The 44,404 dwt Hong-Kong-flagged vessel, which was swept between Korean and Japanese waters during its 19 days on fire, was finally extinguished by salvors last Thursday after having been ablaze since 29 December.
The vessel’s 27 crew were safely evacuated by the Korean Coast Guard in the early stages of the fire, which followed a collision between the tanker and newbuild car carrier Gravity Highway off Busan, while the latter was on a sea trial from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. The tanker was carrying 29,337 tonnes of volatile chemicals.
“It is now very crucial and important that the tanker is granted a place of shelter or port of refuge in order for the safe transfer of the remaining cargo and bunkers,” MSI said in a statement. “The firefighting efforts were hampered by the difficult weather conditions where the waves were sometimes up to 3m high.
“As a result, the salvor could not carry out the fire fighting effectively and had to stop from time to time as it was too dangerous.”
The news follows calls from the International Salvage Union (ISU), Internation Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the International Union of Maritime Insurance (IUMI) for governments to tackle to the issue of places of refuge for distressed vessels.
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