Future Uncertain for Ship Abandoned Over Three Years at Port of Santos

The future of the Panama-flagged ship Srakane remains uncertain. The vessel, sitting idle since October 2020 in Baixada Santista, is moored near the Wilson Sons shipyard on the Left Bank of the Port of Santos Channel in Guarujá, on land originally owned by the Japanese Brazilian Mixed Fishing Cooperative.

According to the São Paulo Marine Captaincy (CPSP), negotiations are ongoing between the ship’s owner, Vintage Trading SRO, a Slovakia-based company legally represented in Brazil by the law firm Varea & Dionísio, and Thurf Comercial, which is interested in acquiring the hull.

The CPSP states that representatives are conducting maintenance and surveillance actions on the vessel to prevent further degradation of the hull’s structure. However, reporters from A Tribuna, which saw the ship upfront, described it as being in a terrible state, degraded and overturned. The Navy assures that all steps are being monitored by official bodies.

Crew

In 2021, Srakane gained media attention due to the dire conditions faced by the crew, who ran out of water, food, and fuel and eventually were repatriated. In May 2021, the ship had accrued a debt from unpaid crew salaries exceeding USD 111,000, equivalent to BRL 602,000 at the time.

The ship returned to the news on the 22nd due to a simulated firefighting exercise conducted by the Fire Department, which lasted two and a half hours. All relevant authorities were notified of the exercise, which did not disrupt routine operations at the Port of Santos. Despite this, the simulated fire alarmed many people who thought it was a real emergency. “There is no regulatory impediment that prohibits exercises or simulations on board ships; it is up to the owners or legal representatives to comply with regulations related to each activity,” the Navy stated.

Unseaworthy conditions

The vessel is unseaworthy due to structural issues and machinery deficiencies. Besides, it lacks a crew, the CPSP confirmed. “It is noteworthy that since its arrival at the Port of Santos in 2020, the ship was towed under a maintenance contract with the shipyard to address discrepancies pointed out by the Brazilian Navy after inspection by the São Sebastião Port Authority,” the CPSP explains.

As no issues were resolved, and with the absence of an active maintenance contract, alongside the crew’s repatriation, the Srakane was abandoned. It is, according to the Captaincy, “a ship out of operation with serious watertightness and stability problems, raising concerns for this Maritime Authority and other authorities at the Port of Santos due to the risks to navigation safety.”

Attempts to contact Srakane’s legal representatives in Brazil for comment were unsuccessful.

Contamination?

The São Paulo Marine Captaincy (CPSP) also reported being unaware of any cargo on board. The National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) stated that the ship is currently listed, with one side submerged, making sanitary inspections impossible and leaving the contents unknown. Consequently, Anvisa cannot estimate whether there is any risk of contamination.

Source: A Tribuna

Original article in Portuguese available for reading at: https://www.atribuna.com.br/noticias/portomar/navio-abandonado-ha-mais-de-tres-anos-no-porto-de-santos-segue-com-futuro-incerto-1.421725

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