On the morning of June 26, the 14 meter long fishing vessel Santa Rita (MMSI: 224068130) became disabled in the Bay of Biscay some 32 miles north northwest of A Coruña, Spain. The Santa Rita had its propeller become fouled by fishing gear in its propeller. The vessel requested assistance with the Salvamento Marítimo dispatching the SAR vessel Salvamar Betelgeuse. The Salvamar Betelgeuse took the Santa Rita under tow and proceeded to the port of Cedeira. No reports of injuries to the four crew.
On the morning of June 26, the 238 meter long, 18086 dwt ro-ro cargo vessel Eco Catania (IMO: 9859571) allided with the 214 meter long, 7236 dwt ro-ro passenger ferry Kydon Palace (IMO: 9204568) in the Ionian Sea at the port of Igoumenitsa, Greece. The Eco Catania was maneuvering to berth the ferry when its bow struck the starboard hull of the moored Kydon Palace. Reports state there were no injuries on the Catania to the 34 crew and 11 passengers on board.
Authorities arrived on site and began an investigation into the incident. Both vessels were detained until the vessels were inspected for damage and deemed safe. There were no reports if there were any damage to the 377 trailers on board the Eco Catania. Authorities have stated the investigation will look into the cause for the allision.
On June 23, the the 183 meter long, 12250 dwt car carrier Morning Midas (IMO: 9289910) sank in the Pacific Ocean some 450 miles southwest of Alaska’s Aleutian Island of Adak after being on fire for nearly 3 weeks. The salvage company Zodiac Maritime stated the vessel had suffered water ingress from the fire damage causing the vessel to finally sink. The car carrier sank to a depth of 16,404 feet.
POLLUTION
There was no reports of visible pollution at the site of the sinking. The United States Coast Guard reported they have vessels on scene ready to respond to any pollution released. Currently, the salvage vessels 47 meter long Garth Foss (IMO: 9070266) and 69 meter long Salvage Worker (IMO: 9250024) were onsite and equipped with pollution response equipment. Additionally, the 57 meter long offshore supply vessel Endeavour (IMO: 8623468) had departed from Dutch Harbor with oil pollution containment equipment and will be on site of the wreck by June 26.
Photo: USCG
The Coast Guard nor the Zodiac Maritime have no reported if any oil pollution had been released between June 9 through June 23. The Morning Midas may still have 1,530 metric tons of fuel oil along with 350 metric tons of gas oil (MGO) within its fuel tanks. Even if the fire onboard burned some of the fuel, there will be a significant amount of fuel that maybe released. This may not result in any oil pollution reaching the surface due to the depth of the wreck. In research after the Deepwater Horizon disaster (Fisher, C.R., P.A. Montagna, and T.T. Sutton. 2016. Oceanography 29(3):182–195), oil pollution can remain on the ocean bottom rather than appear on the surface as an oil slick.
INVESTIGATION
There has been no press release if the incident will be investigated any further. Some news accounts stated the Morning Midas was already unsalvageable before the Zodiac Maritime vessels arrived on site. Due to its location and great depth (the Morning Midas is nearly 3/4 of mile deeper than the wreck of the Titanic), the investigation may not include any underwater surveys using ROVs. It is also doubtful any voyage data recording devices survived the fire prior to the sinking. Additionally, the car carrier sank in international waters and may not require any US Coast Guard or other United States authorities to investigate.
