Incident Photo Of The Week

February 12th, 2008 · Comments - by John -

Print This Post Send To Friend

New Flame Sinking
Fred Fry’s Maritime Monday points us to this photo of the M/V New Flame by ship spotter Neill Rush. GoGibralta tells us:

The Wreck of the MV New Flame slipped further under the waves off Europa Point in the early hours of this morning in heavy seas.

As a result of stormy weather conditions over the weekend, ëNew Flameísí No.5 cargo hold flooded, causing a loss of buoyancy, which has resulted in the stern section of the vessel settling on the seabed in an upright position. All that now remains visible above the sea surface is the vessels navigation bridge, aft mast, and the upper part of her funnel.As this was not unexpected, Titan the firm contracted for the wreck removal operation, had already put in place precautionary measures before the onset of the stormy weather. These measures which consisted of a number of heavy lift chains being placed under the hull of the vessel will eventually enable the section of the vessel which flooded, to be lifted from the seabed once operations re-commence.
The incident, which happened during the hours of darkness on the morning of Sunday 10th February 2008, has not caused any oil pollution. However, there may have been a minor spill of light engine diesel oil from the salvors equipment, which was on deck at the time of the incident.

Operations, in relation to the removal of the wreck, are scheduled to recommence once weather conditions improve later this week.Continue Reading…

About The Author

Captain John Konrad is co-founder of Unofficial Networks and Editor In Chief of this blog. He is a USCG licensed Master Mariner of Unlimited Tonnage and, since graduating from SUNY Maritime College, has sailed a variety of ships to ports around the world. He currently lives in Morro Bay, California with his wife and two children.
Full Profile: John

Enjoy this story? Subscribe to or feed