Bulk Carrier Towed to Port After Taking on Water in Gulf of Finland

The MV Glory Hongkong after taking on water in the Gulf of Finland. Photo: Finnish Border Guard

A bulk carrier that was previously taking on water in the icy Gulf of Finland has been towed to port, the Finnish Border Guard has confirmed.

Ship tracking data on Monday showed the Panama-flagged bulk carrier MV Glory Hongkong moored at the port of Tallinn after arriving under tow late Friday night, the Border Guard reported. 

The Glory Hongkong issued a distress call around noon last Thursday (March 8) that it was taking on water in its engine room while located west of Suursaari island in the western Gulf of Finland. The vessel at the time underway in international waters, sailing from St Petersburg.

The water ingress reportedly spread to other compartments of the ship before it was brought under control. “Pumping equipment was used to drain the cargo compartment, and the leak between the engine room and the cargo hold was stopped,” the Border Guard said.

The leak was reported as coming from a bilge well, based on early reports. At one point, the water level in the engine room reached a depth of 5 meters. 

No oil was released from the ship at any point.

All 22 crew members remained on board the vessel throughout the incident response.

SAR assets that participated in the response included the Border Guard’s patrol vessel Tursas, Arctia Oy’s multipurpose icebreaker Nordica, Alfons Håkans’ Atlas, the Estonian patrol vessel Kindral Kurvits, and the Finnish Navy’s pollution control vessel Halli.

At no point was the vessel in danger of sinking.

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