An underwater inspection of the Panama-flagged car carrier ‘Makassar Highway’, which ran aground off Sweden in the afternoon hours of Monday, showed that the vessel’s hull has sustained an extensive damage, the Swedish Coast Guard informed.
The 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.
Currently the following damage is found:
- Hole in the forehead with water ingress in the ballast tanks.
- Hole in the bow thruster.
- Water intrusion in a couple of tanks.
- Heavy metal damage from the bulb in the ship’s front and along the ship’s port side.
A large part of the flat bottom hull is hard on a rocky ground and could not be inspected. This means there may be additional damages that are not yet known. Authorities have requested the ship’s lower tanks to be emptied of oil before any salvage action is made. The distribution of water and oil in the tanks is also being investigated.
According to the crew, there are 333,000 liters of fuel oil, 38,000 liters of lubricant oil and 34,000 liters of diesel onboard.
Authorities, including the Coast Guard, the Swedish Transport Agency, the shipping company’s insurance companies are on discussions find the best possible solution for unloading the ship without impact to the environment. There are several Coast Guard vessels at the scene, specially equipped for environmental rescue missions.
According to the weather forecast, the coming days offer favorable conditions, which will facilitate the ongoing work.
The exact cause of the incident is yet to be revealed. International media reports suggest the vessel had been sailing on a wrong route for several hours before the grounding. Swedish authorities have reportedly arrested a crew member over suspicions of intoxication.
