'Victoria' Salvage Continues Off Sweden

The Liberian-flagged MV Victoria aground off Sweden. Photo: Swedish Coast Guard

Salvors have removed a total of 977,000 liters of heavy oil from the tanks of the grounded MV Victoria off Sweden, but the effort to refloat the vessel is taking longer than expected, the Swedish Coast Guard said Friday.

The Coast Guard reports that the operation to transfer the oil to a tanker was completed Thursday and focus now shifts to removing some the vessel’s cargo.

The 46,000 DWT MV Victoria remains hard aground on a shoal about 15 nautical miles from Varberg, Sweden in the Kattegat. The vessel was carrying a cargo of wheat from Germany to Guinea, West Africa when it ran aground late last Saturday (19 September), tearing a three meter gash in the ship’s hull below the waterline. The vessel has since remained stable and no pollution has been reported.

The Coast Guard said Friday that salvors will need to unload about 6,000 tons of cargo from the vessel before it can be refloated. About 35 cubic meters of heavy fuel oil remains onboard the vessel but poses minimal risk to the environment.

The salvage is now expected to last into next week, the Coast Guard said.