6. September 2006 P/F

A shipload of Spanish cattle that had been drifting for months due to concerns over the bovine bluetongue disease docked in Spain on Thursday, the government said, but the fate of the animals remains unclear.The Karim Allah left the Mediterranean port of Cartagena on December 17 carrying 895 cattle destined for sale in Turkey. A second ship, the ElBeik, set sail the next day from Tarragona with a cargo of nearly 1,800 cows.Even though the cattle had clean veterinary certificates, according to Spain’s government

Container shipping line CMA CGM is to expand its fleet of natural gas-powered vessels to cover the busy trans-Pacific route between China and the United States as part of a push to use the fuel to reduce pollution, the group said on Thursday.CMA CGM will deploy by next year six chartered ships with a capacity of 15,000 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) each on its China-Los Angeles service, representing the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueled vessels to call in the United States, it said in a statement.

BC Ferries’ newbuild program continues with the launch of its fifth Island Class hybrid-electric ferries last Thursday at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania. When in operation, the yet-to-be named vessel will be one of two assigned to the Nanaimo Harbor – Gabriola Island route.Work will continue on the new ferry until scheduled sea trials in June. Following sea trials, the vessel will be delivered to Point Hope Maritime in Victoria in late 2021 for final preparations. Two-ship service is scheduled to begin on the Nanaimo Harbour – Gabriola Island route by early 2022, replacing the Quinsam.

It's the end of an era for the U.K.'s RRS James Clark Ross, which made its final call to Rothera Research Station in Antarctic on February 19 after 30 years of service. British Antarctic Survey (BAS) said the polar research vessel will be sold at the end of the 2020/2021 Antarctic season and replaced by the newly built RRS Sir David Attenborough.Rothera was the RRS James Clark Ross’s final call of the ship’s five-and-a-half-month mission to deliver scientific and operational staff to Antarctica, and to resupply the U.K. stations in Antarctica for another year.

An injured mariner was medevaced from a tug 60-miles off Grays Harbor, Wash., last week.At approximately 2 p.m. on February 18, watchstanders at U.S. Coast Guard Sector Columbia River were notified over VHF-FM channel 16 that a crew member aboard the Crowley pusher tug Commitment had sustained a laceration to the face and eye while working in the vessel's engine room and required medical attention.At 2:45 p.m., an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter rescue crew departed from Sector Columbia River in Warrenton, Ore., to respond.The injured man was safely hoisted from the vessel at approximately 3:30 p.m. and then transported to awaiting emergency medical personnel at the sector.