Sunday August 6th

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- At least some of the nearly 4,800 Mazda vehicles on
the ill-fated Cougar Ace could still be salvaged and sold, said a
spokesman for the ship owners, Mitsui O.S.K.

The Singapore-based cargo ship was adjusting the ballast waters in the
hull when the ship lost stability in the North Pacific July 24 and
listed 60 degrees on its side.

Mitsui O.S.K. spokesman Greg Beuerman said cars on at least two of the
ship's 14 decks were securely latched down, according to salvage crew
reports. "From what we know right now, we are encouraged about the
condition of the cars," he said.

About half the cars on board are the compact Mazda3, which had a 16.4%
sales jump in July. Dealers are already contending with a short supply
of the car, averaging 21 days' worth of the vehicle, compared with an
industry average of 60 to 70 days.


Friday August 4th - Companies take big risks when cargo faces watery grave

A dramatic cargo ship accident off the Alaskan coast in July highlighted
a hard-to-track risk to doing business overseas: Problems at sea can
result in big losses for companies relying on the products on board.

For Japanese automaker Mazda, last month’s incident could mean the loss
of nearly 4,800 cars and trucks headed for Canada and the United States.
Although that’s only a sliver of Mazda’s annual sales, if the cars are
damaged, there could be a shortage of some of its more popular models.

Hard to estimate
No one agency tracks how much cargo is lost at sea around the world each
year. But because ships can carry such large loads, accidents take on a
large scale. One sunken ship can carry thousands of cars worth tens of
millions of dollars.

Industry experts estimate that anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 containers
fall off ships each year, less than 1 percent of the number of
containers sent by sea annually but representing a huge cost to those
who lose cargo to the ocean. The loss of even one shipping container,
which can be 20 feet to 40 feet long and 8 feet high and may hold
millions of small parts, could shut down a manufacturing line.

“What we’ve always struggled with is, how do you quantify that for
someone?” said Nicholas Dewhurst, executive vice president for Boothroyd
Dewhurst, a firm that helps companies develop cost-efficient product
design. “The chances of you losing something aren’t very great. But when
you do, it’s a huge cost. It may be the only one of something in the
world, and now you can’t get it back. It’s sitting on the bottom of the
ocean, and you’ve missed your market opportunity.”

Tuesday August 1 - Man Dies Working on Recovery of Stricken Mitsui Ship
off Alaska

A member of the recovery team sent to assist a Mitsui O.S.K. cargo ship
that foundered off Alaska was killed during a fall, Mitsui said.

The man died from injuries suffered when he fell onto the ship's deck
while returning from an inspection of the vessel, Mitsui said in an
e-mailed statement yesterday.

Mitsui's Cougar Ace, which lies 140 miles south of the Aleutian Islands,
overturned on July 2 when it began to take on water while emptying its
ballast tanks. The vessel has at least 4,700 Mazda Motor Corp. vehicles
on board, estimated to be worth $117.5 million.

The ship remains stable, with no damage to the engine room or to cargo
on the two decks the team was able to survey, Mistui said. The Cougar
Ace has 14 cargo decks for carrying cars.

The first of five other vessels dispatched to right and then tow away
the ship was scheduled to arrive yesterday, the statement said.


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