A cargo ship that was seriously wrecked in a crash with another cargo vessel late last month off the Macau Science Centre (MSC) in Nape was removed from the area on Wednesday night after it was jointly salvaged by its owner and the local government, the Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) said in a statement yesterday.
A fleet of vessels arranged by the company that owns the wrecked cargo ship started the salvage operation on February 6, one week after the accident on January 30. The operation included unloading 5,000 tonnes of steel from the damaged ship to two other cargo ships arranged by the company.
The cargo ship, the De Xing X (“Star of Virtue X”), crashed with another cargo ship, the Shun Xing X, off the Macau Science Centre in the morning of January 30. The Shun Xing X, which was slightly damaged, berthed near the airport in Taipa after the accident.
A total of 12 crew members on board both ships, none of whom was injured, were safely escorted to a Macau Customs Service vessel after the crash.
After the accident, the De Xing X reported a fuel leak. DSAMA vessels removed the fuel.
Part of the De Xing X sank due to water ingress.
Yesterday’s statement noted that after assessing the situation at the scene near the Macau Science Centre and coming up with a salvage plan, the owner of the De Xing X deployed a fleet of vessels to the scene on February 6 to get the salvage operation off the ground.
At the start of the salvage operation, the workers carried out some basic repairs, after which divers welded the ship’s damaged parts under water and drained water from the cargo hold.
Afterwards, the steel was moved from the De Xing X to two other cargo ships arranged by the owner, according to the statement, which said that the partly sunk cargo ship was gradually re-floated over the past few days, before it was finally salvaged on Wednesday afternoon.
Guided by the DSAMA vessels, the salvage fleet of vessels removed the De Xing X from the scene on Wednesday night en route to the mainland where the ill-fated cargo ship will be fully repaired, according to the statement.
This undated handout photo provided by the Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA) yesterday shows the ill-fated De Xing X cargo ship.
