Semco saves Nina

A Semco Salvage team has successfully completed a challenging operation to save the 64,401 dwt bulk carrier Nina, having extinguished fires in the casualty?s coal cargo. Nina, loaded 58,624 tonnes of coal in China, was on a voyage to Turkey. On 25 September, while the bulker was in Singapore for a bunker stop, the vessel reported fire in the holds.

Semco was contracted on LOF 2000 and invoked SCOPIC on the following day on this 1976-built vessel. The response was undertaken in association with SMIT Salvage, participating under ISU subcontract. Semco?s salvage master Chris Richards said: “We immediately mobilised two of our 10,000 bhp salvage tugs, Salvaliant and Salvigour, to go to Nina?s assistance. SMIT contributed the anchor handling tug Dea Chancellor. Also on hand were harbour tugs from Semco?s parent company, PSA Marine. These tugs assisted in shifting the Nina to Raffles Anchorage. On arrival, we found Nina emitting dense smoke and a thermal imager revealed fires in all holds. The bulk carrier?s crew remained on board and assisted the salvage team.

“Nina?s hatch covers were closed. We made no attempt to open them at this time, as oxygen would have aggravated the fires. The tugs began cooling as we prepared to inject CO2 into two holds, Nos. 4 and 6. This had no impact on the deep-seated fires. More radical action was required to save the bulk carrier.” It became obvious that the only way to save the ship was to deliberately ground the casualty and flood the holds.

The MPA extended their co-operation and joined the salvage team in identifying a suitable location for the deliberate grounding. The controlled grounding was achieved on 30 September at high water and along the desired alignment, with the casualty assuming a list to starboard of just 2.5 deg. The salvage team worked swiftly, opening the hatch covers and flooding each hold, commencing with hold Nos. 2, 3 and 4. Pumps were rigged and each hold took several hours to flood and all fires were extinguished by October 2. The fire in hold No. 5 was by far the most difficult to extinguish and was overcome by a combination of flooding and the use of the tugs? monitors and fire hoses.

Chris Richards stated: “The operation then moved into a new phase. We mobilised barges for the part-discharge of the cargo. Three barge cranes were rigged with grabs and around 15,000 tonnes of coal was discharged. This began on October 7 and the discharge operation was completed by October 14. It also coincided with favourable high tide conditions. Nina was refloated on October 15.