MOL Comfort: Salvage Company Proceeding to Rescue the Cargo and Hulls

by Ship & Bunker News Team

MOL said the status of the fore part of the vessel is yet to be confirmed due to adverse weather. Image tweeted by MRCC.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) today said it has contracted with a salvage company and are proceeding to rescue the cargo and hulls of its containership MOL Comfort, which broke into two parts in the Indian Ocean on Monday during inclement weather.

MOL also confirmed that there has been "no large volume of oil leakage" as a result of the incident, after earlier reports said an "indeterminate quantity" of oil had been spilled.

In today's update, MOL said the aft part of the vessel is drifting near 13'00"N 61'29"E in an east-northeast direction, while the status of the fore part of the vessel is yet to be confirmed due to limited visibility caused by adverse weather.

“ The majority of the cargo was confirmed to be aboard the aft section of the ship

The majority of the cargo was confirmed to be aboard the aft section of the ship, but MOL acknowledged that an as yet unspecified number of containers may have been lost or damaged during the incident.

A patrol boat currently en route to the incident site from Port of Jebel Ali, U.A.E. is now expected to be arriving on June 24, a day later than originally expected.

All 26 crew members were said to have been safely rescued on Monday, and MOL and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., who built the containership, have started a joint investigation into what caused MOL Comfort to break in two.