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THIS IS PAGE 4 -- Feature Updates

Readers Note: This Feature Has Now Moved Forward To 5 Pages:

Page 1 M/V MSC Napoli- Initial Reports - to Jan. 29

Page 2 M/V MSC Napoli - Jan. 30 To May 17 - Daily On-Scene Commentary - Container Removal Operations

Page 3 M/V MSC Napoli - Feb. 6 2007 - Presentation To The EU Parliament - Casualty Management Issues

Page 4 M/V MSC Napoli - May 18 To July 22 - Vessel Refloating Operations

Updates Below - go to the feature

18 May 2007 - All Containers Removed!

9 June 2007 - Refloating Has Begun!

8 June 2007 - Aerial Survey

8 July 2007 - Refloating Tomorrow?

9 July 2007 - M/V MSC Napoli Is Refloated - Our Air Force Is Grounded!

13 July 2007 pm - The Dream Is Lost? Grounded Again!

15 July 2007 pm - The Dream Is Lost! THE LADY WILL BE CUT IN TWO.

18 July 2007 - Even Dynamite Can't Kill M/V MSC Napoli

20 July 2007 - M/V MSC Napoli In Two

Page 5 M/V MSC Napoli - July 20-23 -The Death of M/V MSC Napoli - The Blast

25 July 2007 - Two Points of View

7 Aug. 2007 - M/V MSC Napoli In The Afterlife

18 Aug. 2007 - M/V MSC Napoli - Her End

 

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	"Crack'n On The Sidmouth" On The Scene In The English Channel The Death of M/V MSC Napoli?
Page 4

M/V MSC Naploi - Container Free 

From The Cargo Letter - 18 May 2007 - All Containers Removed!

Stricken M/V MSC Napoli off the Devon coast -- on May 16 the last container has been removed -- 2 months ahead of schedule. The vessel was grounded off Branscombe in January & salvors have since lifted 2,300 containers off the ship. A team of divers were employed & an army of volunteers helped to clear the cargo and debris from the seabed on a daily basis. The clean-up involved volunteers who were guided by experts from East Devon District Council, the Marine Conservation Society and Devon Wildlife Trust. BMW motorbikes, nappies and unused hypodermic needles were among the items to wash up on coasts from the ship's containers. The Receiver of Wreck received reports of about 1,400 items being salvaged. The ship was carrying more than 2,300 containers, of which 110 went overboard and 58 were washed ashore.

From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Fri. May 18 2007)

From The Cargo Letter - 9 June 2007 - Refloating Has Begun!

The mobilization of pumping equipment which will be used to refloat the vessel has begun, although a final decision about how M/V MSC Napoli will be disposed of has not yet been made. The options being considered are for the vessel to be cut up and removed or refloated and towed away for break up or placement on the seabed. Whichever option is chosen, the operation to refloat the vessel will require good weather. Weather permitting the vessel should be ready for refloatation by the end of June.

Although all accessible oils have been removed, there will be some oils retained within the hull structure. It is possible that this residual oil will be released into the sea during any refloating or cutting up operation. Procedures will be in place to contain and manage any oil, although it would be in such small quantity that a release would quickly disperse.

Recent tests of water samples taken from within the hull of M/V MSC Napoli indicate that toxicity levels are not of concern.

Patching of Number 5 hold is complete. Water ingress points in Number 7 hold have been sealed and are being air tested. Patching in number 4 hold is continuing. Skimming is continuing in the engine room, passage ways and number 6 hold. There have been no new reports of oil at sea or on shore. Three sides of a container have been located and recovered at Golden Cap - its identification number to be confirmed.

From our Correspondent Ashely Black.

Efforts For M/V MSC Napoli Continue Round The Clock

M/V MSC Napoli Down By The Stern 

Gunsight View Approaching M/V MSC Napoli

From Our Contributor - 8 June 2007 -Approaching M/V MSC Napoli By Air

Over M/V Napoli at Branscombe 8th June 2007 and took these photos for The Cargo Letter

Paul Tucker Pilot & Tony Griffiths Photographer   

A Different Perspective By Aerial Survey From Tony Griffiths Photographer

Tony Griffiths Captures List To Starboard 

From Our Contributor - 2 July 2007 -About Filming M/V MSC Napoli By Air - EXCLUSIVE

"Branscombe beach is close to our home airfield of Dunkeswell, Devon. The coastline is a regular route for training flights. After M/V MSC Napoli became big news, the UK Civil Aviation Authority placed an exclusion zone for aircraft around the ship, up to 2,500 feet. Needless to say, every bored aviator for miles around went to have a look and some control was required. This has now been removed and so we are allowed to overfly at 500 feet.

Our aircraft is a Piper Cherokee 180, a single engined low wing monoplane - great for touring, but tricky for photos due to the big white sticky-out bits either side.

I'm very happy to help contribute to CargoLaw - a very interesting site!"

Paul Tucker - Civil Aviation Pilot

Editor Note:

Thanks Paul & Tony for your great contribution. Thanks also for maintaining that required CAA minimum altitude! The best photos are the safe ones for all concerned. Stll, your pictures showed us a different view as well as insights to the present condiction of M/V MSC Napoli. (see photos below) As to taking photos from a Cherokee -- having spent many hours in a Piper Cherokee 140 -- I well understand the challenge!

McD

Bigfoot Remains Alongside

Paul Tucker Makes A Low Pass (Above 500 ft.) Over M/V MSC Napoli

But All Is Not Well For M/V MSC Napoli 

M/V MSC Napoli Is Partially Submerged.

Paul Tucker & Tony Griffiths Surely Have Given Us A New Perspective On This Loss

From The Cargo Letter - 8 July 2007 - Refloating Tomorrow?

An attempt is to be made to refloat M/V MSC Napoli, nearly six months after her grounding off the Devon coast.

The refloating operation will begin at high tide at about 0700 BST on July 9.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said that if the operation was successful M/V MSC Napoli would be held in Branscombe Bay until a decision was made on her future.

A spokesman said the decision was taken by the Secretary of State's Representative, Robin Middleton, after reviewing the condition of the ship and prevailing weather conditions in Lyme Bay. "The decision to refloat the vessel has been made to prevent further deterioration in the structure of the ship and to prevent further damage to the environment," the spokesman said.

It will take several hours to pump out the thousands of tons of water from the beached vessel and a fair-weather window of 3 days is needed to complete the refloating operation. Bigfoot with winches & cranes, along with tugs and an anti-pollution vessel will be on hand during the operation and an aircraft will also be on scene to spot any pollution from the Napoli.

If the ship is refloated, divers from the Dutch salvage company, Smit International, will be sent down to carry out a thorough survey below the waterline. The survey results will be used by naval architects to help determine the remaining strength of the vessel.

There will come a time when M/V MSC Napoli cannot be refloated due to the ravages of wind, weather & time -- hence the time is now.

From our Correspondent Ashely Black.

From The Cargo Letter - 9 July 2007 am - The Cargo Letter Air Force Grounded.

I flew over M/V MSC Napoli yesterday July 8 at about 1300 hours and there is a lot of activity. M/V MSC Napoli is still in a similar situation, with starboard gunwales under water, but initial (low flow) pumping was under way at the bow, with anti-pollution monitoring of the very small amount of oil in the outflow. I asked my son to take some photos, but then discovered that the camera's memory card had been left at home by yours truly.

I am told by another pilot that M/V MSC Napoli has been refloated (1300 hours local) and has her bow pointing North.

My plane is in for an engine repair until the weekend - sorry!

From Our Air Correspondent Paul Tucker - Civil Aviation Pilot

Editor Note --

Paul, throughout a hundred photo features of cargo disasters over the world during the past 11 years -- you are our first ever Air Correspondent! Thank you for giving us a perspective truly unique to Cargo Law. Our readers appreciate your fine effort.

McD

M/V MSC Napoli - 6 Months "Crack'n On The Sidmouth."

1300 Hrs July 9 2007

Smit International Refloats The Vessel -- Towed To A Possible New Life

From The Cargo Letter - 9 July 2007 pm - She Rises!

Stricken container M/V MSC Napoli has been refloated, nearly 6 months after she was grounded off the south Devon coast.

The 62,000 ton vessel floated free a mile off Sidmouth after 58,000 tons of water was pumped from her massive holds.

M/V MSC Napoli has been towed 500m south of its original position where she will be inspected by divers for several days before her next move.

M/V MSC Napoli carrying 2,300 containers was damaged & grounded in a storm in Jan. 2007.

Our favorite barge Bigfoot with winches & cranes, along with tugs and an anti-pollution vessel are assisting at sea in Branscombe Bay.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) spokesman & great frien of The Cargo Letter Fred Caygill told BBC News: "It's a fantastic milestone, everyone here is very relieved.

From our Correspondent Ashely Black.

Editor Note --

For the future, it will be a case of evaluating M/V MSC Napoli for her next move & her future. But so far -- in U.S. Navy terms -- BRAVO ZULU!

Once again Smit International has proven itself as a leader in world maritime salvage. We had our doubts, but BRAVO ZULU! Disney could have not have done more with special effects!

M/V MSC Napoli is no longer "Crack'n On The Sidmouth." We again remind our readers that there are many tonight who continue to suffer -- for failure to purchase quality marine cargo insurnce to cover their goods.

McD

From The Cargo Letter - 13 July 2007 pm - The Dream Is Lost! Grounded Again!

Stricken M/V MSC Napoli is grounded again. Survey on M/V MSC Napoli shows more damage than anticipated

Stricken M/V MSC Napoli is being grounded once again off the south Devon coast because of safety concerns.

The container vessel was refloated on 9 July in Branscombe Bay, but a diving survey has revealed she is more damaged than was first thought. A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said the vessel was "nearly in two halves" and drifting towards a new position.

M/V MSC Napoli was originally grounded in Jan. 2007 after being damaged in storms.

M/V MSC Napoli was refloated on 9 July, nearly six months after she was grounded off the south Devon coast. The 62,000-ton vessel floated free a mile off Sidmouth after 58,000 tons of water was pumped from her holds. The ship had been towed 500m south of its original position, where it has now been inspected by divers for several days.

MCA spokesman Toby Stone said M/V MSC Napoli was cracked right around the hull & drifting towards a new position about half a mile off shore.

Pumps will fill her with water to stabilize her once she settles on the sea floor. He said it would then be the responsibility of the owners, Zodiac Maritime to dispose of her in consultation with the authorities.

Options include floating the bow off, lifting the stern section or cutting her up where she lies. Mr Stone said: "What has happened is unfortunate but it is just one of those things." The salvage operation has so far cost in the region of £50M.

Editor Note --

On 11 May we opined:

"For the future, it will be a case of trying to work out the best methodology -- whether authorities cut M/V MSC Napoli in two pieces or whether she will be refloated as she is. But M/V MSC Napoli will be removed from this ecologically sensitive site -- one way or the other. McD"

This has always seemed to us a risky business -- ever since the original hull crack in January 2007. The risk never ended -- only the optimism.

This explains why -- BACK IN JANUARY 2007 -- we originally titled our feature --"Crack'n On The Sidmouth"

Our great joy & optimism has now been returned --back to our original analysis & fears of Jan. & May of 2007.

McD

From The Cargo Letter - 15 July 2007 pm - The Dream Is Lost! THE LADY WILL BE CUT IN TWO.

Attempts are being made to break the stricken M/V MSC Napoli in two in Branscombe Bay in Devon.

M/V MSC Napoli was rebeached on July 12 after earlier being refloated when a diving survey revealed she was more severely damaged than feared.

M/V MSC Napoli is now lying just a short distance from where she has been stranded for the past six months. Salvors have been working overnight to remove ballast in an attempt to facilitate a controlled break-up of the vessel by causing the hull to sag. If the operation works it would leave the bow section afloat which could then be towed away and the stern would sink to the seabed and eventually be removed. The bow is already high in the water and the salvors are hopeful this will work today. Oil-covered birds have been rescued at an east Devon beach where stricken M/V MSC Napoli is being broken up. The oil was residual pollution left over from the tanks being pumped out. The National Trust has told people to avoid the area. Salvage teams are cleaning up oil patches on beaches.

From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Sun. July 15 2007)

From Our Correspondent In The Cargo Law Air Force - 18 June 2007 -Once Again Approaching M/V MSC Napoli By Air

The Cargo Law Air Force is no longer grounded & flew once again over M/V MSC Napoli 18 July 2007 at 2pm local time. It's all become busy again, and there is a flight restriction in force again, so no flying allowed below 2,000 feet within a mile of our poor girl.

Well, the newspapers are full of pictures of reports of controlled explosions just in front of the bridge, but she is still hanging in there! So now it seems to be the turn of the pullers and shovers. We can see a big crack in the starboard side just forward of the bridge, and she most definitely ain't straight and level anymore, but she seems determined to prove that she was only kidding when she pretended to break up before.

From Our Air Correspondent Paul Tucker - Civil Aviation Pilot

From The Cargo Letter - 18 July 2007 pm - Even Dynamite Can't Kill M/V MSC Napoli

More blasts plan to break up M/V MSC Napoli as Coastguards believe more explosives will probably have to be detonated on July 20 to split the beached container ship off the Devon coast

Explosions were triggered on M/V MSC Napoli, off Branscombe, on July 17 and again at 1404 BST on July 18.

But an inspection revealed M/V MSC Napoli remained intact, although she was "hanging on by a thread".

Tugs positioned at the bow & stern will continue attempts to pull M/V MSC Napoli apart.

The operation is being carried out by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Ministry of Defence. (MoD).

MCA spokesman Paul Coley told BBC News all the explosives had gone off successfully, but more cutting charges would be used on July 20 "in all probability" in a bid to obtain a clean break around the front of the accommodation tower.

The aim is to break the stern section away from the remainder of the vessel along the line of a huge crack running round the hull.

An assessment team which went on board the Napoli included the government's representative Robin Middleton.

Mr Coley said: : "M/V MSC Napoli is still holding together, but very much weaker. It could be hanging on by a thread."

Once the forward section of the vessel is separated the plan is to tow it into deeper water and anchor it.

Divers will assess her structure and sites will be identified where it could be towed for recycling - this could be either in Europe or the UK.

The stern section, including the accommodation block, will be left where it is and will be cut up and recycled. That operation could take about a month.

Mr Coley said the whole operation to salvage M/V MSC Napoli was a "major disaster averted".

An extended exclusion zone on the shore & cliffs at Branscombe was enforced ahead of the explosion, amid fears of debris damage, but the footpaths were later reopened by the police.

The 1,000m exclusion zone around M/V MSC Napoli remains in place and if the decision is taken to trigger more explosives on July 19, footpaths will be closed again for the public's safety.

From our Correspondent Ashely Black.

M/V MSC Napoli From From our Air Correspondents --Paul Tucker Pilot & Tony Griffiths Photographer

From The Cargo Letter - 20 July 2007 - M/V MSC Napoli In Two

A 3rd round of explosives has split the beached container M/V MSC Napoli in two off the Devon coast on July 20. Explosions were triggered soon after midday on M/V MSC Napoli. The stern of the ship will stay on site and be cut up while the bow section has been towed away for recycling, possibly in mainland Europe. Two previous explosions on July 17 & 18 had been unsuccessful. The operation was carried out by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The two halves of the ship had detached cleanly, there was no chance of re-floating the stern section. The stern, including the accommodation block, would remain grounded where a contractor would dismantle it and the metal would be recycled. Contractors could be working on the stern within a month, and it would take about 3 further months to dismantle. A large boom was in position to catch any oil which may leak from the vessel in her position about half a mile off Sidmouth.

From our Sr. Correspondent Tim Schwabedissen (Sun. July 22 2007)

Aerial View of Containers At at Portland Port in Dorset From Our Air Correspondent Paul Tucker - Civil Aviation Pilot

From Our Correspondent In The Cargo Law Air Force - Over The Portland Port in Dorset

So, round and round we went, and below us a police helicopter hovered near the cliffs , and the tugs just tugged and tugged.... For some reason, there is a large police presence on the roads to the cliffs - we saw at least ten police vehicles. Perhaps it is to deter scrap merchants???

From Our Air Correspondent Paul Tucker - Civil Aviation Pilot

Aerial View of Containers At at Portland Port in Dorset From Our Air Correspondent Paul Tucker - Civil Aviation Pilot

 

Aerial View From Our Air Correspondent Paul Tucker - Civil Aviation Pilot

Very Soon -- The Two Halves of M/V MSC Napoli Will Be Relegated To History ......

....... And The Coast Will Return To Its Ancient Normal.

Good Night M/V MSC Napoli?

 

Editors Note: Expect Our Contining Coverage.

THIS IS PAGE 4 -- Feature Updates

Readers Note: This Feature Has Now Moved Forward To 5 Pages:

Page 1 M/V MSC Napoli- Initial Reports - to Jan. 29

Page 2 M/V MSC Napoli - Jan. 30 To May 17 - Daily On-Scene Commentary - Container Removal Operations

Page 3 M/V MSC Napoli - Feb. 6 2007 - Presentation To The EU Parliament - Casualty Management Issues

Page 4 M/V MSC Napoli - May 18 To July 22 - Vessel Refloating Operations

Updates Below - go to the feature

18 May 2007 - All Containers Removed!

9 June 2007 - Refloating Has Begun!

8 June 2007 - Aerial Survey

8 July 2007 - Refloating Tomorrow?

9 July 2007 - M/V MSC Napoli Is Refloated - Our Air Force Is Grounded!

13 July 2007 pm - The Dream Is Lost? Grounded Again!

15 July 2007 pm - The Dream Is Lost! THE LADY WILL BE CUT IN TWO.

18 July 2007 - Even Dynamite Can't Kill M/V MSC Napoli

20 July 2007 - M/V MSC Napoli In Two

Page 5 M/V MSC Napoli - July 20-23 -The Death of M/V MSC Napoli - The Blast

25 July 2007 - Two Points of View

7 Aug. 2007 - M/V MSC Napoli In The Afterlife

18 Aug. 2007 - M/V MSC Napoli - Her End

Links, Features & Contributors

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NOTE: Please Provide Us With Your Additional Information For This Loss. Please Contribute.

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EDITOR'S NOTE FOR SURVEYORS, ATTORNEYS & MARINE ADJUSTERS: The Internet edition effort of The Cargo Letter now celebrates it's 8th Year of Service -- making us quite senior in this segment of the industry. We once estimated container underway losses at about 1,500 per year. Lloyd's put that figure at about 10,000 earlier this year. Quite obviously, the reporting mechanism for these massive losses is not supported by the lines. News of these events is not posted to the maritime community. Our new project is to call upon you -- those handling the claims -- to let us know of each container loss at sea-- in confidentiality. Many of you survey on behalf of cargo interests with no need for confidentiality. Others work for the lines & need to be protected. As a respected Int'l publication, The Cargo Letter enjoys full press privileges & cannot be forced to disclose our sources of information. No successful attempt has ever been made. If a personal notation for your report is desired -- each contributor will be given a "hot link" to your company Website in each & every report. Please take moment & report your "overside" containers to us. If you do not wish attribution, your entry will be "anonymous." This will will benefit our industry -- for obvious reasons! McD

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* NOTE: The Cargo Letter wants you to know that by keeping the identity of our contributors 100% Confidential, you are able to view our continuing series of "Cargo Disasters." Our friends send us materials which benefit the industry. The materials are provided to our news publication with complete and enforceable confidentiality for the sender. In turn, we provide these materials to you.  Please Contribute

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