Longvind

On Jan 29 at 11.15 a.m. the tug “Ibaizal Tres” (IMO.: 7325887) was towing the “Abis Calais” to the port pier Navantia, and the “Sebastián de Ocampo” was released which had stopped the drift of the cargo ship 1.5 miles from Cape Prioriño. At 8.05 a.m. the tow line again had snapped at Illas Gabeiras, the ship was resecured and once again lost at 08:53 a.m. off Prioriño Chico. About 8.30 a.m. the port tug "Ibaizabal Nueve" arrived from A Coruñagot and hooked up again at 9.30 a.m. Weather conditions in the area improved with the west wind decreasing from 51-61 km/h to 25 meters. At 12.35 a.m. the ship was safely moored in the inner port of El Ferrol with assistance of the tugs "Ibaizabal Tres", "Ibaizabal Nueve", "Ibaizabal Cinco" and "Eliseo Vázquez". The "Eliseo Vázquez" and "Ibaizabal Cinco" carried out the final docking manoever. Spanish reports with photos and video: http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/ferrol/2014/01/29/abis-calais-atraca-fin-muelles-navantia-ferrol/00031390976770441326527.htm http://www.laopinioncoruna.es/galicia/2014/01/29/llega-puerto-mercante-estuvo-deriva/806364.html http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/ferrol/2014/01/29/abis-calais-atraca-fin-muelles-navantia-ferrol/00031390976770441326527.htm http://ccaa.elpais.com/ccaa/2014/01/29/galicia/1390990658_222713.html http://www.laopinioncoruna.es/galicia/2014/01/29/carguero-abis-calais-permanece-atracado/806429.html

The Abis Calais", which had sailed from Leixoes on Jan 25 bound to Hull with a cargo of 5000 tons wood pellets, suffered a malfunction of its propeller in the morning of Jan 27 at 8 a.m. and went adrift seven miles NW of Cape Prior. The owner contracted the tug “Ria de Vigo” to assist, but the ship could not connect to the vessel in the storm. Now the MRCC Spain initiated and coordinated a salvage operation and dispatched the tug “Sar Gavia”, the Navy tug “Mahon” and the Xunta rescue vessel “Sebastián de Ocampo” from El Ferrol. The “Abis Calais” was taken in tow around 3.20 p.m. on Jan 28 in adverse weather conditions with gusting winds of more than 80 mph and wave heights from six to nine meters, and pulled towards El Ferrol. At 8.30 p.m. the tow line snapped two miles from Cabo Prior. It was taken into consideration to evacuate the eight crew members from the Ukraine, Netherlands and the Philippines after the “Sebastián de Ocampo” in vain tried to reconnect as well as the “Sar Gavia”. The rescue helicopter Pesca II of the base in Celeiro and Helimer 209 from A Coruña were dispatched now. Less than two miles off the coast the “Sebastián de Ocampo” was able to get a towline aboard the “Abis Calai” again. The “Sar Gavia” got a second line connected at the stern, and the convoy headed to the open sea. There was no confirmation whether it would be attempted to take the “Abis Calais” to El Ferrol or A Coruña, because the decision was pending on the sea conditions.The operation to get the ship to port was expected to take at least 10 hours. Spanish report with photos: http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/coruna/2014/01/28/logran-remolcar-escasos-metros-costa-mercante-averiado-ferrol/0003_20140120140128125535940.htm http://www.laopinioncoruna.es/galicia/2014/01/28/buque-navega-gobierno-10-millas/806052.html http://multimedia.laopinioncoruna.es/fotos/mar/buque-mercante-abis-calais-remolcado-puerto-ferrol-16594_1.shtml http://www.galiciaartabradigital.com/archivos/73857 http://es.noticias.yahoo.com/remolcadores-maniobran-introducir-carguero-r%C3%ADa-ferrolana-081038176.html http://noticias.lainformacion.com/catastrofes-y-accidentes/accidentes-maritimos/el-carguero-avanza-lentamente-en-direccion-al-puerto-exterior-de-ferrol_F73lroAW8M32JChPbyEgF6/