The MV Gulser Ana grounded off Faux Cap, on the southernmost tip of the Indian Ocean island, on August 26, damaging its bunker tanks and releasing fuel oil in the sea. AFP
What worse could happen to a country facing a political crisis ? a terrible environmental disaster
… when they – Malagasy authorities? operator? media? – do a great job at reducing the pollution of 30000 T of phosphate on Malagasy coastline – leading thousands of migrating whales, rare species of tortoises and fishes to a certain death – to an anectodal shipwreck…
400 posts and counting
we’re not there yet.Purple Corner will eternally stay a big work in progress….
I have heard the governament gave some 25mill Ariari to locals as compensation but nothing about real cleanup of the area. just the present oil spills. Also owners say no damage ecological, no dead fishes but unfortunately that isnt true as many fishes where found dead. I havent crosschecked maybe wales as well there was an article at malagash newspaper L express also mentioning the above. do you have any news since you posted from research?
Alex
hi Alex!
Tomavana is following the case very closely http://twitter.com/tomavana and on the blog http://tomavana.wordpress.com. this story is heartbreaking and it gets sadder day by day
this is so sad to hear in such a pretty country. if you are aware of a way to assist pls let me know by replying.
I have followed the above links you have send but can not dig much info. if you have time write a couple of words regarding cleanup operations or ‘cover up’ attempt… you can also send directly at my email if you prefer. I hope the full cleanup job will be done. thanx for your reply,
Alex
i think it is going to be a very messy (in all senses) story so any kind of assistance would be welcome. from now you can get in touch with NGO working in the regions ( I might ask around and get back to you) but the better effective way maybe is to spread the news everywhere..so people can be aware of this big tragedy
The only explanation which can exculpate the Captain and Officer of the Watch of this vessel is mechanical breakdown. Anything else is human error, and therefore incompetence, if not recklessness. How can a ship go aground in perfect visibility if the OOW and Captain are paying attention and properly trained? They have radar, and should have GPS, so there should be no difficulty determining where they are and what is around them. And of course we mustn’t forget the keeping of a proper lookout, which most ships dispense with during the day. Also doubtless the steering was on autopilot when near land. Another practice to save money. The Captain and OOW should have been arrested when they got ashore, and held. Although the cargo and ship are lost, they are insured, and the Madagascar government can go after other ships owned by this company.
As far as the clean-up is concerned, compared with “Amoco Cadiz” and the Exxon Valdez”, the locals are lucky. I know it’s an odd thing to say, but it’s true. You have a cargo of phosphate, which is relatively benign, only about 600 tons of bunker C, which is a very small amount by modern standards. The diesel oil will evaporate , and the lube oil is only a small quantity. I think the ship will not be salved, although the cargo in the forward holds is probably uncontaminated.
The stern is completely flooded and sitting on a reef. Re-floating that would be very difficult. Commercially, the ship and cargo have been written off. The ship and cargo owners will get paid for their loss and move on. P&I and other funds will help pay for the clean up. The shipowner is releasing all sorts of reports telling us what a wonderful job they are doing and how minimal the damage is. Of course nobody believes them. They are also speculating that the ship may have hit an “underwater obstruction” which disabled the main engine” before she went aground. No doubt the log book will be “flogged” to support this.
The coast state, Madagascar, seems to be supervising the clean up paid for by the owners pollution fund. When that is completed they must decide what to do with the ship. The forward half can be re-floated and towed away. It is a matter of sealing bulkheads and tank ceilings and then pumping out to give it buoyancy. Some or all the cargo may have to be unloaded to lighten the ship. I don’t know the tides in that area, although I’ve been into Madagascar. The after end of the ship is a different challenge. Sealing up the engine room and then pumping it out would be long and difficult job. As I say, it makes no commercial sense to remove the wreck, but the govt of Madagascar may order it removed anyway. The question as always is ‘who is going to pay?’. My guess is it will be left there and will eventually be destroyed by the swell and seas and sink below the surface.
[...] asks simply: “Have you heard of the Gulser Ana ?”. In the comment section, Capt Collin Smith explores the possible causes of the grounding: [...]
[...] asks simply: “Have you heard of the Gulser Ana ?”. In the comment section, Capt Collin Smith explores the possible causes of the grounding: [...]
[...] bertanya-tanya: “Pernahkan anda mendengar tentang Gulser Ana?”. Dalam kolom komentar, Kapten Collin Smith menelusuri kemungkinan penyebab karamnya [...]