Salvage Tug Will Take Another Week to Reach Disabled Maersk Ship

Maersk confirmed that a salvage tug left Europe yesterday, May 4, bound for its stricken containership Maersk Sana which continues to drift in the Atlantic off Bermuda. The vessel which has already been disabled for a week has “a little over a week’s time” to wait for the towage vessel to arrive.

The 102,000 dwt vessel is “safely adrift at sea,” Maersk said in response to an inquiry. The company reports the ship which was built in 2004 and is registered in Singapore has electric power and is able to operate its thruster to maneuver if necessary.  

The ship was disabled after a fire and possible engine room explosion on April 28 while approximately 354 nautical miles east of Bermuda. Three crewmembers were injured, with one receiving First Aid on the vessel while two others were evacuated to Bermuda. One was released after treatment in Bermuda while the other individual has now been transferred to a hospital in the United States.

According to a company spokesperson, Maersk is monitoring the weather with a current forecast of calm seas meaning the vessel is in no immediate danger. It decided to take these steps saying it “wanted to employ a ‘first time right’ approach,” where it “had to find the right tug for this operation, not necessarily the closest tug.” 

There is no word on where they will be taking the stricken vessel or how laden the ship is. It has a capacity for 8,450 TEU and was starting the return leg of a trip from Newark, New Jersey in the U.S. bound for Singapore.

Maersk declined to comment on the cause of the incident saying it is working with the relevant authorities. The U.S. Coast Guard listed that the vessel underwent a standard inspection on April 16 in Charleston, South Carolina. No deficiencies were identified.