Russian oil tanker splits in half

From BBC

Russian TV showed pictures of other boats damaged in the storm

Up to 2,000 tons of fuel oil have leaked near the Black Sea after a Russian oil tanker split in half - in a storm that sank four other ships.

A Russian official said the tanker accident was a "very serious environmental disaster".

The vessel came apart after it was smashed by 5m (16ft) waves at the Kerch Strait between the Azov and Black Seas.

The ship's 13 crew were rescued after several hours, but at least 15 people were missing from another ship.

Dozens of vessels have reportedly been evacuated from the busy Russian commercial port of Kavkaz because of the storm, which was packing winds of 108km/h (67 mph).

'Sinking to seabed'

The broken oil tanker, reportedly owned by Russian firm Volganeft, was at anchor when its stern tore apart in the waters of Ukraine at the busy waterway dividing that country and Russia, officials said.

"This problem may take a few years to solve. Fuel oil is a heavy substance and it is now sinking to the seabed," said an official from Russia's state environmental protection agency Rosprirodnadzor.

"This is a very serious environmental disaster," Reuters quoted him as telling Russia's state-run Vesti-24 channel.

But the oil spill is small by comparison with the Prestige disaster off Spain five years ago.

Severe habitat damage was caused to beaches in Spain, France and Portugal when a tanker leaked 64,000 tonnes of fuel oil in November 2002.

Three of the other vessels that sank in Sunday's storm were carrying sulphur.

Meanwhile, 15 crew members were reportedly missing from a scrap metal ship that sank 300km (187 miles) further west, near Sevastopol on Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

CG "Rescues" Nantucket Shoal Buoy

U.S. Coast Guard | November 08, 2007

Boston, MA. -- The Coast Guard found the Nantucket Shoal buoy, which was blown off station by the remnants of Hurricane Noel, about 90 miles southeast of Nantucket, Mass., Monday.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan McKenna, the underway officer of the day aboard the 210-foot Coast Guard Cutter Dependable, from Cape May, N.J., discovered the yellow whistle buoy adrift 23 nautical miles south from its normal position.

The Dependable towed the buoy approximately 75 miles before transferring it to the Willow, a 225-foot buoy-tending cutter from Newport R.I., at around 4 p.m., Tuesday.

"We were lucky to find the buoy 23 nautical miles off station, take it into tow and pass it off to the Cutter Willow," said Commander Laura Dickey, the commanding officer of the Dependable. "It was just another day in Coast Guard operations."

'Banana wave' hits Dutch islands

From BBC

Islanders have been combing the banana-strewn beach

Thousands of bananas have been washed up on two Dutch islands in the North Sea after several containers fell off a cargo ship in a storm, officials say.

They say beaches on Terschelling and Ameland islands were littered with bunches of unripe fruit - to the delight of some local residents.

"I think everybody... has a bunch now," a Terschelling official was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

It was not clear if the bananas were edible after floating in salty water.

The bananas were washed up on Wednesday after at least six containers fell off the ship transporting the fruit from Cuba, said Gossen Buren, a shipping official on Terschelling island. At least one of the containers burst open.

Hours later about 1km (0.6 mile) stretch of a beach on the island was littered with the bananas, Mr Buren said.

Local authorities are now in talks with the ship's insurance company on what to do with the bananas.

Some local residents had already suggested sending them to Dutch zoos, Mr Buren said.

The islanders are no strangers to different materials turning up on their beaches, including shoes, briefcases and toys.

The two islands are about 115km (70 miles) north of Amsterdam.

EarthNC News

EarthNC Release Latest Version of Nautical Charts for Google Earth

Florida based, EarthNC Inc (http://earthnc.com) announced today the general availability of the latest version of EarthNC Plus - Marine Charts for Google Earth. EarthNC Plus now includes the full compliment of current US NOAA Electronic Navigation Charts (ENC) and most Army Corps of Engineerings Inland Electronic Navigation Charts (IENC) in a native Google Earth format.

Delray Beach, FL (PRWEB) November 2, 2007 -- Florida based, EarthNC Inc (http://earthnc.com) announced today the general availability of the latest version of EarthNC Plus -- Marine Charts for Google Earth. EarthNC Plus now includes the full compliment of current US NOAA Electronic Navigation Charts (ENC) and most Army Corps of Engineerings Inland Electronic Navigation Charts (IENC) in a native Google Earth format. EarthNC Plus is available in CD-ROM and direct download formats for Windows XP/Vista and Mac OS X. Each EarthNC Plus purchase includes a full chart set (currently over 680 charts) and a 12-month chart update subscription for an introductory price of $49.95.

Tanker Rams, Damages Light Tower Off NYC

NEW YORK (AP) — An oil tanker slammed into a light tower off Staten Island on Saturday that helps watch over the main shipping lanes to New York Harbor, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The shipping lanes remained open, but the Coast Guard urged boaters to avoid the Ambrose Light until it could be fixed, said Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Annie Berlin.

A Coast Guard vessel was being sent to set up temporary navigation aids until permanent repairs could be made to the tower, about 12 miles southeast of Staten Island and four miles outside the shipping channel.

There are other navigation aids in the area, "but it's very important that all of the mariners out there know about this one so they don't come too close to it," Berlin said.

The tanker Axel Spirit rammed into the 76-foot steel tower around 2 a.m., damaging its legs, the Coast Guard said. The tower's light — normally visible for about 18 miles — was still on, but no longer rotating and not reliable, Berlin said.

No injuries or pollution were reported. The accident happened amid roughly 5-foot waves and 25-knot winds as the stormy remains of Hurricane Noel approached the seas off New York.

A spokeswoman for the ship's owner, Vancouver, Canada-based Teekay Corp., did not immediately return telephone messages left at her office Saturday night.

From the Associated Post, Sunday November 4, 2007