The Frans Hals is a factory ship built in 1965 by the Royal Schelde shipyards in Vlissingen for the Soviet company Sevryba JSC. She was launched on June 26, 1965 and commissioned in October 1965. After 30 years of activity in the Barents Sea, she was sold for scrapping in 1996. During her tow to Bilbao, she ran aground in Biarritz on November 20, 1996. Refloated a few weeks later, she was oceanized in the Capbreton trench, off Biarritz on December 13, 1996.
The already Russian Son of a Bitch Tugboat Agat
In 1996, she was sold for scrap and was towed to the Ardoex Bilbao shipbreaking yards by the tugboat Agat. On November 19, 1996, the convoy arrived in front of Bilbao, but was not allowed to enter the port due to administrative problems. Around 11 p.m., the tow broke and the ship drifted towards the coast with four crew members on board (commander Valentin Wladimirovitch Terentiev, chief engineer Sergei Nicolaievich Kalapichine and two sailors). The next day around 2:30 p.m., she ran aground on Miramar beach in Biarritz. During this time, the tug headed for international waters to avoid being intercepted.
Refloating is entrusted to Abeilles International. The latter must remove the ship from the beach and tow it towards the Fosse de Capbreton where it must be sunk. The tanks of the Frans Hals were emptied and the breaches present in the hull, then the superstructure was partially cut in order to lighten the wreckage to facilitate towing.
On December 13, 1996, the tidal coefficients are at their maximum. It is therefore this day that is chosen to clear the ship. Bulldozers dig a channel in the sand, then three tugs (the Abeille Flandre, the Abeille Supporter and the Abeille Picardie) pull the Frans Hals, which pivots and joins its natural element. When it reached the ocean, the Abeille Picardie towed it to the Capbreton trench, off Biarritz, where it sank around noon.
The propeller of the Frans Hals has been preserved and is now on display on the Esplanade Elisabeth II in Biarritz in memory of the ship's grounding.
No comments:
Post a Comment