No drama on Norwegian tanker – ship-owner
The situation around the Norwegian tanker that was reported to be adrift in the Barents Sea yesterday, is under control, ship-owner Marine Supply says.
The tanker “Norvarg”, which yesterday was reported to be adrift in the Barents Sea, is waiting for a Russian tug to arrive and assist it into calmer waters. The tanker had been bunkering Russian crab trawlers in the fishing grounds, and was about to finish operations when a rope got stuck in its propeller, Tore Gutteberg of ship-owner Marine Supply tells BarentsObserver.
“This is really not a big problem, but the bad weather in the area makes it impossible for divers to go down and remove the rope out in the open waters,” Gutteberg says.
The Russian tug “Purga” left Murmansk yesterday afternoon, and is expected to reach “Norvarg” later today. The salvage operation was ordered by the Russian client, Marine Supply informs.
“Norvarg will be able to sail again once the rope has been removed,” Gutteberg says, and adds that since the vessel was finishing its bunkering operations in the Barents Sea, its oil tanks are empty.
Russian media yesterday reported that “Norvarg” has a Norwegian crew. The representative of Marine Supply says to BarentsObserver that of the seven men large crew, only the captain comes from Norway. The rest of the crew is Russian, most of them are from Murmansk.
