THE American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has warned that the rapid spread of corrosion aboard the Cypriot-flagged Castor was the most likely reason for the disaster that befell the tanker last December.
According to Lloyd’s List, ABS was shocked by its preliminary findings on the stricken Castor and said they had serious implications for double-hull tankers in general. The Castor had become a “laboratory for corrosion”, ABS said.
The Greek-owned Castor hit the headlines last December when the crew reported a deck crack on New Year’s Eve in the western Mediterranean.
The ship had left Ukraine on December 24 and was en route to Lagos in Nigeria.
It was carrying 29,000 tonnes of unleaded petrol and was refused shelter to transfer the cargo by the authorities in several Mediterranean ports, who feared it might explode.
The Castor was towed eastwards by the salvage firm in an attempt to find calmer waters and was able to discharge the cargo successfully in February off Malta. It was then towed to Piraeus in Greece for examination.
ABS said the preliminary findings, carried out jointly with the Cypriot authorities, showed that one of the ship’s tanks had been subjected to “hyper accelerated corrosion” due to exposure to both petrol cargos and to salt water.
If the initial findings hold up it could mean wider implications for the construction and maintenance of double-hull tankers. A full report will be issued when the investigation is complete.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
