The Forth Fisher is one of the longest-serving vessels within the fleet, having been built in 1997.
The twin-hulled vessel carries out charters along the European coast as part of the 17-strong fleet. In January 2007 she was instrumental in helping to clear up the ‘Napoli’ spillage from the UK south coast. She is also one of the vessels on standby as an emergency oil spill response vessel for the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).
Technical details
Built - 1997
DWT -4,972
Draft - 6.2
LOA -91.0
Beam - 15.6
Cubic @ 98% - 4,754
Gas oil 0.85 - 4,041
Summary:
Coastguards and anti-pollution teams were put on
high alert when the MSC Napoli was deliberately
run-aground at Branscombe, off the Devon coast.
En-route to South Africa, the huge container ship
suffered serious structural failure during storm
conditions 40 miles off Cornwall. Fearing for his
men the Napoli’s captain gave the command that
any ships mater dreads, when he ordered his
crew to ‘abandon ship’. In spite of heavy seas a
helicopter, from the Royal Naval Air Station
Culdrose, rescued all 26 crewmen.
Background:
An on-the-scene assessment of the stricken ship
concluded that the least environmentally risky
option was to tow it to a place of refuge in shallow
UK waters. The need for a ‘place of refuge’ and
its location are always driven by the circumstances
of an incident, by the type of threat posed
by the vessel in question and also it’s cargo.
Portland Harbour was selected and a tow
attached. Severe weather continued however
and, in the early hours of January 20 2007, the
expansion of large cracks on each side of the rear
hull caused concern to the rescuers. It became
clear that the 275 metre, 62,000 tonne vessel
would not reach Portland.
A beaching site in Lime Bay was chosen, yet
even though the shallower waters offered more
shelter, eventually 200 of the containers were
swept overboard, 57 being washed ashore.
This latter event created a bizarre scene reminiscent
of the 1949 film ‘Whiskey Galore’ as treasure
seekers scavenged Branscombe beach for booty.
Anything from barrels to BMW’s, cosmetics to
camcorders were taken, while Devon police were
forced to invoke maritime laws dating from 1854
to restore order.
Services Provided:
Called ‘Jurassic Coast’, this part of the Devon and
Dorset coastline is a World Heritage Site. The
Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) were
quick to act and Chris Lawson of the
Environmental Agency said the “greatest urgency”
was to remove the 3,300 tonnes of fuel oil still
remaining on board the Napoli.
At this time over200 tonnes of fuel had spilled and dolphins, fish and hundreds of sea birds had already perished.
Smith Salvage asked James Fisher if they could
provide a tanker capable of heating and unloading
the Napoli’s think fuel oil as quickly as possible.
Having completed tank cleaning and being gas
free, mt Forth Fisher was heading for dry dock in
Falmouth when she was diverted by the Company
to off-load the beached ship’s bunkers. “It was
just a matter of being in the right place at the right
time” explained Marine Tanker Manager, Colin Thomson.
With Devon’s beached only metres away, it was
imperative that the Forth Fisher began unloading the
huge vessel’s oil stores without delay.
Successful Delivery:
De-bunking is arduous work and Forth Fisher was not
offsite until February 6. Even so, MCA spokes-woman
Julia Gosling confirmed: “We are very pleased with
the rate of removal of oil. It has been exceptional”.
She added “it’s been a precarious job for those on
board”.
Customer Testimonials:
Forth Fisher’s intervention was vital to the aversion of
a virtually certain environmental disaster, thanks to
the swift response of the tankship team and the
professionalism of Captain Denis Smith and his crew.
James Fisher Everard charters James Fisher's fleet of double hulled, product tankers from 3,000 to 11,000 metric tons capacity.
James Fisher Everard has been chartering tankers for over 50 years. The company handles James Fisher's vessels trading routes along the European coastline carrying petrol, diesel, kerosene and biofuels. Since 2000, James Fisher Everard (JFE) has chartered more than 34,000 voyages, carrying in excess of 70 million tons (84 billion litres) of petroleum product. This achievement has been undertaken without a single litre spilled to water or death to staff. This outstanding HSE record places the company in the top 10 vessel operating companies in the world and the best in Europe.
James Fisher's fleet of tankers are technically managed in-house by James Fisher Shipping Services, which provides a professional and sophisticated technical and crewing management service.
For more information view the JFE chartering flyer or visit our fleet list page which contains interesting facts on all of James Fisher's vessels.
Case study:
James Fisher Everard has recently received recognition for the refuelling of HMS Queen Elizabeth – the lead ship of the Queen Elizabeth-class of aircraft carriers in the UK Royal Navy - during initial North Sea trials.
The vessel was refuelled twice during initial trails at sea to avoid gridlock in the small port town of Invergordon, Scotland. The 65,0000-tonne aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth requires over 4,000,000 litres of fuel to meet power requirements for the ship. The scale of re-fuelling requirements meant that:
"Road tankers were not a practical solution, instead the decision was taken to charter two British-crewed coastal tankers from James Fisher Everard"
Said Andy Scraggs, Royal Navy, Logistics and Infrastructure Division