Multraship Refloats Grounded Tank Barge Newbuilding

Multraship salvaged a tank barge newbuilding which grounded during heavy weather while under tow from Gdynia to Nantes. The tank barge NS702 (to be named Limosa 2) was under tow from a Gdynia shipyard when it broke away from the Polish tug Ajaks during a storm and grounded on the rocky beach at Hope Point, near Newhaven, on December 7. On December 8, working under an LOF 2000 form in co-operation with URS Salvage & Maritime Contracting, Multraship mobilised the rescue tender Brandaris, the multipurpose salvage vessels Multrasalvor and Union Beaver, the tug Fighter and various salvage equipment. The barge had sustained extensive damage along its starboard bottom, and the salvage team, under the direction of a salvage master and a naval architect and deploying a team of divers, patched three of the barge’s cargo tanks from the inside. The Brandaris and the Multrasalvor then made towage connections to the Fighter, which refloated the barge, on the high tide, at 1330hrs on December 10. The barge was towed to Southampton, where its wing tanks and void spaces were pumped out and where further provisional repairs were effected before it was redelivered to its owners, safely afloat, on December 12.