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Month: September 2018

Fungka Permata V

Fungka Permata V

On September 14, the ferry KM Fungka Permata V caught fire and sank in the Banda Sea off Banggai Island, Indonesia. The ferry had over 120 persons on board when a fire broke out while en route to Banggai.  Little details reported about the incident, but some 126 people were rescued.  A report states 10 people perished in the blaze and an additional 8 were missing. However, there is confusion to the number of passengers that were actually on board the Fungka Permata V.  The manifest states less than 100 passengers which makes the numbers unreliable. 

Jacob Kyle Rusthoven

Jacob Kyle Rusthoven

Jacob Kyle Rusthoven
Photo: uscg

On September 12, the 30 meter long, 218 gt towboat Jacob Kyle Rusthoven caught fire on the Mississippi River at mile marker 664 near Helena-West Helena, Arkansas. The towboat was pushing 9 barges loaded with rocks when the fire broke out in the vessel’s engine room.  The crew was unable to contain the blaze and sent out a distress call. A nearby vessel came to their and evacuated the crew.  The Jacob Kyle Rusthoven was then pushed to the Arkansas shoreline where local fire fighters were able to extinguish the blaze 7 hours later. No reports of injuries. 

The Coast Guard had stopped nearby traffic on the Mississippi River during the incident. Reports state the Jacob Kyle Rusthoven had some 13,300 gallons of diesel fuel on board at the time, but no pollution was detected. Authorities stated that 3 of the rock barges had broken free during the incident, but were later recovered.

St. Johannes

St. Johannes

St Johannes

On September 11, the 56 meter long ferry St. Johannes allided with lock to the Kiel Canal at Brunsbüttel, Germany. The ferry had entered the old lock at Brunsbüttel when it struck a railing damaging some 5 meters of its length.  The St. Johannes was undamaged and there were no injuries.