Adnoc-715

When the Spanish salvage tug "SAR Gavia" with the "Esnaad 715" in tow on Feb 8 approached a position off La Coruna, also the tug "Ibaizabal Nueve" (IMO: 9546667) set sail for the convoy. Shoprt before reaching the safety of a port, the vessel finally almost grounded off the coast of Ares when entering the vicinity of the outer port of Ferrol in strong waves. At 6 p.m. the towing wire had to be shortened at the entrance to the estuary from 700 to 200 meters, but winds of 35 knots and waves of seven meters height caused the cabble to break repeatedly. The "Ibaizábal 9" several times had to reestablish the towing Connection and finally succeeded about 360 meters off the tip of Segaño. Besides the "SAR Gavia" and "Ibaizábal 9" also the "Ibaizábal 5", "Eliseo Vasquez" and the Helimer 209 helicopter attended. It was 8 p.m. when the disabled ship was finally docked at the Fernández Ladreda Pier in the commercial port of Ferrol. Spanish reports with photos: http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/galicia/2014/02/09/esnaad-715-estuvo-punto-colisionar-ares-efectos-ruth/0003_201402G9P11992.htm http://www.elidealgallego.com/articulo/galicia/atraca-puerto-ferrol-barco-estuvo-deriva-dia-4/20140208213311http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/ferrol/2014/02/08/temporal-provoca-choque-barco-contra-costa-ares/00031391887613696284244.htm172765.html

The "Esnaad 715" could be taken in tow on Feb 6 at 12.20 p.m. about 55 miles north of Cabo Ortegal after three men, two technicians from the base in Fene and one salvor, descended from the helicopter "Helimer 209" at 11.30 a.m. to the drifting ship in order to assist establishing a towing connection with the "SAR Gavia". The operation was difficult due to winds of 40 knots and waves of seven meters height. After the towing wire was connected, the men were hoisted again and taken back to A Coruña. It was expected that it would take about two days to pull the vessel to A Coruña too. During the recnet days, the vessel had been tracked with its AIS system, though the locator ceased to transmit on Feb 5 as water had entered the wheelhouse through the shattered windows. Spanish reports with photo and videos: http://galicia24horas.es/2014/02/salvamenteo-inicia-el-remolque-del-barco-a-la-deriva/ http://www.larazon.es/detalle_normal/noticias/5403987/sociedad/rescatado-el-buque-a-la-deriva-frente-a-la-costa-gallega#.UvSnBFHLuHc http://www.abc.es/sociedad/20140206/abci-galicia-barco-deriva-rescate-201402061731.html http://www.frequency.com/video/vdeo-grabado-desde-el-helimer-209/147978078/-/Facebook

In the morning of Feb 6, the "Esnaad 715" was still adrift about 36 miles from the shore. Sasemar tried to take the ship in tow by the "SAR Gavia" but due to the severe weather conditions the attempts were suspended after having failed several times. The rescue helicopter Helimer 209 was to return to the area with a team of four technicians of the special operations base Fene in A Coruña which would try to get onto the ship in somewhat improved weather conditions, with winds 20-25 knots and waves of 4-5 meters. On Feb 5, eight-meter waves and winds of 40 knots had made the task impossible. However, after a short break, a new storm named Qumaira was expected to arrive on Feb 6 and intensify throughout the day. Winds of 80 to 130 km/h were expected in the region.