Considerable repairs to the damaged shell plating on FV SPARTA in the Southern Ocean have been made.
The vessel will be made seaworthy by securing a cement box inside the shell plating.
Due to safety reasons, it is still impossible to access the exterior damage in SPARTA’s current location.
Upon raising the bow above water level, a second hole has been discovered on SPARTA’s bulbous bow however only flooding in a small, contained space was detected. It should not affect her making safe passage.
According to Mike Roberts a slight area of light sheen has been noticed in the area of the bulbous bow that is thought to be a small escape of hydraulic oil periodically running out of the vessel.
Korean Research vessel ARAON will remain alongside SPARTA while repair work is made and then will escort her to an ice-free area of open ocean. Both vessels are expected to leave their current location on Wednesday, 28 December.
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World Maritime News Staff, December 28 , 2011;