MSC Napoli Bow Towed to Belfast
After the 62,000-ton rebeached MSC Napoli was split in two on July 20 by cutting charges, the bow section was finally towed away on August 9 and arrived at Belfast on Tuesday, August 14. It will remain at a holding point outside the harbor until Friday, August 17, when it will be taken to the Harland and Wolff shipyard for recycling. The vessel’s stern remains grounded at Branscombe bay, near Sidmouth.
On January 18, en route to Portugal from Belgium, the UK-flagged Napoli was damaged by the European windstorm Kyrill. The large waves and gale-force winds cracked the vessel’s side and flooded its engine room. Shortly thereafter, the crew sent out a distress call, abandoned ship into a liferaft, and was subsequently rescued by UK Royal Navy helicopters. The stricken ship was then to be towed about 140 miles to Portland Harbour, Dorset, but as the vessel’s list increased and its overall condition declined, it was determined that the ship could not handle the journey. The Secretary of State’s Representative, Robin Middleton, made the decision to deliberately beach the vessel in Lime Bay, at Branscombe, 1 mile from the coast of Devon, on January 20.
During the nearly 6-month-long salvage operation, many different tasks had to be taken care of in order to refloat the Napoli. Firstly, more than 2,000 containers and 4,000 tons of fuel were removed from the ship. Secondly, steel scrap, containers, and other waste materials that washed up onshore were collected. Additionally, around 1,900 seabirds that were harmed by the 200 tons of oil that leaked from the Napoli soon after its grounding had to be taken care of. Finally, on July 9, 58,000 tons of water were pumped from the ship’s holds and, with the help of a big foot barge’s winches and cranes and a leading tug, the ship was refloated, with anti-pollution/support vessels keeping a close eye on her.
However, after a Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) dive survey revealed that the ship was too damaged to be towed, it was decided by Robin Middleton to rebeach the Napoli near the original grounding site. The ship’s situation is best summarized by Mr. Middleton’s statement released in a MCA press release on July 12: “My decision to re-beach the MSC Napoli was taken following the re-floating of the vessel earlier this week which highlighted the fact that the wreck is in a worse state of deterioration than previously thought, with the crack of the hull being some 3m wide in places.”
The Napoli was rebeached on high tide late afternoon on July 12. The MCA then used three rounds of cutting charges over a series of days (July 18, 19, and 20) to break the Napoli in two. The explosions took place on the ship in order to weaken the deck above the hull’s crack so that tugs could pull the ship apart. After the hull was separated, it took the MCA nearly three weeks to carry out its plan to have the bow towed away for recycling. According to the latest press release, when MarEx went online, from the MSC Napoli Response Center, “Tenders have been received for the removal of the ship’s stern, and a decision will be made and contract awarded as soon as tenders have been evaluated.” Find the latest information on the MSC Napoli at http://www.devon.gov.uk/msc-napoli-update.
**Photo: MCA photo of crack in the hull of the Napoli