RENNES – A chemicals tanker loaded with 6,000 tonnes of solvent ran into trouble after a collision off the coast of France yesterday, but authorities said its crew was rescued and the cargo did not seem to be leaking.
Rescuers took 13 crew members of the YM Uranusto safety by helicopter, a port authority spokesman said. The tanker apparently hit another ship south of the island of Ouessant off France's northwest coast.The vessel was sailing under a Maltese flag.
Brest’s port authority said a navy tugboat had managed to hook up to the tanker and begin towing it towards Brest. The vessel would not arrive before last night.
“No pollution has so far been observed,” the port authority added.
Patrick Adamson, a spokesman for V Ships which manages the 120m-long YM Uranus, said the vessel had been in a collision with the 179,000 dead-weight tonne bulk carrier Hanjin Rizhao.
“It is afloat, not drifting,” he said. “We don’t know the damage to the other vessel.”
Mr Adamson said the collision had created a “breach in the hull” that led to the vessel taking on water. “We understand the water ingress has now stopped. There’s no pollution at the moment.”
The YM Uranus, built in 2008, was sailing from Porto Marghera in Italy to Amsterdam and was about 50 nautical miles, or 100km, southwest of Ouessant when it got into difficulties.
The Hanjin Rizhao anchored off of Ouessant after the incident, before resuming its journey from Las Palmas to Rotterdam. – (Reuters)