MSC MATILDE V

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Crew forced to abandon tilting container ship

In the early morning of May 24, the trouble plagued "MSC Matilde was listing to starboard side on the River Mersey at the Liverpool2 Container Terminal where it had arrived on May 22 at 3.45 p.m. The crew of 23 was forced to abandon ship at 2 a.m. Peel Ports immediately instigated the emergency response procedure under the leadership of the Group Harbour Master. A controlled and safe evacuation of the vessel was completed whilst the vessel was under maritime assessment. The HM Coastguard was contacted at 2.25 a.m. and sent the Crosby Coastguard Rescue Team and the RNLI Hoylake. Two pollution response vessels were on standby as a precautionary measure. The MCA’s Duty Counter Pollution & Salvage Officer, Duty Surveyor and the Marine Accident Information Board have been informed. The Hoylake’s volunteer crew and the all-weather Shannon class lifeboat "Edmund Hawthorn Micklewood" launched within minutes. The RNLI lifeboat arrived on scene in the River Mersey shortly after launching. The 23 crew members had already been evacuated safely to the shore, and a number of tugs were already on scene standing by. The Crosby Coastguard Rescue Team were also on the quayside to offer support. The RNLI lifeboat waited a safe distance away from the container ship while some of her crew re-boarded at 8.30 a.m. to assess the ship's condition and attempt to correct her list. After several hours, once the vessel was upright again, Maritime and Coastguard Agency surveyors were brought on board to check the ship for damage and confirm that she was safe and seaworthy. Once it was confirmed by the Coastguard that the container ship was no longer at risk, the Hoylake RNLI lifeboat was stood down having remained on standby to offer support for a total of 10 hours. The vessel was brought back on an even keel following a ballast transfer with unloading due to commence later. Maritime assessments by Port State Control were continuing. The ship left the port again on May 25 at 6.40 a.m. and headed to Barcelona as next port of call, where it arrived on May 31 and continued the voyage to Castellon and Valencia on May 31. On June 3 it left the Spanish port, headed to Piraeus, ETA June 6. Reports with photos and video: https://www.breakingnews.ie/world/container-ship-evacuated-in-liverpool-after-sharp-tilt-926639.html https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/crew-forced-abandon-container-ship-16324675 https://lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com/LL1127630/MSC-crew-abandon-listing-containership https://rnli.org/news-and-media/2019/may/24/hoylake-rnli-lifeboat-tasked-to-support-container-ship-in-danger-of-capsize

Second engine failure within four days

The "MSC Matilde" was disabled due to a main engine failure in the St. Lawrence River off Saint-Francois-de-l'Ile-D'Orleans, Quebec, on May 13, 2019, at 6.30 p.m. The crew carried out repairs, while the vessel was drifting, and the vessel resumed its voyage from Montreal, where it had sailed at 12.30 p.m., to Liverpool, ETA May 21. The failure occurred only four days after an engine failure off Grondines.

Engine failure off Grondines

The "MSC Matilde", coming from Liverpool, suffered a main engine failure, due to fuel contaminated by water, on the St. Lawrence River, off Grondines, Quebec, in position 46 36 13.0 N, 71 58 27. 7W, on May 9, 2019, at 10.15 p.m. The vessel had to anchor for repairs. It berthed at the Termont Maisonneuve Container Terminal in Montreal on May 10 at midnight.