The great fear is over: the Blue Ocean A has arrived at the Porto Canale of Cagliari, escorted by the Coast Guard. The crossing of the cargo ship used for transporting livestock did not turn into a tragedy only thanks to a combination of commitment and professionalism from all involved, and also a good dose of luck. A night of apprehension off the coast of Carloforte that will be hard to forget.
The emergency arose during the night on Wednesday, but already in the early afternoon a long stop on the ship, off the coast of Calasetta, had raised fears that the 116-meter cargo ship Blue Ocean A , flying the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis, a Caribbean country, had encountered some problem.
The cargo ship, with 33 crew members on board, had departed from Great Bitter Lake, Egypt, bound for Cartagena, Spain, and found itself passing the coast of Sardinia during one of the most challenging days of severe weather that has plagued the island in weeks. The engine failure apparently came at the most inopportune time, and the westerly wind caused the ship to sway dangerously several times. Around 11:00 PM, when the SOS was issued, some on shore feared the cargo ship would crash into the cliffs of Punta Spalmatore , and many residents of San Pietro Island, including municipal administrators, rushed to assist in the rescue operations from land. However, the ship was still at anchor.
The operations were initiated by the Carloforte Maritime District Office and then taken over by the Cagliari Coast Guard, which coordinated the dispatch of the patrol boats CP 869 from Carloforte and CP 812 from Sant'Antioco, as well as the harbor tugboat deployed in Portovesme, suitable for maneuvering small vessels. However, technical difficulties caused by waves up to 5 meters high thwarted the tugboat's attempts to attach and move the vessel due to the breakage of four towing cables. Therefore, a larger tugboat was coordinated from the Sarroch harbor, although the terrible sea conditions raised concerns that its arrival would be more complicated than expected. The safety of the thirty-three people on board had to be ensured at all costs, as had the vessel gotten too close to the rocks, a shipwreck would have been inevitable.
But the adverse weather and sea conditions made the transfer impossible with the AW139 helicopter of the Coast Guard's 4th Helicopter Section, which took off from Decimomannu, and with the Italian Air Force's AW139 helicopter, so they had to wait for the ship to be towed to safer waters. There was also great concern over the report—later denied—of a large cargo of animals on board. Once the tugboat Vincenzino O. of the Sardinian Tugboats, supported by Coast Guard patrol boats, hooked up to the ship, assistance operations began, and it was decided to tow the vessel to the Gulf of Palmas, where the rescue operations were ready. However, later in the afternoon, at the shipowner's request, it was decided that it would be towed to the port of Cagliari, where it arrived today.
(Unioneonline)