News and press releases

Tricolor - Update #5

24.01.2003 (WW )

Due to a mishap in the course of preparing for the continued recovery of fuel oil from the Tricolor, a incident occurred that caused oil to escape from the wreck.

On 22 January, during the anchoring operations on site, an incident occurred involving an anchor-handling vessel, which struck the hull of the wreck and caused damage to two valves that had previously been inserted in starboard bunker tanks nos. 5 and 6 for the purpose of pumping out the oil.

As a result, an unknown quantity of bunker oil escaped from one of the tanks. The estimated total quantity of fuel oil in that tank was approximately 170 tons. The other tank was empty.

Smit Salvage took measures for the source of leakage to be closed. It is confirmed that these measures have been carried out successfully.

An oil slick has been observed off the coast of Northern France. It is reported to be in patches and about four nautical miles long overall. There are no reports of oil yet having reached any shoreline. However, given the current direction and force of wind, as well as the current in the area, it is possible that shorelines in Belgium and/or France can be affected.

The owners, Gard Services and Smit Salvage are co-operating fully with each other and with relevant authorities, in order to minimize the effects of the mishap. In response to the spill, the oil spill response vessel Zirfea was mobilised. This vessel is equipped with a special recovery boom and is expected to arrive on scene early Saturday morning, 25 January 2003. Upon arrival, she will immediately begin with the oil removal operation.

Technical experts from the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF) and London Offshore Consultants (LOC) have been instructed by the owners and Gard Services to attend, in order to give advice on how to prevent oil from reaching any shoreline and otherwise assist the Belgian and French authorities. The experts are currently on site and in action.

Due to the incident mentioned above, as well as a series of operational problems combined with poor weather lately, recovery of fuel oil from the wreck has been suspended. It will be resumed as soon as adequate equipment can be mobilized and the weather permits operations to be performed in a safe manner.

The Tricolor collided with the Bahamas registered Kariba on Saturday 14 December and sank in The English Channel approx. 20 nautical miles NNW of Dunkerque. None of the crew members were injured in the collision. The damages to the Norwegian vessel were so extensive that the vessel sank within 90 minutes after the collision.

For further information:

Gard Services
Sven Henrik Svensen
Senior Vice President
Mobile phone: +47 97 55 91 15
Home phone: +47 37 02 20 72
E-mail: sven.henrik.svensen@gard.no

SMIT Salvage
Lars Walder
Public Relations Manager
Mobile phone: +31 (0) 10 454 9274
Office phone: +31 (0) 6 53 43 2765
E-mail: l.walder@smit.com

Wilh. Wilhelmsen
Per Rønnevig
Press Spokesman
Mobile phone: +47 91 83 16 00
E-mail: per@ronnevig.com

Wilh. Wilhelmsen
Per Rønnevig
Press Spokesman
Mobile phone: +47 91 83 16 00
e-mail: per@ronnevig.com

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