Strong currents and dangerous seas mean that it might be too dangerous to recover cement-carrier Cemfjord and the bodies of eight seafarers believed to be trapped inside.
The Cyprus-registered vessel turned over in bad weather in the Pentland Firth, off the north coast of Scotland, at the weekend.
On Monday, the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) sent its multifunction tender, Pharos, to locate Cemfjord, which was found "in an inverted condition" in 70m of water. It is close to where it was first spotted on Saturday, 10nm east of the Pentland Skerries, by NorthLink ferry, Hrossey.
The vessel is resting upside down on the seabed to the east of Orkney after sinking at the weekend. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) is investigating the tragedy, which is thought to have claimed the lives of the eight crew – including seven Polish men and one Filipino.
A Northlink ferry, Hrossey, found the Cemfjord’s upturned hull in the Pentland Firth on Saturday, prompting a major land, air and sea search for survivors.
A liferaft from the boat was found in the Pentland Firth on Monday but there were no signs of life on board.
The vessel was last recorded between Orkney and Stroma on Friday afternoon and had not issued a distress signal. One of the lines of investigation is expected to examine why the emergency position indicating radio beacon was not activated when the boat capsized.
NLB told IHS Maritime that the ship would remain on location to assist accident investigators and the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) as required.
Tony Redding, spokesman for Cemfjord's Hamburg-based manager, Brise Bereederung, told IHS Maritime, "The company feels that it would be morally wrong to ask people to put their lives at risk to recover bodies. So the wreck may be left as a seamen's grave." However a decision has yet to be made.
Brise, the flag state (Cyprus) and the UK's Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) have launched investigations into the accident. A MAIB spokesman told IHS Maritime that a remotely operated vehicle will probably be sent down to examine the hull once weather conditions improve. Gusts of 60 to 70kt are forecast over the weekend.
Investigators will try to establish why the ship's emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) failed to activate. EPIRBs have been known to malfunction, but in Cemfjord's case the device may have become trapped, Redding suggested. There was no indication of anything wrong when the ship made a routine call to Brise's office at about 13.15 on Friday. "It seems that she was overwhelmed very suddenly," he added.
Since 2006, cargo ships of 3,000gt and above have been required to carry a simplified voyage data recorder (S-VDR), but Cemfjord, at 1,850gt, was under this limit.
At the time of the accident, Cemfjord was sailing with a temporary replacement rescue boat. Redding said that a new boat had been ordered but would not be available until late January. New davits were installed, but the slings were too short for the replacement craft. However, this only affected the rescue boat's retrieval, not its launch. An additional liferaft was carried as a condition of being allowed to sail. "Cemfjord was in a fully seaworthy condition," Redding commented.
Friday 9 January 2015
http://www.ihsmaritime360.com/article/16089/sunken-cemfjord-may-be-left-as-sea-grave
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