The Swedish Coast Guard’s crew on board KBV 181 has been working to prevent an oil spill from a tugboat that has run aground outside Norrbyskär, an environmental rescue service that has now ended.
Late on Monday 12 February, a 28-metre-long tugboat ran aground outside Norrbyskär, south of Umeå. The tugboat ran aground while assisting a sister ship and a barge.
The Swedish Coast Guard received the alert at midnight between Monday and Tuesday. KBV 181 immediately interrupted an ongoing patrol with a research focus they were conducting outside Skellefteå and headed towards the incident.
Next day the Coast Guard’s divers carried out a bottom inspection of the hull. There were no holes, but on the other hand the boat was so heavily listed that she was filled with water from the stern, water penetrated into the living quarters, and the engine room.
The Coast Guard then switched to sealing pipe openings and hatches, everything that was above the water.
With the completion of the sealing, the Coast Guard’s environmental rescue mission has ended, but a preliminary investigation into suspected negligence in maritime traffic is still ongoing, the Swedish Coast Guard reports.
The actual salvage of the wreck will be carried out by a salvage company hired by the shipping company’s insurance company and the Coast Guard will continuously monitor the wreckage from its aircraft.
Throughout the work, the Coast Guard has worked closely with the Swedish Transport Agency’s experts, who have issued statements on the company’s salvage plan.
“It wasn’t easy work in the cold, the snow and the slippery conditions and because the boat was listing, but we worked slowly and safely. The temperature was only a few degrees below zero, but the wind was still strong,” says Commander Daniel Bergman, who is very pleased with the work of the entire crew and that no one was injured.
