MV Cemfjord
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: |
Margareta (1984–2004) Cemfjord (2004–15) |
| Owner: |
Thekla Schepers KG, Haren (1984–95) Shark Shipping Co, NV, Willemstad (1995–2008) Arouno Shipping Co Ltd, Limassol (2008–15) |
| Operator: |
Margareta & Co, Haren (1984–95) Brise Bereederungs GmbH & Co KG, Hamburg (1995–2015) |
| Port of registry: |
 Haren, West Germany (1984–89) Haren, Germany (1989–2008) Limassol, Cyprus (2008–15) |
| Builder: | Detlef Hegemann Rolandwerft, Bremen |
| Yard number: | 126 |
| Laid down: | 15 February 1984 |
| Launched: | 31 August 1984 |
| Completed: | November 1984 |
| Out of service: | 2 January 2015 |
| Identification: |
IMO number: 8403569 Callsign DCOG (1984–2008), P3ZG9 (2008–15) |
| Fate: | Sank |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 1,850 GT 2,327 DWT 661 NT |
| Length: | 83.13 metres (272 ft 9 in) overall |
| Beam: | 11.34 metres (37 ft 2 in) |
| Height: | 21.00 metres (68 ft 11 in) |
| Draught: | 4.40 metres (14 ft 5 in) |
| Installed power: | Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz SBV 6M 628 diesel engine, 1,175 kilowatts (1,576 hp) @ 90rpm bow thruster 136 kilowatts (182 hp) |
| Propulsion: | Screw propeller |
| Speed: | 10 knots (19 km/h) |
| Capacity: | 72 teu (1984–2008) |
| Crew: | 8 |
The Cemfjord was a Cyprus-registered cargo ship which foundered in the Pentland Firth off the north-east coast of Scotland on 2 January 2015 with the presumed loss of her eight crew members. Built as the general cargo ship Margareta in 1984, she was converted to carry cement in 1998 and was en route from Aalborg, Denmark to Runcorn, Cheshire, United Kingdom when she capsized in bad weather.
Description
The ship was 83.13 metres (272 ft 9 in) long overall, with a beam of 11.34 metres (37 ft 2 in). She had a draught of 4.40 metres (14 ft 5 in) and a height of 21.00 metres (68 ft 11 in). The ship was assessed at 1,850 GT,[1] 2,327 DWT,[2] 661 NT.[1]
She was powered by a Klöckner-Humboldt-Deutz 6M 628 diesel engine which produced 1,175 kilowatts (1,576 hp) at 90rpm. The engine was a four-stroke engine with six cylinders of 240mm diameter by 280mm stroke.[3] It drove a screw propeller, which could propel her at 10 knots (19 km/h). The ship was also equipped with a 136 kilowatts (182 hp) bow thruster.[1]
History
The ship was built as yard number 126 by Detlef Hegemann Rolandwerft GmbH, Bremen, West Germany. Her keel was laid on 15 February 1984 and she was launched as the general cargo ship Margareta on 31 August. Completion was in November 1984. She was allocated the IMO Number 8403569. Her call sign was DCOG. She had a cargo capacity of 72 teu. Margareta was built for Thekla Schepers KG and operated under the management of MS Margareta & Co, Haren, West Germany. In May 1995 she was sold to the Margareta - Shark Shipping Co NV, Willemstad, Netherlands Antilles and placed under the management of Briese Schiffahrts GMBH & Co KG, Bremen, Germany.[3]
In June 1998, she was converted to a cement carrier by Morska Stocznia Remontowa S.A., Świnoujście, Poland. Pneumatic equipment was installed which enabled her to self load and self discharge. She was allocated the call sign P3ZG9.[1] She was owned and operated by Brise Bereederung, Hamburg, Germany.[2]
Following an inspection at Runcorn, Cheshire, on 15 December 2013, Cemfjord was detained due to deficiencies found. The launch apparatus for her lifeboats was inoperative and her safety management did not meet the required standard. There were nine other deficiencies of a lesser nature. She was released from detention on 18 December 2013.[4]
At 22:14 on 29 July 2014, Cemfjord ran aground in the Kattegat off Læsø, Denmark. The authorities were contacted at 01:47 on 30 July and the ship was refloated later that day. Her Russian captain was subsequently convicted of being drunk in charge of the vessel. He was fined DKK 10,000 by a Danish court. A new Polish captain was appointed to take charge of the ship.[2] In August 2014, a second Russian captain in command of Cemfjord was convicted by a court in Stavanger, Norway. The court sentenced him to 35 days imprisonment for steering his ship while being intoxicated, and banned him from being in charge of a ship in Norwegian waters for two years.[5]
Sinking
On her last voyage, Cemfjord was carrying 2,000 tonnes of cement from Aalborg in Denmark to Runcorn in Cheshire and was due to arrive on 5 January 2015.[6] She was last sighted at 13:00 on 2 January 2015 in the Pentland Firth. At 14:30 on 3 January,[7] her upturned hull was sighted 11 nautical miles (20 km) east of the Pentland Skerries by the NorthLink ferry Hrossey, which was sailing from Shetland to Aberdeen. Only the bow was visible above the waves. The ferry searched for survivors for two and a half hours pending the arrival of lifeboats.[8] No distress call had been received and the weather at the time was bad, with storm force winds. There was no trace of her eight crew, comprising seven Poles and a Filipino. The Longhope, Scrabster, Stromness and Wick lifeboats were launched. Two helicopters and an aircraft also joined the search for the missing crew members,[7] as did HMS Somerset.[9] By mid-afternoon on 4 January, the ship had sunk entirely[10] and is now resting on the sea bed at a depth of around 223 feet (68 m).[11]
No survivors or bodies have yet been found,[7] and it is thought that the ship may have been overwhelmed so quickly that the crew did not have time to evacuate.[10] The Marine Accident Investigation Branch has launched an investigation into the accident.[12]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "CEMFJORD" (PDF). Hamburg: Baltrader Schiffahrt. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Drunk master ran cement carrier aground off Denmark". SeaNews Turkey. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Cemfjord - IMO8403659". Scheepvaartwest. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ↑ "CASUALTIES - JANUARY 2014". Shipworld. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ↑ "35 days imprisonment for drunken Russian captain". SeaNews Turkey. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ↑ "Crew of eight feared lost as cargo ship Cemfjord sinks". BBC News Online. 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Major search after ship overturns off north of Scotland". BBC News Online. 3 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ↑ "Eight Missing after Cement Carrier Sinks off Scotland". World Maritime News. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ↑ "Missing crew search suspended". The Orcadian. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Gall, Charlie (5 January 2015). "Cargo ship sinking: Lifeboat crew fear eight men died trapped inside their ship as search fails to find them". Daily Record. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
- ↑ Munro, Alistair (5 January 2015). "Cemfjord sinking ‘likely due to severe storms’". The Scotsman. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
- ↑ "Cemfjord - MAIB investigators deployed". Marine Accident Investigation Branch. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
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