On the 6th of May the Ro-Ro Vessel ‘Altinia’, carrying military equipment (8,924 DWT, LOA: 150m), suffered an engine room fire about 100Nm SE off the coast of Yemen. The crew abandoned ship and was safely picked up by a passing vessel.
After discussions with the owners, an LOF agreement was awarded. In addition to the initial inspection team, SMIT mobilized an extensive spread of salvage and firefighting equipment plus a salvage team of 15 including firefighters and security personnel to Djibouti.
In Djibouti the equipment and personnel were put on board of a chartered salvage tug for transit to the casualty location. In addition, two other tugs were mobilized for towage, stand-by and additional salvage services.
Upon arrival at the location it appeared that the fire was extinguished, but the salvage crew went on board for a thorough inspection and check for possible remaining sources of fire and to further stabilize the vessel. The inspection showed extensive fire damage to the engine room and accommodation deck and the salvage crew prepared the vessel for a long distance tow, to Jebel Ali, UAE. The tow went well and upon arrival in Jebel Ali the salvage crew prepared the damaged vessel for a complete cargo discharge.
