Photo Shows Dutch Cargo Vessel Aground in the Canadian Arctic as Salvage Effort Looms

The Dutch-flagged 21,359-dwt general cargo vessel Thamesborg remains aground along the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic four days after hitting a shoal. 

The vessel ran aground off Prince of Wales Island in Nunavut Canada on September 6, while passing through the Franklin Strait en route from China to eastern Canada.

Dutch operator Wagenborg has retained salvage experts to attend to the 12-year old vessel. Thamesborg holds a 1A ice-class rating enabling it to pass through ice-covered waters, including in the Baltic Sea and the Arctic. 

“A first thorough assessment conducted by the crew of Thamesborg has shown damage to the hull and ballast tanks of the ship which is stable and aground,” Wagenborg told gCaptain.

Critically the vessel’s fuel tanks and cargo hold were not damaged and remain intact.

“This incident is one of several groundings that have occurred this summer – and we are only hearing about it because self-rescue was not an option. Despite widespread perceptions that the Arctic, and in particular the Northwest Passage, is becoming increasingly open it remains extremely challenging to navigate,” says Jackie Dawson an expert on Arctic shipping and professor at the University of Ottawa and Canada Research Chair.

The Canadian Coast Guard responded with two vessels to the incident and currently remains on site.

“Two Canadian Coast Guard vessels are currently assisting on scene and are in contact with the Thamesborg crew and the salvage team who are formulating steps for the safe refloating of the vessel,” the company stated.

Canadian Coast Guard vessel CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier was first on scene with its fast rescue craft and helicopter.

CCGS Jean Goodwill conducted a hull inspection using a remotely operated vehicle on September 8 with the results currently being analyzed.

“The vessel MV Thamesborg has flooded in multiple ballast tanks. Vessel owners are responsible for the cost of addressing their problem vessel. This includes any hazard-related costs like cleanup or repairs and any remediation action taken,” the Coast Guard said in its initial update on the incident. 

The cause of the incident remains under investigation. AIS records show that the usual shipping lane runs further to the west through Franklin Strait. It is unclear why Thamesborg elected a more easterly routing.

Shipping experts point out that nautical charts in Canada’s Arctic waters are often decades old and of limited resolution. Soundings in the water where Thamesborg ran aground were conducted between 1980-1989 at 2000 meter spacing through ice. While charts show the shoal in the right place, its maximum extent was likely never properly established. 

“The region is poorly charted and there are many shallow areas that have plagued ships on numerous occasions – but there are well documented corridors that can be safely utilized,” confirms Dawson.

However, climate change has made the Arctic ice pack increasingly mobile and harder to predict.

“What people do not always understand is that rapidly changing sea ice dynamics often force ships off of these main corridors and into areas that are very poorly charted. I suspect that is what happened in this instance,” Dawson concludes.

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