Rescue Events
Cases of salvage and assistance operations
- Container ship - Île de Ré
- Container ship - Western English Channel
- Franz Hals – Biarritz
- Capetan Tzannnis – La Madrague Beach, Anglet
- Ming Fortune – English Channel off the coast at Dieppe
- Stena Challenger – Blériot Beach, Calais
- Happy Fellow – Collision in Seine Bay
- Erika – Northern Gascony
- Ievoli Sun – English Channel, north of the Isle of Batz
- Melbridge Bilbao – Isle of Molène
- Off the coast of Cherbourg / Barfleur
- Faith IV – Chenal de Dunkerque
- Barbaros Kiran – 135 nautical miles off the coast of Brest
Container ship - Île de Ré
Following a machine breakdown that occurred in force 10 winds and heavy seas, this RORO vessel ran aground on the Ile de Ré in October 2006, perforating its sea water ballasts. After inspection by our assistance and salvage teams, the condition of the ship, the water intakes in the hulls and its position in shallow waters prohibited any refloating operation. Les Abeilles then obtained an assistance contract with a SCOPIC (Special Compensation Protection & Indemnity Clubs) environmental clause. The mobilization of all teams, night and day for more than a week, prevented any oil pollution during the delicate operation to pump 560 tons of heavy fuel oil, which was performed first. Ten days of continuous operations were necessary to pump the heavy fuel in order to prevent any pollution with the greatest concern for the interests of the resident population and the shipowner. The ability to analyze the situation, the control of the recommended solutions and, above all, the coordination of the teams and technical resources were the determinant factor in the success of this operation. Les Abeilles also unloaded 200 deck containers.
Then, the Smit/Scaldis/Les Abeilles consortium was charged by the shipowner to continue unloading the merchandise and cutting the wreck on site. The maritime phase of this work was completed in December 2007.
It should be noted that, during this operation and thanks to the very strict procedures applied by the responders, no significant pollution was found.
(Abeille Bourbon, Abeille Languedoc, Alcyon)
Container ship - Western English Channel
On January 18, 2007, during a force 10 storm in the western English Channel, between France and the United Kingdom, the hull of this 5000 TEUS container ship was significantly cracked on the starboard and port sides between the forecastle and the first hold, with water entering the engine room. With the ship crippled, a salvage master and the team was lifted by a helicopter from the French Navy. Les Abeilles worked for 3 days during the emergency phase (subcontracted by Smit) in dangerous weather conditions, with the constant threat of a break-up of the vessel. The speed of the response team allowed the Abeille Bourbon and the Abeille Liberté to tow the vessel under difficult sea conditions (5-meter swells) and to deliberately ground it in the Bay of Lyme, south of the United Kingdom, preventing the vessel from sinking. During this emergency towage, the structural conditions of the vessel deteriorated very quickly, the crack became significantly larger, and the rear of the vessel began to sink dangerously, generating fears that the hull would break in two, causing a major spill in the middle of the Channel. The deliberate grounding allowed salvage crews to pump out the holds and unload all 2500 containers, preventing any pollution. (Abeille Bourbon, Abeille Liberté)
Franz Hals – Biarritz
A factory trawler (length: 108 m, displacement: 3,100 MT) ran aground on Le Palais beach in Biarritz. The operation lasted 25 days and required repairing holes in the trawler’s double bottom, inflating the ballast using compressed air, removing the masting and clearing fuel tanks, before it could be refloated, requiring total pulling power of 380 tonnes (Abeille Flandre, Abeille Supporter, Abeille Picardie).
Capetan Tzannnis – La Madrague Beach, Anglet
A vessel waiting idle in the Bay of Bayonne that drifted onto La Madrague beach in Anglet during a violent storm. It was refloated by 3 tugs in 24 hours (Abeille Supporter + 2 tugs belonging to Les Abeilles Bayonne).
Ming Fortune – English Channel off the coast at Dieppe
A container ship (loaded with 1,200 containers, length: 210 m, displacement: 22,000 MT), whose engine room was flooded following a collision in the English Channel. The salvage operation took 17 days, and required lashing the deck containers securely into place, towing to Le Havre, completely unloading the cargo, repair of the breach and transfer to dry dock before being delivered back to its owners. (Abeille Languedoc + tugs from Les Abeilles Le Havre).
Stena Challenger – Blériot Beach, Calais
Cross-Channel Ferry (250 passengers, length: 157 m, displacement 18,500 MT) ran aground on the beach at Calais. Refloating operation took 2 days, using the Abeille Picardie, the Abeille Languedoc and tugs from Les Abeilles Calais.
Happy Fellow – Collision in Seine Bay
Gas tanker (4,400 m3, length: 100 m, displacement 6,900 metric tonnes) with its engine room, inert cargo tanks and fuel tanks flooded following a collision in Seine Bay. A 9-day operation requiring, in addition to towage, complete removal of the gas carried on the vessel, clean-up of the engine room and transfer to dry dock. (Tugs belonging to Les Abeilles Le Havre).
Erika - Northern Gascony
An oil tanker that split in two 65 nautical miles south-west of Penmarc’h. A response team from the tug was lifted by helicopter to the site. The Abeille Flandre thus succeeded in securing the tanker and keeping the stern afloat, which still contained 11,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, in extreme weather conditions, thereby preventing the Erika from running aground on Belle-Ile and possibly causing another massive oil spill.
Ievoli Sun - English Channel, north of the Isle of Batz
A double-hulled chemical tanker sinking head-first due to water leaking in through the air pipes, required an assessment and response team to be helicopter-lifted to the vessel in extreme weather conditions in order to hitch it to the Abeille Flandre tug and thus prevent it from breaking up on the rocks of Guernsey and spilling its cargo of highly-toxic chemicals and endangering the local population.
Melbridge Bilbao – Isle of Molène
A container ship which failed to change course as required to enter the upstream channel in the Ushant traffic separation scheme. It went aground on the rocks of the Isle of Molène at full speed (17 knots). A tricky operation undertaken by the Abeille Flandre and the SNSM (French Sea Rescue) to tow it away from this area of flush reef, thereby preventing it from going aground a second time and thus causing the loss of the vessel with potentially disastrous consequences for the environment in this ecologically sensitive area.
Off the coast of Cherbourg / Barfleur
A container ship which, following a ballasting problem in Seine Bay, developed a 35° list. The crew was evacuated from the vessel by helicopter. The Abeille Languedoc, after towing the vessel away from the scene, deliberately ran it aground on a beach to prevent it from capsizing. A 21-day operation that included pumping out the cargo holds and engine rooms, refloating and towing to Le Havre to unload the cargo. Involved tugs from Les Abeilles Le Havre.
Faith IV – Dunkirk Channel
A 68,000-tonne deadweight oil tanker, carrying 65,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil which, following damage to the helm, went aground on Snouw Bank in the channel leading into the port of Dunkirk. This refloating operation required the combined assistance of 8 tugs to provide a total of nearly 400 tonnes of traction to the tow hook.
Barbaros Kiran – 135 nautical miles off the coast of Brest
A cargo freighter carrying 38,000 tonnes of scrap metal whose engine room flooded during a storm 135 nautical miles off the coast of Brest. Emergency towage by the Abeille Flandre, bilge pumps supplied, plus an assistance team, pumping in the roadstead, divers to determine the cause of flooding and anticorrosion treatment for the engine. The operation took 6 days.