MSC Flaminia Enters Romanian Port for Repairs

MSC Flaminia departs the Jade-Weser Port in Germany in March. Photo: Reederei NSB

After more than six weeks of waiting at an anchorage off the coast of Constanza, Romania, the burned out MSC Flaminia has entered port for lightering operations and repairs, the ship’s operator said Wednesday.

A statement by Germany’s Reederei NSB said that the MSC Flaminia entered the Port of Constanza on May 17 where fire fighting experts will board the vessel to continue the investigation into the cause of the incident. The MSC Flaminia will have to be lightened prior to undergoing repairs at Daewoo-Mangalia Heavy Industries, a process that Reederei NSB says is expected to take about a month.

The 6,750 teu MSC Flaminia suffered a series of explosions in one of its cargo holds in July 2012 while underway from Charleston, South Carolina, to Antwerp, killing 2 and forcing the remaining crew to abandon ship about 1,000 miles from land in the Atlantic Ocean. After extensive firefighting efforts, the stricken containership was eventually towed to Europe and arrived at Wilhelmshaven, Germany, in September 2012. A third crewmember later died from his wounds while at a hospital in Portugal.

The ship left the Jade-Weser Port in March and sailed to Romania, where it will undergo an overhaul at the Daewoo shipyard in Mangalia. Repairs include exchanging out the damaged center sections of the vessel.

The overhaul is expected to be completed by the end of September 2013, Reerderei has said previously.