Free Republic

A $40 million engineering structure belonging to Iran's South Pars gas field, which was to be used in offshore platforms, sank into the Gulf as it was being installed, media said on Wednesday, as reported by AFP. The equipment was built by Maritime Industrial Company (SADRA), an affiliate of the industrial wing of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, over a 30-month period." An investigation is under way," SADRA's managing director Mehdi Etesami told the ISNA news agency, without elaborating. The incident occurred Monday night as the 1,850-tonne jacket developed for South Pars Phase 13 sank to a depth of 80 meters (264...

A 4,500 tonne ship is adrift in the North Sea and heading for a gas platform. The vessel, named Vindo, broke down in very poor weather nine miles from the Murdoch gas platform. Coastguards said the ship, with nine crew on board and laden with 4,200 tonnes of fertiliser, was drifting towards the rig. Rescuers said it was a "race against time" to save lives. Michael Mulford, of RAF Kinloss, told Sky News there were nine people on the ship and 30 people still on the platform. He said: "We are planning to winch them off the ship two at...