory (built 1973) went down two miles off Doha early on Tuesday.
All those onboard were from India, Nepal and Bangladesh, the newspaper reported.
SAFETY FIRST CASUALTY OF RECESSION
THE International Maritime Organization (IMO) has once again urged carriers not to compromise on ship safety as a way to deal with the current downturn.
Addressing the IMO's technical cooperation committee last week, secretary-general Efthimios Mitropoulos said: 'The unprecedented financial and economic crisis that we inherited since the second half of last year has left hardly any sector, including shipping, unscathed.
'While the crisis lasts, some in the industry will find the temptation to make savings by cutting corners difficult to ignore. Should this prove to be the case, I would strongly advise against any cost-reducing measures compromising safety standards, as this may not only lead to loss of life and damage to the marine environment but also harm the image of the shipping industry, making it difficult to promote its vital role as the par excellence, safe, secure and environmentally sound carrier of world trade.'
