12 Mar Burning Grimaldi Con/Ro Takes On Severe List
The fire aboard the Grimaldi Lines con/ro Grande America is still burning and her list is worsening, according to French maritime response agency Premar Atlantique.
Premar Atlantique received a distress call from the America at 2000 hours Sunday night reporting a container fire. The situation on board quickly deteriorated, and the fire grew out of control. The master ordered abandon ship at 0200 hours, and the crew of the Royal Navy frigate HMS Argyll worked through difficult conditions to bring America's crew on board. All survived, but some required medical treatment, and they were evacuated by helicopter on Monday morning.
The Grande America's lifeboat in the early hours of March 11 (HMS Argyll / Royal Navy)
The salvage tug Abeille Bourbon began fighting the fire on Monday, but here efforts have been suspended. The Bourbon had been using her water cannon to spray down the fire, but it was not effective, and the salvors wanted to avoid worsening the Grande America's starboard side list. The Bourbon has since been relieved by the VN Sapeur, an offshore firefighting/salvage tug owned by the French Navy.
Shipowner Grimaldi Lines has contracted with Ardent for salvage services. Ardent has chartered two vessels of opportunity, the AHTS Union Lynx out of Vigo and the AHTS Terasea Hawk out of Rotterdam. The Lynx should be on scene by Tuesday evening and the Hawk is expected tomorrow night.
Courtesy CAPINAVE
In addition to Ardent, Premar Atlantique has requested the assistance of the Marins Pompiers, the military firefighters of the French Navy. A team from the outfit boarded a plane to Brest on Tuesday morning and will be on hand to help the effort.
It is possible that the responders will not be able to intervene directly until later in the week. Weather conditions on scene are already unfavorable and are expected to worsen over the next 48 hours, with winds of 30-35 knots, gusts to 50 knots and seas of 13-16 feet.
News source: http://maritime-executive.com Go to original post
