Operation under way to recover bodies and cargo from Bow Mariner wreck

A formidable array of marine salvage expertise and equipment is converging in the Hampton Roads area to conduct a two-pronged operation to locate and recover the missing seamen and to remove any remaining ethanol and fuel oil from the sunken tanker.

The 39,821 DWT tanker, Bow Mariner, sank on February 28, in the Atlantic Ocean 50 nautical miles off the Virginia coast in 264 feet of water after experiencing several explosions and fire. The tanker, which was built in Split in 1982 to DNV class, was loaded with 3.5 million gallons of industrial ethanol and was en route from Linden, N.J., to Houston, Texas. Six crewmen survived, 3 bodies have been recovered and 18 are still missing.

“One of the main purposes of the salvage operation is to locate and retrieve the missing seamen,” said Captain Michael Shuker, Director of the Safety, Security and Compliance Division of Ceres Hellenic Shipping Enterprises, the managers of the tanker.

“Naturally the other mission will be to determine if there is any cargo or fuel oil still inside the vessel, and to see if it can be pumped into containers without damaging the marine environment,” said Knut Dybvik, Vice President of Odfjell USA, who represents the vessel’s owners.

The equipment being assembled includes the77 metre Mystic Viking, a DP diving support vessel that will be the working platform for the salvage operation. The vessel’s crew has been augmented so it can conduct round-the-clock saturation diving operations if necessary. The vessel is equipped with an array of high-tech gear including flexible hoses and pumps that can be inserted into the sunken vessel’s tanks to remove cargo or fuel without harming the environment. It is currently en route from the US Gulf and is scheduled to arrive at the site next weekend.

This Monday, the 70 metre offshore supply vessel Powhatan arrived in Hampton Roads to conduct a comprehensive visual survey of the Bow Mariner using a ROV – remotely operated vehicle. A spokesman for Ceres Hellenic said that if any of the missing seamen are located, their remains will be treated with great dignity, and will be carried to the surface with care.

Ceres Hellenic and Odfjell issued a joint statement in which they expressed their appreciation to the US Coast Guard for ?professionalism and bravery?. They recognized that the human cost of the casualty would have been much greater had it not been for the prompt response and courage of the US Coast Guard. In particular, they mentionned the actions of rescue swimmer Dave Foreman, who went into the water to rescue one of the seamen under hazardous conditions.

The statement went on to say that both companies are aggressively investigating the cause of the incident and are determined to know what happened, in what sequence and why.