APL Panama Finally Freed
The APL Panama finally broke free from the sandy beach where it ran aground Christmas Day. It was 4:40 a.m. when the 874-foot container ship returned to the sea. Less than three hours later, the vessel was two miles offshore, undergoing inspection of its hull, while bulldozers worked to restore the beach where the ship spent the past 75 days. Under general average, the commonly used international legal procedure, the expenses will be shared by the vessel's German owners, Mare Britannicum Schiffahrtsgesellschaft MBH & Co.; APL, the global container transportation company that chartered it; and the numerous cargo interests. The amounts are subject to negotiation.
APL Panama Still Aground
APL Panama remains aground on soft sand some 1.5 nm south east of the entrance to the port of Ensenada, Mexico. Salvors have succeeded in maneuvering the bow of the vessel some 20 degrees towards deeper water over the past week, in order to assist the next re-floating effort. The APL Panama remains structurally intact and secure and it is hoped that another concerted effort to re-float her can be made toward the end of next week, when tide conditions are more favorable. This next stage of the operation will utilize powerful hydraulic pulling machines which will double the capacity of the strong tugs already standing by the vessel. In the meantime, the salvors have succeeded in transferring the fuel oil to a bunker barge at the port of Ensenada.
