BASILISK

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Pirates left ship

The 'Basilisk', which had been attacked by pirates in pos. 01°16 S 051°07 E, between the Somali coast and the Seychelles, while the Basilisk was heading north , towards Jebel Alil, was freed the Spanish frigate 'Canarias', one of the warships from the European operation EUNAVFOR Atalanta, which was nearby and approached very quickly. The 'Canarias', returning from the Seychelles, arrived in the area on the evening of May 23. The soldiers boarded at night, sliding down ropes from the helicopter, using the fast-rope technique. The pirates had already left the ship before their arrival. The crew was found safe and sound, with the exception of one crew member who was injured in the attack. He was in stable condition and received medical treatment on board by the on-board medical team.

Piracy incident off Somalia

The forces of EUNAVFOR Atalanta responded to a privacy incident o nhte 'Basilisk', currently underway off the coast of Somalia on May 23, 2024. Two small craftshad come alongside the ship. The vessel’s last AIS signal was transmitted two days ago north of Madagascar. The indication was that the vessel was traveling from Porto Grande in Cape Verde where it departed on May 3 with an ETA at Khalifa on May 29. Atalanta is placing the ship as sailing approximately 380 nautical miles east of Mogadishu, Somalia, heading north. The UK Maritime Trade Organizations places the vessel approximately 420 nautical miles southeast of Merca, Somalia. There were unconfirmed reports that the crew was able to secure themselves in the vessel’s citadel. Atalanta reports one of its warships is in the vicinity and is first to respond.

Report: Undetected corrosion caused failure

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), stated in an investigation report that an undetected corrosion and wear led to the equipment failure on the 'Basilisk' during cargo discharge operations on July 23, 2022. at 2.40 p.m. The failure of the hoisting wire rope on a shipboard crane while off-loading a wind turbine component caused this to drop onto the vessel's cargo hold tween deck No. 1, at the Greensport Terminal on the Houston Ship Channel in Houston, Texas in pos. 29 44 46.8 N, 095 11 06.6 W. The damages incurred, both to the vessel and the wind turbine component, were estimated to be in the range of three to five million US dollars. An examination of the hoisting wire rope revealed significant external corrosion and wear that had gone unnoticed. The grease on the rope had concealed the visible signs of corrosion. While annual visual inspections were conducted on the wire ropes, they did not detect the underlying corrosion below the grease. The wire rope, which had been in use for nine years, was still within the standard 10-year period of use. However, a post-casualty examination determined that the wire rope was near the end of its service life and should have been discarded. The operating company has since updated their maintenance system to require crane wire rope replacement every five years. The NTSB report highlighted the challenges of maintaining high-strength steel wire ropes on vessels due to the corrosive effects of saltwater and humid ocean air.