TK Bremen was a Maltese-flagged cargo ship that ran aground on December 16, 2011, at Erdeven, on the coast of southern Brittany in France, generating extensive media coverage and much controversy. Built in 1982 at a shipyard in Busan, South Korea, the modest-sized bulk carrier was owned by a succession of shipowners since its launch, sometimes changing flag. Regularly inspected, it did not present any major safety defects at the time of grounding.
On December 15, the ship left the port of Lorient, where it had just unloaded its cargo, as storm Joachim was forecast. The captain decided to anchor in the shelter of the island of Groix, opposite Lorient, to allow the storm to pass. During the gale, the ship was unable to hold on to its anchor, and after several attempts to reach a sheltered anchorage, it ran aground on the south coast of Morbihan on the night of December 16, causing moderate pollution but no casualties. Too damaged to be repaired, it was dismantled in January 2012 at the site of the wreck. A month later, the dune area where the ship ran aground was completely restored. The accident sparked controversy, as the port authorities were accused of allowing the ship to set sail in a forecast storm. The report by the Marine Investigation Bureau, published in April 2012, blamed poor decision-making by the captain of the TK Bremen on the night of the tragedy.
History
Construction and features The TK Bremen was built in Busan, South Korea, by Daesun Shipbuilding & Engineering. The vessel is a combined bulk carrier/multipurpose carrier. Construction began in May 1981, with delivery in June 1982. The classification society Nippon Kaiji Kyokai carries out the first survey and provides it with its navigation license.
The small freighter is long, with a beam of and a draft of . She has a gross tonnage of 3,992 (MSU units) and a deadweight of 6,605 tons. The castle is located aft, and it has two slipways, each served by two masts capable of lifting 20 tons. Propulsion is provided by a Hanshin 6EL44 diesel engine rated at , which turns a single propeller with four fixed blades, enabling the ship to reach a theoretical speed of ; in practice, the ship can sail at full load at and in ballast at . On-board power is supplied by two 200 kW auxiliary generators. Navigation and safety equipment includes two radars, an automatic identification system (AIS), a depth sounder, a gyrocompass, and two GPS. The mooring lines are made up of two 2.5-ton Hall-type toggle anchors struck on -long chains made of meshes with a measured diameter of . Its bunkers can hold 178 tonnes of heavy fuel oil and 54 tonnes of diesel. When ballasted, the vessel is loaded with 886 tonnes of seawater.
Operation The TK Bremen changed owners several times during its operational career, as well as its name and flag: in 1995 it was renamed Elm under the Panama flag, then Melinau and Melinau Satu under the Indonesian flag. In 2011, the vessel became the property of Malta-based Blue Atlantic Shipping, which also owns another vessel of the same type and age, the TK London. This vessel is managed by Adriyatick Gemi Isletmeciligive Ticaret, which also manages 24 other vessels. These sail under Turkish or Maltese flags.
The minimum crew is 12; at the time of the grounding, the crew comprised 19 sailors, including three deck officers, three engine officers, and three officer cadets. The captain has been in service for 34 years and has held the position of commander for years, including 7 months on the ship. The chief officer, aged 30, has been sailing since 2001, has been chief officer for years, and has just joined the ship. The crew is Turkish, apart from three Azerbaijanis, and the working language on board is Turkish.
The ship was inspected 19 times between 1999 and 2011. These inspections revealed only minor breaches of safety regulations. The most serious was at the end of 2008, when, following the loss of one of its anchors, a new anchor was temporarily fixed to the chain with a steel cable for several months. At the time of the grounding, all safety certificates, which were renewed in May 2011, were still valid.
Grounding procedure
Background
The TK Bremen arrived at Lorient's Kergroise commercial port on December 12, 2011, from Ukraine, carrying 5,370 tons of sunflowers. Unloading operations run until 7 pm on December 14. By the time they were completed, the arrival of storm Joachim was forecast for the following day, on the night of December 15 to 16.
On December 14, the captain of TK Bremen informed the ship's agent, the shipowner's correspondent in Lorient, of his wish to remain alongside to let the storm pass. This request was confirmed by the ship's captain at 4:30 pm on the same day. On the morning of December 15, the shipping agent informed the ship's captain that the port authorities had authorized the vessel to remain at quay 1, but he understood that this authorization was still to be confirmed, and decided not to postpone the ship's departure.
Departure from the port of Lorient
The captain of the TK Bremen learned of the latest weather forecast at 8:30 a.m. on the morning of December 15. He ordered a tug from the port authorities to be able to set sail at 11 a.m. By this time, the swell had built up and the sea was between 5 and 6 Beaufort. The exit from Lorient harbor remained passable.
The harbor pilot boarded the vessel, while the tug Scorff came alongside and informed the ship's captain that he was authorized to remain alongside. The latter then contacted his shipowner, confirming his decision to leave port. TK Bremen left Lorient harbor at 11 a.m., bound for the United Kingdom.
Anchoring in the lee of Groix Island Following a discussion between the pilot and the captain on the subject of shelters within range during the crossing, the latter decided to anchor in the shelter of Groix island to allow storm Joachim to pass. The anchorage is located north of the coast of Groix and east-northeast of Port-Tudy, the island's "capital" and port. At this relatively short distance from the coast, a ship is sheltered from the swell that rounds the island from the north. The anchorage was chosen with the pilot to limit interaction with the cargo ship Desert Hope, which was also at anchor in the lee of Groix. One of the ship's two anchors was spun in good conditions, and the freighter held its position until 19:30.
At 7:40 pm, despite the quality of the seabed (sand and gravel), the anchor and its chain were no longer able to hold the ship in its anchored position. The TK Bremen drifted slowly eastward, which was detected by the Lorient harbor master's office. The ship's captain decided to let the vessel drift while preparing the crew to use the engine and carry out a new anchoring maneuver. At 8 p.m., the captain decided to partially raise the chain with the help of the engine. After letting the ship drift away from the Desert Hope, he let go a long length of chain 5 to stop the ship's course. The anchorage, now long (7 links), succeeded in stopping the TK Bremen, which was now from the Desert Hope. But the situation deteriorated again, with the wind now blowing from west to south-west at 8 to 9 Beaufort. The ship was unable to hold its new anchored position; its anchor slowly crept along the bottom and, at around 10:45 pm, the TK Bremens drift carried it into an area where the vessel was no longer sheltered from the waves and swell by the island of Groix. The ship's movement also brought it closer to a dangerous submerged wreck. CROSS Étel, in charge of monitoring shipping in the area, intervened and radioed the ship to move to a new anchorage, for which he provided the coordinates. At 11 p.m., the captain weighed anchor with the help of the engine, in what had become very difficult sea conditions. The TK Bremen tried to motor to the position indicated by the CROSS, but the vessel was unable to make headway against the wind, rolling and pitching heavily while drifting. The captain then decided to put down hard to port, but the ship soon got stuck in its turn and was unable to pass a north-north-easterly heading, which brought it into danger. The captain then decided to reverse the maneuver and return to starboard, but was unable to pass a southeast heading.
At around midnight, the ship, which was unable to sail upwind, took a course parallel to the coast, which would eventually lead to shoaling. The captain contacted his shipowner to inform him of the vessel's risky situation and obtain authorization to request assistance from a tugboat. For its part, CROSS Etel, which, thanks to radar and the AIS, was aware of the dangerous course the cargo was following, contacted the vessel to ask it to clarify its intentions. After several exchanges with TK Bremens owner, the ship's captain requested tug assistance from CROSS at 0:36 a.m. The towing request was relayed to the port of Lorient at 0:42 a.m. At 1:20 a.m., the tug Scorff from Lorient announced that it could not go out as it was on call in the port of Lorient due to the presence of an oil tanker alongside; furthermore, the tug's captain felt that going out to sea presented a risk for his crew, as the wind had reached force 11.
Grounding At around 1 a.m., the vessel passed near a rocky shoal surrounding the Le Roheu turret. According to the subsequent investigation report, it is likely that the very serious damage to the hull observed after the grounding (tearing of the bottom, deformation of the vertical sides) was inflicted at this point: the ship, subjected to vertical movements due to waves or swell, would have slammed (hit the bottom of the hull in a vertical downward movement) on rocks located meters below the level of the lowest seas. At 1:13 a.m., the ship's captain repeated his towing request, stating that he was unable to take a more southerly route away from the danger. The CROSS informed him that the tug would not be in the area for some time. The tug , which patrols the area around Ushant Island, was alerted via the Préfecture Maritime de l'Atlantique. The tug headed for Lorient at 1:29 a.m. but was unable to reach the scene until late morning. At 1:22 a.m., the CROSS asked the captain to anchor, as the vessel was now only two miles from the coast and heading towards danger. At 1:30 a.m. the vessel spun its two anchor lines in of water, but the anchor failed and the ship drifted towards the coast at a speed of . At 1:37 a.m., CROSS informed the ship's captain that, given the bad weather, the Lorient tugboat could not intervene, and that in the meantime he would have to do "as best he could." At 1:45 a.m., the captain activated the distress signal and assembled the crew in the wheelhouse, and at 1:52 a.m. indicated that the crew was preparing to abandon ship. CROSS Étel informed the captain at 1:56 a.m. that a helicopter tasked with evacuating the crew was due to arrive in the area an hour later. At 2:01 a.m., the TK Bremen ran aground on the sandy beach of Kerminihy in the commune of Erdeven. The onboard anemometer indicated a Beaufort force 12 wind.
Firefighters arriving at the grounding site reported at 2:28 a.m. that the freighter was losing fuel. Operations to winch the crew off began at 3:04 a.m., and the first eleven sailors were disembarked at the Lann-Bihoué naval air station at 3:46 a.m. The remaining eight sailors were landed at 4:58 a.m. The rescue operation also marked the first use of the NH90 by the French Navy. The Polmar plan was activated to deal with the oil spill at sea, and booms were deployed to limit the spread of the pollution.
Media coverage of the event
On the morning of December 16, several national media sent crews to cover the aftermath of the shipwreck. Foreign newspapers also covered the story.