APL container ship avoids collision with Navy tugs
The crew of a large container ship dropped anchor in the Thimble Shoals shipping channel early Tuesday morning, narrowly avoiding collision with two Navy tugboats out on a training exercise, according to investigators, Daily Press reports.
A Coast Guard spokesman said investigators inspected the vessels after the incident and found no damage. He applauded the crew of the container ship and a harbor pilot aboard it for avoiding a crash.
The incident happened at around 6:30 a.m. near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, according to the spokesman, Lt. Brett Workman.
A spokesman for the shipping line identified the ship as the APL Oman, and said the near-miss happened at around 5:30 a.m.
"There was no collision or mishap, no injuries or damage," wrote the APL spokesman, Mike Zampa.
Workman said the tugs were pulling a roll-on/roll-off, or ro-ro, ship, and were heading across the bow of the Oman.
"They were coming from Little Creek and headed toward Fort Story," he said.
"In this situation the pilot and crew on board (the container ship) made the right decision to drop anchor and make sure nothing happened," Workman said.
Workman said the Oman's crew dropped anchor, an action which allows a ship to stop faster.
He also said that the Coast Guard is still investigating the incident.
The Oman is 902 feet long, and the Thimble Shoals Channel it was transiting is about 1,000 feet wide.
Workman said vessels involved in foreign trade are required to have a pilot onboard as they come into port.
The Virginia Pilots Association, a group of more than 40 captains, guides ships into port in the region.
Workman said it's unusual for ships using the channel to be involved in close calls like Monday's incident.
A separate APL container carrier was docked Tuesday at the mostly empty Portsmouth Marine Terminal, but it wasn't loading or unloading cargo.
On Thursday the company wrote customers notifying them that the "APL Pearl suffered an engine problem on departure from Port of Norfolk" at noon on Aug. 15.
"Vessel is without main engine power and has to rely temporarily on vessel's emergency generator" reads the notice, which has since been taken off of APL's website.
Apologizing for shipment delays, the company originally estimated that repairs would take about five days.
The Pearl left Portsmouth on Tuesday, a day later than expected.
