Update: Eemslift Hendrika
Dutch salvage company, Smits Salvage, has been commissioned by Amasus Shipping to salvage the abandoned heavylift vessel, Eemslift Hendrika. The vessel was en route from Bremerhaven to Kolvereid in Norway when its cargo shifted, causing it to list heavily.
Boskalis subsidiary, Smits Salvage, has been hired to salvage the drifting heavylift ship, Eemslift Hendrika, which is currently adrift off the coast of Norway.
Boskalis expects the salvage team to arrive today and has plans to tow the vessel into port in Norway. The Norwegian Coast Guard is monitoring the vessel closely from the Coast Guard vessel Sortland, and may be able to effect a tow itself, although heavy weather is hampering salvage efforts. Hans-Petter Mortensholm of the Norwegian Coast Guard now says that a tow might be attempted when the weather moderates early Thursday morning.
There are 350 cubic metres of fuel oil and 70 cubic metre of diesel oil aboard the Eemslift and Mortensholm says the oil could pose a threat to the environment. “The ship is now drifting towards the Norwegian coast and if we do nothing it will run into the shore within one to one and a half days,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Amasus Shipping says she cannot make any further comments about the salvage at this time.
