Classification
- Incident Type: Grounded
- Severity: Medium
- Tug involvement: Yes
- Tug mechanism: Tugs assisted repeated refloating attempts.
Vessel Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Vessel Name | CMA CGM LIBRA |
| Vessel Type | Container |
| Flag State | Malta [MT] |
| IMO Number | 9399193 |
| Gross Tonnage | 131291 |
| LOA (m) | 363.61 |
| Breadth (m) | |
| TEU | |
| Year Built | 2010 |
| Owner/Operator | CMA CGM SA / CMA Ships SA, Marseille |
| Crew Size |
Incident Details
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Date | 2011-05-18 |
| Location | Off Xiamen Port, China |
| Coordinates | 24°20′ N, 118°09.5′ E |
| Region | China |
| Fatalities | |
| Injuries | |
| Missing | |
| Cargo Loss | 63 containers were discharged during lightering; the source does not report a cargo loss. |
| Direct Damage | Damage to the hull coating; casualty repairs were recorded at USD 385,513. |
| Economic Damage |
Key facts
- The vessel grounded at about 02:35 local time at 24°20′ N, 118°09.5′ E after departing Xiamen for Hong Kong.
- Initial attempts using deballasting, the main engine, and three tugs did not refloat the vessel.
- Under a Lloyd’s Open Form 2011 salvage contract, 6,595 metric tonnes of fuel oil and 63 containers were discharged.
- Nine tugs assisted the successful refloating at 05:18 local time on 26 May 2011.
- An underwater survey found damage to the hull coating but no structural damage.
Narrative
CMA CGM LIBRA departed Xiamen with a pilot on board on 18 May 2011. The pilot disembarked at 02:13 local time, and the vessel proceeded toward the open sea under the master’s orders. At about 02:35, it grounded off Xiamen at 24°20′ N, 118°09.5′ E while bound for Hong Kong.
Deballasting and working the main engine dead slow astern did not free the vessel. Three tugs sent by the Xiamen port authority arrived at 04:42, and another tug-assisted attempt later that morning was also unsuccessful. The report records falling tides, strong currents, and deteriorating weather associated with developing tropical storms as operational pressures during the salvage response. It does not establish these conditions as the cause of the grounding.
The owners entered a Lloyd’s Open Form 2011 salvage contract with Shanghai Salvage Company on 23 May. Between 20 and 25 May, bunker barges received 6,595 metric tonnes of fuel oil. From 23 May, 63 containers with a combined estimated weight of 1,051.28 metric tonnes were discharged using a floating crane and container barges. Container discharge stopped early on 26 May because of deteriorating weather. Nine tugs then made fast, and the vessel refloated at 05:18. It moved astern, checked its ballast tanks and bilges, and anchored in deep water.
A class-approved diving company surveyed the vessel on 27 May. The report records damage to the hull coating but no structural damage. The vessel later dry-docked in Shanghai for blasting and recoating of the affected underwater hull area.
Sequence of events
| Date/time | Event |
|---|---|
| 2011-05-18 00:45 local | CMA CGM LIBRA departed Xiamen with a pilot on board. |
| 2011-05-18 02:13 local | The pilot disembarked. |
| 2011-05-18 02:35 local | The vessel grounded off Xiamen. |
| 2011-05-18 04:42 local | Three port-authority tugs arrived; the initial tug-assisted response did not refloat the vessel. |
| 2011-05-23 | The owners entered a Lloyd’s Open Form 2011 salvage contract with Shanghai Salvage Company. |
| 2011-05-26 05:18 local | The vessel refloated after nine tugs made fast. |
| 2011-05-27 | A class-approved diving company surveyed the underwater hull and found hull-coating damage but no structural damage. |
Investigation
The available report is a General Average adjustment prepared by Albatross Adjusters Limited rather than a formal safety investigation. It documents the grounding, salvage response, lightering, refloating, and subsequent underwater survey. It also records casualty repairs valued at USD 385,513 and states that the vessel’s damage was not attributed to the refloating efforts.