Dutch shipping company Flinter said that damage their general cargo ship Flinterstar sustained in a collision with the LNG tanker Al-Oraiq off Belgium’s Zeebruggee on October 6 is much worse than expected, and that ”in only a few minutes she was turned into a wreck.”
The 2002-built Flinterstar is lying on a sand bank, and its position is stable. Belgian authorities are still engaged in recovering oil that spilled from the freighter after the collision.
Flinter also signed a contract to remove all of the oil remaining on the Flinterstar with an unnamed company. Specialised vessels Cormorant and Multrasalvor 3 are on the scene.
The company is currently interviewing the crew of the freighter about the incident.
The Marshall Islands-flagged Al Oraiq was in a stable condition after the hit, and was escorted to Zeebrugge to discharge, the vessel’s manager, K Line LNG Shipping (UK) Limited, said.
World Maritime News Staff