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Norwegian ship sinks in off France following collision
DUNKIRK, France, Dec 14 (AFP) - A Norwegian ship with a cargo of almost 3, 000 new cars sank in shallow waters in the English Channel Saturday after a collision in thick fog with a Bahamas-registered container vessel.
There were no casualties thanks to the speedy arrival of rescue services.
The ship Tricolor keeled over in the early hours after the incident with the container ship Kariba 35 kilometres (20 miles) north of the French Channel port of Dunkirk in one of the world's busiest sea lanes.
The Tricolor was resting on its port side in 30 metres (100 feet) of water, brushing the surface.
The French Maritime Authority here ordered the Norwegian owner, Wilhelmsen Lines, to pump out the ship's 2,000 tonnes of fuel and have the vessel refloated.
It said the owner had called in Dutch salvage company Smit-Tack, which had despatched a vessel to inspect the ship's bunker space and, if need be, have this blocked off by divers and the fuel contained by floating barriers.
Earlier, Captain Antoine Goulley, spokesman of France's Channel and North Sea Maritime Authority said: "The Norwegian owner, Wilhelmsen Lines ... must send a boat to pump out the 2,000 tonnes of fuel supply on board."
A French helicopter overflew the site to check for pollution and an ocean-going tug was standing by to take on board a floating anti-pollution barrier in Dunkirk as a precautionary measure.
But authorities postponed setting up the barrier because of worsening weather conditions and what appeared to be no immediate pollution risk.
The sea had been calm but visibility poor at the time of the collision, rescue services said.
"There was clearly a radar defect aboard at least one of the ships," Goulley said.
Within an hour French rescue teams had taken off the Tricolor crew, including the Norwegian master, a Swede and 22 Filipinos. The vessel began to list and keeled over to port in less than 30 metres (100 feet) of water.
Three crew were picked up by the 175-metre (525-foot) Kariba, which was badly damaged but able to make for the Belgian port of Antwerp with its 21, 000-tonne cargo.
Twenty-one crew were taken by French rescue launches to Dunkirk and accommodated at a sailors' hostel.
A London spokesman for the owners, Wilhelmsen Lines, said the Tricolor had been bound for the English port of Southampton with a cargo of 2,862 new BMW, Volvo and Saab cars worth an estimated total of between 25 million and 31 million euros (dollars), and 77 containers, which had been loaded at the Belgian port of Zeebrugge.
The ship itself was valued at 25.1 million euros (25.7 million dollars), the spokesman said.
The ships had been navigating on parallel courses, with the Kariba outward bound from Antwerp to the French Channel port of Le Havre, officials here said.
A Belgian naval frigate and a tug stood by at the area of the sinking and other emergency services vessels served as beacons to warn shipping.
The Maritime Authority said the Tricolor would be floated as soon as as it was established there was no pollution threat.
The cars on board, straight from production plants, each had some five litres of oil in their tanks, but this was likely to evaporate quickly and did not present a pollution threat, officials said.
DUNKIRK, France, Dec 14 (AFP) - A Norwegian ship with a cargo of almost 3, 000 new cars sank in shallow waters in the English Channel Saturday after a collision in thick fog with a Bahamas-registered container vessel.
There were no casualties thanks to the speedy arrival of rescue services.
The ship Tricolor keeled over in the early hours after the incident with the container ship Kariba 35 kilometres (20 miles) north of the French Channel port of Dunkirk in one of the world's busiest sea lanes.
The Tricolor was resting on its port side in 30 metres (100 feet) of water, brushing the surface.
The French Maritime Authority here ordered the Norwegian owner, Wilhelmsen Lines, to pump out the ship's 2,000 tonnes of fuel and have the vessel refloated.
It said the owner had called in Dutch salvage company Smit-Tack, which had despatched a vessel to inspect the ship's bunker space and, if need be, have this blocked off by divers and the fuel contained by floating barriers.
Earlier, Captain Antoine Goulley, spokesman of France's Channel and North Sea Maritime Authority said: "The Norwegian owner, Wilhelmsen Lines ... must send a boat to pump out the 2,000 tonnes of fuel supply on board."
A French helicopter overflew the site to check for pollution and an ocean-going tug was standing by to take on board a floating anti-pollution barrier in Dunkirk as a precautionary measure.
But authorities postponed setting up the barrier because of worsening weather conditions and what appeared to be no immediate pollution risk.
The sea had been calm but visibility poor at the time of the collision, rescue services said.
"There was clearly a radar defect aboard at least one of the ships," Goulley said.
Within an hour French rescue teams had taken off the Tricolor crew, including the Norwegian master, a Swede and 22 Filipinos. The vessel began to list and keeled over to port in less than 30 metres (100 feet) of water.
Three crew were picked up by the 175-metre (525-foot) Kariba, which was badly damaged but able to make for the Belgian port of Antwerp with its 21, 000-tonne cargo.
Twenty-one crew were taken by French rescue launches to Dunkirk and accommodated at a sailors' hostel.
A London spokesman for the owners, Wilhelmsen Lines, said the Tricolor had been bound for the English port of Southampton with a cargo of 2,862 new BMW, Volvo and Saab cars worth an estimated total of between 25 million and 31 million euros (dollars), and 77 containers, which had been loaded at the Belgian port of Zeebrugge.
The ship itself was valued at 25.1 million euros (25.7 million dollars), the spokesman said.
The ships had been navigating on parallel courses, with the Kariba outward bound from Antwerp to the French Channel port of Le Havre, officials here said.
A Belgian naval frigate and a tug stood by at the area of the sinking and other emergency services vessels served as beacons to warn shipping.
The Maritime Authority said the Tricolor would be floated as soon as as it was established there was no pollution threat.
The cars on board, straight from production plants, each had some five litres of oil in their tanks, but this was likely to evaporate quickly and did not present a pollution threat, officials said.
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