MSC Container Ship Breaks Down Near Canary Islands, Gets Emergency Tow

MSC Boxship — Screengrab from Facebook video posted by Salvamento Marítimo

A Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) containership that broke down off the coast of Gran Canaria over the weekend was successfully towed to the port of Las Palmas by Spanish maritime responders.

On Saturday, the feeder vessel MSC Talia F, with a capacity of 1,000 TEU, suffered a mechanical failure about eight nautical miles east-northeast of Punta Melenara.

The ship, measuring around 140 meters in length and carrying containers, including some with dangerous cargo under the IMDG Code, began drifting southward at a speed of about two knots.

Wind conditions were reported to be from the north-northeast at 25 to 30 knots, with seas roughly two meters high.

The Spanish search and rescue service, Salvamento Maritimo, dispatched the emergency response vessel Heroines of Salvora to assist the stranded boxship.

The rescue crew reached the location at 21:50 Canary time, but due to the weather and sea conditions, they were only able to secure the tow line just before midnight.

Captain Angel Tellez, who led the rescue aboard Heroines of Salvora, described the vessel’s condition and the operation details, stating that the container ship appeared to have suffered a problem with a fuel pump.

According to Tellez, the towing procedure went smoothly once the connection was made, and the rescue was successfully completed by 6:00 the next morning when the ship was handed over to harbour pilots and port tugs at Las Palmas.

The captain also acknowledged the teamwork that made the operation possible, thanking the Las Palmas Coordination Center, port authorities, pilot services, and other agencies for their coordination efforts.

The crew of Heroines of Salvora has recently received an award in Gijon for “Best Shipbuilding of the Year,” and Tellez noted the achievement with pride as they posed for a celebratory photo after the rescue.

MSC Talia F, built in 2005, is a 12,000 dwt feeder vessel. It is registered in Liberia and operated by MSC, the world’s largest container liner company.

The vessel underwent inspections last year, during which minor issues related to corrosion and piping were reported, but none were serious enough to warrant a detention.

The vessel resumed her commercial voyage on Monday and is now back under way.

This is the second breakdown of an older MSC operated container ship in recent months. In February, the 2003-built MSC Baltic III lost power during a winter storm off the west coast of Newfoundland and ran aground.

That incident forced the crew to abandon the vessel, which remains stuck on a rocky ledge. Small amounts of tar balls have since been found along nearby coastlines.

Reference: Salvamento Maritimo

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