On August 21, the 32 meter long, 421 dwt tugboat Locar LH XXIV ran aground in the South Atlantic off Maria da Rosa beach, Brazil. Reports state that several attempts were made to free the tugboat. Two tugboats attempted to pull the Locar LH XXIV free, but the towline snapped.
It would not be until August 24 before the Locar LH XXIV was finally refloated during high tide. No reports of injuries. No further details were reported.
On the evening of January 8, the 93 meter long, 4864 dwt service vessel Bram Force (IMO: 9788409) caught fire in the South Atlantic offshore near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Bram Force was operating in the Campos Basin near the P-37 platform when a fire broke out in the engine room. Unable to extinguish the blaze, the crew of the Bram Force were safely evacuated by a nearby Maersk vessel. Authorities dispatched multiple tugs to No reports of injuries.
Brazilian authorities stated that it took nearly 12 hours for the fire to be extinguished. The Bram Force was taken under tow and proceeded to Port of Açu where it will be inspected and repaired. Authorities have stated they launched an investigation into the incident.
After three months being aground off the coast of Brazil, the bulk carrier Stellar Banner was refloated and towed off the sand bar. The tugs towed the ore carrier a short distance to deeper water where the vessel was scuttled.
After grounding in February 2020, salvage efforts took several months to remove nearly all of the 145,000 tons of iron ore and all the fuel oil on board the Stellar Banner. All the fuel had been offloaded by April and 140,000 tons of iron ore was removed by June 2 leaving only a few thousand tons in the holds. An initial inspection had found the bulk carrier had sustained a 25 meter long breach. After the Stellar Banner was refloated, another inspection was conducted by divers and an ROV. Details of the inspection have not been released, but authorities determined the Stellar Banner a total loss and ordered the 4 year old vessel to be towed away and sunk. Brazilian Navy will have a pollution response were on scene in case any pollution was released during the sinking.
Back in February 2020, there had been reports the vessel had sustained several cracks and structural damage. Like many of her sister ships, the Stellar Banner size and design may have made it vulnerable to structural failures. Thus any minor grounding would result in structural damage and eliminate any attempts to tow the vessel to a shipyard for repairs.
There have been many documented cases of design failures that plagued sister ships. In 1892, the SS Western Reserve and SS W. H. Gilcher sank in the Great Lakes. Both vessels were one of the first to be built with steel. Reports determine the steel used had too much phosphorus and sulfur making the steel brittle. There was only one single survivor between both vessels. With ore carriers, the lost of the Derbyshire in 1980 and her sister ship Kowloon Bridge in 1986 prompted the further investigations of possible structure flaws in both vessels construction. In last few years, there have been multiple structural failures with vessels (see list below) tied to Vale S. A. operations. Is there a common connection between the vessels?
List of recent VLOC incidents tied to Vale S.A.: