The Cayman Islands Coast Guard and government called for assistance on Tuesday evening after a containership that had suffered engine failure started drifting toward the islands.
The Cayman Islands Coast Guard’s Operation Coordination Center sought help while its nearest tug was 60 nautical miles away.
The SC Montana (33,757 dwt), a Liberian-registered containership, had reported to the island’s authorities that its main engine was offline and that the vessel was drifting toward the western end of Little Cayman, one of three islands that comprise the country.
It is the smallest and least populated of the islands, about 60 miles northeast of Grand Cayman. Little Cayman and nearby Cayman Brac’s docks are both too small to berth the 208-metre-long SC Montana.
The vessel’s crew told the Coast Guard that it still had generator power, but could not restart the engine. They advised that they were working to slow its drift but they were in danger of running aground.
Government officials reported that they were discussing ways to mitigate a potential incident if the vessel could not be brought under control.
The Panama-registered cargo ship Lefkes (33,298 dwt) and the Marshall Islands-registered Aruna Cihan, responded to the call for assistance while passing the troubled vessel. The Lefkes reached the ship and towed it into a safer position while the port authority’s tug Navigator made its way to the area.
Government officials reported that the crew were safe and that its environmental officials were monitoring the situation.
