Tugs Rush to Aid Cargo Ship That Touched Bottom and Lost Rudder
A drama is playing out along the central Portuguese coast as a cargo ship reportedly lost its rudder as it departed and is now awaiting assistance off the coast. Portuguese officials ordered the port closed and warned of the dangers while also citing a failed dredging effort in the entrance channel to the Figueira da Foz port.
According to the briefing, the Dutch-flagged cargo ship Eikborg (3,592 dwt) operated by Royal Wagenborg touched bottom as it was departing the port on January 26. The ship got only a few miles off the coast before reporting it had lost the function of its rudder. The general cargo ship is 89 meters (292 feet) in length and was carrying a cargo of pulp to Germany.
Paulo Mariano of the port authority told reporters, “It is trying to maintain some course by sailing backwards,” writes the Lusa news agency. He said it was “counterproductive,” but the only solution as the captain tries to control the ship and position against rough seas.
Adding to the concern is bad weather off the coast. The reports Monday afternoon placed the ship about four nautical miles offshore and southwest of the entrance to the port.
The captain is holding position waiting for a tug which has been dispatched from Leixoes. They expect the Eikborg will be towed to either Lisbon or Setubal.
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Port officials, however, are emphasizing that they believe the incident was caused by a failed dredging job at the port’s entrance instead of the heavy weather. They said that €28 million was spent to transfer three million cubic meters of sand, and since the work was completed, there have been problems with the sandbar.
The port was ordered closed to all large vessel traffic as of 2:00 p.m. local time on January 26 while they investigate the incident. The pilots are reported to be refusing traffic in and out of the port due to the problem with the sand. Port officials said it was the second incident this month and that some ships had already begun to divert to other ports.
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