I’ve decided to bring forward the next Monday Stranded Giant Container Ship post because there has been an unforeseen development – M/V APL Panama is afloat! Cargolaw:
March 10 2006 — SHE FLOATS !!!!!
M/V APL Panama — beached since Christmas Day 2005 — floated away from the Mexican beach at 4:41 a.m. March 10!!!M/V APL Panama is now 2 miles offshore in rough seas, held in place by Crowley tugs at her bow & stern. Mexican Navy vessels & helicopters remain nearby, as does a containment vessel to pick up any possible oil spills. Dredger Francesco di Giorgio, up from Nicaragua to dig a channel near M/V APL Panama after repeated attempts to pull her free with tugboats and other equipment failed. Now divers representing such diverse groups as the vessel owners, the insurance companies and the Mexican government are carefully checking the hull for damage. With most all the cargo having been air-lifted or craned off — the question now is what toll may have been taken, if any, by this massive tonnage sitting on hard ground. Either way — now the lawsuits will begin.
They surely will. Apparently the Mexican government won’t let the ship leave until all bills have been settled, including those for restoring the beach to its prior condition. So now the dredger Francesco di Giorgio has dug a channel deep enough to get the ship out, they will have to put all the sand back where they got it from. Before it goes anywhere, the ship will certainly be going into dry dock anyway – and, according to local press reports, there is no dry dock in Mexico big enough.
And what becomes of the freight offloaded onto the beach or discharged (presumably) whereever she goes for repairs will probably make the Cargolaw guys even richer than they already are.
