MS Bulk Jupiter

Bulk Jupiter was a Bahamas registered cargo ship. She sank off the coast of Vietnam on 1 January 2015.[3][4]

History
Bahamas
Name: Bulk Jupiter
Owner: Gearbulk
Operator: Gearbulk Norway
Port of registry:  Bahamas
Builder: Mitsui Ichihara Engineering & Shipbuilding
Launched: 10 June 2006
Out of service: December 30, 2014
Identification:
Fate: Sank off the coast of Vung Tau, Vietnam
General characteristics
Tonnage:
Length: 190 metres (620 ft)
Beam: 32 metres (105 ft)
Draught: 12.575 metres (41.26 ft)
Speed: 15 knots (28 km/h)[2]
Crew: 19 (16 lost, 2 dead, 1 survivor)

History

Sinking

On 2 January 2015 Bulk Jupiter sank off the coast of Vũng Tàu, Vietnam. She departed from Kuantan, Malaysia on 30 December 2014 with a cargo of 46,400 tons of bauxite and a crew of 19 Filipinos.

The Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (Vietnam MRCC) and The Japanese Coast Guard received distress signals at 22:54 hours UTC on 1 January in position lat 9".01' 01:001N, long 109" 15' 26.01E from Bulk Jupiter, but were unable to make contact with the vessel.[5]

Dispatched rescue vessels found one crew member, the ship's cook, who refused to cooperate. Later searches found two other bodies. The remaining 16 crew members are presumed dead.

Early reports indicated that the likely cause of the sinking was sudden loss of stability from the bauxite cargo.[4][6]

Investigation and corrective action

IMO has approved a circular to warn ship's masters about the liquefaction hazards of bauxite.[7]

not to accept bauxite for carriage unless:

  • the moisture limit for the specific cargo is certified as less than the indicative moisture limit of 10% and the particle size distribution as is detailed in the individual schedule for bauxite in the IMSBC Code; or
  • the cargo is declared as Group A (cargoes that may liquefy) and the shipper declares the transportable moisture limit (TML) and moisture content; or
  • the cargo has been assessed as not presenting Group A properties.
    — IMO, Briefing: 3818/09/2015

References
  1. "Bulk Jupiter Statistics". MarineTraffic. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  2. "Conventional Bulk Class" (PDF). Gearbulk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  3. "Ship Sinks Off Vietnam, Only 1 of 19 Crew Rescued". The Indian Express. The Associated Press. January 4, 2015.
  4. "Bulk Jupiter". Shipwreck Log. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  5. "Statement "Bulk Jupiter" - 1120am 3 January 2015". Gearbulk. Gearbulk. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  6. "Rescued chef of Bulk Jupiter refuses to offer more info, says 'tired'". Tuoitrenews. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  7. "IMO circular". www.imo.org. Retrieved 19 September 2015.


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