A Panama-flagged oil product tanker Hang Yu 11 was refloated on Wednesday, February 21, after spending almost three weeks aground off Zhuwei Fishing Harbor, in Taoyuan City, Taiwan.
The ship ran aground on February 3 as it was unable to navigate through strong winds and high waves, the Taiwan Maritime and Port Bureau (MPB) said, resulting in an oil spill as around 1,000 liters of grease leaked from the ship.
The MPB dispatched teams to the site to contain the spill and the owner of the ship was ordered to carry out clean-up operations along the shore, remove residual oil and repair the hull.
The owner of the vessel was also told to remove all oil from the ship before refloating in order to eliminate the risk of any further pollution from the stricken vessel.
The refloating itself was delayed several times due to the bad weather.
Furthermore, the owner of the ship was fined by the bureau for being late with the submission of a refloating plan for the vessel, MPB said.
The vessel sustained further damages during the period it was grounded as high waves pushed the ship against the port’s breakwaters and tetrapods. Several of the ship’s cabins have been damaged in addition to its pump and engine rooms.
The tanker was finally pulled free from the grounding site by Salvage Champion and Salvage Ace tugs on Wednesday afternoon.
World Maritime News Staff