Torbay tug collision

The eight strong crew of the Christos XXII, owned by the Spanopoulos Group, had to be evacuated following the collision, which caused a large gash in the tug’s hull and caused the vessel to take on water.

The tug was on route from Germany (probably Emden) with the ship in tow for scrap in Turkey.

Two lifeboats and two naval ships, including HMS Lancaster, were sent to the scene after the alarm was raised. MTS Vulcan of the MTS Group, which is based in Brixham and Falmouth is believed to be taking part in salvage operations.

According to Jack Gaston, world renowned tugs and towing expert, the Dutch tug Brent is also involved from the Iskes of Ijmueden in also involved in the operation. “It’s interesting because she has been stationed in Portland for several weesk on salvage station for just such an event”, he said to Maritime Journal.

Former German Naval training ship, the Emsstrom, which according to This is Plymouth, was listing too heavily for salvors to board, sank just after 1pm today. It went down approximately 2.5 nautical miles east by north from Hope’s Nose, in 23m of water. The ship is apparently empty and is not a pollution risk.

Meanwhile, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is pumping water from the Christos to keep the vessel afloat long enough for divers to repair the hole. So far, there are no signs that any of the 200 tonnes of diesel onboard the vessel is leaking.

According to Mr Gaston, the Christos is originally of Dutch origin and was built in 1972. It’s a tug of 44m in length, 382 deadweight and 61 tonnes bollard pull.