Battle to stabilise stricken ship (From Falmouth Packet)

Battle to stabilise stricken ship

10:11am Wednesday 15th August 2012 in In Port By David Barnicoat

The fire damaged container vessel MSC Flaminia remains in a waiting position 240 miles south west of Falmouth as salvors continue their around the clock battle to stabilise the ship.

The tugs Anglian Sovereign, Carlo Magno and Fairmount Expedition are on scene. Anglian Sovereign broke off salvage operations over the weekend when she returned to Falmouth for stores and equipment before sailing back to the casualty. The other two tugs are expected here within the next 48 hours.

European states are still refusing the ship entry into port which has angered the ship’s owners. Helmut Ponath, chief executive officer of Reederei NSB, has complained about the European nations’ refusal to allow the ship into port.

“I consider it shocking that in this situation a ship under German flag does not receive permission from the European countries to call at a port,” he said. The fire, which badly damaged three cargo holds and their containers, remains under control, said Reederei NSB.

The company said that without permission to bring the ship into port, “the salvage of the vessel is not possible, and the success of the operation is compromised.”

In a press statement issued on Monday, Reederei NSB said: “As weather conditions remained stable, firefighting experts onboard of MSC Flaminia continued to extinguish individual containers until yesterday evening.

“Weather conditions have worsened, forcing the suspension of the operations until the weather improves again.

“During the past days the salvage team was able to stabilise the vessel by pumping water from the cargo holds into the ballast water tanks. By now, MSC Flaminia is listing by just 2.5 degrees. With this list, the vessel is stabilised to the extent that the entry into an emergency port is possible.”