Α general cargo ship that grounded in Greece more than a week ago has been refloated under conditions described by its salvor as “very difficult”.
The 11,500-dwt Atlanta (built 2009), which hit rocky shores at a remote islet off Rhodes, has come unstuck but is still not seaworthy.
“More welding jobs are currently underway by our divers before we tow her to Turkey or Greece,” said Dimitris Vernicos, principal of salvors Vernicos Scafi Med Tugs.
Greek coastguards confirmed that the Atlanta has been brought to a nearby, windless cove where the ship will await further repair and inspections.
None of the Atlanta's crew of 17 was injured when the ship steered right into the Agioi Theodoroi islet on 29 April. There has been no visible pollution either.
The Maltese-managed and registered ship, however, has suffered damage with a ballast tank, its fore peak and bow thruster room suffering water ingress.
Vernicos Scafi Med Tugs, entrusted for salvaging and refloating the Atlanta under a Lloyd’s Open Form, employed a big barge with a crane to transfer the ship’s fertiliser cargo between holds as part of the operation.
Several tugs including the 4,400-bhp Vernicos Sifnos (built 2008) were engaged.
Tugs, divers, naval architects tugs are working “around the clock for a successful result,” the company added.
Malta-based Navitramp Freight Agency, which is listed as the ship’s manager, did not respond to a request for comment. The Atlanta is registered under the ownership of Tri-Mer Services, another entity based in Malta.
The master and a crew member had been convoked by local authorities over suspected violation of Greek ship traffic laws.
None of the two men, however, are under detention.
Under Greek law, those responsible for causing groundings or shipwrecks face stiff prison sentences if their actions are found to have caused deaths or serious risk to humans or public infrastructure.
In most cases, however, negligence that causes no serious harm is punished with monetary fines.
According to MarineTraffic, the Atlanta had been en route from Nea Karvali in Greece to Iskenderun, a Turkish port that suffered considerable damage after a devastating earthquake earlier this year.
