Sc-Montana

The 'SC Montana', which lost power on the evening of April 2 and drifted into Cayman waters, has been towed about 25 miles off the coast of the island in the night of April 3. On April 4 at 10:00 a.m., it was drifting away from Little Cayman into the open ocean, while some engine power has been recovered to help the vessel avoid any collisions. Cayman Islands officials contacted the shipping company’s main office in Greece, and a tug was expected to arrive in the afternoon of April 5 to tow the ship to Jamaica.

The 'SC Montana' was still in the waters off the southwest coast of Little Cayman on April 3, but is bound for Cuba. The ship has been given assistance from the 'Lefkes' and the 'Aruna Cihan' to keep it away from Little Cayman’s coastline. The port authoritiy tug 'Navigator' has also been sent from Grand Cayman. The Cayman Islands Coast Guard, was monitoring the disabled ship and coordinating the efforts to keep it from running aground. Neither of the docks on Little Cayman and Cayman Brac have the infrastructure to handle the vessel, and it was not clear how the ship will be repaired. The Department of Environment remained aware of the potential risk and was ready to act if necessary to prevent a potential marine pollution. Acting Governor Franz Manderson and Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly met in the night of April 3 with representatives of the CICG, Hazard Management Cayman Islands, the DoE and other key stakeholders to discuss mitigation steps.

The RCC of the Coast Guard of the Cayman Islands coordinated the response to the 'SC Montana', en route from Montego Bay, which was disabled in Cayman’s waters on April 2, 2024, due to an engine failure. The ship was drifting towards Little Cayman. Acting Governor Franz Manderson and Premier Hon Juliana O’Connor-Connolly met with members of the Cayman Islands Coast Guard and representatives of the Hazard Management Cayman Islands, the Department of Environment and other key stakeholders to discuss mitigation steps. The Coast Guard requested the assistance of vessels in the area to render assistance, and two bulk carriers, the 'Aruna Cihan' and 'Lefkes', have responded. Additionally, a local tug was in route from Grand Cayman. The crew on board still had generator power, and all mechanisms to slow the drift have been employed. The ship’s engines remained offline. The speed, however, has slowed from 1.2 knots on April 2 as of 8:15 p.m., to 1.1 knots as at 10:30 p.m.