Text 4. Barge with oil spill debris sinks in Philippines

A barge carrying 59,000 sacks of sludge from a devastating oil spill in the central Philippines capsized off the south coast of the country, raising fears of another environmental mishap.

The barge, hired by oil refiner Petron, was being towed to a processing plant on the southern island of Mindanao when it sank on Monday night about four miles off the coastline of Plaridel town.

"We're still investigating the incident", said Danilo Abinoja, deputy chief coast guard, adding that there were no clear indications the oily sludge had spilled. The vessel's crew was rescued.

The barge was carrying debris from the site of the Solar 1, which sank in rough seas in August and leaked around 500,000 liters of bunker oil, affecting 40,000 people and more than 200 km (125 miles) of coastline in the central Philippines.

Around 1.4 million liters of oil remain trapped in the tanker, buried about 640 meters under water off central Guimaras Island, and authorities have said they will wait until calmer weather in January to siphon it off.

A spokesman for Petron, which had also chartered the Solar 1, said the company had sent equipment to clean up this latest sinking, adding that the debris "poses no threat to health".

Environment group Greenpeace said the oil group should be held accountable for the barge capsizing.

Local officials said giant waves and strong winds could have caused the accident. Fishing had been prohibited in the area for four days ago due to bad weather.

Text 5. Deadly accident on Staten Island ferry

March 02, 2007

Ten people were killed and many others seriously injured when a Staten Island ferry collided with a concrete construction pier while docking Wednesday afternoon. Ferry service was suspended in both directions but resumed early Thursday morning. The accident occurred shortly before 3:30PM at the ferry's Staten Island terminal.

The 300-foot-long ferry, carrying about 1,500 passengers, slammed into a concrete construction pier at the St. George Station on Staten Island. The crash occurred on a very windy day when the water in New York Harbor was unusually choppy. Many witnesses said the ferry appeared to be travelling faster than normal.

Police say one woman and nine men, ranging in age from 25 to 32, died in the crash. At least 34 were injured, some of them critically in the city's worst accident. The victims were taken to Staten Island University Hospital and St. Vincent's Hospital. Firefighters aboard the damaged ferry sifted through debris looking for victims, said a fire spokesman.

The cause of the crash remains unknown. But law enforcement officials said the ferry's pilot fled the scene to his nearby home, and attempted suicide. The National Transportation Safety Board says it will conduct its first organizational meeting Thursday. Human factors, engineering factors, deck operations and weather conditions will all be considered. The NTSB will also look into records of the vessel's crew members and how they spent the previous 72 hours.

Text 6. Capsized ship recovery continues

Salvage crews are continuing efforts to recover the Norwegian oil supply ship which capsized north-west of Shetland.

Seven of the crew survived the accident but three sailors have been confirmed dead. The search for five other crew members has been abandoned.

A coastguard spokesman said on Friday it was "extremely unlikely" that they would be found alive.

The tug overturned on Thursday when it moved an anchor for a drilling rig, about 86 miles (138 km) off Shetland.

Royal Navy divers entered the submerged vessel three times on Friday but found no signs of life.

They were later forced to withdraw amid rough seas.

Seven of the 15 Bourbon Dolphin crew were taken to hospital and later moved into a local hotel, while three have been confirmed dead.

Among those still unaccounted for is a 15-year-old boy on work experience and his father, believed to be the ship's captain.

The operation around the upturned Bourbon Dolphin has now switched focus to the salvage of the vessel, which currently remains afloat.

Ten crew members in total were found in the seas around the vessel after Thursday's incident, about 86 miles west of the Shetland coast.

An offshore union leader has said he believed the boat, which is less than one year old, could have been caused to capsize by an anchor slipping up the side of the vessel.

The Bourbon Dolphin had a number of roles in the North Sea, including anchor handling and towing, the installation of subsea construction blocks and operations involving remote vehicles.

Anchor handling tugs are also used to supply oil platforms, tow them to location, anchor them up and, in some cases, serve as rescue vessels.

They are fitted with winches for towing and anchor handling and have an open stern to allow the decking of anchors.

The coastguard confirmed that the ship had still been attached to Transocean Rather rig by an anchor chain.

Grampian Police said they would begin an investigation into the incident. A marine accident inquiry will also be carried out.

The ship had been working in the vicinity of the Rosebank oilfield.