Drifting Moen Marin vessels are worth £12.9m
Four boats that were being carried on board the stricken Dutch freighter Eemslift Hendrika have a combined worth of NOK 150 million (£12.9m) and all belong to Norwegian ship builder Moen Marin, it has been revealed.
One of the vessels, a service boat called the AQS Tor, was washed overboard and is drifting separately. The boat was due to join the fleet of fish farming services supplier AQS.
The crew of the Eemslift Hendrika were airlifted to safety on Monday after cargo in the hold shifted during a heavy storm, causing the vessel to list dangerously. It is hoped both the freighter and the service boat can be salvaged.
People are safe
“The most important thing has been to save people, the environment and values, in that order. Now it seems to be going well with all three,” said Terje Andreassen, general manager of Moen Marin, which is owned by aquaculture industry supplier Scale AQ.
Andreassen pointed out that the situation is still unclear, and that the company will make other inspections when the boats arrive in port.
“We do not have full information about the other boats, and we will not get the final overview until we have inspected any damage,” said Andreassen, who added that the vessels are well insured.
May attempt connection tonight
AQS, in collaboration with Moen Marin and insurer Gjensidige, has engaged tugboat supplier Stadt Sea Transport to try to salvage the AQS Tor.
AQS communications manager Ove Magne Ribsskog said the latest update from Stadt Sea Transport is that the crew of the Stadt Sløvåg tugboat will make an attempt to connect to AQS Tor as soon as the weather allows, which might be tonight.
“Previous information was that they would wait until Thursday morning, but they will not wait if they do not have to,” Ribsskog said in an email.
“Towards the end of Thursday, worse weather has been reported again, and therefore they do not dare to wait too long before making an attempt.”
