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MSC Flaminia Update 4

MSC Flaminia Update 4

Situation on board the 299 meter long container ship MSC FLAMINIA is unchanged. The team of firefighting experts has been unable to board the vessel since July 30th, 2012 due to bad weather conditions. A change of weather situation is predicted for Sunday this week. A detailed statement regarding the condition of cargo hold 7 is only to be made when the salvage team can board the MSC FLAMINIA again. Temperatures are monitored continuously in this area in order to carry on with boundary cooling. MSC FLAMINIA is still listing by approximately 10 degrees. Her waiting position is approximately 360 nautical miles off the British coast.  A decision to enter a sheltered coastal area has not yet been made but is expected in the coming days.

August 6

Thanks to improving weather conditions, a team of firefighting experts is able to board MSC FLAMINIA and continue the salvaging efforts today. Boarding had not been possible since July 30 2012. The current measures aim at inspecting areas which had not been accessible so far. Also, data is being collected to calculate and assess the stability of the vessel. Smoke emission in cargo hold 7 has declined significantly. Temperatures in this area are also dropping again. Currently, no cooling by the accompanying tugboats is necessary. MSC FLAMINIA is still listing by approximately 10 degrees. A decision to enter a sheltered coastal area has still not yet been made.

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MSC Flaminia Update 3

MSC Flaminia Update 3

MSC FLAMINIA and the accompanying group of tugboats have assumed a waiting position approximately 100 nautical miles off the British coast. While the team of firefighting experts is onboard MSC FLAMINIA, the vessel is not towed. Today, a team of firefighting experts has again boarded MSC FLAMINIA. It is yet unsure when a one-by-one inspection of containers can commence. This inspection aims at eliminating any smoldering fires inside of containers. Firefighting and shipbuilding experts on site are among other things assessing the stability of the vessel.

Overall, the situation onboard MSC FLAMINIA continues to improve. According to firefighting experts, almost no smoke generation can be observed from cargo holds 4 and 5. Nevertheless, hotspots inside of individual containers should still be reckoned with.  A permission to enter a sheltered coastal area will be decided upon by authorities in the coming days. Once the vessel has arrived at a so-called “sheltered area”, a secure sea area close to the shore, further, more thorough investigations can be continued.

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MSC Flaminia Under Control

MSC Flaminia Under Control

According to salvage experts on site, the fire onboard MSC FLAMINIA is under control since yesterday afternoon. The tugboat ANGLIAN SOVEREIGN is constantly monitoring temperatures onboard the vessel via a laser thermometer and is ready to resume cooling if necessary. Due to thick fog the salvage team is currently unable to board MSC FLAMINIA. As soon as visibility improves, a salvage team will go onboard to check each container individually and extinguish any discovered fires. Only after this procedure MSC FLAMINIA will receive the permission to make a port call. It is currently not concluded which port the vessel will call next as this is still under review. MSC FLAMINIA is still towed by FAIRMOUNT EXPEDITION, with ANGLIAN SOVEREIGN und CARLO MAGNO on standby. The group sails at a speed of 5kn towards Europe and is currently situated 320 nautical miles off the coast of the UK. The vessel still lists by approximately 10 degrees due to damaged cargo and extinguishing water.

More photos of MSC vessels from shipspotting.com

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