Inclement Weather Delays Salvage Efforts of Grounded Vessel ‘Thamesborg’ in the Canadian Arctic

Ten days after hitting a shoal along Canada’s Arctic Northwest Passage Dutch-flagged general cargo vessel Thamesborg remains aground. Operator Wagenborg continues to stage for the salvage operation, but inclement weather forced a temporary delay of some operations. Photos show the vessel enveloped in thick fog.

Local sea ice conditions should remain favorable for several more weeks to come. The annual Arctic Ocean ice minimum usually occurs around the middle of September before sea ice makes a return starting sometime in October. 

A salvage master and naval architect as well as the first set of salvage equipment and additional staff have arrived on site, the company announced.

“Remaining salvage equipment and staff is underway to the site and expected to arrive within 7 days,” Wagenborg stated. 

A salvage plan has been submitted according to the latest update by the Canadian Coast Guard, which remains on site with CCGS Des Groseilliers. Another Coast Guard vessel, CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier, has been released after shuttling equipment and personnel to the incident site.

Further inspection of Thamesborg again confirmed that no fuel spills have occurred and the fuel tanks and cargo holds remain intact. A number of ballast tanks sustained damage and experienced flooding.

A new set of photos released by the Canadian Coast Guard shows the vessel listing to starboard. 

The Thamesborg incident is the second grounding along the NWP this summer. Last month Canadian cargo ship Rosaire A. Desgagnés ran aground in Pelly Bay, Nunavut on a supply mission, but was able to be refloated during high tide. 

Similarly, in 2018 cruise ship Akademik Ioffe used the flooding tide and its own propulsion to lift off a shoal in Canada’s Gulf of Boothia.

Water levels between low and high tides in Franklin Strait, where Thamesborg ran aground, vary by around 60 centimeters, according to the tide schedule of the Canadian Hydrographic Service.

Photos: Cargo ship Thamesborg after running aground in the Franklin Strait. (Source: Canadian Coast Guard)

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