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Salvaged lifeboat and tender taken to Valletta
The BP tug "West" on Jan 19, 2012, berthed in Valletta harbour, Malta, at quay no. 5 with the lifeboat of the "Fas Provence" alongside, and the tender of the same ship on deck after the vessel sunk early January 13th morning about 80 nautical miles off Delimara at 4 a.m. Transport Malta and the Armed Forces of Malta are monitoring the situation for any possible pollution.
Vessel sank during tow
The "Fas Provence" sunk early Jan 13, 2012, morning 80.97 nautical miles south east of Delimara at 4 a.m. in a depth of 300 metres within international waters covered by the service area of the Malta Coast Radio Station, operated by the AFM. The AFM has been following the troubled towing operation of the unmanned ship for some days. The ship, which was not carrying any cargo, was being towed by the two tugs "West" and "Izmir Bull". Due to the recent gale force winds, the vessel posed a serious hazard to navigation and regular broadcasts were transmitted alerting ships in the central Mediterranean of the hazard. On Jan 12 the master of the "Izmir Bull" informed Malta Radio that the ship's condition was deteriorating fast with the vessel listing to one side and taking in water. The AFM communicated the information to Transport Malta and deployed an aircraft to make a reconnaissance flight and assess the situation. All the necessary alerts were raised. Transport Malta and the AFM were in liaison to monitor the situation for any possible pollution. The "West" was to remain on standby on location. The AFM was to deploy another reconnaissance flight to the area later on Jan 13. Transport Malta has officially informed the Bahamas of the situation.
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