MV Tricolor
Encyclopedia
Merchant vessel
A merchant vessel is a ship that transports cargo or passengers. The closely related term commercial vessel is defined by the United States Coast Guard as any vessel engaged in commercial trade or that carries passengers for hire...
Tricolor was a 50,000 tonne Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
-flagged vehicle carrier built in 1987, notable for having been involved in three English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
collisions within a fortnight
Fortnight
The fortnight is a unit of time equal to fourteen days, or two weeks. The word derives from the Old English fēowertyne niht, meaning "fourteen nights"....
.
Collision and sinking, 14 December 2002
During the early hours of 14 December 2002, while traveling from ZeebruggeZeebrugge
Zeebrugge is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and a seafront resort with hotels, cafés, a marina and a beach.-Location:...
to Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
with a load of nearly 3,000 automobiles, she collided with the Kariba, a 1982 Bahamian-flagged container ship. The Kariba was able to continue on, but Tricolor sank where she was struck, some 20 miles north of the French coast in the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
. While no lives were lost, the ship remained lodged on her side in the mud of the 30 metres (98.4 ft) deep waterway. A third vessel, the MV Clary was alleged to have contributed to the collision in subsequent litigation as having caused an "embarrassment of navigation".
Following the sinking and due to the location in a busy point of a shipping lane (the location was on the edge of a turning-point within the Traffic Separation Scheme
Traffic Separation Scheme
A Traffic Separation Scheme or TSS is a traffic-management route-system ruled by the International Maritime Organization or IMO.The traffic-lanes indicate the general direction of the ships in that zone; ships navigating within a TSS all sail in the same direction or they cross the lane in an...
or TSS of the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
) the wreck was initially guarded by the French police vessel Glaive and HMS Anglesey
BNS Gomati
BNS Gomati is an Island Class Offshore patrol vessel of the Bangladeshi Navy. She was built as Royal Navy Offshore Patrol Vessel, HMS Anglesey .-History:...
in addition to two salvage vessels and three wreck buoys.
The Channel is one of the busiest seaways in the world and, despite standard radio warnings, three guard ships, and a lighted buoy, the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
vessel Nicola struck the wreck the next night, and had to be towed free. After this, two additional patrol ships and six more buoys were installed, including one with a Racon
Racon
A racon is a radar transponder commonly used to mark maritime navigational hazards. The word is a portmanteau of RAdar and beaCON.When a racon receives a radar pulse, it responds with a signal on the same frequency which puts an image on the radar display...
warning transponder
Transponder
In telecommunication, the term transponder has the following meanings:...
. However, on 1 January 2003, the loaded Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
-registered fuel carrier Vicky struck the same wreck; she was later freed by the rising tide.
Salvage
The salvageMarine salvage
Marine salvage is the process of rescuing a ship, its cargo, or other property from peril. Salvage encompasses rescue towing, refloating a sunken or grounded vessel, or patching or repairing a ship...
operation of the Tricolor was led by the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
company Smit International
Smit International
Smit Internationale N.V. is a Dutch company operating in the maritime sector. The company was founded in 1842 by Fop Smit as a towage company with only the 140 hp paddle steamer tug 'Kinderdijk'....
, and took well over a year. Starting in July 2003, the operation was declared complete on October 27, 2004. The salvage method included a carbide
Cemented carbide
Cemented carbide, also called tungsten carbide, hardmetal, or widia, is a hard material used in machining tough materials such as carbon steel or stainless steel, as well as in situations where other tools would wear away, such as high-quantity production runs. Most of the time, carbide will leave...
-encrusted cutting wire used to slice the wreck into nine sections of 3000-tonnes each. This technique was similar to one Smit had used in salvaging the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
, K-141 Kursk
Russian submarine K-141 Kursk
K-141 Kursk was an Oscar-II class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine of the Russian Navy, lost with all hands when it sank in the Barents Sea on August 12, 2000...
. The cable took no prisoners slicing through the hull and many of the cars with ease.
C.T. Systems, together with Thales Navigation
Thales Navigation
Thales Navigation is a global GPS company created in 2001 from the merger of the Magellan Corporation and Thales Navigation, S.A.-Magellan:...
, handled the navigational aspects of the operation. The positioning equipment provided the required locational accuracy and after using a side scan sonar, the debris had been located and all the relevant positional information converted to a chart, enabling a systematic search and recovery of the remaining debris.
The cargo of 2,871 new cars – mostly from premium German and Swedish manufacturers including BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
, Volvo
Volvo Cars
Volvo Car Corporation, or Volvo Personvagnar AB, is a Swedish automobile manufacturer founded in 1927, in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is owned by Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. Volvo was originally formed as a subsidiary company to the ball bearing maker SKF. When Volvo AB was introduced on the Swedish...
and SAAB
Saab
Saab AB is a Swedish aerospace and defence company, founded in 1937. From 1947 to 1990 it was the parent company of automobile manufacturer Saab Automobile, and between 1968 and 1995 the company was in a merger with commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania, known as Saab-Scania.-History:"Svenska...
– was removed from the wreck and destroyed, approximately £30m (representing a retail value of £60m) worth. Most oil was removed from the ship's tanks soon after it sank, but during the salvage there was a small 540-tonne oil spill, sparking concern.
External links
- Supplementary report to the inquiry into the collision between the car carrier Tricolor and the container vessel Kariba on 14th December 2002 near Westhinder - Bureau d'Enquêtes sur les Événements de MerBureau d'Enquêtes sur les Événements de MerBureau d'Enquêtes sur les Événements de Mer is the French agency that investigates accidents and incidents of ships....
- Rapport d’enquête complémentaire Abordage entre le navire transporteur de voitures TRICOLOR et le porte-conteneurs KARIBA - Bureau d'Enquêtes sur les Événements de MerBureau d'Enquêtes sur les Événements de MerBureau d'Enquêtes sur les Événements de Mer is the French agency that investigates accidents and incidents of ships....
- BBC article
- Photos of the wreck
- High-resolution photos of the sliced hull