Norwegians working to salvage troubled Eemslift Hendrika
The Dutch-flagged cargo ship Eemslift Hendrika, which was abandoned yesterday after listing in rough seas, is still in danger of capsizing and poses an environmental hazard, according to the Norwegian Coastal Administration.
It remains drifting, around 40-50 nautical miles west of Ålesund.
The cargo ship was battling waves of up to 18 meters, and 18-20 m/s wind yesterday.
This made it impossible for the Norwegian Coast Guard to do anything other than observe.
“The boat that was placed in the middle of the deck has broken loose and is a few nautical miles from the cargo ship. This is believed to have had a positive effect on the stability of the Eemslift Hendrika, and may help to avoid capsizing,” the coastal administration said.
Imminent danger of oil spill
According to the head of the salvage operation on behalf of the Norwegian Coast Guard, Hans-Petter Mortensholm, the Norwegian Coast Guard vessel Sortland has arrived at the ship at 12:15. That ship may be able to attach a first tow line to the Eemslift Hendrika, but this is made more difficult by the stormy winds and heavy seas with waves of ten to fifteen metres high.According to Mortensholm, everything must be done to save the ship from destruction, as there are 350 cubic metres of heavy fuel oil and 70 cubic metres of diesel on board. This could cause problems for the environment. ‘The ship is now drifting towards the Norwegian coast and if we do nothing it will run into the shore within one to one and a half days,’ Mortensholm outlined the imminent danger.
A spokeswoman for the shipping company Amasus Shipping says that she cannot make any further announcements about the salvage at this time. The management is consulting on the situation and will make announcements later on Tuesday.
Work boat fallen overboard
Update 6 April 13.09: Mortensholm has told Norwegian news channel NRK that one of the work boats on deck of the Eemslift Hendrika has now fallen off the ship. However, he adds that: ‘For the time being, we have chosen to prioritise the largest boat. We are first and foremost concerned about the bunker oil and this is on the Eemslift Hendrika.’lost the green workboat
Helicopter rescue
The twelve crew members were taken off board with a rescue helicopter on Monday. According to the spokesperson of the Norwegian rescue unit JRCC, the captain was injured, but he has no information about the seriousness of this. The crew was taken to the Norwegian town of Ålesund.The first eight crew members were already taken off board on Monday afternoon. The other four initially remained on board in an attempt to stabilise the ship, but they were also taken off board later on Monday because the situation became too dangerous. These four had to jump into the sea to be picked up from there by a helicopter (see video below).
The ship was at that moment approximately sixty nautical miles (110 kilometres) west of the Norwegian coast. The Eemslift Hendrika was built in 2015, is 112 metres long and 17 metres wide.
during the rescue of the seamen (still with green workboat on deck)
Schiffsdetails Für: EEMSLIFT HENDRIKA (Cargo/Containership) - IMO 9671486, MMSI 244790047, Rufzeichen PCYX Registriert In Netherlands
Schiffsdetails: EEMSLIFT HENDRIKA. Entdecke Die Wesentlichen Schiffsdetails, Einschliesslich Imo-Schiffsnummer / Mmsi-Nummer Und Schiffsrufzeichen. Typ: Cargo/Containership Schiff, Registriert In Netherlands. Finde Die Schiffsdetails: Tragfähigkeit, Bruttoraumzahl Und Baujahr. Schiffsdetails...
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