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.
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.
photo: bayofplentytimes.co.nz
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.
Photo: odt.co.nz
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.
Photo: USCG
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.
The 114 meter long, 8700 dwt bulk freighter Chang Da 12 went aground and broke-in-two near the coast of Pangasinan, Philippines. The freighter was in rough seas with 6,000 tons of bitumen in the cargo hold when the hull cracked just forward of the engine room. As waves smashed into the hull of the Chang Da 12, the crack grew until the bow section broke free. Reports state some of the cargo spilled into the ocean, but would not cause harm to the environment. The Philippine Coast Guard has arranged salvage for the vessel. No further details reported.
The Chang Da-12 has wrecked once before near the same area. The freighter struck the rocky shoreline of Aren Point along Barangay Abagtanen in Agno on December 19, 2011 while loaded with more than 6,000 metric tons of coal from Indonesia en route to China. The vessel was reported then as being severely deteriorated and considered extremely unseaworthy. The Coast Guard report stated that cargo vessel suffered engine trouble and steering problem causing it to go adrift before it eventually ran aground. The ship’s master order the crew to abandoned ship and they were rescued by local fisherman in the area.
