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Tag: Broke-in-two

Mol Comfort Update

Mol Comfort Update

The MRCC in Mumbai has reported that the sections of the Mol Comfort remain afloat.  Around noon JST on Tuesday, June 18 (07:00 local time), the fore part of the hull is drifting around 13’00″N 60’40″E, and the aft part is about 19 miles southwest from that point. At present, both parts of the ship are laden with containers and drifting in an east-northeast direction.  The sections are being monitored by the Sanderling Ace, another vessel managed by MOL.  The company is also arranging tugboats to tow both sections.

 

Enhanced by ZemantaThe reason for the 5 year old vessel to break-in-two is still not known.  Reports state the vessel could result in a lost around 83 million dollars for Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL).
Mol Comfort

Mol Comfort

Photo: indianexpress.com
Photo: indianexpress.com

The 316 meter long, 90613 dwt container ship Mol Comfort broke-in-two and sank in the Indian Ocean some 200 miles off Yemen and 840 miles off Mumbai.  The Mol Comfort was en route to Jeddah from Singapore with 4,500 containers when it hit rough seas.   The vessel encountered strong winds and waves up to six meters when it suffered structural failure.  The vessel developed a crack amidships and eventually broke-in-two.   The 26 crew on board abandoned ship into the vessel’s life rafts and the lifeboat.   The Indian Coast Guard dispatched vessels to the scene and requested vessels in the area to assist.   Reports state that all 26 crew were safely rescued by the nearby vessel Yantian Express.  The Yantian Express is proceeding to Colombo, Sri Lanka.  No reports of injuries.   An oil spill was spotted, but the quantity of oil released was unknown. Several containers were spotted floating around the position where the Mol Comfort sank.

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MV Oliva Revisited

MV Oliva Revisited

MV Oliva 5

On March 16, 2011, the 75,300 dwt freighter MS Oliva went aground off Nightingale Island which is part the South Atlantic Islands of Tristan da Cunha. The Oliva was bound for Singapore from Santos, Brazil with a cargo of soya beans when it struck a rocky outcrop and firmly aground. The initial grounding caused damage to 4 ballast tanks. All 22 crewmen on board the Oliva were safely rescued by the fishing vessel Edinburgh and cruise ship MS Prince Albert II.  Salvage attempt was remotely possible as the nearest salvage team would have to travel from Cape Town, South Africa which was a 5 day voyage.   A few days later, the weather worsen with heavy swells causing the vessel to break-in-two.

When the MV Oliva broke up it released some 1,600 tons of heavy fuel oil along with its cargo of soya beans into the waters surrounding Nightingale Island.  Reports stated thousands of Northern Rockhopper penguins became coated in the pollution.   The efforts to save these birds can be found in this is book.

Two years later, the lifeboat from the MV Oliva washes ashore in South Australia.  The lifeboat survived some 12,000 kilometers from Nightingale Island across the southern oceans.  Besides some damage to the seats on board, the 7 meter long lifeboat remained intact.

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