Fortaleza-Knutsen

On Aug 12, 2021, the 'Fortaleza Knutsen', en route from Las Palmas to Madred de Deus, assisted in the rescue opeation for 46 migrants who had set sail from Dhakla on July 28. The patera had drifted with the currents until it was sighted 640 kilometers south of Gran Canaria by the 'Ever Grace' that alerted the sea rescue. Given the great distance, the "Ever Grace" was asked to help the survivors. Despite the rough sea, the crew of the "Ever Grace" tried to take the migrants aboard, while the “Fortaleza Knutsen”, supported the operation by shielding the boat as best it could from the high waves. At this point, nine of the 47 passengers had been thrown into the sea and died. The remaining 38 castaways were so weakened that four of them could not hold out the recovery and fell into the sea too. 34 made it to the "Ever Grace", but one woman died shortly before the rescue helicopter arrived. Three people in a life-threatening condition were medevaced, while the remaining 30 survivors, including a pregnant woman and eight other women, were dropped off from the "Ever Grace" a few days later in Gran Canaria. A total of 13 people died in the odyssey.

The "Fortaleza Knutsen" caused an oil spill in the Guanabara Bay in the evening of June 2, 2016. The ship was docked at the Terminal Aquaviário de Ilha D'água. About 50 liters of oil were spilt. The oil reached the mouth of the Rio Jequiá in the Zumbi neighborhood on the Ilha do Governador, and threatened to destroy its mangroves. The leak occurred late in the evening when the ship was unloading oil at Petrobras' terminal. The oil leaked from the terminal due to a problem with the unloading arm. Throughout the day, a team under the supervision of INEA worked to contain and collect the oil. Transpetro reported the incident after three hours. After the spill was contained, emergency actions were closed in the early afternoon of June 2 after an inspection carried out in conjunction with the competent environmental agency. Emergency response teams have taken all necessary measures for containment and removal of the oil. The causes of the incident are being investigated and the relevant authorities were informed. Portuguese report with photos: http://odia.ig.com.br/rio-de-janeiro/2016-06-03/vazamento-de-petroleo-em-navio-da-transpetro-atinge-manguezal-na-ilha.html