Msc-Baltic-Iii

The cleanup effort aboard the 'MSC Baltic III' has been consistent over the last few weeks. Insurance company representatives have been on site since the beginning. There still isn't an official timeline for when the work will be completed, The fuel was hoped to be removed from the vessel by winter. Likely the vessel will remain at its current location through the winter. There were six priority tanks filled with heavy fuel on board that are almost all removed, but there were still other hydrocarbons that needed to be removed with them. Removing the oil takes time because it has to be heated between 70 C and 80 C so it can be pumped out,That can be hard to achieve with short windows of opportunity to safely board the vessel. The 'EEMS Dublin' is on site, and the work is going more smoothly because it has a walkway. Regarding the tar balls which have been appearing on the shoreline near the grounded vessel. a response organization and Environment Canada have ramped up their shoreline assessments.

The danger of an environmental destaster caused by the 'MSC Baltic III' has decreased, as more than 70 percent of the fuel oil on board has been removed. The ship was difficult to reach for a long time due to winter weather. The snow has melted and there are no more storms, making the ship accessible by both water and land. There were 473 containers on board, 283 of which were empty. Some of the containers contained cargo that could be harmful to the environment. The 'Eems Dublin' has removed 43 containers from the ship. A total of 172 containers have been removed. Four frac tanks have been placed on the deck of the 'MSC Baltic III'. The oil in the tanks is heated, pumped over and then the frac tanks are removed. Four of the six main tanks have now been emptied. Oil booms have been placed around the ship, but small oil observations, such as tar spots and small tar balls, have been observed in Cedar Cove and the nearby coastline.

The salvage teams working at the site of the 'MSC Baltic III' were continuing to make progress, while it remains an ongoing operation that is expected to take time. Weather which had been a factor during the winter and early spring has improved giving the teams easier access to the vessel. In addition, one of the local mayors reported a light vehicle road was expected to be completed this week to give access for personnel into the remote area on the western shore of Newfoundland. The road is not for the removal of material from the ship. The container removal has also given the teams more access including to fuel tanks that they have so far not been able to reach. Approximately half of the heavy fuel has been removed in a process of heating it and pumping it to storage tanks placed on the deck of the vessel. It is then pumped into tanks on a barge and moved to Corner Brook where it is being loaded onto other MSC vessels. The Coast Guard estimates the vessel had approximately 1,600 metric tons of heavy fuel and marine gas oil onboard. The 'Eems Dublin', an open hatch vessel, has provided a walk-to-work platform to reach the 'MSC Baltic III'. Also a crane vehicle has been put on the vessel that is being used to hoist containers from the 'MSC Baltic III' to the deck of the 'Eems Dublin'. As of June 13, over half the fuel from the main fuel tanks onboard the ship have been removed. 14 more containers were also removed with six of them having spoiled food products. Report with photo: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/salvage-teams-making-progress-removing-boxes-and-fuel-from-msc-baltic-iii