BILLION DOLLAR DISASTER IN CHITTAGONG PORT AVOIDED - SHIP CARRYING $100 MILLION CARGO RESCUED

The Salvage of MV Haian City at Chittagong Port, Bangladesh (May - June 2022) By Prantik Bengal Salvage & Diving.
The motor vessel Haian City is a cellular container vessel owned by a Vietnamese company. HAI AN TRANSPORT AND STEVEDORING J.S.C., She had sailed out from the Chittagong Port on 14th April 2022, for the Singapore Port with 1105 TEUs of containers onboard, out of which 718 TEUs were fully laden while the rest were empty. The vessel collided with another tanker vessel on the same day at Kutubdia Anchorage, sustaining damage between cargo holds 4 and 5 on the port side of the ship. The hull breached on an extreme level about 8 meters by 10 meters in size. The damage sustained was an unprecedented event in the history of Bangladeshi waters. The ship owners, with the approval of vessel insurers, awarded this critical salvage job to Prantik Bengal Salvage & Diving, a concern of Prantik - a group of specialized marine companies with headquarters in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Chittagong Port Authority also approved Prantik Bengal as the salvage contractor. At the time of the collision, the vessel carried almost $100 million worth of export cargo.
The vessel was brought inside the Karnaphuli River channel with the utmost safety, escorted by 5 tugs. The vessel draft was 10.8 meters with 7 degree port side list. A vessel with such draft was never allowed to enter in the history of the Chittagong Port. Upon underwater inspection of the damaged area, Prantik came up with a salvage plan and methodology which was then approved by the ship owners, insurers, ClassNKK, and the Chittagong Port Authority.
The methodology was fundamentally divided into two stages. The first being to seal off the breached hole on the port hull with a temporary steel patch of 10 meters by 12 meters in size of 12 mm thickness steel plate in combination with 50 mm rubber gasket seal. The second followed after dewatering of the fuel tanks, bilge tanks and cargo holds, 2 steel structure boxes would be fitted in the severely damaged cargo hold side plates. It took the combined effort of 40 salvage crewmembers who worked relentlessly over a period of 45 days to make the vessel sea worthy. The steel patch was fixed to the hull underwater by 104 toggle bolts with accurate precision for a positive sealing.
On successful sealing work, the dewatering operation from the cargo holds and fuel tanks started. On completion of the dewatering, it was found that the shell plates were forced into the containers inside the cargo holds. Since a lot of eyes were upon us to get the job done safely as soon as possible, the decision to make steel structure boxes was taken. It required the containers to be removed from the cargo hold for accessibility of wielding works. The ingress of water inside the cargo hold caused the containers to become overweight beyond the safe working limit of the vessel’s crane; thus, the decision was taken to cut out the containers to lighten the weight by removing the cargoes from the containers. With the utmost efficiency, Prantik managed to build, lift and install the boxes on the cargo holds by wielding. Having it inspected by the class surveyor and the necessary tests done, the vessel was deemed sea worthy. The removed containers were loaded back on the ship and the vessel stability calculation was done.
Finally, the vessel sailed out from the repair jetty of Chittagong Port to its next destination, Singapore, where the permanent steel works would take place. The vessel reached Singapore safely to discharge all containers and eventually, docked at the shipyard for permanent repair.
This salvage operation was yet another milestone event in the history of Prantik’s salvage works. Had the containers fallen off the ship and blocked the port channel, the estimated costs to the Bangladeshi economy could have potentially crossed 10 figures in USD. Prantik time and again takes up such challenging marine emergency jobs in Bangladeshi waters, completing them the best and thus taking immense pride to serve our nation as such. Prantik thanks the ship owners, insurer surveyors and the Chittagong Port Authority for having complete trust and confidence in Prantik.

[@mdarifhussein4740]

Excellent work by prantik salvage team

[@md.shaidurrahmanmojumder555]

The leader of this mission is confident enough to win the race, he is bold enough to wear the crown of success. He achieves what he is looking for, gives his best and satisfied with what he does. Congratulation to all team members for this achievement firstever in the maritime history of Bangladesh. Good Luck Prantik.