Preliminary operations of lightering and refloating of the grounded tanker Siteam Anja have been launched off Lobos Island, Uruguay, according to the latest update from the Uruguay Navy.
The teams deployed at the site are planning to deballast the ship, remove the vessel’s oily substances and bilge water, and estimate that the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker could be freed in some 5 to 7 days, depending on the weather conditions in the area.
After the teams sealed the vessel’s breached tankers, preventing further water ingress aboard the 1997-built ship, the naval personnel, together with the US-based salvage company T&T Salvage, have continued their effort to free the vessel which ran aground onto rocks just 400 meters off the shore of Lobos Island, some 8 kilometers southeast of Punta del Este, on May 17.
The 44,640 dwt ship, owned by the Bermuda-based shipping company Team Tankers, ran aground after it suffered an engine cooling issue and subsequently a blackout.
Initial damage assessment determined that the double bottom of the tanker, loaded with more than 32,000 m3 vegetable oil, was breached allowing for a certain degree of water ingress.
At the time of the incident the vessel was en route from San Lorenzo, Argentina to Rio Grande, Brazil.
World Maritime News Staff