Second Bulker Refloated After Grounding off Sweden

A Panama-flagged bulker, Meshka (35,829 dwt), which went aground a week ago in the Øresund between Sweden and Denmark was refloated during the day on Saturday, June 7. The Swedish Coast Guard reports the operation proceeded without problem or pollution and the ship was moved to port for further inspections.

The salvage operation, undertaken by a salvage company hired by the vessel’s owners, began at 0300 on Saturday morning by emptying the ballast tanks. Before that, two tugboats had been connected to the stern and bow of Meshka. At 0830, the ship was floating freely and, after assistance from the tugboats, was able to continue an eight-hour journey to Landskrona, Sweden under its own power. Pilots from the Swedish Maritime Administration and officials from the Coast Guard were on board during the salvage operation.

On board Meshka there are approximately 938,000 liters of oil in fuel and lubricating oil tanks. The Coast Guard has had vessels on site monitoring the refloating to address any potential oil leak. Additional environmental rescue resources were standing by in Landskrona and Malmö, if required.

Meshka grounded on May 31 while it was southbound in the Øresund coming from Tarragona, Spain to the small Russian port of Vysotsk near the border with Finland. According to Swedish media reports, the Swedish Maritime Administration’s traffic center (VTS) spotted that the ship was outside the shipping lane and warned the ship around 1000 last Saturday morning. The crew either ignored the warning or did not have time to respond and change course.

An investigation was launched to determine why the vessel had traveled outside the shipping channel and ran aground on the soft sandy bottom. The ship was traveling only with ballast without cargo.

The Swedish Coast Guard reported shortly after the grounding that it conducted sobriety checks and found no suspicions of drunkenness among the crew. However, during the week, Sweden reported that it had charged one person from the vessel’s crew with negligence in maritime traffic. The Coast Guard said it was conducting a preliminary investigation into what it terms “the lack of good seamanship surrounding the grounding.”

It was the second grounding in less than a week by bulkers in the same area of the seaway. A Turkish-owned bulker went aground a week before the Meshka approximately 50 miles to the south and close to the Øresund Bridge. The Coast Guard reported in that case one seafarer was charged with drunkness and that there were charges also related to negligent navigation. The vessel was refloated on June 4.

The cases raised new concerns in the shipping industry after a number of situations of distracted or tired crewmembers contributing to casualties. In May, a cargo ship sailing in a Norwegian fjord grounded when the second officer who was alone on the bridge admitted he fell asleep and missed a turn. The ship grounded at a reported speed of 16 knots. In previous years, there have been other similar grounding situations as well as fatal accidents in the North Sea and Baltic due to distracted watch officers and in some cases a lack of a lookout despite requirements for the second person overnight and in limited visibility situations. A recent survey released in May also highlighted the increased issues of fatigue, anxiety, and stress which it said was contributing to issues on ships.

Swedish authorities noted that they were pleased to have successful conclusions to the recent groundings without significant pollution coming from either case.