Two bulk carriers collided in Yellow sea off Chengshan early in the morning Nov 29, Aali and Dong Fang Ocean, both vessel severely damaged, Dong Fang Ocean lost both anchors, Aali with damaged ballast tanks.
Both vessels required assistance and disabled, tugs and salvage vessel towed vessels to Weihai (Aali) and to Longyan (Dong Fang Ocean).
The Maltese ship Aali, en route from Indonesia to Tianjin, was carrying 23 sailors, including 13 Iranians and 10 Filipinos.
The cause of the collision is under investigation.
Aali crew 23 – 13 Iranians and 10 Philippinos, Dong Fang Ocean crew 26, all Chinese. Aali IMO 9405942, dwt 53000, built 2009, flag Malta, operator Sapid Shipping Co. Dong Fang Ocean IMO 8414520, dwt 20624, built 1986, flag Panama, owner COSCO.
How Exxon Valdez became a bulk carrier?
Exxon Valdez is 301 meters long, 50 meters wide, 26 meters depth (987 ft, 166 ft, 88 ft), weighing 30,000 tons empty and powered by a 23.60 MW (31,650 shp) diesel engine. The ship can transport up to 235,000 m³ (1.48 million barrels / 200,000 t) at a sustained speed of 30 km/h (16.25 knots). Its hull design is of the single-hull type. It was built by National Steel and Shipbuilding Company in San Diego. A relatively new tanker at the time of the spill, it was delivered to Exxon in December 1986.
At the time of the spill Exxon Valdez was employed to transport crude oil from the Alyeska consortium's pipeline terminal in Valdez, Alaska, to the lower 48 states of the United States. At the time it ran aground, the vessel was carrying about 201,000 m³ (53.1 million gallons of oil). After the spill, the vessel was towed to San Diego, arriving on June 10, 1989, and repairs were started on June 30, 1989. Approximately 1,600 tons of steel were removed and replaced that July, totaling US$30 million of repairs to the tanker. Its single-hull design remained unaltered.
After repairs, Exxon Valdez was renamed Exxon Mediterranean, then SeaRiver Mediterranean in the early 1990s, when Exxon transferred their shipping business to a new subsidiary company, SeaRiver Maritime Inc. The name was later shortened to S/R Mediterranean, then to simply Mediterranean in 2005. Although Exxon tried briefly to return the ship to its North American fleet, it was prohibited by law from returning to Prince William Sound.[7] It then served in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.[8] In 2002, the ship was again removed from service.[9] In 2005, it began operating under the Marshall Islands flag of convenience.[10] Since then, European Union regulations have also prevented vessels with single-hull designs such as the Valdez from entering European ports.[11] It is currently in service in East Asia. In early 2008, SeaRiver Maritime, an ExxonMobil subsidiary, sold Mediterranean to a Hong Kong-based shipping company named Hong Kong Bloom Shipping Ltd., which renamed the ship once again as Dong Fang Ocean, now under Panama registry. During 2008, the ship was refitted, converting it from an oil tanker to an ore carrier. Dong Fang Ocean remains in service as of 2009 in this new configuration.