The chemical tanker was stranded on the Galician coast of Ares for 18 days after an engine room fire
The VB HISPANIA tug, which provides ocean-going and offshore assistance in Boluda Corporación Marítima towing division Boluda Towage, has begun towing the chemical tanker BLUE STAR from inside the Ferrol estuary to its destination Turkey, where it is due to arrive in late March.The VB HISPANIA departed the outer port of Caneliñas assisted by two other towing units.
In recent weeks the ship has been moored in one of the docks of public naval company Navantia, where it has been undergoing repairs.
Sailing under the Maltese flag, the 128-metre-long BLUE STAR ran aground during a storm on the Galician coast of Ares at the end of last November. Due to a fire the chemical tanker was left without engine, which caused the ship to wash up on a rocky area off the As Mirandas coast, where it remained for almost three weeks.
The ship had set sail from Bilbao and was bound for the port of A Coruña to load cargo at the Repsol terminal. After 18 days attempting to move the ship from the rocks, it was freed and brought into the Ferrol estuary to Curuxeiras port before entering the dock.
After several weeks docked in Ferrol, the BLUE STAR’s owner abandoned repair attempts due to the high cost and decided to move it to Turkey.
This manoeuvre is being performed by the VB HISPANIA, a tug with a 103-ton bollard pull which arrived at the port of Ferrol last Saturday and set sail on Tuesday from the Ferrol estuary along with the damaged ship.
