[260613.EN.SEA] Patrol Boat, And Tugs Arrive Where 8,000-teu MOL Comfort Split And Two

A PATROL boat and three seagoing tugs have arrived at the site off the Yemeni coast where the 8,000-TEU MOL Comfort split in two on June 17 with its fore and aft sections going adrift, said MOL Line.

Some of the containers might be lost or damaged, but most of the cargo is confirmed to be aboard the fore and aft sections, MOL said.

A total of five boats including one more boat which is expected to arrive on June 26 will prepare to salvage hull and cargo, the crew having taken to the boats in the storm and picked up by Hapag Lloyd's 7,500-TEU Yantian Express that happened to be in the area.

Elsewhere, MOL has commenced safety inspections on sister vessels together with the shipbuilder, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI).

As yet, the cause of the accident has not been identified, but MOL, MHI and classification society Nippon Kaiji Kyokai, ClassNK will inspect the Comfort's six sister vessels, the MOL Creation, MOL Charisma, MOL Celebration, MOL Courage, MOL Competence, MOL Commitment.

This inspection is in addition to examinations at sea carried out by the crew of these ships during current voyages and port calls, with orders having gone out to these ships to reduce the stress on their hulls.

"We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused by the incident. We take the incident very seriously and continue to devote every effort to rectify the situation at the earliest possible moment. We will also conduct a thorough investigation to determine the cause and take company-wide measures aimed at preventing reoccurrence of such incident in the future," said the MOL statement.

Source : HKSG, 26.06.13.