MV TYCOON: Christmas Island Grounding Update

The following is the latest update from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority regarding the MV Tycoon, the Panamanian-flagged general cargo vessel that broke in half after breaking free of its mooring last Tuesday and grounding on Christmas Island in Australia.

Beach cleanup continued over the weekend with the cleaning of oiled rocks. A further two bulk bags of waste have been collected, taking the total to 51 for the response.

The National Response Team Wildlife Coordinator has undertaken a survey of the island and has commenced site inspections. All potential areas of impact from oil have been inspected each day and no oil has been reported.

Areas of potential wildlife impact have also been inspected and no further reports of oiled wildlife have been made. The baby red crabs continue to migrate inland from the sea.

In total 10 people have been deployed from the National Response Team to the island.

The vessel’s condition has not changed in the past couple of days. It is still sitting comfortably on the bottom and further significant structural damage has not been observed. A small amount of residual oil is leaking from the ship.

Government officials are liaising with representatives of the ship’s owners and representatives of the ship’s insurers about the ultimate removal of the vessel from its current location. Those representatives are working with specialist salvage companies to assess the vessel and develop proposals for its removal. This is a complex process and likely to take several months.

The Christmas Island Port remains closed to shipping, due to weather conditions.

Via AMSA

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