MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Hopes of recovering the “Lyn” fading fast
The stricken longliner 'Lyn' has now been totally abandoned by the crew, as the vessel's pumps failed to contain the increasing water in the engine-room.
She is the second trawler to have been abandoned on the Island of South Georgia, after a near hurricane force wind hit the area late last week, forcing the vessels ashore in the Morainne Fjord. The crew of a Korean longliner 'Moresko 1' were evacuated almost immediately the ship ran aground.
Both vessels were heading for King Edward Point where the British administrator was waiting to deliver their licences to catch Toothfish in the waters around South Georgia.
Three unsuccessful attempts were made over several days to tow the 'Lyn' clear off the beach - on two occasions the tow line snapped under the strain of the pull. The stern of the vessel is wedged firmly between large rocks, and the skeleton crew of 6 which initially stayed on board, moved several tonnes of fishing equipment to the bow, hoping to lighten the stern, but to no avail.
The 'Lyn' which is registered in the Falklands and is owned by the Falklands company Galfishing, underwent a major re-fit in 1999, costing close to £3 millions ($US4.75 millions).
The tug 'Typhoon' which was charted by Galfishing was expected to take onboard the 470,000 litres of fuel which was being carried by the 'Lyn'. However plans to undertake the transfer on Wednesday had to be abandoned owing to the large amount of water now in the engine-room of the 'Lyn', which prevented crew members being able to access valves to release the fuel.
Tom Blake, a spokesman for Galfishing said, 'This is a major set-back. We are very conscious of the need to protect the environment - there is a colony of seals close-by, and our priority now is to get the fuel off before the ship suffers any further damage'.
The Islands of South Georgia, which is 800 miles southeast of the Falklands, also boasts half a million King penguins - the largest colony in the world.
With the winter weather in the region worsening, a decision was taken late on Wednesday to abandon the 'Lyn' totally and transfer all of the 44 crew members, a mixture of Spanish, Chileans, Peruvians and Indonesians, to the 'Typhoon' and take them to the Falklands, from where they will be re-patriated.
It could now be the austral spring before weather conditions will permit the stricken vessels fuel to be recovered.
Patrick Watts (MP) in the Falklands.
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