PacTow celebrates salvage success

THE general manager of Port Moresby-based Pacific Towing has paid tribute to his own team as well as other stakeholders involved in the successful refloating of the grounded Australian expedition cruise ship Coral Adventurer.

Gerard Kasnari said PacTow—which is part of the Steamships Group and thus under the John Swire & Sons umbrella—was very pleased with the result of the salvage operation.

On a 12-day Coral Expeditions’ cruise from Cairns (18 December) Coral Adventurer s (IMO 9838644)struck a reef off the Finschaffen Coast at around 0525 local time on 27 December in the waters of Morobe Province during passage between Lae and Wewak, with 120 people aboard.

Following the vessel’s grounding, PacTow was engaged to lead the salvage and recovery efforts. An early salvage attempt by Lae-based Macedon faltered when the tug’s engine overheated.

The more powerful Langila was subsequently deployed and the refloating took place on the afternoon of 30 December, after the 80 passengers aboard were safely evacuated to the chartered Lutheran Shipping small ro-pax Ialibo, which took them the 30km to Lae to board a repatriation flight to Cairns.

There were no injuries among passengers or the 43 crew, and no pollution has been reported with the hull said to be intact. As of 8 January, AIS shows Coral Adventurer remains at anchor near the grounding site, having been detained by AMSA while also the subject of an ATSB investigation.

Mr Kasnari said the successful outcome was made possible through the prompt and professional coordination between the crew onboard Coral Adventurer and supporting shore staff from Coral Expeditions, the National Maritime Safety Authority and PacTow, whose diving and salvage experts coordinated the refloat.

“Our speed to respond and the teamwork demonstrated across all parties ensured a safe and efficient refloat, and at all times keeping safety, the integrity of the vessel and the protection of the marine environment at the forefront of our decision making,” Mr Kasnari said.