VB-10000 Breaks Tow, Runs Aground in Mexico

After completing the historic Golden Ray wreck removal in late October, the U.S.-flagged heavy lift vessel VB-10000 has now run into trouble down in Mexico.

The VB-10000 departed in St. Simons Sound, Georgia in early November shortly after removing the final section of the capsized car carrier. But while under tow to its next job at Mexico’s Ku-Maloob-Zaap oil field, the ship apparently broke from free from its tow lines on January 3 and has grounded just offshore of Cuidad del Carmen, according to a report by Fleetmon.com. There are no crew members on board.

Some drone video of the VB-10000 aground was posted to Youtube late last week.

The VB-10000 has not broadcast AIS since it was in Georgia, but as of Monday was still grounded, according to The Brunswick News.

The VB-10000 served as the workhorse for the Golden Ray wreck removal project, the largest maritime wreck removal in U.S. history. The project involved using the VB-10000 to cut the capsized car carrier into eight sections, which it then lifted onto barges for transport to a recycling facility. The heavy lift catamaran arrived at the site in October 2020 and spent about a year working on the wreck. In May, a major fire erupted inside the Golden Ray, as the VB-10000 towered over it. Thankfully, it was not damaged in the fire.

The VB-10000 was owned and operated by Louisiana-based Versabar up until October 2020 when it was sold to a company called TCM 10,000, Inc., a consortia whose members include, among others, T&T Salvage, who was the prime contractor in the Golden Ray wreck removal.