Citius

The "Citius" which had run aground on the Seine on Dec 17 left the port of Le Havre on Jan 17 at 2.30 p.m. The bulkcarrier was being towed by the tugs "Multratug 3" and "Multratug 29" to Rotterdam, ETA Jan 19, where the grounding damage, including its rudders, will be repaired. During the recent days the remaining cargo of 60,000 tons of coal has been unloaded after 15,000 tons had already been unloaded at Radicatel before being towed to Le Havre at the beginning of January. The bulker was docked in dock 8 of the Damen Shiprepair Yard in Rotterdam for repairs on Jan 19 at 10.45 p.m. French report with photos: http://meretmarine.com/fr/content/le-citius-quitte-le-havre-pour-se-faire-reparer-aux-pays-bas

The "Citius" left the Radicatel wharf upstream of the Tancarville bridge at Saint-Jean-de-Folleville on Jan 4, 2017, at 11.45 a.m. For towing, five tugs including the "Abeille Liberté" based at the military port of Cherbourg, were assembled. Traffic in the Seine was totally stopped to facilitate the maneuver which took until 5 p.m. The "Citius" headed to the port of Le Havre where it was moored on the anchorage on Jan 5 at 2.30 p.m. and entered port on Jan 7 at 8.30 p.m. The cargo of 76,000 tonnes of coal, had been destined for the Paris region and was coming from Rotterdam. It had taken almost three weeks to discharge 16000 tons of on the whole 76000 tons of the cargo which was initally bound for the Sea-Invest Terminal in Grand-Couronne, downstream of Rouen, after the grounding on Dec 17 on the south bank of the Seine at the Darse. The work started on Dec 19 and lasted until Jan 2. The ship had suffered rudder damage in a grounding off Quillebeuf-sur-Seine. The only option was to take it to the neighbouring Radicatel terminal. On Jan 6, the remainder of the cargo of the "Citius" will be unloaded at the mineral terminal which is suitable for the handling of such bulk carriers. Finally, it will be towed to a shipyard for repairs. French reports with photos and videos: http://www.paris-normandie.fr/breves/normandie/le-citius-vient-de-quitter-le-quai-de-radicatel-direction-le-port-du-havre-YN7960818#.WG6yb2UxnIU http://www.paris-normandie.fr/actualites/economie/echoue-depuis-pres-de-trois-semaines-a-saint-jean-de-folleville-a-cause-du-brouillard-le-vraquier-citius-a-enfin-ete-remorque-YF7968067# http://www.lemarin.fr/secteurs-activites/shipping/27332-seine-spectaculaire-remorquage-du-vraquier-echoue-avant-noels https://www.premar-manche.gouv.fr/communiques-presse/abeille-liberte-participe-aux-operations-remorquage-cargo-citius.html http://www.leparisien.fr/haute-normandie/normandie-spectaculaire-remorquage-du-vraquier-geant-echoue-dans-la-seine-05-01-2017-6529194.php http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/haute-normandie/seine-maritime/pays-de-caux/havre/preparatifs-remorquage-exceptionnel-au-havre-1167259.html http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/haute-normandie/seine-maritime/pays-de-caux/havre/debut-du-remorquage-exceptionnel-du-navire-citius-havre-1167909.html

The "Citius" ran aground in a Seine meander on Sep 17, 2016, at 12.14 p.m. between Le Havre and Rouen, while proceeding upstream. The ship got stuck at the height of the buoy of Quillebeuf. tugs immediately sent from Port-Jérôme, but the initial salvage operation failed. The authorities of the Grand Maritime Port of Rouen then decided to send six tugs: four from Le Havre, two from Rouen. At 5.30 p.m. the stern was pulled out of the mud. The low tide interrupted the maneuver in the early evening. Actually the "Rmt Penfret", "Vb 21 Fecamp", "Vb Beauville 26", "Vb Gascogne 22" and "Vb Yport 12" were connected. It was necessary to wait until 10:30 p.m. to get the bow off with the rising tide, which was being caught in the sand and the mud. Once afloat in the channel, the "Citius" will then be taken to Le Havre, where the deep-sea tug "Abeille Liberté" was mobilized and was ready to intervene in the early evening. The prefecture of Seine-Maritime had stopped ship traffic on the Seine between Le Havre and Rouen after the grounding. Around mdnight the tugs "Louis Thomas", "Cpt Jean Thomas", "Rmt Penfret", "Vb 21 Fecamp", "Vb Deauville 26", "Vb Gascogne22" and "Vb Yport 12" were gathered around the ship and pulled it back into deeper water. Also the patrol boat "Oceanite" attended. The ship was then turned around and pulled back to the Seine Container Terminal in Le Havre where it berthed on Dec 18 at 3 a.m. The "Citius" has arrived from Rotterdam and was initially bound to Rouen. French reports with photos and video: http://www.normandie-actu.fr/cargo-plus-280-metres-bloque-meandre-seine-havre-rouen_247602/ http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/haute-normandie/seine-maritime/navigation-seine-stoppee-au-niveau-quillebeuf-apres-echouage-cargo-1157433.html http://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/en-images-seine-maritime-un-cargo-de-288-metres-s-echoue-dans-la-seine-17-12-2016-6468612.php