To main content

Stolt Valor

Emergency response

Call SMIT 24/7 at
+31 10 454 99 11
salvage@smit.com


Help us to help you.
Keep the following information at hand when you contact us in case of an emergency:
Initial info:
What? Where? When?

Type and cause of accident:
Fire – collision - grounding

Known damage:
What is the known damage? Where is it located?

Contact details:
Which contact details can we use at all times?

Early on 15 March, the products chemical tanker ‘Stolt Valor’ suffered a midships fire and explosion whilst proceeding in the Arabian Gulf. SMIT Salvage was awarded a Lloyd’s Open Form by her owners and organised a large and decisive response. SMIT mobilised five tugs, various (fire-fighting and pumping ) equipment and a strong salvage team, including a marine chemist.

This was a very challenging task given the area she was drifting in and the prevailing weather/seatstate. With the fires extinguished, the salvage team set to work to prepare this vessel for a ship-to-ship transfer (STS) of remaining cargo to a lightering tanker. This open ocean STS from the severely damaged vessel  took place from March to April and involved the discharge of two chemical parcels, MBTE and IBAL. Due to the damage in the side an STS in tandem with manifolds connected via a 500 meter long chemical transfer hose was undertaken. During this operation Port of Refuge was applied for throughout the Arabian Gulf and after a lengthy process supported by a dedicated team.

After complying with the necessary requirements the ‘Stolt Valor’ was safely redelivered back to her owners on 30 July 2012 in the port of Bahrain which allowed entry as port of refuge.

Related projects

Selected filters
SMART-0903

Smart

During heavy swells on the morning of the 19th of August the bulk carrier 'Smart', 150,000 DWT loaded with 147,000 tons of coal, left the port of Richards Bay, South Africa heading for China. Soon, however, the swell became too much and the vessel grounded next to the channel, less than 250 m from the coast. Just hours after the grounding, the vessel broke in two.

Read more
USS_Guardian

USS Guardian

On the 29th of January the ‘USS Guardian’, a mine countermeasures ship of the US Navy, grounded on the North Western tip of the Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea. The prevailing North East monsoon, sea and swell impacting on the vessel were causing her to move up on the reef and she was deteriorating, hence a swift operation was required to avoid the risk of pollutants being released into the environment.

Read more
Jin_Tai

Jin Tai

The beginning of 2012 involved the salvage case of the backacter bucket dredger ‘JIN TAI’. This backhoe dredger was working on the construction and expansion of the newly built container port of Coega near Port Elizabeth (South Africa), when it experienced a problem with one of the vessels’ legs. A cable attached to one of the three spud piles came loose, causing one of the legs to give way and the engine room start flooding.

Read more
Kulluk_BP_2_2013

Kulluk

In late December 2012 when the conical drilling rig ‘Kulluk’, 9,900 DWT, was under tow to Seattle the tow connection parted in a severe storm in the Gulf of Alaska. Despite efforts to re-establish the tow connection the rig eventually grounded on the pristine coast of Sitkalidak Island, which is part of Kodiak Island.

Read more
Rig_Noble_Regina_Allen_1_2012

Rig Noble Regina Allen

In December 2012 the newly built rig 'Noble Regina Allen', constructed at Jurong Shipyard Singapore, was undergoing operational tests. The jack-up rig suffered from a mechanical failure on one of the jacking systems during the pre-load test. This failure resulted in the rig tilting severely and the bow section submerging into the sea until the rig came to rest on the seabed.

Read more
Chamarel_2012

Chamarel

The French cable-laying vessel 'Chamarel', 5,900 DWT, suffered an engine room fire off the Namibian coast, which spread rapidly and eventually burnt down the accommodation. The vessel drifted to shore were it grounded on the sandy beach of the Skeleton Coast, a very remote location.

Read more

Dredging & Inland Infra

Offshore Energy

Salvage

Read more

Read more