The ill-fated car carrier ‘Makassar Highway’ has been successfully towed and moored in the harbor area of Oskarshamn in the early hours of 2 August, 9 days after it ran aground off the Swedish coast, on the Baltic sea, according to the latest update by the Coast Guard.
On Monday 23 July, the Panama-flagged 139-meter ship was en route from Germany’s port of Cuxhaven to the Swedish port of Sodertalje, south of Stockholm, loaded with approximately 1,325 vehicles, when it ran aground in an archipelago north of Vastervik on the Baltic Sea.
Earlier in the week, underwater examination by divers discovered serious damage and cracks in the ship’s hull, which made immediate the need for the company to tow the vessel, as deteriorating upcoming weather conditions were expected to impede the operation and endanger the vessel’s stability.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard continues clean-up operations after oil -about 100,000- was leaked during fuel oil removal operations over the weekend. In the shadow of the towage of Makassar Highway, oil refinishing work is continuing in Tjust archipelago. Coastal surveillance authorities have been deployed in recent days to absorb oil collected in coves and between islands. However, most of the oil released was recovered.
On land, pollution prevention work is carried out by the rescue service in Västervik with help from Hemvärnet and volunteers.
The Panama-flagged vessel is operated by the European subsidiary of K-Line, European Sea Highway Services. Since the Makassar Highway shipwreck went on, the Coast Guard has had an ongoing investigation and a pollution fine on the company is possible.
In view of the amount of oil leaked, the Coast Guard has also submitted a notification of environmental breach under the Environmental Code or a violation of Act (1980: 424) on ship-sourced pollution measures. A preliminary investigation has been initiated at the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Environmental and Occupational Safety Objectives REMA.
A timeline of the incident can be found here.
