At the time of this article being published, it appears that there has been success in attaching the tow line to the massive wounded vessel, the Modern Express.
It was last week when the roll on / roll off (RoRo) vessel began listing in the Bay of Biscay. All twenty two crew members were safely rescued via helicopter (shown here in this dramatic footage).
Salvors attempted to connect a tow line to save the vessel from smashing into the French coastline, but the first attempt failed due to bad weather.
The good news is now filtering through advising that the second attempt at connecting a tow line was a success! The huge vessel is now undertow, headed for Bilbao, Spain.
Particulars of the vessel are as follows:
Name: Modern Express
Type: Roll-On/Roll-Off vehicle carrier, PCC – Pure Car Carrier
Flag: Panama
GT: 33,831
DWT: 10,454
Length: 164 m
Breadth: 28 m
Draught: 8.72 m
Speed: 19 knots
Built: 2001
The vessel is expected to arrive at the Port of Bilbao around Wednesday morning (local time). The port will provide a place of safe refuge for the vessel for a full assessment to be carried out.
Head to Gcaptain’s website for a brilliant on-going report of the amazing race to save this crippled vessel.
We’re having flash backs to the 2015 incident involving the Hoegh Osaka – how about you?
