Cargo ship sinks off St. Lucia

The tropical paradise of St. Lucia is dealing with the aftermath of the 6704 GT container ship ANGELN (IMO: 9298600) which capsized and partially sank just off the island’s coast near Vieux-Fort.  The video posted above provides a glimpse of the capsized vessel, and the cargo which has drifted ashore.  No lives were lost in the incident, but the cause of the sinking may have been a sudden starboard list according to some news reports.

Owned by Germany’s Brise Bereederungs, the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged 657-teu Angeln (built 2004) was en route to Guyana when the incident occurred. The accident happened late Sunday night after the ship departed the port of Vieux-Fort.

The cause of the sinking is unknown and somewhat mysterious. According to a statement released by Brise, the weather conditions at the time of the accident were fair, the ship did not touch ground and a collision did not take place.

The following is the official statement from Brise:

The container ship mv “ANGELN”, managed by BRISE Bereederungs GmbH & Co. KG, Hamburg, and sailing for a United States charterer, sunk off the coast of the island of St. Lucia on 21 February 2010. The crew managed to escape in sufficient time and is doing well, considering the circumstances. The following information is currently known: the accident occurred between 9.30 p.m. and 10.00 p.m. local time while departing from the Port of Vieux- Fort. No leakage of fuel has been observed from the vessel. The weather conditions at the time of the accident were good. The ship did not touch ground and a collision did not take place. “To further clarify matters, we have involved vessel’s hull and machinery underwriters as well as the P&I Club into the latest investigation findings. The cooperation is constructive and running smoothly. It is now of high importance for us to take all steps to protect the environment. We have commissioned Titan Salvage to review the possibility of salvaging the
ship under Lloyd’s Open Form as well as secure the accident site for shipping activities in the port of Vieux Fort”, reports Kai-Erik Clemmesen, Managing Partner of BRISE Bereederungs GmbH & Co. KG.

More information about the ship: the m/v “ANGELN” was built in 2004 at the Zhoushan Shipyard, China. It has a volume capacity of 660 TEU, and since it went into service, has not experienced any noteworthy technical irregularities. The last dry-docking to confirm its class by Germanischer Lloyd took place in March 2009. At the time of the accident, the “mv “ANGELN” accommodated a crew of 15 and was sailing under the flag of Antigua & Barbuda for a United States charterer in the container service route Trinidad – St. Lucia – Barbados – Suriname – Guyana – Trinidad.

The M/V ANGELN - File photo (Pascal Bredel/http://shipspotting.com)