ruben.maritime

LYME BAY 07 February – Salvors working to remove containers from the beached MSC Napoli on the UK south coast have relocated the shuttle barge back to Portland port ahead of poorer weather and bigger sea swells. So far 314 of the 2,318 containers have been removed, 69 yesterday. Priority is being given to dangerous goods. Robin Middleton, Secretary of State’s Representative in Maritime Salvage and Intervention, advised that more containers are likely to be lost overboard during the period of bad weather, although the removal of oil will continue as long as the work is deemed safe. Reconnaissance flights will help to identify missing containers and enable security officers to reach them before members of the public. A statement issued by the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency underlines that “normal arrangements in terms of recovery of wreck material through voluntary salvage do not apply in the case of the MSC Napoli” because the owners of the ship [Metvale Ltd/Zodiac Maritime Agencies Ltd] have placed “comprehensive salvage contracts … to recover all items from the vessel, including those lost overboard and washed ashore.”

 

Etiquetas: maritime incident, MSC Napoli, salvage

LYME BAY 30 January – Salvage work on the beached container ship MSC Napoli is progressing, with about 60% of the bunkers now safely pumped from the vessel and the first containers removed. The port side bunker tanks and first of the starboard tanks are now empty: 2,105 tonnes of the estimated 3,600 tonnes have been pumped into the chartered Forth Fisher. The latest reports suggest pumping might be completed by Friday. The number of boxes on board has been recalculated: Fairplay now understands there were 2,318 boxes on the MSC Napoli when it departed from Antwerp. Of these, 103 were lost overboard: 57 have been accounted for, 46 are still being searched for in the waters of the English Channel. Yesterday 15 containers were removed from the ship onto the waiting barge, and the hope is that at least 30 can be transferred each day, depending on the weather. Salvors suggest the operation will take about four weeks. Containers washed onto nearby Branscombe beach are being retrieved using a landing craft.

 

Etiquetas: maritime incident, MSC Napoli

LYME BAY, UK 24 January – Salvors working on the MSC Napoli casualty began pumping oil from the ship's bunker tanks yesterday afternoon into the 5,000-dwt tanker Forth Fisher. The transfer of about 3,500 tonnes of fuel is expected to take 1-2 weeks, weather permitting. Some of the tanks are under water, and salvors will hot tap the oil in those tanks. Oil leakage, estimated at 60-200 tonnes, has only come from the flooded engine room. Meanwhile, the 135-m barge Bigfoot left Rotterdam today with arrival in Lyme Bay expected late on Friday or early on Saturday; the smaller barge from Rouen is expected at the site tonight. The barges will lift the ship's containers and shuttle them to a reception area on shore. 103 containers were lost overboard: 50 are being recovered from the beach, 20 have been located in the sea and a further 33 remain missing. The Napoli was carrying a total of 165 IMO containers: four were lost overboard. However, salvors say sea fastenings remain secure, and transfer of the boxes should begin at the weekend. After the hazardous boxes have been removed, salvors will then identify containers to be taken off to reduce stress on the hull. At that point a decision will be made as to refloating the ship. Weather conditions remain favourable with a northerly wind and calm sea state.

Etiquetas: maritime incident, MSC Napoli