ATTEMPTS to free an oil tanker carrying 35,000 tonnes of diesel fuel failed over the weekend, the Danish Navy said, but another attempt will be made today.
The aging, Bahamas-registered Acushnet ran aground on Friday east of Samsoe island in the Kattegat sea, between Denmark’s Jutland peninsula and southern Sweden.
Last night three tugs managed to pull the 179 metre tanker free, but it became stuck again, Danish Navy Cmdr Helge Nielsen told The Associated Press.
Earlier 1700 tonnes had been transferred from the Acushnet to a smaller barge in a bid to lighten and refloat the tanker. The Navy said divers examined the hull and found no danger of leaks.
Nielsen said engineers would try to free the ship on tonight’s high tide.
Once freed, the Acushnet will be towed into the harbour in nearby Kalundborg for a hull inspection by Danish maritime authorities.
Built in 1981, the tanker was sailing from Ventspils, Latvia, to Boston with a crew of 25.
The ship sailed through Danish waters without the use of a pilot, which is permissible under Danish law. It was supposed to use a channel that is 17 metres deep, but ran aground in water is about 10 metres deep.
Carl Slaatten, the managing director of B+H Equimar, the Singapore-based company that manages the tanker, said the company is “fully cooperating” with Danish authorities to free the tanker.
“We deeply regret this incident,” he said, adding the company will “conduct a thorough review of what occurred and in what sequence”.
As many as 160,000 vessels sail through the Danish straits annually. The straits are the main route betweern the Baltic Sea and North Sea.
Last month, a Russian single-hulled tanker carrying 70,000 tonnes of crude oil was stopped in Danish waters for two days and ordered to repair its steering.
Associated Press
