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Stricken Napoli to be dynamited
• Fears of further oil pollution from salvage operation
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By
Mis Tek-EE, contributing editor
Tuesday,
17 July, 2007
The stricken container ship the MSC Napoli is to be split apart today using explosives, after a failed attempt last week to refloat it, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said.
The operation risks more oil spilling into the sea and on to the Devon coast - part of a world heritage site - but the coastguard agency said splitting the ship would give the salvage teams more options for safely disposing of its parts.
A 1 kilometre exclusion zone will be maintained around the vessel during the operation, and a shipping warning issued. On the Branscombe coast, footpaths have been closed ahead of today's detonations. The public has also been urged not to try to watch the event from the cliffs, as it could be dangerous.
The vessel, 800 metres off Sidmouth, Devon, is already split around the hull just forward of the accommodation block, and is only held together by deck plates. The coastguard agency said the operation would first cut the deck plates, then the joists along the length of the ship.
"It is then hoped that this will allow the part of the ship forward of the accommodation block to be parted from the stern," a spokesman said. "The operation will be carried out by experts and will be undertaken in a controlled manner." He warned that more residual oil could be released when the ship is split.
On Monday of last week, locals celebrated as the Napoli was floated 1,600 metres offshore where it had rested on the seabed since January 20. But it was regrounded again on Thursday after divers found three-metre cracks in the hull, making it impossible to tow it to a salvage yard.
Residual oil ended up on the tide line at nearby Branscombe beach and several sea birds were affected. Around 200 tonnes of oil leaked from the vessel when it was first grounded, affecting around 1,900 seabirds. A further 4,000 tonnes of fuel oil have been pumped from the Napoli's tanks.
(Read our earlier stories on the wreck of the Napoli in the Maritime Matters section)
The Naked Reader 2007
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