ZHOUSHAN: Containership MSC Silvana VIII has suffered severe flooding and remains heavily grounded in the Zhoushan area of China after being driven aground in July during severe weather.
The 2006-built vessel, operated by MSC, is 332 meters long and has a capacity of 8,401 TEU. It arrived at a ship repair yard in Zhoushan on 22 June from Gwangyang, South Korea, and departed on 11 July before encountering difficulties and grounding near Daishan during Dolphin typhoon.
Several attempts to refloat the vessel have failed. By early August, the stern, engine room and several cargo holds had been flooded, with a large section of the hull subsequently submerged and only the bow and forward section remaining above water.
Thousands of tons of fuel oil have been removed from the vessel, reducing the risk of a major pollution incident and facilitating possible recovery operations. However, an approaching typhoon is expected to further complicate salvage efforts and could increase the risk of additional structural damage or movement of the vessel.
With extensive flooding and the vessel resting unevenly on the seabed, any further refloating attempt will be technically challenging because of the structural stresses on the hull.
