In January, the 4000-tonne Lyubov Orlova, which once provided luxurious trips to the Arctic and Antarctic for up to 110 tourists, was being tugged from Newfoundland in Canada to the Dominican Republic to be sold for scrap metal, when the tow line broke during a storm. Unable to reconnect it despite several attempts, the towing boat sailed away from the vessel, whose opulent interiors had been destroyed by marauding rats. The ship was picked up by an offshore supply vessel within days, but let go, when it was declared no longer a danger to oil facilities, but too expensive to maintain at a port. Afterwards it drifted in the north Atlantic without a working GPS signal. It was spotted several times by satellite, assumed to have sunk, then was seen again, but not a single observation has been made since March 14. This may be the last chapter in the life of a troubled ship. “I would assume that if it hasn’t turned up by this point, or hasn’t been spotted at any point, then it may be lost and has sunk somewhere between here and Ireland. But who knows?” said William Cahill, head of the Canadian Bar Association’s maritime law section. Alongside sister ship The Sea Adventurer (which ran aground in 2010, but continues to sail today) Lyubov Orlova was built on a Soviet commission in a Yugoslavian shipyard in 1976. It is named after one of Joseph Stalin’s favorite Russian actresses. After the break-up of the USSR it was refurbished lavishly several times and chartered by a large American expedition company. But success was short-lived. In 2006 it hit an underwater rock, forcing lengthy repairs. Four years later, it was arrested by Canadian port authorities when its Russian owners went bankrupt. An angry Russian crew owed more than $300,000 was stranded in St.John’s in Newfoundland. The once proud ship was auctioned off for $275,000 to an opportunist businessman Reza Shoeybi, who planned to take it and sell for scrap metal for up to $800,000. Locals were skeptical, as the ship’s condition deteriorated while in the dock, and it began to list. Repair works were conducted, but the tug boat picked for the job was not powerful enough, and it only took one day for the tow rope to break. Shoeybi says he has been “ruined” by the failed venture, which ate up his 12-year savings. Lyubov Orlova’s emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) was activated 700 nautical miles west of Ireland in late February. The beacon is set off when the ship’s hull touches the water. Irish coastguards assumed that this meant the ship had sunk. But two weeks later, the cruise liner was detected again, still above water. Whether this means its hull was filling slowly, or that the beacon malfunctioned, is not clear. If Lyubov Orlova is underwater, French ocean environmentalists Robin des Bois say she may still present a danger. “In case of a collision or sinking or any accident, the Lyubov Orlova will immediately release fuel … other toxic liquids, asbestos … mercury and other non-degradable floating waste,” said a statement from the group. Despite the ship being considered sunk by maritime officials, it is not unusual for vessels to reappear months, or even years after they have been abandoned. A fishing boat from the coast of Japan detached by the tsunami in March 2011, was destroyed a year later when it washed up on the Canadian coastline, and several more smaller vessels have since been found. A special website on which volunteers scan ocean reports for news of Lyubov Orlova is still active, while a Twitter account in the name of the liner continues to post messages from the depths. Is okay everyone, Orlova still drifting but have been preparing for blind date with Titanic. Is very nervous but also very excite! — Lyubov Orlova (@LyubovOrlovaNL) May 24, 2013 … Read More
U.S. Navy ship removed from Philippine reef
Salvage teams on Saturday removed the last piece of a US Navy ship that was stuck on a UNESCO World Heritage-listed coral reef in the Philippines for more than 10 weeks, the coast guard said. The stern of the USS Guardian was lifted off the Tubbataha Reef after the 68-metre (223-foot) vessel was…
Married mission to Mars or: How to lose your spouse in 501 days
Not sure how to celebrate your anniversary this year, married couples of the world? Why not go on a bare-bones private mission to Mars, where you will spend 16 months in a closet-size space vessel drinking each other’s sanitized urine?If this sounds great to you, then millionaire and space tourist Dennis Tito is ready to help make it happen, according to the Associated Press.The nonprofit foundation, Inspiration Mars, is currently raising money and hopes to fully fund the mission within five years.The voyage will bring the married crew within 100 miles of the red planet, but will not land. So sorry, that means no time for a romantic spacewalk. But no matter: You will probably be too weak from malnourishment to do much walking, anyway. (Storage space is limited, so food must be kept to a minimum. Hence: Drinking your spouse’s urine.)”This is not going to be an easy mission,” chief technical officer Taber MacCallum told the Associated Press. “We called it the Lewis and Clark trip to Mars.” Adding, “It’s a risk well worth taking.”Continue Reading… … Read More
Seven still missing after ‘freak wave’ capsizes Russian fishing boat off Japan
The Chance-101 (Image from trud-ost.ru)Fifteen fishermen have been saved after a Russian vessel with 30 on board sank in the Sea of Japan Sunday afternoon. Survivors say eight fellow crew-members died of hypothermia and their bodies were eventually dumped to unburden a lifeboat.The crew is thought to have consisted of 19 Russians and 11 Indonesians. The Chance-101 would not contact its office at the regular time on Sunday. Ten hours later, the crabber was found floating upside down. According to the rescued fishermen the vessel had been maneuvering in the open sea when it was hit by a “fatally powerful” wave. Twenty minutes after the wreckage was discovered, passing freighter Anatoly Torchinov picked up a lifeboat with 10 people on board. Those survivors told prosecutors that “initially 18 people were aboard, but eight of them died from hypothermia and their bodies were thrown overboard” because the vessel was “overloaded”.Five more survivors were picked up by crabber Talan on Monday morning.The rescued fishermen are now receiving medical treatment for frostbite. The search mission for the remaining seven fishermen unaccounted for, involving five aircraft and 10 ships, had to be stopped for the night.The Chance-101 was a 640-ton crabber built in South Korea in 1988. It’s the property of the Vladivostok fishing farm Vostok-1.The farm’s office is currently being searched by prosecutors, who investigating two likely causes of the incident. One is a breach of the laws of navigation by the crew; the other is the technical deficiency of the vessel. … Read More
Death by soap opera?
Soap opera-crazed Indonesia is watching a tragically ironic drama play out in the death of a 9-year-old, whose parents blame a hit soap for playing a role in their daughter’s death.”Love in Paris” is a romance starring a young starlet, actress Michelle Zudith, whose character suffers from leukemia and is expected to die before 20 — a plot device that affects her search for love.Ayu Tria Desiani was a 9-year-old who suffered leukemia in real life. According to the Jakarta Globe, she frequently required treatment in hospitals. After experiencing a burst blood vessel, the Globe reports, she was rushed to an ICU ward yesterday.Turns out the ward was filled with atypical guests: the perfectly healthy cast and crew shooting a scene for “Love in Paris.”Continue Reading… … Read More
The U.S. military pivot to Asia: when bases are not bases
SUBIC BAY, Philippines (Reuters) – From his office window, Roberto Garcia watches workers repair the USS Emory S. Land, a submarine support vessel that is part of a U.S. military buildup as Washington turns its attention to fast-growing Asia and a newly assertive China.
100 Myanmar refugees missing after boat sinks
A Rohingya Muslims woman and her children hiding with local villagers to avoid being arrested by border guards of Bangladesh after fleeing the mass burning of houses and violence in Myanmar (Reuters / Andrew Biraj)
Around 100 Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar are reportedly missing after their boat sank off the coast of Bangladesh, officials said.
Bangladesh Border Guard commander Lieutenant Colonel Zahid Hasan said the vessel was carrying around 110 passengers when it sunk near the southwestern Cox’s Bazaar coastal district. He reported that 11 survivors had been rescued with the help of local fishermen. A search is underway for the other missing passengers and crewmembers.
The boat was about 15 kilometers off the coast and traveling to Malaysia illegally when the incident took place, he added.
Hasan confirmed that at least two of the survivors were Rohingya. They are being kept in custody.
Rohingyas are Muslim descendants of the Bengali people; some 800,000 of them currently reside in Myanmar’s western province of Rakhine. They are a stateless persecuted minority in the predominantly Buddhist nation, and often seek refuge outside the country.
On October 28, a boat carrying Rohingya refugees sank in the Bay of Bengal en route to Malaysia. As many as 135 passengers are believed to have drowned in the incident.
