Hoegh Osaka Stable at Anchorage, Salvage Work Continues

The Hoegh Osaka under tow Wednesday shortly after floating free from the Bramble Bank in the Solent. Photo courtesy Casey Sheargold

Update 9 Jan 2015 from the MCA:

The 51,000-ton Hoegh Osaka is stable today at the Alpha Anchorage after self-refloating at high water and with the help of strong winds Wednesday afternoon.

The anchorage is located in the Solent about 2 miles 1 mile east from where the car carrier was deliberately grounded on the Bramble Bank by the Pilot and Master over fears that vessel would capsize after the ship developed a severe list shortly after departing from the port of Southampton on Saturday.

According to an update Thursday from the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency, three tugs kept the vessel in place overnight despite some high winds early in the morning. Salvors are back onboard the vessel today and will work to remove up to about 3,000 tons of water estimated to be in the vessel, caused by a slight crack in the hull of the ship. An oily film has formed on top of the water inside the ship which is believed to be hydraulic fluid from the vehicles onboard. When weather improves, salvors will begin to pump this water from the bottom to avoid the oily film. The MCA says that the removal of water should reduce the vessel’s list.

Salvage work is expected to continue at the current location over the next five to seven days, and will include hull inspections by divers, the removal of water and ballasting operations to reduce the list. The crack in the hull has already been repaired, according to the MCA.

Once the salvage work is complete, the Hoegh Osaka is expected to be moved back to the port of Southampton.

The Queen’s Harbour Master has introduced an exclusion zone of 300 meters around the vessel.

Weather forecasts are predicting worsening weather at 0300 on Friday, which are expected to subside during Friday morning but picking up again in the afternoon and reaching very high winds Saturday morning.

The salvage work is being carried out by Svitzer.

Full Coverage: Hoegh Osaka Grounding