CRIMSON POLARIS

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Oil removal from foreship has commenced

NYK has started pumping the oil from the forward section of the 'Crimson Polaris' to remove the heavy fuel by mid-September. In addition, they planned to offload the remaining cargo of wood chuips. After there was a limited cargo loss after the ship split betweehn cargo holds 5 and 6, the majority of the wood chips has remained aboard. The goal was to have the forward section offloaded by the end of September. The lightering of oil started on Aug 30 onto a bunker tanker which had come alongside. The whole dock area was protected by oil booms. The oil leakage from the stern appeared to have stopped at this time. The Japan Coast Guard continuedto monitor the stern while the owners and salvage team continued to investigate the stern to determine a course of action. Report with photos: https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/bow-section-of-crimson-polaris-brought-to-dock

Forward section towed to port

The forward section of the 'Crimson Polaris' was towed into Hachinohe Port by a salvage company and moored there on Aug 27. Due to the weather and sea conditions, the work to remove the oil from the bow of the vessel at sea was expected to take a long time, and in order to make the work smoother and safer, the shipowner and ship-management company towed the torso into Hachinohe Port with the understanding and cooperation of the local government, related organizations, fishermen, and other concerned parties. The salvage company will remove the remaining oil from the bow of the ship and unload the cargo. If all goes well, the removal of the remaining oil will be completed in mid-September, and the unloading of the cargo will be completed at the end of September. As for the stern section, the Japan Coast Guard and related parties were continuing their investigation. Report with photo: https://portalportuario.cl/proa-del-crimson-polaris-es-remolcada-a-hachinohe/

Stern rolled over - NYK sends more teams

The Japanese shipping company NYK Line will be sending additional workers to help clean up an oil spill from the 'Crimson Polaris'. 11 teams of 10 people each will start assisting with the work by Sep 11. On Aug 23, it had sent a total of three teams of 10 employees to area. The efforts to remove remaining fuel oil from the vessel have been hampered by adverse weather. The vessel was carrying 1,550 metric tons of heavy fuel oil and about 130 metric of diesel oil at the time of the accident. It was unclear how exactly how much oil leaked and how much remained in the tanks. Reports were indicating that two fuel tanks have remained intact while a third tank has lost about 280 tons of heavy fuel oil after the hull cracked between the No. 5 cargo hold and the No. 6 cargo hold. Both sections remained on site with the stern section with accommodation block and engine section having since rolled over while at anchor with only a tip of the keel with rudder and propeller still visible. On Aug 22 the Japanese Coast Guard sent a crew via helicopter to the bow of the vessel to investigate the hull, and said that no new oil spill was observed. Report with photos: https://www.marinelink.com/news/nyk-send-workers-help-cleanup-woodchip-490105