A LARGE crane vessel managed to slightly shift a cargo ship that ran aground in the shallow part of a beach at Koh Phra Thong island off Phang Nga coast on June 7 after removing 30 containers with a tugboat that came to its rescue also stuck there, Amarin TV said this morning (June 21).
Salvaging of both Namthong 39 cargo ship and YKP Marine tugboat was difficult because of extremely strong winds and it was only after 15 days that the ship’s owner managed to send in the large crane ship and a dredging vessel to begin the work.
Officials at Phang Nga Port Control Centre, Phang Nga Regional Harbour Office and Mangrove Resource Conservation Centre 12 held talks with DPM Corporation Co., Ltd., the ship salvaging company, which has now removed 30 containers from the cargo ship and shifted it a bit.
Second Lt. Kittiphome Samaiklang, the head of Phang Nga Regional Harbour Office, said officials and the cargo ship’s owner agreed to move in the crane vessel to salvage the beached ship and tugboat with the latter asking for 18 days to complete the task.
According to a Yahoo! News report published earlier, marine rescue officers evacuated eight crew members from the vessels while waiting for a higher tide and better weather conditions.
The container ship’s captain, Indonesian national Efendi Takarendehang, said they were en route from Myanmar to Indonesia when they encountered big waves and strong winds.
Efendi said: “We all had physical checks and will have to be in quarantine for the Covid-19 preventive measures. Everyone is safe.”
Both ships were not damaged and there was no sign of oil spillage with the valves having been closed before water was pumped out of them.
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Work underway to salvage Namthong 39 cargo ship YKP Marine tugboat. Photos: Amarin TV
