Salvors in Brazil managed to refloat Stellar Banner over three months after the VLOC ran aground. The ship has now been towed 60 miles off the coast of Maranhão, to undergo inspections.
The removal righted the ship by 12 degrees from its peak list, revealing part of the submerged deck.
Stellar Banner had ran aground off São Luís on February 24, leaving Vale’s Ponta da Madeira Maritime Terminal with iron ore bound for China. All 20 crew members were evacuated in good condition.
Soon after the grounding, Vale reported that, according reports from Polaris Shipping, the vessel had suffered damage to its bow in the shipping channel as it left the port and grounded to prevent it from sinking. Experts later decided that the impacted portion of the Stellar Banner was of 25 meters in length near the starboard bow.
The refloating followed the removal of about 145,000 metric tons of iron ore from the vessel’s holds.