MV Rena splits in two on a New Zealand reef. Sunday, January 8. Image courtesy Maritime New Zealand

UPDATE: Monday, 6pm EST: The sea has claimed the stern section of the stricken M/V Rena Tuesday morning (local time).  We’ve started a new post with further information along with several incident photos.  Read: Rena’s Stern Slips Off Astrolabe Reef, Sinks [PHOTOS]

UPDATE: Sunday, 6pm EST: MNZ says that four containers and a considerable amount of debris have washed up on Waihi Beach this morning.  Another seven containers are known to be within a mile of shore, and container recovery company Braemar Howells is using tugs to tow them offshore. Over flights have observed up to 40 containers in the water. Braemar Howells has been able to tag 21 with buoys and will be corralled and collected as soon as conditions allow.

Salvors have not yet been able to land on the stern section of the vessel to assess its state, although a Monday morning aerial observation showed no significant change in its position on the reef. MNZ Salvage Advisor Jon Walker said the stern section would not float if it came off the reef. The bow section of the vessel is still wedged firmly in its original position, but is fully exposed to the sea suffering internal damage from the continued heavy sea state [See photos below].

A three nautical mile exclusion zone is in place around the MV Rena, along with a 1500 feet aerial exclusion zone.

UPDATE Sunday, 12pm EST: Container recovery company Braemar Howells now estimates that between 200 and 300 containers of the approximately 830 that were still remaining on the Rena when she broke have been lost. 30 had been identified and with 17 tagged with buoys. Meanwhile Authorities have advised communities along the Bay of Plenty coastline that container debris and oil from the MV Rena is likely to begin coming ashore overnight Sunday and Monday.

The current bad weather is forecasted to slowly ease over next 3 – 4 days although seas are expected to remain rough with 4 – 4.5m swells.

Original: Severe weather overnight has separated the MV Rena into two pieces, which are now about 20-30m apart on the Astrolabe Reef, Maritime New Zealand says.

Both sections of the vessel still remain on the reef, with the forward section remaining firmly wedged, while the aft section has separated and moved clockwise (or to starboard) about 13 degrees, after the ship was hit by seas of over 7m overnight, further worsening the damage it sustained following its grounding on the reef just over three months ago. The current bad weather is forecast to slowly ease over next 3 – 4 days.

MNZ Salvage Unit Manager David Billington said the fresh damage to the ship had resulted in the loss of a large number of containers and debris.

“While the two sections of the Rena currently remain on the reef, there’s no question the ship is badly damaged with the severe movement breaking off many of the hatch covers and releasing containers from the holds. Salvors are now working to assess the state of the vessel so that naval architects can undertake further calculations get gain a clearer picture of its ongoing stability.”

Mr Billington said the vessel Go Canopus was currently connected to the aft section of the Rena and was continuing to monitor its status.

At least 23 containers had been confirmed as being lost from the ship, which were floating or partly submerged, with another 7 (unconfirmed) thought to be in the water. However, Mr Billington said more were likely to be lost. There was also a large debris trail, including wood, around the vessel.

Container recovery company Bramear Howells had tugs en route to tag containers with buoys as it was currently too rough to tow or safely recover them, while vessels with trawl nets would also be sent out to collect debris once weather conditions improved.

Navigational warnings had also been issued to shipping, with the port company communicating with individual ships via port radio and warnings issued to recreational vessels via Coastguard radio. Shipping lanes were also being monitored for containers and debris. The Bay of Plenty Regional Council Harbour Master is considering extending the 3nm exclusion zone due to the large debris field from Rena.

National On Scene Commander Alex van Wijngaarden said the National Response Team had been mobilised, which included trained oil spill response and wildlife experts, who were preparing for the likelihood of more oil coming ashore.

“While reports at this stage indicate there has not been a significant release of oil, with the Rena in its current fragile state, a further release is likely. While it is unknown at this stage exactly how much oil may be released, teams have been mobilised and will be ready to respond to anything that may come ashore. The wildlife response had also been increased to help deal with any affected wildlife.

“At this stage, preliminary trajectory modelling predicts that any oil released will come ashore around midnight tonight, landing on beaches south east of Mt Maunganui – however, this could change at any time depending on the weather and wind conditions. We also remind people that there may be large amounts of debris or containers that could come ashore so they need to exercise common sense and please keep clear. Instead, if people do see any oil or container debris, please report it to us via the 0800 OIL SPILL number (0800 645 774).”

Sunday, January 8. Image courtesy Maritime New Zealand

Sunday, January 8. Image: Maritime New Zealand

Sunday, January 8. Maritime New Zealand

Vale Beijing on her maiden trip and fully loaded suffered cracks in the hull and a leak in a ballast tank

RIO DE JANEIRO (Dow Jones) — Brazil’s navy on Thursday called off an operation to unload fuel oil from the damaged Vale Beijing large iron-ore transport ship due to unfavorable ocean conditions, Brazil’s UOL online news service reported.

A fresh attempt to remove about 7,000 metric tons of fuel oil from the ship will occur in the near future, UOL said, citing Calmon Bahia, captain of ports of Maranhao state in Brazil’s northeast, where the vessel was moored offshore. The oil must be removed from the stricken vessel to reduce the risk of an oil spill, Bahia told the news service.

Vale Beijing, reportedly the world’s largest iron ore carrier, and which has been leased to Brazil iron ore miner Vale SA (VALE, VALE5.BR), developed cracks in its hull on Dec. 3 while it was loading iron ore at Vale’s Ponta da Madeira export terminal in Maranhao for export. The vessel, which was on its maiden voyage, is owned and operated by South Korean company STX Pan Ocean Co. (028670.SE, GZ9.SG).

The ship is still loaded with 260,000 tons of iron ore.

The navy hasn’t yet managed to remove the oil from the ship due to strong winds and tides which would make the operation unsafe, according to the UOL report. After the oil is removed, an operation will start to unload the iron ore from the vessel, and only then will there be a decision on where the ship will be taken for repair, Bahia told the news service.

A Vale press officer in Rio de Janeiro referred enquiries on the matter to the ports captaincy, noting that Vale is neither the owner nor the operator of the vessel.

STX Pan Ocean told Dow Jones Newswires on Wednesday that a salvage team is still looking at the ship to determine the cause of the accident and to decide where the repairs would be carried out.

It is still hard to predict how long the repairs will take, an STX spokeswoman said.

-By Diana Kinch, Dow Jones Newswires

The project consists of organisations from France, Germany, Netherlands and Austria including The Norwegian Institute of Technology and the UK’s Ship Stability Research Centre. By applying their expertise to the challenge, they have developed a technique to enable a tow line to be attached to a drifting drifting ship by helicopter. The tow line leads to a sea anchor that is able to halve the speed of the ship’s drift creating more time for a rescue tug to intercept the vessel before it runs aground.

It is not unusual for ships to lose engine power at sea and the consequences of them running aground can be disastrous to the environment. The introduction of a method for regaining control of such ships is now being seen as an important new option for coastal administrations. The British Isles are seen as being at particular risk due to the loss of funding for the UK’s four Emergency Towing Vessels (ETVs). The ShipArrestor is consequently being cited as a solution that would enable fewer rescue tugs to service the same area at significantly lower cost.

Miko Marine has developed the ShipArrestor techniques and hardware so that a conventional search and rescue helicopter can deploy a tow line around the winch gear on the foredeck of an abandoned vessel. The helicopter then lays the line upwind and releases it attached to a sea anchor. Full scale tests have demonstrated the system’s effectiveness and in one trial a 30-metre diameter nylon sea anchor was able to turn a 120,000 ton LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) tanker into the wind and slow its drift by 58 per cent. This could prove vital for improving the chances of survival for a ship in danger of being blown ashore and also for the safety of the cargo and crew of a ship rolling in a heavy sea.

Part of the project included the mathematical modelling needed to identify the size of sea anchors needed for ships of different tonnages. This impacts upon the sea anchor’s weight and its ability to be carried by helicopter. Similar constraints apply to the tow line which must be strong and also capable of resisting abrasion against the ship’s winch and gunwhale. This subsequently led to the development of a unique chain that is half the weight of conventional chains offering the same performance.

The ShipArrestor project could also lead to the permanent carriage of sea anchors aboard ships for emergency use. The need was recently demonstrated when a windfarm jack-up platform costing millions of dollars was lost from a heavy lift vessel when its engines failed in mid-Atlantic. The incident demonstrated the dangers of excessive roll when a ship is unable to turn into the wind and Miko Marine is confident that it can now provide a solution for this type of hazard.

With its development programme complete The ShipArrestor is now being offered to national maritime administrations that have a need to protect their coastlines against the high cost and the liabilities that can arise from large ships grounding within their areas of responsibility. The Norwegian and Swedish coastal administrations are actively considering its use and the German Havari Kommando Nord is planning tests of a version modified to its own requirements early in 2012.

ShipArrestor Videos

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Image courtesy Svitzer Salvage

WELLINGTON (Dow Jones)–Maritime New Zealand is focused Monday on removing oil from a cargo vessel grounded on a reef off the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island.

MNZ Salvage Unit Head Bruce Anderson said 21 tons of oil were pumped from the vessel overnight onto the Awanuia, after pumping operations got underway late Sunday and continued successfully throughout the night.

“Considering that the oil is the consistency of marmite and has to be pushed through 150 meters of hose, this represents an excellent effort,” Anderson said. A salvage team worked through the night to pump oil from the ship, and will continue to work through the day as long as conditions safely allow.

The MV Rena cargo vessel struck the Astrolabe Reef Oct. 5 on its way to Tauranga, and oil leaks were detected soon after. Up until recently bad weather had hampered attempts to remove the oil.

By late last week around 350 tons of oil had spilled into the sea and 88 containers had been lost overboard, causing the worst environmental marine disaster in New Zealand’s history, with around 60 kilometers of coastline affected. At least another 1,000 tons of oil were thought to still be on board the ship.

National On Scene Commander Nick Quinn said clean-up crews will continue to look for oil along the coastline Monday. Most beaches also remain closed in the area and all the local beaches have a swimming ban. As of late Sunday, 181 live birds were being treated at the Oiled Wildlife Recovery Centre. Three fur seals are also in care. About 1,250 dead birds have been recovered to date.

-By Rebecca Howard, Dow Jones Newswires

By Lucy Craymer And Rebecca Howard, Wall Street Journal

WELLINGTON—Oil spilling from a cargo vessel stranded off the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island is the country’s worst environmental maritime disaster, Environment Minister Nick Smith said on Tuesday, as high waves and strong winds create problems for salvagers trying to limit the environmental damage.

Maritime New Zealand said the MV Rena had leaked more oil overnight due to fresh damage to the duct keel, and that oil from earlier leaks was now reaching the coastline.

“The ship has sustained some damage from current movements and there is a significant amount of oil leaking from the vessel. This is estimated at 130-350 tons,” Maritime New Zealand said in a press release.

A spokesman for Mr. Smith confirmed that the minister said on Tuesday at a briefing in the affected area that it was the worst environmental maritime disaster in New Zealand.

Prior to this disaster, the worst New Zealand had seen was in 1998 when a Korean fishing boat ran aground in Stewart Island with 400 tons of oil spilled. The oil from the Rena cargo ship is threatening a popular coastal area and there are concerns for the petrels, little blue penguins and the seal colonies in the area.

The Rena became stranded on the Astrolabe Reef in the early hours of Wednesday morning, as it headed to Tauranga, and oil leaks were detected soon after. Salvagers moved in on Thursday, and began pumping oil to a bunker barge late on Sunday, but this operation has been hampered by weather conditions. The Rena’s remaining crew of 24 had to be evacuated from the ship early on Tuesday.

“The weather in the area of the ship is poor, with 3- to 4-meter swells and winds of 37 to 46 kilometers per hour,” Maritime New Zealand said. “There has been more damage to the front part of the vessel, and additional flooding in the forward holds.”

The agency said the containers on board, including the ones holding dangerous goods, are all intact on the vessel and that it is monitoring the dangerous-goods containers.

The vessel is carrying four containers of ferrosilicon, a solid matter that can give off hydrogen and cause a fire risk if it comes into contact with water. New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra Co-Operative Group also confirmed it had 89 containers of “dry product” on board the ship, destined for North and Southeast Asia and West Africa.

Environmental cleanup and rescue teams are combing the white sandy beach at Mount Maunganui and others along the coastline to deal with seabirds that have been caught up in the oil spill.

The Department of Health has warned people to stay off the beaches and out of the water, and to not touch anything with oil on it.

WELLINGTON—Oil from the damaged cargo vessel MV Rena has started to wash up on a popular beach on the east coast of New Zealand’s North Island, with salvagers now hoping that oil can be pumped off the ship before the weather worsens, Maritime New Zealand said on Monday.

“The weather is expected to deteriorate in the coming days, so we are working around the clock to remove the oil,” Maritime New Zealand said in a statement.

“The weather will impact on both the salvage and oil recovery effort. The forecast is for north-easterly winds increasing and this will have an effect on our response and salvage operations.”

Oil began to wash up on the popular seaside destination of Mount Maunganui midday on Monday. Environmental cleanup and rescue teams are combing the white sandy beach there and others along the coastline to deal with seabirds that have been caught up in the oil spill.

The Department of Health is erecting signs warning people to stay off the beaches and out of the water, and to not to touch anything with oil on it. Locals have been asked to stay away, and to avoid eating shellfish caught in the area.

The MV Rena cargo vessel became stranded on the Astrolabe Reef in the early hours of Wednesday morning, as it headed to Tauranga. The oil leak was detected late on Wednesday.

There are concerns that the spilt oil could cause serious damage to nearby protected wetlands and local seal colonies, with fears that adverse weather conditions might damage the vessel further.

Maritime New Zealand said they hoped to get 1,700 tons of oil and around another 200 tons of diesel off the 32-year old, Liberian-flagged boat. It is thought about 100 tons of oil leaked into the duct keel from pipes connected to the tanks.

“Salvage experts and naval architects on board are very closely monitoring the ship and have got sensors in place that will provide advance warning if the vessel’s structure is coming under too much pressure,” it added.

Metservice has severe weather warnings in place for the region, with heavy rain expected from Monday evening until Thursday.

The salvage efforts have already been hampered by the weather, with the pumping of oil off the boat suspended on Sunday, when weather conditions made it too dangerous to continue.

Photo: SHASHI ASHIWAL www.thehindu.com

There must be a giant magnet sitting underneath Mumbai’s Juhu Beach because in less than 6 weeks, two huge merchant ships have found themselves firmly planted in its sand.  The latest one, the Panama-flagged MV Pavit actually drifted on its own for 900 miles across the entire Arabian Sea before washing ashore in India.

The ship was reportedly abandoned by it’s crew off Oman on the 29th of June.

This is the first ever up-close, high-definition video of Kennedy Space Center’s solid rocket booster (SRB) recovery ships retrieving SRB segments from the Atlantic Ocean following a space shuttle launch. The unprecedented video is from the launch of the most recent shuttle mission, STS-133, Discovery’s final flight, on Feb. 24.

Following each space shuttle launch, crew members of Liberty Star and Freedom Star pull the spent boosters out of the ocean and return them to Hangar AF at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Once they are processed, the boosters are transported to Utah, where they are refurbished and stored, if needed.

(via Gizomodo)

The regulations require that all tanker and tank barge owners operating in U.S. waters update their existing USCG-approved Vessel Response Plan (VRP) with a Salvage and Marine Firefighting (SMFF) plan.  Tank vessel owners must certify they have pre-contracted firefighting services, equipment, and trained response personnel.  During the past 3 years, both RESOLVE and T&T BISSO developed comprehensive in-house firefighting response systems which include newly purchased, custom-built equipment and networks of trained maritime firefighters to meet any vessel response needs.

“These new regulations required a substantial capital investment just to meet the minimum planning requirements.” Said Captain Farhat Imam, COO of RESOLVE.  “When RESOLVE talked with T&T BISSO, we both agreed that meeting the minimum regulatory requirement just wasn’t enough.  By combining and strategically locating our firefighting equipment – equipment owned and operated by RESOLVE and T&T BISSO — we can assure tanker operators realistic, operational coverage for any emergency event.”

Mauricio Garrido, President of T&T BISSO: “Shipboard fires don’t occur that often, but when they do you must have the best gear and trained personnel available.  The T&T BISSO-RESOLVE team achieves just that.   The decision to pool resources was catalyzed by several tanker operators who opted to list both RESOLVE and T&T BISSO so as to ensure the best possible coverage and the reluctance of most public fire departments to support the tanker industry.  We know that – together – T&T BISSO and RESOLVE have the most concrete and realistic coverage available.”

The T&T BISSO-RESOLVE coalition has been well-received by the USCG during their unprecedented vetting of firefighting in each and every port.  This partnership is a positive outcome of the regulatory process.  Neither company reduced their outlay of equipment.  Instead, where a port was double-covered, equipment was moved to outlying ports to provide faster and more effective coverage.  The T&T BISSO-RESOLVE coalition pre-positions 45 high-volume marine fire pumps throughout the coverage area and makes over two million gallons of firefighting foam available throughout the U.S.

A Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) spokesman said the public should not be made to foot the bill when ships get into trouble on the seas. Dover’s tug is sent out to tow stricken vessels to safety to avoid an environmental disaster – many of the hundreds of ships passing through the English Channel each day carry oil and chemical waste. But the MCA spokesman said it was the responsibility of ship owners to remove their vessels from the Channel, not the Government.

“If every time an articulated lorry was to break down at the side of the road the public had to pay to get it towed, people would not be very happy,” he said. “We are confident capacity in the commercial salvage industry will be enough to cover the removal of the tugs.”

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