Profepa: Grounded Los Llanitos All Set for Dismantling

The heavily grounded bulk carrier Los Llanitos is ready for dismantling as all hazardous waste and oil were removed from the vessel’s tanks, the Mexican government said earlier in May.

Mexico’s environmental protection agency Profepa said that there is no danger of an oil spill from the 71,665 dwt bulker and that the dismantling process can now begin.

The booms which were put around the grounded ship will remain in place as part of the preparatory work for scrapping, the agency added.

Los Llanitos ran aground on rocks near Mexico’s Barra de Navidad on October 23 during Hurricane Patricia, and sustained considerable damage as its hull cracked in the middle.

At the beginning of November of 2015, two weeks after the 1993-built vessel ran aground, the authorities launched technical activities aimed at removing the hazardous waste and transferring some 425,000 liters of fuel and about 11,484 liters of oil from the Mexican-flagged ship, which were concluded at the end of November.

In January, the Mexican government considered its options for solving the situation after necessary inspections of the vessel were conducted.

Out of the four possible scenarios devised, the Mexican Secretariat of Communications and Transportation (SCT) opted for dismantling the vessel in place.

The authorities also considered refloating the vessel and repairing it in one piece, refloating the ship in two parts, or leaving it in place to be slowly eroded by the sea, creating an artificial reef.

World Maritime News Staff