Four workers are missing, feared dead, after an offshore jack-up vessel tilted off southern China
Salvors will be mobilised to rescue Sheng Ping 001 offshore windfarm installation vessel which nearly capsized 25 July.
This 2015-built vessel was working at the site of China General Nuclear Power Corp’s windfarm in water depths of 30-40 m off Huizhou when the accident occurred.
Guangdong Provincial Maritime Search and Rescue was alerted at 11:26 and commenced search and rescue operations.
Several of the 65 workers on board fell into the sea as China-flagged Sheng Ping 001 (formerly Teras Fortress 2) heavily listed after it lost the structural integrity of one of its jack-up legs. As the deck was flooded, it almost capsized, but was stabilised.
So far, 61 people have been accounted for and four people are missing, according to Chinese media.
Search for those missing involved helicopters and more than 40 vessels, including those operated by Guangdong Provincial Maritime and China Fishery Bureau, and divers for underwater searches.
Networked navigation searches fanning out from the accident site searched for any survivors. Tugs, workboats and fishing vessels continued the search in strong winds and adverse sea conditions, while vessel Haiyang Shiyou 251 is on standby for any pollution prevention emergency.
The cause of Sheng Ping 001’s listing will be investigated.
Elsewhere, a barge under tow was beached in rough weather in Myanmar on 22 July. Singa Besar 2801 was under tow in the Andaman Sea by Malaysian tug Nautilus when the towline broke. The barge, filled with 456 concrete pillars, was then swept ashore southeast of Yangon.
Off India, anchor handling tugs responded to assist an LPG tanker when it started drifting towards offshore oil production platforms on 23 July. Gas Yodla suffered engine failure when transiting from Mongla, Bangladesh to Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, and started drifting. Around 50 nautical miles from a cluster of oil production platforms off Mumbai, a fleet of tugs were able to bring it under control and begin towing it to a safe anchorage.
A Chinese long-liner vessel has grounded on an uninhabited atoll in the South Pacific. Pingtairong 49 grounded on Anuanurunga in French Polynesia with 15 crew on board. According to Tahiti Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre, it has been refloated.
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