Polaris VLOC salvage progresses
Polaris Shipping, the Korean owner of the grounded, fully laden Stellar Banner VLOC off Brazil, reports that the oil sheen seen around the stricken four-year-old ship has disappeared but anti-pollution measures remain in place.
Police have opened up an investigation into the accident that saw the huge ship come to rest on a sandbar having hit an unidentified object 100 km into a journey from Brazil to China with a cargo of more than 290,000 tons of iron ore onboard.
Savlage company Ardent Global is now pushing ahead with a de-bunkering plan. There are around 4,000 tons of fuel on the ship.
Two holes have been identified by local authorities toward the front of the ship, but a spokesperson for Polaris was adamant that the ship’s structure remains sound despite the constant buffeting by the waves.
“Despite having run aground, overall analysis indicates that the weight of the vessel is well distributed on the sand bank without specific points of stress on the hull, thus the vessel remains stable with its own power,” a spokesperson for Polaris told Splash today.
Diving inspections are already examining the hull condition. The salvage team is looking at the possibility of towing the ship back to the port it had just left to unload its cargo.