Fugro Refloats Survey Vessel off Italy

 

The Netherlands-based surveying firm Fugro has reported successful refloating of its geophysical survey vessel, Fugro Mercator, off the north coast of Italian island of Elba. The vessel run aground on March 22; though the cause is yet to be determined, harsh weather condition were reported in the area at the time.

On Friday, Fugro said that the vessel was safely towed back to port and is at a shipyard for inspection. The incident caused no injuries and no harm to the environment. A full review of the event is ongoing to determine what caused the vessel to run aground.

“We are grateful to the Italian coastguard and our partners for their swift response in evacuating our crew and salvaging the Fugro Mercator,” said Erik-Jan Bijvank, Group Director Europe and Africa.

The Fugro Mercator was performing survey work for the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) as part of the Italian government’s Marine Ecosystem Restoration (MER) Project. The initiative is being carried out under the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan, which aims to restore marine habitats, update the national system for observing marine and coastal ecosystems, as well as map marine habitats across Italian waters.

The two-year project began in January and Furgo is working alongside Italian partners Poliservizi Srl and Prisma. In addition to the surveys, two seabed tsunami early-warning stations in the Sardinian Channel and the South Ionian Sea will be included.

Fugro has said that it working with the Italian government to ensure the survey work goes uninterrupted after the grounding incident. In this regard, Fugro has committed to dispatch another survey vessel, Fugro Helmert, which will sail to the Mediterranean to pick up the Mercator’s project. This will minimize the overall impact of the incident, added Fugro.