Poor Weather Hampers Msc Baltic Iii Salvage Operation

The Canadian Coast Guard is assessing how to refloat the MSC Baltic III container ship that ran aground near Wild Cove outside the entrance to the Bay of Islands in Newfoundland at the weekend.

The Coast Guard said in an update this week that the 2478-TEU Liberia-flaggedvessel, which has been stuck on the beach since February 15 when she experienced a loss of power in poor weather conditions, was carrying 470 containers, of which 283 were empty.The cargo includes food, lumber and paper supplies. Authorities are still assessing the volume of diesel fuel on board.

According to local media reports, Coast Guard officials areconsidering removing some of the containers and all fuel on board before attempting to refloat the vessel.

Coast Guard teams airlifted all 20 crew members from the vessel on Saturday morning after she experienced a blackout and was unable to secure an anchor in rough seas, before running aground about 12 nautical miles west of Lake Harbour.

The Coast Guardestablished a two-nautical-mile emergency zone around the site to enable salvage operations and ensure marine safety.

On Monday, the CCGS Ann Harvey, a buoy tender used to aid navigation, search and rescue, icebreaking and environmental response, arrived at the scene.

Weather conditions initially delayed the response teams, but a fast rescue craft later arrived to conduct a visual inspection. Officials confirmed that there were no signs of pollution.

According to the Coast Guard, the owner of the vessel, MSC, has been cooperating with local authorities.

Texas-based T T Salvage has been contracted to assess the situation and come up with a plan to rescue the 207-metre MSC Baltic III before she breaks up on the rocks. The salvage team boarded the vessel on Monday, but their work to assess the damage has been delayed due to the persistently poor weather conditions.