First of Two Grounded Bulkers Cleared in Sweden’s Øresund Waterway

The Swedish Coast Guard reports that the salvage operation to refloat the grounded bulker Ali Aykin was completed overnight between Wednesday, June 4 and Thursday, June 5. The vessel had been aground with the danger of an oil spill within sight of the Øresund Bridge since May 25 when it deviated from the shipping channel.

The 93-meter (305-bulker) which is owned by Turkish interested and sails under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was outbound from Poland with a cargo of scrap metal when it left the fairway and grounded on the soft bottom of sand and stone near Klagshamn. The authorities highlight the investigation is still ongoing but have served notice and are detaining one crewmember on suspicion of gross negligence in maritime traffic. They also reported a crewmember was being investigated for drunkenness.

The Coast Guard feared an oil leak from the 69,000 liters of fuel oil aboard after a breach was discovered in one of the vessel’s ballast tanks. They reported the tank had flooded complicating salvage efforts. On June 3, the salvage company hired by the owners began offloading a portion of the cargo to an adjacent barge.

The vessel was refloated late on Wednesday night with the Coast Guard standing by in case of an oil spill or pollution. Three Coast Guard vessels supervised the operation while tugs worked to free the ship and accompanied it to port. It sailed under its own power reaching Malmö early Thursday where it was docked. The vessel will undergo a further inspection while prosecutors proceed with the investigation regarding the actions of the crew.

To the north also along the Øresund fairway another bulker, Meshka grounded on May 30 also after deviating out of the shipping lane. This bulker remains aground with 938,000 liters of fuel and lubricating oil aboard and the Coast Guard monitoring for pollution. A salvage company is working on a plan which must be approved by the Swedish authorities.

Sweden continues to investigate the circumstances of the second vessel’s grounding. The Coast Guard reports notice was also filed with one crewmember for gross negligence in navigation but unlike the crew of Ali Aykin the crew was tested for alcohol and there was no indication that it was involved in the grounding. The traffic control authority had warned the vessel it was out of the lane shortly before it grounded.