Google Translation
After the grounding, the environmental risk. This is the strongest fear that is spreading in these hours regarding the accident at sea that on Tuesday evening saw a cargo ship flying the Cypriot flag crash into the pier of Marina di Massa, in the province of Massa Carrara.
The crew - 12 people in all - is fine and was brought to land safe and sound immediately after the collision, caused by the wind and very rough seas after the wave of bad weather that raged along the Apuan Coast all day Tuesday. But it must now be understood if and how much of the ship’s fuel ended up in the sea. “We are not yet able to give a precise answer - explains the mayor of Massa Francesco Persiani -, but we fear that in fact some fuel ended up in the water. The strong smell of diesel that could be smelled last night, immediately after the grounding, when approaching the ship, tells us this. Unfortunately, the sea conditions at the moment do not allow us to verify the depth of the gash. We will see, all the specialized forces are on site, nothing will be left to chance”.
The other aspect to understand is the extent of the damage to the pier: “Certainly - continues Persiani - the terminal part of the structure, the one facing into the sea, was hit hard, because that is where the ship crashed. But we believe that several pylons along the initial part were also damaged. Last night I walked on the pier, it seemed like I was in the middle of an earthquake, you could feel so much instability. It is impossible to make an estimate for now, but it is without a shadow of a doubt very significant damage. We will react, the people of Massa are strong”.
With the day, the picture of the damage that the Guang Rong ship caused to the Marina di Massa pier is clearer. What was destroyed, it is noted on site, was the panoramic roundabout, located in the final part of the tourist walkway on the sea. During the night the ship tilted and the cargo of granulated stones - residues from the marble processing - that it was carrying on board are clearly visible. Part of the cargo probably fell into the water. According to what has emerged, the procedures for removing the ship should take several days.
Update info (in Italian)
Google Translation
The Cypriot-flagged cargo ship that crashed into the Marina di Massa dock on Tuesday evening was coming from Genoa and had been anchored in Marina di Carrara for a few days to load stone.
When the bad weather arrived, the ship noticed that the anchor was “plowing”, meaning that it was unable to remain safe. The captain – a Montenegrin national – and the other eleven sailors – almost all Ukrainian – agreed with the Port Authority to head towards La Spezia to secure the ship.
But during the maneuvers something went wrong: the ship began to list, drifting. It then traveled two and a half miles: the distance that separates the port of Marina di Carrara from the Marina di Massa dock, which then partially collapsed due to the impact with the ship.
The Port Authority is carrying out all the necessary checks. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation while - as is standard practice - the Port Authority itself has started a second administrative investigation that will serve to understand whether all the indications were respected and what caused the vessel to swerve: human error or some “flaw” in the ship?
Last October, the Guang Rong was subjected to a detention order. The decision came after an inspection carried out by the Livorno Coast Guard that found 24 irregularities: 16 were considered very serious. The irregularities were then remedied by the shipping company and for this very reason the ship was able to sail again.
About two years ago, the same ship was subjected to administrative detention, this time by the Genoa Coast Guard, which at the time had accused it of violating international regulations on the protection of human life at sea, the protection of the marine environment and navigation safety. The Coast Guard had highlighted 12 irregularities: 7 particularly serious including some critical issues with the main engine, emergency equipment, the structure of the ship, crew safety and the safety management system. Even in that case - after a stoppage lasting several days - the ship had returned to sailing because the shipping company had taken steps to remedy the critical issues.
The ship had also been stopped for 5 days in September 2019 after the Coast Guard of Marina di Carrara had detected 13 irregularities, including six at the basis of the stoppage relating to the fire prevention systems on board, certification, safety equipment, the on-board safety management system, the level of crew training.
This is the ship: GUANG RONG Current Position (Deck Cargo Ship, MMSI: 209306000, IMO: 9236133) - MyShipTracking