Capesize Bulker Suffers Flooding off Dung Quat, Vietnam
Authorities at the port of Quang Ngai, Vietnam are working on a plan to offload a bulker that began taking on water during a transit into the port of Dung Quat.
On Friday morning, the bulker Merchant Mariner was inbound for the industrial port of Dung Quat, home of the giant Hoa Phat steel plant. She had a cargo of 174,000 tonnes of Malaysian iron ore on board, and had a draft of about 18.4 meters.
At about 1130 hours, the crew contacted local authorities and reported flooding in three ballast tanks, potenially caused by contact with a reef at a position about 15 nm off the port. AIS data (provided by Pole Star Global) shows that the vessel passed through shallower water with isolated soundings of as little as 18 meters. While transiting this area, she slowed suddenly from 10.5 to five knots, then regained speed (below).
Merchant Mariner slows to five knots after transiting over region of shallower water (Pole Star Global)
The ship went to anchor and continued to settle lower in the water through the day, her draft increasing to 19.7 meters at the stern by Friday evening, the authority said. The crew were instructed to close off tank valves as a precautionary measure, and a tug was put on standby.
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Quang Ngai Maritime Port Authority has requested the vessel's master and the Hoa Phat ore terminal to come up with a safe plan to unload the ship despite her damaged condition. All 24 crewmembers are safe and no pollution has been reported, the authority said, and there are no signs of water in her cargo holds.
As of Monday morning, Merchant Mariner was still anchored north of Dung Quat, awaiting further deveopments.
