Broke-in-two - Shipwreck Log

MV Oliva Revisited

February 10, 2013 Paul Hancock

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.

Shipwreck lifeboat washes up in Australia (abc.net.au)

Frisius

December 31, 2012 Paul Hancock

On December 17, the 97 meter long self-propelled tanker barge Frisius broke-in-two while off La Coruna, Spain. The Frisius and another barge was under tow by the 32 meter long tug Sun Essex when the vessels encountered bad weather. The vessels diverted for La Coruna, but the Frisius broke-in-two before reaching shelter. The remaining half of the Frisius and the other barge were towed back to La Coruna. No reports of injuries. The vessels had departed from Rotterdam bound for Lagos.

Week in Review

September 8, 2012 Paul Hancock

Anna Soraya 1 — Photo: koopvaardij.blogspot.de

One half of the self-propelled tanker barge Anna Soraya was towed into Ijmuiden by the tug Ferox on September 6. The Anna Soraya had broke-in-two in the Bay of Biscay with the bow section sinking.

A 25 meter long, 250 ton section of the Rena broke off and sank into the water during rough seas this week (Visible in the photo above). The section held salvage equipment including cutting equipment worth thousands of dollars. Reports state the equipment will be recovered by divers and the the section will be cut-up and removed.

Two fishing vessels sank in Breaksea Sound, Fiordland, New Zealand after filling with rainwater. The oyster boat Karaka and the fishing vessel Michelle had been moored together when they sank spilling some 100 litres of fuel and oil into the water. Authorities state the pollution was dispersed by strong winds and waves. No one was on board the vessels at the time of the sinking.

United States Coast Guard Crews work on removing the grounded 202 foot long freighter Jireh. The Jireh’s hull had deteriorated making salvage impossible. The response crew are working to lift the freighter off the beach and refloat it a short distance to a site where it will be allowed to sink. More on the grounding can be read here.