The Selendang Ayu was a Malaysian cargo ship carrying a cargo of soybeans to China, which

ran aground off the coast of Unalaska Island in western Alaska´s Aleutian Islands on
December 8, 2004. This resulted in an large oil spill.

Multiple Jayhawk helicopters from the U.S. Coast Guard were involved in evacuating the ship
´s 26 crewmembers to the Coast Guard cutter Alex Haley. One Jayhawk experienced problems
after lifting seven crew members from the ship and crashed into the sea. Another helicopter
recovered the three-man Coast Guard crew and one of the people from the ship. The Coast
Guard searched for the remaining crew until their efforts were called off on December 10.

The ship had been carrying a significant amount of fuel, so there were fears that the
Selendang Ayu could create the worst Alaskan oil spill since the Exxon Valdez. One tank
containing 40,131 gallons of fuel ruptured when the ship broke apart. It is estimated that
424,000 gallons of heavy bunker C fuel oil remains onboard, although most of that fuel was
transferred to internal tanks when the ship foundered, and heaters were turned off so that the
fuel would thicken in the cold waters. Another 18,000 gallons of diesel fuel is believe to still be
on board as well.

EL BULKARRIER SELANDANG AYU SE HA PARTIDO EN LAS COSTAS DE ALASKA.-

The cargo ship broke apart during a storm off the coast of an Alaska island, and weather has
calmed, allowing environmental crews to start work, federal and state authorities said on
Sunday.

Winds slowed to 10 to 15 knots and waves shrank to 6 to 12 feet, a big change from the fierce
winds of up to 55 knots and seas up to 24 feet of past days, according to the U.S. Coast
Guard (news - web sites).
"Everybody is taking advantage of the good conditions and trying to get stuff done," said
Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Darrell Wilson.

Assessment teams were able to conduct an aerial survey, and a research vessel with wildlife
experts was headed to the spill site, on the western coast of Unalaska Island in the Aleutian
chain, officials said.

The island is about 800 miles southwest of Anchorage; the wreck site is on its western shore,
an area without road links to the port city of Unalaska/Dutch Harbor on the north part of the
island.

SAVING THE SALMON

Vessel crews in the affected cove were also scheduled to lay out more protective boom to
block fuel oil from reaching salmon-spawning streams, and there were plans to get salvage
experts on board the broken vessel, the Coast Guard said.

The 738-foot Malaysian-flagged vessel, the , was carrying 480,000 gallons of bunker fuel and
21,000 gallons of diesel fuel when it broke apart off the island´s rocky coast. It is estimated
that 140,000 gallons poured out because the breach in the ship opened one of the fuel tanks,
officials said.

The ship lost power and began drifting in the Bering Sea by early Tuesday morning, according
to Coast Guard reports. Efforts to tow it and to anchor it failed because lines broke in the
stormy weather.

Six of the 26 Selendang Ayu crew members were missing and presumed dead after they
disappeared into the water when a Coast Guard rescue helicopter crashed Wednesday night.

With the focus now on spill response rather than rescue, about 150 workers have gathered on
and around the island to try to stop the fuel leak, federal and state officials said.

The area is managed as part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, and is important
habitat for marine mammals, sea birds and fish.

HEAVY OIL

It is used by endangered Steller sea lions, two species of sea ducks with Endangered Species
Act protections and Aleutian sea otters, a population that has plummeted in recent years and
was slated earlier this year to be listed as a threatened species.

The bunker fuel is "really sticky stuff" that tends to sink into the water, especially if it becomes
entangled in sediments, said Leslie Pearson, manager of the Alaska Department of
Environmental Conservation´s spill preparedness and response program.

"If it gets on the wildlife, of course, they´re going to be preening themselves and they´ll
ingest it," she said.

Another concern is the health of a crab population. "There´s quite a lot of tanner crab fishing
that takes place in this area," she said. A commercial crab harvest is scheduled to start next
month.

The Selendang Ayu is operated by IMC Shipping. The vessel had been carrying soybeans from
Tacoma, Washington to China.

VesseL: Selendang Ayu

Flag: Malaysia
Type: Single deck bulk carrier
Built: Hudong Shipyard,
China, January 1998
Class: ABS

ESLORA: Length (LOA) 225.00 m

MANGA: Beam 32.26 m
Nº IMO Official no. 328266

Call sign: 9MCT5

Telex 353325212
Fax 353325211
Tel 353325210
Satcom B 353325210
Satcom C 453324310

Load line zones Draft m DWT mt TPC FWA mm

Tropical 14.310 74,893.00 67.19 320
Summer 14.018 72,937.00 66.82 320
Winter 13.726 70,988.00 66.63 320
Lightship 0.000 0.00 0.00 -

Tonnage International Suez Panama

GRT 39,775.00 41,200.74 .00

NRT 25,379.00 37,061.59 32,867.46
Capacity Grain cft Grain cbm Bale cft Bale cbm
Total 3,158,193 89,430 2,779,209 78,698

Holdwise 1 389,814 11,038 343,036 9,714

2 465,458 13,180 409,605 11,599
3 466,712 13,216 410,706 11,630
4 466,708 13,216 410,703 11,630
5 466,712 13,216 410,706 11,630
6 466,712 13,216 410,706 11,630
7 436,077 12,348 383,747 10,867

Tank top dimeN. Breadth (fwd) m Breadth(aft) m Length m

Hold 1 9.20 22.00 24.08
2 22.00 22.00 25.80
3 22.00 22.00 25.80
4 22.00 22.00 25.80
5 22.00 22.00 25.80
6 22.00 22.00 25.80
7 22.00 9.20 24.94

Hatch dimensions Breadth m Length m

Hold 1 13.20 14.62
2 15.00 14.62
3 15.00 14.62
4 15.00 14.62
5 15.00 14.62
6 15.00 14.62
7 15.00 14.62

Strength mt/m² Hatch cover Tank top Upper deck

Hold 1 2.08 27.50 0.00
2 1.75 17.80 0.00
3 1.75 27.50 0.00
4 1.75 18.60 0.00
5 1.75 27.50 0.00
6 1.75 17.80 0.00
7 1.75 26.40 0.00
Strengthened for heavy cargoes Holds 2, 4 and 6 may be empty
Hatch covers type Side rolling steel hatch covers

Waterline to hatch coaming Fore m Aft m

Light condition 21.00 17.10

Light ballast 16.20 14.30
Heavy ballast* 13.70 12.70
Laden (summer draft) 7.20 7.10

* Possible to reach 13m air draft with additional ballast and trim

Cranes 4 x 30t cranes with 4 x 15 cbm grabs

Maximum outreach 11.87 m

Bunker capacity (100 %) IFO 2,382.3 cbm / MDO 147.8 cbm

Ballast 21,621 cbm lt / 34,806.60 cbm hvy
Fresh water capacity 470.0 cbm
Fresh water production 25.0 mt daily
Ships constant 280 mt (excluding FW)
Distance from keel to top mast 48.10 m
Distance from keel to top of hatch coaming 21.20 m
Ventilation in holds Natural
CO² fitted yes

AWWF ladder equipped yes

P & I Club Swedish

Hull and machinery insured value USD 34,000,000

All details given in good faith on about basis and without guarantee. Mar 2004

December 9, 2004

USCG rescue helicopter crashes

The Coast Guard has been conducting aærescue effortænear Unalaska Island in the
Aleutian Island chain for 10 people who were aboard a Coast Guard helicopter.

The helicopter and crewæbased out of Kodiak, Alaska, were evacuating crewmembers off
the grounded freighter Selendang Ayu when it crashed in the ocean during the rescue
attempt.

Another helicopter from the Coast Guard cutter Alex Haley, which is on scene, picked up
four peopleæ and has taken them to Dutch Harbor for medical treatmen Six people are
still unaccounted for.

The Selendang Ayu subsequently brokein twoæand a Coast Guard rescue swimmer along
with the master of the vessel remained on board.

The ship, which was carrying about 500,000 gallons of No. 6 fuel oil, had been drifting
towards the island since experiencing an engine failure earlier this week.

A Coast Guard cutter and three tug boats had been unable to halt the motor vessel's
approach to the northern shore of Unalaska Island.

Late Tuesday night the tug Sydney Foss successfully established a tow on the Selendang
Ayu. The tug slowed the progress of the Selendang Ayu's drifting to one nautical mile an
hour, however the 8-inch think tow-line broke at 1:30 a.m. An earlier attempt to take the
Selendang Ayu in tow was also unsuccessful.

The Malaysian-flag Selendang Ayu is operated by IMC Shipping of Singapore and was
built in Hudong, China, in 1998.
December 12, 2004

Selendang Ayu response continues

A dramatic Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Gail Sinner released Sunday by
the Selendang Ayu incident center shows a Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter hovering
over the 738-foot Selendang Ayu as a salvage team inspects the damage caused when the
ship broke in two after grounding Wednesday night. The team was not able to get onto
the bow half of the vessel, but was able to access most of the stern half. Five of six
accessible holds have been breached. Three cargo holds containing soybeans, and the
stern fuel tank all have small breaches. One hold appeared to be intact. The engine room
has flooded even with the sea level.

Litlle hope now remains for six members of the vessel's crew lost when a Coast Guard
rescue helicopter crashed Wednesday.

March 31, 2005

Selendang Ayu captain makes guilty plea

Kailash Bhushan Singh, the captain of the Selendang Ayu, which broke in two on
Unalaska Island in December, pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in
Anchorage to a single charge of lying to federal investigators.

The Anchorage Daily News report of the case

(http://www.adn.com/front/story/6328470p-6205102c.html) is worth reading, not least
because it draws attention to a practice, known as "pocket miles." that raises a number of
worrying questions.

The 738-foot Malaysian-flagged Selendang Ayu lost power and drifted 140 miles before
it broke up, spilling more than 300,000 gallons of fuel oil. Six crew members died when a
Coast Guard helicopter crashed attempting to take them them off the stricken ship. You
can access the incident website
here:http://www.uscgresponds.com/external/index.cfm?cid=912.

The Anchorage Daily News reports that, under the terms of a plea agreement approved by
Judge Ralph Beistline, Singh was sentenced to three years' probation. The agreement
centered on statements Singh made to federal investigators on how long his vessel lay
dead in the water before he notified the Coast Guard. He first claimed the ship was
powerless for 13 hours. He later admitted it was 15 hours.

According to the newspaper report, "the agreement and Wednesday's court hearing
revealed new information uncovered by investigators about the days before and after the
shipwreck."
While Wednesday's plea deal allows Singh to return home to New Delhi, India, according
to the newspaper U.S. Attorney Tim Burgess says the shipwreck investigation is not over.
Charges could eventually be filed against officials of IMC Group, the Singapore-based
firm that operated the Selendang Ayu, he said.

"The ship was hired for $35,500 per day, with an expectation it would travel an average
of 13.5 knots," says the Amchorage Daily News, "But if mechanical problems forced the
ship to slow down or stop, its owners would be docked for the down time, known as 'off-
hire.'"

Initially, the trip went faster than anticipated, says the newspaper. But Singh made false
reports to the chartering company and in the ship's log books showing the ship had
traveled fewer miles.

"The difference between the actual and reported locations is known in the industry as
'pocket miles.' If the ship eventually had to slow down or stop later in the voyage, the
captain could use pocket miles and never report the slower progress--and never go off-
hire, costing the ship owners money," says the newspaper report.

On December 6, when a cylinder liner crack caused the chief engineer to shut the engine
down at 9.50 a.m. and notify Singh, the captain didn't log the time or location.

"Captain Singh knew that if he accurately recorded the engine failure his vessel would
immediately be considered off-hire," the newspaper quotes the charging documents as
saying.

"Around 4 p.m., when repairs still weren't complete, Singh put a false entry in the deck
log saying the engine had stopped at 12:15 p.m., more than two hours after it had actually
shut down," says the newspaper.

The newspaper says that in the following days, Singh told National Transportation Safety
Board investigators that the engine stopped at 12:15 p.m. on Dec. 6, not the actual time of
9:50 a.m. and that, at his instruction, his crew confirmed the erroneous time.

But four days after his initial interview, Singh, who had arrived in Dutch Harbor
"exhausted, in shock and grieving" told investigators the truth.

As a condition of his plea agreement, Singh has agreed to return to Alaska for court dates,
hearings and trials if others are charged as a result of the investigation.

In a statement afterward, U.S. Attorney Burgess said Singh's case was "the first stage in
this investigation," including a closer look at the issue of pocket miles.

"This practice, whether by a company or an individual, is a great concern," the Anchorage

Daily News reports Burgess as saying. It can lead to false logbook entries that U.S.
officials may rely on for their investigations.
Selendang captain pleads guilty
PROBATION: Freighter's skipper admits lying to federal investigators about time
adrift.
By JOEL GAY and NICOLE TSONG
Anchorage Daily News
Published: March 31st, 2005
Last Modified: March 31st, 2005 at 06:32 AM

The captain of the Selendang Ayu pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S.

District Court in Anchorage to a single charge of lying to federal
investigators looking into his vessel's wreck on the rocks near
Unalaska in December.
The 738-foot Malaysian-flagged freighter lost power and drifted 140
miles before it eventually broke in half on Unalaska Island and spilled
more than 300,000 gallons of fuel oil into a national wildlife refuge.
Six crewmen died when a Coast Guard helicopter crashed while
attempting to lift them off the stricken ship.
Under the terms of a plea agreement approved by Judge Ralph
Beistline, Capt. Kailash Bhushan Singh was sentenced to three years'
probation. The agreement centered on statements Singh made to
federal investigators on how long his vessel lay dead in the water
before he notified the Coast Guard. He first claimed the ship was
powerless for 13 hours. He later admitted it was 15 hours.
The agreement and Wednesday's court hearing revealed new
information uncovered by investigators about the days before and
after the shipwreck:
• After the ship lost power, the crew spent nearly four hours trying to
radio for assistance before using the satellite phone that immediately
made their plight known and started help on the way.
• Company officials knew the vessel was drifting helplessly toward
land but didn't initiate efforts to locate a tugboat for hours.
• The captain and crew routinely falsified logs and misled the
company that chartered their ship in order to reduce expenses.
While Wednesday's plea deal allows Singh to return home to New
Delhi, India, U.S. Attorney Tim Burgess said the shipwreck
investigation is not over. Charges could eventually be filed against
officials of IMC Group, the Singapore-based firm that operated the
Selendang Ayu, he said.
"I can assure you that in these types of cases, we always try to assign
liability wherever it lies," Burgess said. "If individuals up the chain
made decisions and issued orders that led to these events, we're
certainly going to look at that."
Court documents released Wed-nesday, along with courtroom
testimony, provide the best picture to date of what happened after the
ship left Seattle for China last November with more than 60,000 tons
of soybeans on board. They show a shipping company keenly
concerned about expenses.
The ship was hired for $35,500 per day, with an expectation it would
travel an average of 13.5 knots. But if mechanical problems forced the
ship to slow down or stop, its owners would be docked for the down
time, known as "off-hire."
Initially, the trip went faster than anticipated. But Singh made false
reports to the chartering company and in the ship's log books showing
he had traveled fewer miles.
The difference between the actual and reported locations is known in
the industry as "pocket miles." If the ship eventually had to slow down
or stop later in the voyage, the captain could use pocket miles and
never report the slower progress -- and never go off-hire, costing the
ship owners money.
Trouble began Dec. 6 when water and steam began spraying from a
crack in one of the main engine's massive cylinder liners. At 9:50
a.m., the chief engineer shut down the engine and the ship began to
drift. He then notified Singh. Contrary to standard maritime practice,
the captain didn't log the time or location.
"Captain Singh knew that if he accurately recorded the engine failure
his vessel would immediately be considered off-hire," the charging
documents say.
Around 4 p.m., when repairs still weren't complete, Singh put a false
entry in the deck log saying the engine had stopped at 12:15 p.m.,
more than two hours after it had actually shut down. They never got it
started again.
Around 8:30 p.m., Singh notified his home office of the problem.
With seas rising, he tried around 9 p.m. to contact the Dutch Harbor
harbor master by VHF radio. He couldn't reach the office, nor could his
deck officers, who tried every 20 to 30 minutes for nearly four hours,
the investigation shows.
At 12:50 a.m. on Dec. 7, after drifting for 15 hours, Singh used the
ship's satellite telephone to call Dutch Harbor and request help for the
first time.
The Coast Guard dispatched the cutter Alex Haley to the scene from
Bering Sea fisheries patrol but also advised Singh to locate a tug
through his company. It took his office "several hours," the court
documents say, to locate the tug that eventually responded from
Dutch Harbor.
The ship ran aground Dec. 8 at 5:05 p.m. The helicopter crashed later
that evening. Singh and the 19 surviving crewmen were taken to
Dutch Harbor.
In the following days, Singh told National Transportation Safety Board
investigators that the engine stopped at 12:15 p.m. on Dec. 6, not the
actual time of 9:50 a.m. At his instruction, his crew confirmed the
erroneous time.
But four days after his initial interview, Singh changed his story.
His attorney, Michael Chalos, who represented Exxon Valdez Capt. Joe
Hazelwood in that 1989 spill, called Singh's decision to lie to
investigators and tell his crew to do the same "irrational."
The captain slept just one hour from the time the engine was shut
down until the ship ran aground about 55 hours later, Chalos said. He
witnessed the helicopter crash that killed six of his crew and was on
the ship's deck as it ripped in two on the rocks. Battered by waves
and winds, Singh became hypothermic waiting for a helicopter to
rescue him and a Coast Guard rescue swimmer who had boarded the
vessel, Chalos said. Singh arrived in Dutch Harbor exhausted, in shock
and grieving.
But after he slept and spoke with an attorney about how to correct his
misstatements, Singh told investigators the truth, Chalos said.
"I think he understood the gravity of what he'd done," Chalos said.
In the long run, the two-hour time difference may not have mattered.
"It would've made no material difference in what happened out
there," said Jim Lawrence, spokesman for the IMC Group. "There just
wasn't a tug of material strength out there to save the day."
Others aren't convinced the delay was inconsequential. Rick Steiner,
an advocate for shipping safety improvements, said the additional
time might have helped keep the ship off the rocks.
"Even with substandard tugs, that was another two hours to work,"
Steiner said. "It doesn't necessarily mean it would've averted disaster,
but it could've made a difference."
At his hearing Wednesday, Singh, a slender man with a dark, neatly
groomed mustache and proper bearing, sat at a table in the federal
courtroom as his wife looked on and answered questions from the
judge in clipped, accented English.
He told Beistline he accepted that he made a mistake and apologized.
"In a case of this sort of situation in the future, I definitely would do it
in a different manner," said Singh, 53.
Beistline said he was sympathetic to Singh's situation and understood
he was under extreme stress. But that does not justify how he acted,
the judge said. In addition to the probation, he ordered Singh to pay a
$100 fee.
The judge considered rejecting the deal over one line that is generally
a standard provision in plea agreements. The U.S. government agreed
it would not prosecute Singh further based on information it had so
far, but Beistline said he was worried other claims could come up in
the case.
After prosecutors and Chalos agreed to amend the agreement, the
guilty plea and sentencing went forward. The new language means
Singh could face future charges if new evidence arises.
As a condition of his agreement, he also agreed to return to Alaska for
court dates, hearings and trials if others are charged as a result of the
investigation.
In a statement afterward, Burgess said Singh's case was "the first
stage in this investigation," including a closer look at the issue of
pocket miles.
"This practice, whether by a company or an individual, is a great
concern," Burgess said. It can lead to false logbook entries that U.S.
officials may rely on for their investigations.
The Anchorage attorney's office will keep investigating the incident, he
said, and the NTSB has yet to announce its findings. Additional
charges against the ship's crew, managers or owners could result,
Burgess said.

DOLE assures help to eleven seafarers rescued off Alaska

December 20, 2004

All eleven surviving Filipino crewmen rescued by the United States Coast Guard from a ship that
ran aground in the Aleutian Islands chain in Alaska are safe and are being provided with
appropriate assistance while awaiting their repatriation to the Philippines, the Department of
Labor and Employment (DOLE) today said.

The eleven Filipinos were successfully rescued notwithstanding the crash suffered by a US Coast
Guard rescue helicopter wherein six other crewmembers of the cargo ship, the MV Selandang
Ayu, were lost, including the lone Filipino seaman missing in the incident.

"We would like to cite the efforts of the US Coast Guard, unmindful of the danger, to rescue the
seafarers in turbulent conditions and bring them to safety in Alaska," Labor and Employment
Secretary Patricia A. Sto. Tomas said.

The labor and employment chief assured the families of the seamen that the Philippine
government, through its Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Washington, D.C., is
pushing the necessary assistance for the Filipinos in cooperation with the United States
government and the ship owner representatives in the United States.

"We hope that with these efforts, the 11 surviving seamen can be repatriated in time for Christmas
to be with their families in Manila or in the provinces," Sto. Tomas said.
Sto. Tomas also assured assistance to the family of the missing Filipino seaman, Carlos F.
Santiago, while the search and rescue operations continue. The Omnibus Policies of the
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) covers an OWWA member with life insurance
and accidental benefits of up to P200,000, among others, she said. The policies also ensure
social services and family welfare, free legal, medical, and social counseling assistance, she
added.

According to CNN, the global TV network, the MV Selandang Ayu, which was carrying soybeans
to China, ran aground and broke in two on the northern shore of Unalaska Island after it lost
power to its main engine last December 10.

CNN quoted US Coast Guard spokesman Cmdr. Jeff Carter that the HH-60 helicopter went down
near the island after earlier successfully evacuating 18 members of the ship's 26-member crew. A
US Coast Guard cutter, the CGC Sherman, had also immediately responded and helped in the
rescue and search operations along with other vessels and the Coast Guard helicopters.

The Philippine Labor Attache to Washington, D.C., Arturo M. Sodusta, said the eleven Filipino
seamen rescued by the US Coast Guard had been billeted and given the necessary medical
attention at Dutch Harbor, Alaska. He said the Filipinos were "in good spirits," adding that the ship
owner, IMC Shipping Company, had assured that it will support them until they are repatriated.