Water Ingress and Hull Deformation Seen on Stranded MSC Baltic III

The salvage team from T&T Marine Salvage and the Canadian Coast Guard are continuing to assess the situation and develop a plan for the stranded MSC Baltic III which was driven ashore on February 15 on Newfoundland, Canada. Teams reported that they were not surprised by finding oily water in the engine room and seawater in the cargo holds, but they have also confirmed that concerning deformations have been identified midship on the hull.

Weather continued to present challenges with the teams on Friday, February 21, encountering winds that were still reaching over 60 mph in the cove where the ship was aground. Despite that, they were able to get aboard the ship on Thursday and again on Friday and also put an ROV into the water to survey the hull. 

The survey showed that 75 percent of the hull is resting on the bottom which they viewed as good news. Also, the stern is aground with the bow remaining afloat. The heavier stern being aground is reducing some of the pressures on the hull. Bruce English of the Canadian Coast Guard told The Telegram newspaper on Friday that the ship is now firmly around also reducing pressures. In the first days, he said they had observed the stern areas moving in the waves, but now he told the paper “Nothing is moving. The vessel is stable where it is right now.”

Efforts are underway to sound the vessel’s tanks to determine the amount of fuel and lubricants aboard. The ship had been at sea since departing Montreal on February 5, before it went aground. The concern is for an oil leak or pollution, but so far none have been observed.

 

Damage is visible midship below the letter "S" (Canadian Coast Guard)

 

(Dan Lushman photo)

 

The Canadian Coast Guard vessel Jean Goodwill remains in the area and is loaded with materials that could be used to control a spill. On Friday, the vessel was permitted to enter Corner Brook, but the Canadian Coast Guard reports it will remain in Newfoundland. The offshore service vessel Avalon Sea, which had initially been brought in possibly to assist in towing the containership, however, has been released. English told the newspaper that nothing would be happening quickly and with the fuel and damage to the hull, there is no immediate plan to pull the vessel off the shore.

 

The heavier stern section is aground reducing some stress on the hull (Canadian Coast Guard)

 

English said the first step will likely be removing the fuel and other polluting materials loaded aboard the MSC Baltic III. Previously, they had said they would consider removing containers. The ship has approximately 470 containers aboard, but according to the Coast Guard, over half of which are empty.

The Coast Guard said while it understands the interest it is encouraging people to stay clear of the area. They also imposed a safety zone and a no-fly zone for drones around the vessel. English said after getting the 20 crew off the vessel safely, the concern now is not to endanger anyone else as they continue to explore salvage options.