Tag: MV Tycoon

ATSB issues investigation report on cargo ship Tycoon

Removal of the wreck of the MV Tycoon from the Port of Christmas Island. The Australian Government has stepped in to remove the wreck of the MV Tycoon from the Port of Christmas Island. The vessel broke free of its moorings and crashed into cliffs on 8 January 2012, and is now a wreck. Removal of the wreck is normally the responsibility of the ownerHowever, as the owner has not taken any practical action to commence a salvage or wreck removal operation, the Australian Government has stepped in to arrange the operation. The wreck removal will be undertaken by a contractor to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and managed through a cooperative agreement between AMSA and the Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport.The contractor is Titan Maritime (Australia) Pty. Ltd. Divers will survey the wreck site soon and develop a wreck removal plan. The registered owner of the vessel is Tycoon Navigation SA, based in Singapore. Once the operation commences, arrangements will be made to minimise disruption to port operations. The Christmas Island community will come first during this operation to ensure their safety, as well as restoring vital maritime infrastructure.The Australian Government has approved funding ...

MV Tycoon broke its moorings and smashed up against a sea wall three weeks ago Heavy seas off Christmas Island have broken the wreck of a cargo ship into three pieces and there are growing concerns about the environment, as more oil leaks from the ship.The MV Tycoon broke its moorings and smashed up against a sea wall three weeks ago.Residents of the island say the oil spill is getting worse.John Richardson, Commander of Christmas Island Volunteer Marine Rescue, says about one third of the beach at Flying Fish Cove has been polluted by the wreck."It's unfortunately discharged quite a considerable amount more diesel and oil, so we have a very large slick and a very large area of Flying Fish Cove, towards the port, absolutely black," he says.Administrator of Christmas Island, Brian Lacey, says while salvage operations can't begin until weather conditions improve, he hasn't been made aware of any plans to remove the vessel.Source: ABC News

Incident update by AMSA Beach cleanup continued over the weekend with the cleaning of oiled rocks. A further two bulk bags of waste have been collected, taking the total to 51 for the response.The National Response Team Wildlife Coordinator has undertaken a survey of the island and has commenced site inspections. All potential areas of impact from oil have been inspected each day and no oil has been reported.Areas of potential wildlife impact have also been inspected and no further reports of oiled wildlife have been made. The baby red crabs continue to migrate inland from the sea.In total 10 people have been deployed from the National Response Team to the island.The vessel's condition has not changed in the past couple of days. It is still sitting comfortably on the bottom and further significant structural damage has not been observed. A small amount of residual oil is leaking from the ship.Government officials are liaising with representatives of the ship's owners and representatives of the ship's insurers about the ultimate removal of the vessel from its current location. Those representatives are working with specialist salvage companies to assess the vessel and develop proposals for its removal. This is a complex process ...

Dramatic escape from the MV Tycoon The injured captain of MV Tycoon which crashed into the cliffs of Christmas Island last weekend has told of his crew's dramatic escape from the sinking cargo ship.Capt. Maung Myind-Maung said the 15 crew were awake when the weather changed in the remote island's port during the night, snapping the mooring rope.The crew battled to move the 85m ship out of the harbour, but the huge swell and rough weather pushed it into the jagged cliff-face on Sunday. "For four hours we were trying to move the ship out of the harbour but she could not move because of the weather," Capt. Myind-Maung said yesterday.He said after four hours he called the harbourmaster and it was decided the crew abandon the ship.The 54-year-old Burmese captain and his Thai crew put on lifejackets and climbed to the bottom of a ladder from which they jumped into the sea. All were plucked out of the ocean by rescuers on a navy boat.Capt. Myind-Maung said he injured his back on the rough, fast ride back to shore on the navy rescue boat. He spent a day in hospital on Christmas Island for treatment.He said the other crew ...

MV Tycoon splits in half

MV Tycoon broke its moorings at Flying Fish Cove in heavy seas Investigations have begun into the cargo ship sinking at Christmas Island, but environmentalists say questions should be asked about the port authority's decision to allow the ship to moor.MV Tycoon broke its moorings at Flying Fish Cove in heavy seas on Sunday before breaking in two, causing an oil and phosphate fertiliser spill.There are concerns that the environmental impact on the fragile ecosystem could take years to assess and rejuvenate.The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation team arrived on the island on Tuesday afternoon to begin the on-site investigation.The team has spoken with the harbour master and the harbour pilot, and interviewed the ship's master, first mate and chief engineer.The ATSB preliminary investigation report will be available in 30 days.An investigation into whether there were breaches in navigation law has also begun.However, Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) environmental science and policy coordinator Nic Dunlop says investigations should extend to the port authority."Some very tough questions need to be asked about why port authorities allowed this ship to be left on its moorings at the loading dock when heavy swell was forecast," he said."Any inquiry that only looks at ...

Four-metre high swells lashed the boat against the seawall Rough conditions at Christmas Island have left authorities on the foreshore watching a broken-up cargo ship leak oil and phosphate on to the coastline this afternoon.General cargo vessel the MV Tycoon, branded as Panamanian, was loading phosphate from Christmas Island late on Sunday on an offshore mooring point when it hit the seawall, Australian Maritime Safety Association general manager Toby Stone said. It is understood four-metre high swells lashed the boat against the seawall in Flying Fish Cove."Unfortunately the swell conditions became quite severe yesterday and the mooring started breaking and the ship has ended up actually on the rocks," Mr Stone told reporters in Canberra today. Authorities have estimated about 102 tonnes of intermediate fuel oil, 11,000 litres of lubricant oil, 32 tonnes of diesel oil and approximately 260 tonnes of phosphate onboard the vessel. The AMSA chartered an aircraft to the island on Sunday but due to poor cloud conditions officers were unable to reach staff on the island until Monday afternoon.Conditions worsened again Monday afternoon leaving authorities on the beach as the ship reportedly broke in half. "The condition of the casualty is in fact getting worse and ...