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Vestland completely submerged
On Sep 6 at 7:00 p.m., when the foreship of the "Vestland" was taken in tow by the tug "Courbet", also this section of the barge sank 50 miles southwest of Penmarc'h in a water depth of 140m. No pollution was found, as the foreship of the barge contained no pollutants and was empty of any cargo. The weather on scene was WSW with 55 km/h. Photo gallery: http://www.premar-atlantique.gouv.fr/galeries/Vestland
Foreship still adrift
The French Navy called back the salvage tug "Abeille Bourbon", closer to the Ushant traffic separation scheme, while the weather deteriorated on Sep 6. The frigate "Primauguet" is nearby. The tug "Courbet" continued monitoring the drift of the foreship of the "Vestland". The "Atlantic Trader" continued the journeyto Lagos on her own. French report with photo: http://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/actuDet_-Peniche-coupee-en-deux-Pas-de-danger-a-la-navigation-_40779-1981384_actu.Htm
Vestland broke in two and sank
On Sep 5, 2011, at 0830 a.m. the tug "Courbet" required assistance from French CROSS (Regional Operational Centre for Surveillance and Rescue Atlantic), reporting trouble with one of the two tank barges in tow, being in pos some 80 nm S off Penmarch. The tug was towing the self propelled barges "Vestland" and the "Atlantic Trader" from Rotterdam to Lagos Nigeria, and experienced problems, but reported control of the situation. Nevertheless, the tug was ordered to proceed to rendezvous with salvage vessel "Abeille Bourbon", and at 6.30 p.m. it was decided to tow the troubled "Vestland" to safety by the "Abeille Bourbon". Towage started at 7.25 p.m., but at 8.10 p.m. the barge broke in two and the aft part sank, with presumably, 7 mt of fuel oil, on a water depth of 2000 metres. The drift of the "Atlantic Trader" was further monitored.
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