Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Shipping: Very Large Ore Carrier Listing Badly Off Maranhão, Brazil (VALE)

Smart captain.
From Maritime Executive
02-26-2020 09:39:00
Mining giant Vale has confirmed that the very large ore carrier (VLOC) Stellar Banner suffered damage after departing a loading terminal in Maranhão, Brazil. The vessel was intentionally grounded, and images taken Tuesday show her listing heavily to starboard, with water overtopping the gunwale.

On Monday night, Stellar Banner departed the Vale-operated Ponta da Madeira Maritime Terminal in Brazil's northern Maranhão state. She suffered unspecified damage to her bow after departure, outside the port access channel, Vale said in a statement. Her 20 crewmembers were evacuated safely, Vale said, and "the vessel's captain [grounded] the vessel about 100 kilometers off the coast of São Luís" as a precautionary measure....MORE
https://maritime-executive.com/media/images/article/Photos/Wreckage_Salvage/stellar-banner-aground.b20f5e.jpeg

That big boat isn't going anywhere under its own power any time soon.
A sister cousin ship, Stellar Daisy sank in 2017.