Straightening it out

The 137,567dwt Polembros OBO Lassia which sagged, almost splitting in two during discharge at Taranto, is under repair at Tuzla Shipyard in Turkey. The vessel, which ended up with its mid section touching bottom and the aft and stern out of the water, was salvaged and towed to Turkey by Tsavliris.

It arrived in Tuzla Bay with a draught of 5.5m aft, 13.5m in the middle, and -1.5m forward. De-ballasting was carried out to partially correct the sag before it entered drydock with a draught of 6.4m aft, 6.6m in the middle and 3.6m forward. The vessel was docked onto level blocks using a combination of further de-ballasting and controlled lifting of the floating dock.

Severe damage was limited to a 3-4m section in cargo hold no 3, and the decision was taken to cut away the damaged area and reconnect the two remaining parts. A 17.6m section was cut away in large pieces, and the vessel was re-floated and repositioned prior to a final cut for weld preparation. The fore and aft sections were then refloated again and positioned for welding, which is scheduled to take 15 days. A hatch cover was made to fit the shortened no. 3 hold.