It was an impressive sight this evening, to see the blacked-out MSC Sao Paulo V being led up to Quebec City by five Ocean Group tugboats. The 294-metre-long (63,500 dwt, 5040 TEU) ship lost power due to an engine-room fire which broke out five days ago, just off Les Bergeronnes, as the ship was preparing to drop off the last Saint Lawrence River pilot at Les Escoumins, and then head for Sines, Portugal.
The MSC Sao Paulo V was assisted this week by the icebreaker Amundsen and two other MSC container ships anchored near Tadoussac, at the mouth of the Saguenay. The fire was only put out yesterday.
According to The Maritime Executive: “MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company arranged for a specialized team of American firefighters to board the vessel on March 5, brought in as reinforcements according to the Canadian Coast Guard. A second group of U.S. firefighters and specialized equipment was also placed aboard the vessel on Tuesday. “The crew is reporting that the fire has remained under control, although some unconfirmed reports said it has spread beyond the confines of the engine room. The crew has remained aboard the vessel although they are also ferrying over to another MSC container ship for rest and supplies. The MSC Don Giovanni (41,590 dwt) was sailing from New York to Montreal and is one of the vessels standing by its fleet mate. The MSC Celine (39,000 dwt) outbound from Montreal for Corner Brook, Canada was also diverted to the scene. MSC has also hired the tug Ocean Taiga, based in Quebec City, and the Anse de Moulin to assist. On Tuesday, and possibly again today, the tugs were being used to reposition the MSC Sao Paulo V. The Coast Guard reported the vessel was moved to a deeper area in the river to avoid grounding at low tide.”
I saw the ship this evening, from the deck of the Quebec-Lévis ferry. The MSC Sao Paulo V looked like a stricken ghost ship being sent to the scrapyard. With her enormous slick black hull, all lights off, and unable to proceed under her own power, she was being led up to Cap-Blanc by the tugboats. I took the feature image at the top of this blog, just a few minutes after electric power was restored to the ship, likely from one of the tugboats.
On previous voyages across the Atlantic, the MSC Sao Paulo V left Altamira, Mexico on January 10th, reaching Freeport, Bahamas on January 15th, then Montreal on January 23rd, before heading to Barcelona on February 4th, Gioia Tauro on February 7th, then Naples, Sines, Halifax and Montreal. The ship’s length of 294 metres comes to 965 feet.