MSC Napoli
MSC Napoli suffered flooding to the engine room during force 8 gales on Thursday 18 January 2007, 40 miles south of Cornwall. This occurred in International waters within the French Search and Rescue zone. The 26 crew abandoned ship and were safely rescued from their lifeboat by helicopter.
After continuous bad weather, the cracks on both sides of the ship worsened and the stern of the ship gradually started settling lower in the water.
With the risk of the vessel sinking the decision was made by the coastguard to beach the vessel and ballast it down east of Sidmouth to minimise the amount of pollution.
MSC Napoli suffered flooding to the engine room during force 8 gales on Thursday 18 January 2007
A full salvage operation was conducted and, although oil was pumped from the vessel, it is estimated that about 300 tonnes of oil leaked. This was dispersed by approximately 10 tonnes of chemical dispersants, approved by the MFA.
Monitoring of water around the vessel, the benthic environment, various shellfish, and birds was undertaken.
The results can be found by following the links on this page.