An unmanned cargo ship and spent five days adrift and approaches the French coast – La Voz del Interior

The Panamanian-flagged freighter “Modern Express”, unmanned and adrift for five days in the Bay of Biscay, uncontrolled advances at a speed of two knots and is now located 109 kilometers Arcachon Bay, on the western coast, reported the Maritime Prefecture of the Atlantic.

The current wind gusts of 80 mph and floods up to 6 meters do not allow to send to the rescue , who yesterday managed to make a “technical survey” on board “Modern Express”, which is heeled, the French authorities said in a statement.

After failed attempts paths for refloat the ship on Friday and Saturday rescue forces expected to open tomorrow a ‘more favorable weather window “for a new attempt to control that freighter of 164 meters.

Inside, the” Modern Express “transports a 3,600 tons of wood and a dozen public works machinery, cargo could move causing the boat to tilt sideways.

No crew on board, no apparent water leak, so experts at Salvage believe that it is feasible to regain control of the ship, according to the EFE news agency.

One option being considered is to tow the ship to a land bank where you can straighten and dig after the sand to remove it afloat.

The 22 crew members were evacuated five days ago in a helicopter Sea Rescue Spanish, which is involved in the rescue of a boat that was skewed north of Cape Ortegal, about 370 kilometers of the coast, and continued to drift to the Bay of Biscay.

The ship, which had sailed from Gabon destined for the Norman port of Le Havre, has an inclination of about 50 degrees, which coupled with bad weather hampers operations.

In their tanks is calculated carrying 300 tons of fuel, so it is not susceptible to “generate a large oil slick” if a spill occurs, according to the Maritime Prefecture, located in the Brittany town of Brest.

On the one Primauguet rescue merchant ship holds a Lynx helicopter on board the tugboat “Abeille Bourbon”, chartered by the French Navy and equipped by the Dutch company SMIT Salvage, it was responsible for towing the Prestige off the Galician coast in 2002.

This society hired two Spanish tugs, the “Ria de Vigo” and “Centaurus” who complete the quota with Argonaute vessel also chartered by the French Navy and equipped with specialized means of pollution control, detailed Prefecture.