The
enchanting Marina beach offers lot of things – cool breeze, waves rushing to
the shore – even as one downs in the sand, another one raises, calmness,
multitude of people, sea-shells, stray horse, street dogs, catamarans and boats
[people sitting nearby !], hawkers, pigeons, crabs .. .. and more.
As we sit and look at the ships far off – thought would meander of those
old days when people sailed in wooden boats without navigational aids ..real
adventurers. Sea faring has attracted men despite the great challenges the
unfathomable sea posed. A ship is most
attractive to watch …. Perhaps not when it is listing !!!
Thousands
of miles away is the ‘Bay of Biscay’ – the gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located
south of the Celtic Sea that basins – Ireland, England, Wales and France. It lies along the western coast of France from
Brest south to the Spanish border. The Bay of Biscay is named after Biscay on the northern Spanish coast,
probably standing for the western Basque districts.
It
is not so calm. Some of the fiercest weather conditions of the Atlantic Ocean
can be witnessed in the Biscay Bay. The area is home to large storms during the
winter months and there have been countless ships wrecksreported from the area
as a result of the gruesome weather. The weather in the Bay of Biscay is the
most vital thing to be worried and talked about
.. … ….and there is a latest addition to it – the ‘Modern Express’.
The
Panama registered – now abandoned ship – Modern Express is headed for the
French coast, France's Marine Nationale reported. Authorities have been
attempting to right the vessel before it runs aground, but have not been
successful due to bad weather conditions.The vessel started keeling on 26th
January and the 22 crew members were immediately airlifted by Spanish rescue
helicopters. The ship continued to drift through the Bay of Biscay and is
nearing the resort town of Arcachon in France. It is predicted to run aground
between 1 and 2 February in the Landes administrative department near Arcachon.
Modern
Express was transporting 3,600 tonnes of wood along with construction machinery
from Gabon to France. The carrier holds 300 tonnes of diesel but according to a
report by the Maritime Prefect, the fuel is currently secure and there have
been no signs of a leak.Though some reports of apprehensive of a possible oil
slick too. The stricken cargo ship is
heading towards the French coast but there are hopes it can be towed to safety
before it runs aground.
Reports
suggest that initial attempt to tow failed and another attempt is now
mounted. If it fails, the ship will
strike France's Atlantic coast between Monday night and Tuesday morning.Bad
weather hindered rescue efforts on Sunday, two days after a tow line to the
164-metre (538ft) vessel was broken in rough seas. The spokesperson of Atlantic
Maritime Prefecture, is quoted as saying that it was now "totally
impossible to put the cargo ship upright".Around 300 tonnes of fuel are on
board, French authorities say. The Sud-Ouest newspaper reported (in French)
that emergency measures would be put in place if the ship runs aground in order
to contain the fuel and remove it.In 2002, the Prestige oil tanker sank off the
coast of northern Spain, spilling 50,000 tonnes of oil and polluting thousands
of miles of coast.
So
another ship, another time, touching the ground !
With
regards – S. Sampathkumar
1st
Feb 2016
Bibliography
: BBC; www.ibtimes.co.uk;
www.charlotteobserver.com