MSC BALTIC III

Allgemeine Informationen

Kurs/Position

Die neuesten Nachrichten

Fuel being pumped into frac tanks

Salvage operations aboard the ‘MSC Baltic III’ were gaining momentum and progressing well due to better weather conditions with the heating and pumping of the fuel. No oil or fuel has yet leaked from the vessel. The Canadian Coast Guard continued on-water and shoreline assessments of the gronding site. Ongoing tank soundings have reduced the original estimate of heavy fuel and marine gas on the vessel from 1710 metric tons to 1600 metric tons. As of Aoril 4,184 cubic metres of fuel has been pumped into frac tanks onboard the container ship. MSC is planning to pump the fuel from the frac tanks onboard the 'MSC Baltic III' to frac tanks onboard a barge for removal from the site. This is because once the frac tanks onboard the vessel are full, they will be too heavy to lift onto the barge. The fuel isn't being pumped from the 'MSC Baltic III' directly into the frac tanks on the barge because the heating and pumping is a time-consuming process and requires the barge to be alongside the vessel for an extended period of time. This is challenging with the weather and sea conditions in the area. Environment and Climate Change Canada has installed a mobile weather station at the site to help provide improved weather service in the area. Floating docks have been installed to accommodate Canadian Coast Guard assets to reduce vessel congestion in the area. The Canadian Coast Guard maintains oversight of the operations to ensure a reasonable and appropriate response as there is still an on-going risk that pollution could enter the marine environment. Officials from the Coast Guard wanted to build a road to the vessel, which has to be taken apart and removed since there is too much structural damage to tow the ship. the Mayor of Lark Harbour, Wade Park, stated that plans to construct that road have hit a hurdle and they were trying to find out who owns a piece of land they need to cross. It is not owned by anyone in the town. Reports with photos: https://en.flows.be/shipping/2025/04/salvage-operation-msc-baltic-iii-gaining-momentum-due-to-better-weather/ https://www.frequencynews.ca/news/plans-to-build-a-road-to-a-stranded-cargo-ship-in-cedar-cove-have-hit-a-hurdle/

Warming up of fuel has commenced

On March 26, Bruce English, the senior response officer of the Marine Environmental and Hazards Response section of the Canadian Coast Guard, led a media ride-along to the'MSC Baltic 'III' near Lark Harbour on the calmest day since the Feb. 15 storm. Coming ashore just about anywhere else in the area, where most cliffs plunge deep into the sea, would likely have sunk the ship in short order. The accessibility of Cedar Cove by land is also a stroke of good fortune for the salvage effort. The restriction zone for two nautical miles around the ship, the Canadian Coast Guard had established after the grounding, has since been reduced to one nautical mile, but it still restricts hikers from walking out to the Cedar Cove beach via a trailhead located a short distance away in Little Port. Little Port is being used by the Coast Guard and salvage team crews, although the Coast Guard has installed a temporary floating dock for its small vessels in Lark Harbour. The plan is for the contractors hired by the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), to fix up an all-terrain vehicle trail that leads from Lark Harbour to Cedar Cove. That project will include extending the road out into the water to the bow of the ship so heavy trucks can help offload the roughly 1,600 metric tonnes of hydrocarbons, such as heavy fuels, oils, lubricants and other materials, safely and more consistently from the ship. The main priority at the moment is still the removal of the potential pollutants from the ship. Mobile generators and boilers began the process of heating the heaviest oils on March 25. It could take up to two days before the first batch of oil has been warmed enough to begin flowing into frac tanks that have also been loaded onto the deck of the ship. Following the removal of all potential pollutants, the salvage crew will focus on removing all of the freight aboard the 'MSC Baltic III'. There had been around 470 containers aboard the ship, but half of them were empty. Three containers, all of which were empty at the time, were ripped open by the brute force of the waves generated by the Feb. 15 tempest. Eight containers of polymer beads have already been removed by the salvage company. Once all the cargo has been removed, the crews will determine how best to remove the ship itself from its precarious position. Report with photos and video: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/view-from-the-sea-closer-look-at-cargo-ship-that-ran-aground-in-a-lucky-spot-in-nl/ar-AA1BLwkU?ocid=BingNewsVerp&apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1

Eight containers of polymeric beads removed from wrecked ship

All eight containers of polymeric beads have been removed from the 'MSC Baltic III. The polymeric beads were listed as dangerous goods. Over the weekend of March 22/23, the salvors managed to get the tug '360 Handler' (IMO: 9950454) from St. John's and a barge alongside the vessel and used the ship’s cranes to get the eight containers of beads off the vessel. A major concern now was getting the 1.7 million litres of fuel removed safely from the ship. Winds gusting to 25 knots and three metre high waves hampered salvage of the ship near Lark Harbour on March 24. However, the salvage crews will use every opportunity possible with the weather expected over the next few days. T&T Salvage has the necessary equipment on site to begin offloading the fuel. They will have to heat the oil first and pump it into tanks, and the tug and barge is waiting in the Bay of Islands. Reports with video: https://ntv.ca/environmental-checks-continue-on-grounded-msc-baltic-cargo-ship/ https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6700032