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Drifting ship avoids hitting rigs Drifting ship avoids hitting rigs
(about 5 hours later)
Two major collisions between a drifting 4,500-tonne cargo ship with engine failure and North Sea gas platforms have been narrowly averted. A drifting 4,500-tonne cargo ship has narrowly avoided colliding with two gas platforms in the North Sea.
The Vindo avoided the second rig by 700 yds (630m), the coastguard said. The Vindo, which suffered engine failure on Thursday afternoon, missed one of the rigs by just 700 yds (630m), the coastguard said.
It was put on the collision course with the unmanned Caister platform - off the Lincolnshire coast - after its engines failed for a second time. The alarm was raised as the ship's engines failed in a force 10 gale leaving it adrift 75 miles off the Lincolnshire coast.
Earlier the vessel avoided hitting the manned Murdoch rig after its engines were briefly repaired. Later an attempt will be made to attach a tow line and bring it into port.
Carrying 4,200 tonnes of fertiliser, the Vindo originally broke down in bad weather, nine miles (14km) from the Murdoch platform. 'Very lucky'
Two RAF helicopters had been scrambled to the rig - about 75 miles east of Theddlethorpe St Helen - to airlift 30 crew members to other rigs for safety. The Vindo first began to drift towards the Murdoch gas platform - about 75 miles east of Theddlethorpe St Helen - forcing the RAF to winch its workforce to safety.
Situation 'calmed' The ship's crew dropped anchor in an attempt to slow the drift but they were forced to raise it to avoid hitting gas pipelines in the area.
The ship, registered in Antigua and Barbuda, is still drifting without engines, but is expected to be met by a salvage tug at about 0900 GMT on Friday, which will tow it to dock in the Humber estuary. The nine-man crew then managed to restart the engines giving them sufficient power to avert the threat of a collision.
A coastguard spokesman confirmed there were no further platforms in the path of the Vindo, but another tug remained on standby in the area. But the vessel again lost power and began drifting towards the Caister platform which is unmanned.
"The situation has calmed down a little bit," he said. A coastguard spokesman said: "It has cleared the second platform by 700 yards so we have been very lucky that is has missed two platforms now.
However, weather conditions in the North Sea remain poor and winds around the Vindo have been measured at Force 10. "The rescue tug is en route and its expected time of rendezvous is 9am."
The spokesman added that no other platforms were in the Vindo's path and another tug, the Putford Viking, remained on standby.
Weather conditions in the North Sea remain poor with high winds.
In September last year the 90m-long Vindo crashed into another large cargo vessel, Dealer, after failing to respond to radio messages.In September last year the 90m-long Vindo crashed into another large cargo vessel, Dealer, after failing to respond to radio messages.
Nobody was injured in the incident, which took place 17 miles off the coast of North Foreland, Kent.Nobody was injured in the incident, which took place 17 miles off the coast of North Foreland, Kent.
Dover Coastguard said no pollution had occurred but both vessels had sustained some damage in the collision.