On the early morning of June 27, the tugboat Iska 1165 (MMSI: 525021101) ran aground and partially sank in Tanjung Goram some 33 nautical miles from the Wanci Marina Pier in Lantagi, Sulawesi, Indonesia. The tug was hit by high waves during a voyage from Ereke, North Buton to Moramo resulting in the Iska 1165 grounding. As waves swamped the tugboat, three crew attempted to swim ashore to seek help. One crew member reached shore while another swam back to the tugboat. The remaining crew member was swept away by the current.
Authorities dispatched rescuers to the scene, but found high waves prevented getting close to the tugboat. It would be several hours later when weather conditions improved that rescuers reached the Iska 1165. Authorities found 7 persons alive on the tugboat who were taken ashore and received medical treatment. The body of the crew member who was swept away by the current was recovered. No further details reported.
On June 23, the the 183 meter long, 12250 dwt car carrier Morning Midas (IMO: 9289910) sank in the Pacific Ocean some 450 miles southwest of Alaska’s Aleutian Island of Adak after being on fire for nearly 3 weeks. The salvage company Zodiac Maritime stated the vessel had suffered water ingress from the fire damage causing the vessel to finally sink. The car carrier sank to a depth of 16,404 feet.
POLLUTION
There was no reports of visible pollution at the site of the sinking. The United States Coast Guard reported they have vessels on scene ready to respond to any pollution released. Currently, the salvage vessels 47 meter long Garth Foss (IMO: 9070266) and 69 meter long Salvage Worker (IMO: 9250024) were onsite and equipped with pollution response equipment. Additionally, the 57 meter long offshore supply vessel Endeavour (IMO: 8623468) had departed from Dutch Harbor with oil pollution containment equipment and will be on site of the wreck by June 26.
Photo: USCG
The Coast Guard nor the Zodiac Maritime have no reported if any oil pollution had been released between June 9 through June 23. The Morning Midas may still have 1,530 metric tons of fuel oil along with 350 metric tons of gas oil (MGO) within its fuel tanks. Even if the fire onboard burned some of the fuel, there will be a significant amount of fuel that maybe released. This may not result in any oil pollution reaching the surface due to the depth of the wreck. In research after the Deepwater Horizon disaster (Fisher, C.R., P.A. Montagna, and T.T. Sutton. 2016. Oceanography 29(3):182–195), oil pollution can remain on the ocean bottom rather than appear on the surface as an oil slick.
INVESTIGATION
There has been no press release if the incident will be investigated any further. Some news accounts stated the Morning Midas was already unsalvageable before the Zodiac Maritime vessels arrived on site. Due to its location and great depth (the Morning Midas is nearly 3/4 of mile deeper than the wreck of the Titanic), the investigation may not include any underwater surveys using ROVs. It is also doubtful any voyage data recording devices survived the fire prior to the sinking. Additionally, the car carrier sank in international waters and may not require any US Coast Guard or other United States authorities to investigate.
On the evening of June 20, the 26 foot long fishing vessel St Annes sunk in Sutton Harbour at Plymouth, England. The St Annes, built in 1961, had been moored in Sutton Harbour for more than a year when it suffered uncontrolled water ingress and sunk at its mooring. No one was on board the vessel during the sinking, but several witnesses watched the vessel sitting low in the water before it lost buoyancy and sank.
The vessel’s owner was contacted and plans to recover the vessel. Divers will attempt to refloat the vessel and have the St Annes hauled back to shore. The St Annes is well known in the area and a tourist attraction with its hull painted of illustrations. The cause of the sinking was not reported.
