Thamesborg

On Dec 10, the 'Thamesborg' has arrived at the Içdas Shipyard in the Marmara Sea to undergo repairs; following the high-profile grounding in the Northwest Passage, under its own power. There were no temporary repairs required in Baie Comeau, where shw saild on Nov 24, after the 'Thamesborg' discharged her cargo. The status of the vessel was evaluated to be in an appropriately safe condition to complete the Atlantic crossing. The 'Thamesborg' was, however, escorted by the Boskalis’ anchor handling vessel 'Princess' during the crossing.

After the 'Thamesborg' finally arrived under own power in Baie Comeau on Oct 22 ,along with the escort icebreaker 'Botnica' (IMO: 9165877) and the tug 'Beverly M I' (IMO: 9084047), after transiting through the Baffin Bay, Davis Strait and into the St. Lawrence River to unload its remaining cargo. The voyage, which had been supposed to take three to four weeks via an Arctic shortcut, thus has ended up lasting more than two months. Following the comletion of the discharge operations, the vessel will be undergoing repairs at a shipyard, which was yet to be determined, the Wagenborg company announced. The 'Thamesborg' remained moored in pos. 49° 15' N 068° 07' W and entered the port for unloading on Oct 29, remaineing stationary as of Nov 4. The 'Botnica' left the scene on Oct 23 and passed the Kiel Canal on its return trip on Nov 3 with an ETA at Tallinn as of Nov 6. The reefer 'Silver Copenhagen (IMO: 9143386)', which had received part of the cargo along with the 'Nunalik' (IMO: 9466996) to lighten the grounded 'Thamesborg', arrived at Baie Comeau on Oct 20, two days ahead of the rest of the convoy. After offloading the cargo, the vessel departed the port again on Oct 25. The exact cause of the grounding was subject of an investigation which was being conducted in full cooperation with the Canadian authorities, including the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB). An interim report by the TSB is due within 12 months and should shed light on the cause of the grounding. The 'Thamesborg' had taken an unusual course through Franklin Strait to the east of the established corridor resulting in it making contact with an unmapped underwater shoal. Report with photo: https://gcaptain.com/cargoship-thamesborg-arrives-in-eastern-canada-after-10-week-odyssey-grounding-in-arctic/

Around six weeks after running aground, the 'Thamesborg' and its icebreaker and tug escorts have left the waters of the Northwest Passage. The convoy was sailing southwards in the Baffin Bay towards the Davis Strait. Rather than traveling through Barrow Strait to the west of Baffin Island, the convoy passed through the rarely-used Bellot Strait, which is a narrow 13.5 nautical mile long channel connecting the Gulf of Boothia and the Brentford Bay. The strait is just 1.1 nm miles wide with steep walls rising up to 2,500 feet on either side. The route was chosen in order to avoid early ice buildup further north. The convoy will leave Arctic waters in the next few days. The successful salvage was made possible by lightering 5,000 tons of the cargo and emptying the flooded ballast tanks with technical equipment delivered by the icebreaker 'Botnica'. The vessel and its escorts then had first proceeded to sheltered waters in the nearby Wrottesley Inlet for a thorough inspection, before starting their week-long journey to exit the Arctic. The 'Thamesborg' was now expected to reach its original destination Baie-Comeau on Oct 24.

33 days after running around in the Northwest Passage off Prince of Wales Island, north of Taloyoak, the 'Thamesborg' has been successfully refloated on Oct 9 and left the grounding site at around 2 p.m. UTC. At 6.15 a.m., it has started moving. Early on Oct, 8, the Estonian icebreaker 'Botnica', the Canadian tug 'Beverly M I' and the Dutch cargo mm/v 'Silver Copenhagen' all navigated into close proximity to the 'Thamesborg'. The Canadian Coastguard icebreaker 'Des Groseilliers' was also on standby in the vicinity. In itially, the 'Thamesborg' was turned 90°. The 'Silver Copenhagen' then went alongside again, after dropping off the lightered cargo onto the 'Nunalik'. The 'Botnica' moored at the stern of the casualty. The vessel was first moved three quarters of a nautical mile in close coordination with the rescue flotilla. The vessel was refloated without further damage, and there continued to be no signs of pollution. The crew of 15 and an ice advisor who was aboard to advise during the voyage have remained on the vessel. After receiving clearance to proceed, the vessel started to move to Baie Comeau on the St. Lawrence, with an ETA as of Oct 24. On Oct 11, the convoy was transiting the narrow Ballot Strait. The exact cause of the grounding is still under investigation in full cooperation with Canadian authorities, including the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

On Oct 3, the 'Botnica has arrived at the grounding site of the 'Thamesborg' after a stop in Nuuk, Greenland following a nearly 3-week long trip. The vessel was the fourth to have been dispatched to aid in the recovery effort. The coastal tug 'Beverly M I' had arrived on scene on Sep 22 together with the cargo m/v 'Silver Copenhagen'. Since then, a part of the 'Thamesborg’s cargo, consisting of carbon blocks, has been transferred to the 'Silver Copenhagen'. Another cargo vessel, the 'Nunalik', stopped at the incident site last week likely to offload the remainder of the blocks. The 'Botnica' provides the operator with critical flexibility as sea ice begins to return to the Northwest Passage. Sea ice has begun to build in Barrow Strait to the north of the accident site. With a bollard pull of 117 tonnes it had significantly more powe than the 'Beverly M I', which, however, remained on standby in the area. The icebreaker also gives responders more options for moving 'Thamesborg' out of the area should they encounter sea ice during the upcoming towing operation. The vessel’s operator, the Wagenborg Shipping, aims to refloat the vessel in the coming week, weather conditions permitting. With the Barrow Strait possibly inaccessible by the time the vessel has been refloated another option in an easterly direction could be a transit via the Fury and Hecla Strait leading into Fox Basin to the north of the Hudson Bay. Though sea ice has also begun to build up in this strait based on the latest ice charts. An ice-free path remains in a westerly direction through the Amundsen Gulf toward Alaska and the Beaufort Sea.

The lightering of the 'Thamesborg' of its cargo of carbon blocks has commenced. It will be transferred to the ice-classed Norwegian cargo m/v 'Silver Copenhagen', which has a draft of only six meters, and is therefore able to get alongside the grounded ship. The transfer is expected to be completed at the beginning of next week, after which attempts will be made to pull the 'Thamesborg' off the ground. On Sep 30 the powerful icebreaker 'Botnica' is expected to join the group of salvage ships.

The tug 'Beverly M', (IMO: 9084047) which was dispatched from Belledune, New Brunswick on Sep 9, and the ice-class reefer 'Silver Copenhagen' (IMO: 9143386) have arrived at the 'Thamesborg' in pos. 71° 21' N 096° 54' W in the Franklin Strait on Sep 22. With 4,000 horsepower the tug, has a bollard pull of 71 tonnes. With a draft of just six meters, the 'Silver Copenhagen' , which had sailed from Skagen on Sep 9, was able to safely pull up alongside the 'Thamesborg' to facilitate the transfer of its cargo Weather permitting, it was expected that the first part of the salvage operation could start over the course of this week. Inclement weather forced a temporary delay of some operations last week. A third salvage vessel, the "Botnica" (IMO: 9165877), was still underway to the incident location with anm ETA at Nuuk as of Sep 25, in order to assist in the last part of the salvage operation. The Canadian Coast Guard has approved the Wagenborg company’s plan for the safe refloating of the ship. The icebreaker 'Des Groseilliers' remained on standby in the vicinity. Continuous inspections of the 'Thamesborg' through ROV surveys confirmed that fuel tanks and cargo holds have remained intact to date.

Ten days after the grounding of the 'Thamesborg', the operator Wagenborg continued to stage for the salvage operation, but inclement weather forced a temporary delay of some of these. Local sea ice conditions were expected to remain favourable for several more weeks to come. The annual Arctic Ocean ice minimum usually occurs around the middle of September. before sea ice makes a return, starting in October. A salvage master and naval architect as well as the first set of salvage equipment and additional staff have arrived on site. The remaining salvage equipment and staff were underway to the site and expected to arrive within a week. A salvage plan has been submitted to the Canadian Coast Guard, which remained on site with the CCGS 'Des Groseilliers'. On Sep 13, the CCGS 'Jean Goodwill' was released, after the CCGS 'Sir Wilfrid Laurier' returned with personnel and equipment.The CCGS 'Sir Wilfrid Laurier' has been released on Sep 15. Canadian Coast Guard’s Marine Environmental and Hazards Response officers and representatives from the salvage company hired by the owner were on scene. Further inspections of the hull have confirmed that no fuel spills have occurred, and the fuel tanks and cargo holds remained intact in contrast to a number of ballast tanks, which were flooded, causing a list to starboard side.

The icebreaker "Botnica" (IMO: 9165877) has been dispatched from Tallinn on Sep 10 on the 3,000-nautical-mile to refloat the 'Thamesborg'. The ship has been chartered by Wagenborg in consultation with the insurance company. The "Botnica" will not be needed for icebreaking in the Gulf of Finland until December and has no contract until then. For the use as an offshore supply vessel, the "Botnica" also has a pulling force of 117 tons. Its propulsion consists of a mix of diesel generators and electric motors. The 12 diesel generators have a combined force of more than 16,000 HP. The necessary salvage gear was selected while the ship was transiting the Kiel Canal en route to Canada in consultation with the Kiel-based agency Sartori & Berge. The 'Botnica' was equipped for the operation on Sep 13 in the heavy lift port of Osterrönfeld. On Sep 14, the ship continued to Brunsbüttel, where the fuel tanks were filled at the bunkering station ahead of the salvage mission, and then it departed towards the Northsea. Report with photo: https://www.kn-online.de/schleswig-holstein/eisbrecher-botnica-am-kanal-fuer-rettungsaktion-in-kanada-ausgeruestet-5LAVRP3QZRGLTKBTVJMNIW33G4.html

The 'Thamesborg' allided with the Canso canal lock wall, Nova Scotia, while entering the lock from the north in position 45 39 00 N, 061 25 00 W, on Dec 13 at 4 p.m. The vessel continued its voyage from Baie Comeau to Baltimore as of Dec 17.