Cemfjord wreck survey is complete

February 10, 2015 at 4:24 pm

The MAIB has now completed both the Multibeam side scan sonar and ROV surveys of Cemfjord. — The MAIB has now completed both the multi-beam side scan sonar and ROV surveys of *Cemfjord*.

As the investigation into the sinking of the cargo vessel Cemfjord, continues, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch says it has completed both the multi-beam side scan sonar and ROV surveys of the wreck.

In westerly gales, the Cemfjord was last tracked at 1.15pm on Friday, January 2, not far from Stroma, heading west through the Pentland Firth. Around 24 hours later the ship was discovered, upturned, by the NorthLink ferry Hrossey.

The ship had loaded a cargo of 2,000 tonnes of cement at Aalborg, Denmark, and was enroute to Runcorn, in Cheshire, when it overturned in a westerly gale.

A massive air and sea search of the Pentland Firth area was launched, involving lifeboats and Coastguards from Orkney and Caithness.

The vessel was crewed by seven Polish seafarers and one Filipino mariner when it went down. There have been no trace of them since the sinking. A service in memory of the crew was later held in Wick.

The Northern Lighthouse Board vessel Pharos was called in to carry out a sonar survey to determine the exact location of the wreck on the seabed, and depth of clear water above the wreck.

The Cemfjord was then located, some 12 miles east of Muckle Skerry.

When asked for any further details of how the investigation will continue, all a MAIB spokesman would say today, Tuesday, was: “The investigation is ongoing.”