With Stellar Banner ore carrier being grounded at the coast of Brazil from 25 February, salvage experts begun the debunkering operation in order to remove the fuel oil from the vessel.
In fact, responsible for the debunkering process is Smit Salvage in collaboration with ALP Defender offshore vessel and OceanPact’s oil spill response vessel.
In light of the situation, all of the above-mentioned participants will pump fuel from the grounded carrier and then transport it to a receiving vessel.
According to experts’ considerations, Stellar Banner had around 3.500 tons of fuel oil and 140 tons of gas oil onboard.
Moreover, the Brazilian Navy reported that the situation is stable, as there are no any signs of oil discharge.
To boost the debunkering operation, 255 Navy crewmemebers, four vessels from Port of Maranhão, two government vessels, six tugs, four offshore supply vessels, and a platform supply vessel are prepared to assists in case of emergency.
For the records, the Stellar Banner was loaded with iron ore when experienced trouble off the coast of Brazil. After the incident, all 20 crew members have been evacuated from the ship as a precaution.
