After running aground, Al Farabi chemical tanker successfully refloated

Aug. 1, 2003
Five days after running aground just outside the entrance to Kaohsiung Port in Kaoshiung Harbor , the 30,000-ton tanker "Al Farabi" has been successfully refloated.

John Westbrook
OGJ Correspondent

TAIPEI, Aug. 1 -- Five days after running aground just outside the entrance to Kaohsiung Port in Kaoshiung Harbor , the 30,000-ton tanker "Al Farabi" has been successfully refloated. Following several unsuccessful attempts, the vessel was pulled free after tugs unloaded more than 10,000 tonnes of her cargo.

The tanker, which ran aground July 24 about 0.2 of a nautical mile outside the its port, was registered in Saudi Arabia. Shortly after the incident occurred, officials say several tugs were at the scene since but were unable to carry out a rescue due to the heavy seas caused by Typhoon Imbudo, which skirted southern Taiwan on July 23. The tanker's 27-man crew was reported to be safe at the time.

A Kaoshiung Harbor official said that the tanker has been towed to a special area for inspection of vessels carrying dangerous materials and will undergo a complete inspection before being allowed into the main harbor.

According to a spokesman for Taiwan's Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), the accident resulted in no chemical spillage or pollution.

Speaking a press conference, Cheng Shean-rong, director-general of EPA's Bureau of Water Quality Protection, said that Al Farabi, which was carrying 1,177.5 tonnes of fuel oil—in addition to her cargo of 22,152 tonnes of methanol, 4,693 tonnes of glycol, and 4,046 tonnes of glycerol—had imbedded herself more than 2 m deep in sand when running aground.

Because of the risk of damage to the ship if an attempt was made to pull it free while completely loaded, Cheng said, the EPA agreed to allow a ship-to-ship transfer of part of the cargo—the first time such an operation has been carried out in Taiwan. Cheng said that during the operation, some 8,060 tonnes of methanol was transferred to the "Tai Bah" tanker and 2,000 tonnes of glycol was transferred to the "Golden Tasaka." tanker.