On the morning of June 30, the 31.5 meter long, 387 dwt tugboat Cala Gullo (IMO: 9791509) sank in the Balearic Sea at the port of Barcelona, Spain. The Cala Gullo was assisting the 330 meter long, 134869 dwt container ship Cape Sounio (IMO: 9727625) in maneuver to turn the vessel around to depart from the terminal when the vessels collided. The bow of the container ship struck the tug causing it to list over and sink. The Cape Sounio was undamaged, but the Cala Gullo sank. The three crew onboard the tug were rescued by a pilot boat.
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Authorities report there were no injuries and no pollution released. Reports state the Cala Gullo would be refloated. The Cape Sounio was allowed to proceed on its voyage to La Spezia. Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.
Reports state the container vessel Wan Hai 503 which has been ablaze since June 9 has been successfully secured with a towing hawser. The towline was secured to the Indian Coast Guard vessel Samudra Prahari which keeping the container vessel from drifting closer to the shoreline. The Coast Guard plans to hand the towing to several tugboats which will pull the Wan Hai 503 further away from shore.
Four Indian Coast Guard vessels, Indian Air Force helicopters and salvage teams have now reported the fire approximately 40 percent under control. Multiple inner decks are still ablaze and dense grey smoke still emits from the forward cargo holds. Some 20,000 litres of fire fighting foam is being transported from Mumbai to help extinguish the fire. Helicopters are using dry chemical agents while vessels continue to spray water onto the vessel.
Indian Authorities still have concerns of the environmental impact if the blaze ignites the 2128 metric tons of fuel or reaches the hazardous cargo within some of the containers onboard. Officials have stated that some 24 containers had fallen into the sea with some possibly still afloat, but most have sunk.
On the morning of June 9, the 269 meter long, 51300 dwt container ship Wan Hai 503 (IMO: 9294862) caught fire in the Arabian Sea some 40 km west of the Beypore-Azhikkal coast of India. The Wan Hai 503 was proceeding to Nhava Dheva from Colombo with 650 containers when one or more containers exploded amidships. The explosion resulted in many containers destroyed with 20 upwards to 50 containers that fell overboard into the sea. The explosion resulted in a fire which quickly spread to other containers and throughout the vessel.
The fire could not be contained and 18 of the 22 crew members on the Wan Hai 503 abandoned ship. Ten crew members escaped using the no. 2 lifeboat while 8 others used one of the vessel’s life rafts. Four crew members were reported missing and may have perished from the explosion.
The Indian Coast Guard and Navy conducted a search and rescue operation and safely recovered the 18 crew members. Three crew members were injured along with two others who had suffered severe burns from the fire. The Coast Guard also issued an advisory in the area for the risk of drifting containers off the coast. Aircraft were deployed to monitor the Wan Hai 503 for potential pollution released with the risk of more containers falling into the sea along with oil pollution if the container ship would sink.
Indian authorities has asked the vessel owners, Wan Hai Lines, to appoint a salvage company with fire fighting capabilities to recover the Wan Hai 503. However, the fire has consumed much of the forward container holds, the Wan Hai 503 may sink before any salvage attempt can be made. The container ship was last reported to have developed a list to port caused by water ingress. The container ship was reported to be drifting south to southeast and there is concern any oil pollution released would impact the areas of Kozhikode and Kochi.
