
The polymeric beads were listed as dangerous goods but a major concern now is getting the 1.7 million litres of fuel removed safely from the ship.
Winds gusting to 25 knots and 3 metre waves yesterday hampered onboard salvage of the grounded cargo ship near Lark Harbour. However, crews will use every opportunity possible with the weather expected over the next few days. The MSC Baltic III lost power on February 15th and ran aground in Cedar Cove. Since that time, a command post has been set up The Coast Guard’s Bruce English says over the weekend, they managed to get a tug and barge alongside the vessel and used the ship’s crane to get 8 containers of beads off the vessel. The polymeric beads were listed as dangerous goods but a major concern now is getting the 1.7 million litres of fuel removed safely from the ship. English says there is an ongoing threat of pollution as long as that vessel is there. He says T and T Salvage has the necessary equipment on site to begin offloading the fuel. They will have to heat the oil first and pump it into tanks, and the tug and barge is waiting in the Bay of Islands. English says there is major structural damage to the bottom of the vessel which means it can’t be floated away.