ANGEL

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Report: Lack of hull maintenance contributed to sinking

An investigation into the sinking of the 'Angel' laid the blame mainly on a failure to properly maintain its hull, while the Palauan shipping authority knew that the vessel was not seaworthy, but failed to notify the Taiwanese government in advance. The ship with 19 Azerbaijani crew members on board had arrived at the Port of Kaohsiung on July 20, 2023, and sank on July 21. The accident occurred because the hull had not been properly maintained for five years, and the cargo hold floor structure was damaged, the investigation found. After the ship had sailed from Colombo, the bottom plate of the 3rd cargo hold on the starboard side cracked, causing the ballast water in the right side of the third ballast tank to seep into the third cargo hold, it found. After the cargo was loaded at the port of Dalian, the severely corroded floor cracked due to the weight of the containers, causing the water in the ballast water tanks to seep into the 4th and fifth cargo holds. After the ship sailed from Dalian, crew members were unable to enter the hold to deal with the water accumulation and seepage because it was full. On the day of the sinking, oil sludge and residue in the ship’s fuel pipeline blocked the fuel filter, causing the generator to stop running and resulting in a loss of power to the entire ship. Meanwhile, the ballast water pump stopped operating. After the ship tilted 45 degrees to port side,a large amount of seawater surged in. It entered the stern cargo hold and engine room, causing the ship to sink. The investigation showed there were several risks involved leading to the sinking. The crew lacked the ability to address the water seepage problem in the cargo hold after the ship was fully loaded. Aside from the lack of maintenance, the board also found that the ship’s owner and management firm Zulu Shipping failed to follow the International Register of Shipping’s rules requiring underwater hull inspections and additional international safety management audits to be carried out at the first convenient port or anchorage. They also did not complete the 17 improvement suggestions and four improvement suggestion memorandums proposed by the International Register of Shipping within the deadline. The Palau shipping authority knew ten days before the shipwreck that the 'Angel' was not seaworthy, but it did not notify Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau, leaving it with no time to offer emergency assistance before the accident. The S5 Asia (Hong Kong) Ltd. Taiwan Branch as the ship’s agent failed to inform the bureau and Taiwan International Port Corp about the water accumulation problem four days before the shipwreck, while Zulu failed to implement handover training for new and old crew members, and provide timely resources to solve the problem of water accumulation. Crew members had been replaced before the wreck, and the chief officer, who faced a threat to his life, sent an emergency e-mail to the International Transport Workers’ Federation and Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority. When the incident occurred, the Post of Kaohsiung Vessel Traffic Service System did not require the ship’s owner to provide liability insurance information when the ship was anchored in the port.

Officers appealed to President to be released five months after sinking

The Master and the officers of the 'Angel' were still being held hostage by Taiwan in a dispute over the ship's sinking. The seafarers now have appealed to the president to send them home five months after the accident. The three officers have been stuck in Taiwan since the ship sank 2,8 nautical miles off Kaohsiung in July when it developed a list after taking on water, reportedly due to structural issues. The crew of 19 were evacuated, and more than 1,000 empty containers were feared lost.

Oil combat to be completed, dangerous containers removed

After the 'Angel' sank following a suffering water ingress while anchored off the coast of Kaohsiung on July 20, the hole in the engine room has been patched, with the clean-up of a related oil spill expected to be completed soon as of Aug 16. The Taiwan International Ports Co. expected to finish cleaning the spill and clearing obstructive containers that fell from the 'Angel' on Aug 17, if weather conditions were stable. Drones operated by the Directorate General of Highways and a marine engineering company found only a small oil spill in the area where the 'Angel' sank. As of Aug 16, the Taiwan International Ports Co. had searched 16 areas and found containers in 10 of them. The bulk of the containers have already been removed from the waters around the harbour, while those remaining did not pose a threat to ships operating in the area.