Swedish Coast Guard Refloats Second Bulk Carrier After Week-Long Grounding

The Panama-flagged bulk carrier Meshka, which ran aground near Landskrona, Sweden, on May 31, has now been freed and safely moored in Landskrona harbour. The Swedish Coast Guard confirmed that the salvage operation went smoothly, with no oil leaking into the water.

The salvage started early on Saturday, June 7, at 3 am, when the crew began emptying the ballast tanks. Before this, two tugboats were attached to the ship’s bow and stern to help with the operation. By 8:30 am, Meshka was floating free again.

The vessel then traveled under its own power on an eight-hour journey to Landskrona harbour with support from the tugboats. Officials from the Swedish Maritime Administration and the Coast Guard were on board to oversee the entire process.

Meshka was carrying about 938,000 liters of fuel and lubricating oil in its tanks. The Coast Guard deployed vessels with oil spill response equipment near the site throughout the salvage, ready to act in case of any leaks. Additional environmental protection teams were stationed on standby in both Landskrona and Malmö.

The ship had run aground while moving southbound through the Øresund Strait, en route from Tarragona, Spain, to Vysotsk, Russia. According to Swedish media reports, the Swedish Maritime Administration’s traffic control center noticed the ship was off the designated shipping lane around 10 am on May 31 and issued a warning.

However, the crew either did not respond in time or ignored the alert, resulting in the grounding on a soft sandy seabed.

Following the incident, the Swedish Coast Guard conducted sobriety tests on the crew, which showed no signs of alcohol consumption. Nevertheless, one crew member has been charged with negligence in maritime traffic. A preliminary investigation is ongoing regarding the crew’s “lack of good seamanship” that contributed to the grounding.

This grounding came less than a week after another bulk carrier, Turkish-owned, ran aground approximately 50 miles south near the Øresund Bridge. That ship was refloated on June 4. In that case, a crew member faced charges of intoxication and negligent navigation.

Swedish authorities expressed relief that both the Meshka and the earlier bulker grounding were resolved without major pollution. They praised the close cooperation between multiple agencies, including the Coast Guard, Swedish Maritime Administration, County Administrative Boards, local municipalities, and private companies involved in the salvage efforts.

The Coast Guard also stated that managing three major maritime incidents simultaneously last week, the Meshka grounding, the Ali Aykin grounding near Klagshamn, and a sunken tugboat near Piteå in northern Sweden was highly challenging.

Reference: Swedish Coast Guard

Source: Maritime Shipping News