Two tugs spent the weekend desperately trying to keep an elderly steam-turbine powered chemical tanker from running aground on the coast of Malta.
On Monday they managed to tow the vessel to safety.
The 35,500-dwt Chem P (built 1968, ex Chemical Pioneer) lost power on Saturday after getting caught in a storm while en route to the Maltese port of Marsaxlokk from the Spanish port of Algeciras.
Gale force winds subsequently drove it dangerously near the coast at St Paul’s Bay.
The St Kitts and Nevis-registered vessel managed to dropped anchor just before it would have run onto reefs close offshore.
Maltese authorities quickly dispatched two harbour tugs to the Chem P.
According to authorities, by applying pulling power, the tugs managed to keep the tanker from dragging its anchor and drifting onto the reefs.
However, weather conditions made towing the vessel out to sea impossible.
The situation was described on Sunday as being stable.
On Monday morning, after the weather abated, the hapless Chem P was towed away from the coast.
The vessel’s automatic identification system (AIS) indicated that it was being moved to Valletta.
The Chem P is believed to be on its delivery voyage to an as-yet-undisclosed shipbreaking location.
IHS Markit lists the ship as being owned and managed by RV International DMCC, which Dubai shipping sources said is linked to the Indian shiprecycling sector.
RV International acquired the ship as US-flagged Chemical Pioneer from US Shipping Corp on an as-is basis in Philadelphia from US Shipping Corp in November 2021.
After passing a US Coast Guard inspection with no deficiencies, the ship departed Philadelphia on 14 December last year, taking 42 days to cross the Atlantic before arriving in the Spanish port of Algeciras, where it spent 21 days before departing for Malta.
The Chem P is not believed to be carrying any cargo.
