KML SALVAGES SINKING CARGO VESSEL

KML's Salvage operation of the Sea Breeze began on Sunday 9 March following a mayday call at 7.00 am reported the vessel to be sinking via an engine room flood.

The KML Salvage Team responded quickly, agreeing deployment with the ship's Ukrainian owners and proceeding rapidly from its Falmouth base. 
The team boarded the 87m (285 ft) long casualty about 10 miles off the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, after its crew had been safely taken off the stricken vessel by the RNLI.  After boarding the abandoned vessel from KML tug 'Tennaherdhya', KML's Salvage Engineering team connected the tow and liaising with the UK Government's Marine Casualty Authority, SOSREP, slowly and gently towed the vessel towards safer refuge, whilst using salvage pumps to dewater the vessel.  KML's dive partners, Seawide Services, applied external patches to stem the flooding and the situation was rapidly and efficiently contained.

The stricken vessel, which was carrying c.3000 te of limestone and 65 te of fuel & oil, was anchored in St Austell Bay and supported by KML's tug, landing craft, guard vessels and Seawide Services' dive teams, further stabilised and dewatered without pollution or incident.  A temporary exclusion zone was established around the vessel by SOSREP and efforts to keep the Sea Breeze safe and prevent any further damage continued until 19 March, when it was towed into Fowey Harbour for safe refuge and repair.

KML Director, Diccon Rogers, said "We are proud of what we have achieved.  After rapidly mobilising all the necessary vessels, equipment and personnel, we operated efficiently and managed to contain and then improve a deteriorating situation.  Although the Sea Breeze was in an unfortunate position and at severe risk of total loss via sinking, with imminent oil pollution, we managed to save her.  This is the best result possible given the situation the Sea Breeze was in when we found her, and the risk of oil pollution and wreckage on the Cornish Coast."

KML are delighted to have completed this salvage operation safely and effectively.

View the ITV News video here.