There has been no oil leak detected from the ship, however, a couple of the ship’s oil tanks are taking on water, the Swedish Coast Guard informed.
The inspection, conducted with the assistance of an underwater robot, has determined that the ship’s ballast tanks on the fore part of the ship have been ruptured and are taking on water. In addition, a hole has been found in the ship’s bow thruster, a couple of oil tanks are also experiencing water ingress and heavy metal damages have been detected on the ship’s bulb and its port side.
The distribution of water and oil in the damaged tanks is currently being investigated.
Due to the fact that a huge part of the ship’s hull is lying on the ground, this area of the ship cannot be accessed for inspection, hence further damages to the ship’s hull are likely.
According to Roger Gebauer, head of the salvage team, a lot of work will have to be carried out before the ship’s refloating can be launched. the first task is to remove the oil from the ship to avoid potential threats to the environment.
The ship currently contains 333,000 liters of fuel oil, 38,000 liters of lubricant oil and 34,000 liters of diesel, the coast guard said.
Favorable weather conditions should allow for fuel removal activities to proceed in the next couple of day.
The coast guard said it was in talks with the shipping company, its insurers and agents on the plan to remove the vessel from the site, which is yet to be approved. Several coast guard vessels remain on site to monitor the progress of the operation.
Makassar Highway was on its way from Germany’s port of Cuxhaven to Swedish Södertälje port when it got grounded in the Tjust archipelago, off the coast of Loftahammar, Sweden on July 23. The 2001-built unit, operated by Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation, was carrying around 1,300 cars on board.
Following an inquiry into the reasons which led to the grounding, Swedish authorities arrested a crew member. Media reports suggested that the ship’s chief mate had been arrested for allegedly drinking at the helm.
對本週早些時候在瑞典擱淺的汽車承運人Makassar Highway的水下檢查聲明，受災船舶的損壞程度比預期的要差。
瑞典海岸警衛隊通知說，船上沒有檢測到漏油，但船上的幾個油箱正在接收水。
在水下機器人的協助下進行的檢查確定船舶前部的船舶壓載艙已經破裂並浸水。此外，在船舶的船首推進器中發現了一個洞，一些油箱也正在進水，並且在船的燈泡及其左舷都檢測到了金屬的損壞。
目前正在調查受損油槽中的水和油的分佈。
由於船體的很大一部分位於地面上，船舶的這個區域無法進行檢查，因此可能會對船體造成進一步的損壞。
根據打撈隊的負責人羅傑·格鮑爾（Roger Gebauer）的說法，在船舶重新啟動之前，必須進行大量的工作。第一項任務是從船上清除油，以避免對環境的潛在威脅。
海岸警衛隊稱，該船目前包含333,000升燃油，38,000升潤滑油和34,000升柴油。
有利的天氣條件應允許在接下來的幾天內進行燃料清除活動。
海岸警衛隊表示正在與航運公司，其保險公司和代理商就該船舶從該地點拆除的計劃進行談判，該計劃尚待批准。幾艘海岸警衛隊船隻留在現場，以監察行動進度。
Makassar Highway於7月23日在德國Loftahammar海岸附近的Tjust群島停靠，從德國的庫克斯港港口到瑞典Södertälje港口。2001年建造的單位由日本三菱公司運營，隨身攜帶船上有1,300輛汽車。
在調查導致擱淺的原因後，瑞典當局逮捕了一名船員。媒體報導稱這艘船的大副因涉嫌喝酒而被捕。
Information source: World Maritime News Staff; Image Courtesy: Shipwrecklog
