MV Tricolor

{{Short description|Norwegian vehicle carrier vessel built in 1987}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}

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|Ship image=Nosac Sun (IMO 8600181) Thames Estuary 1994.jpg

|Ship caption=Nosac Sun in 1994

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{{Infobox ship career

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|Ship country = Panama

|Ship flag = File:Flag of Panama.svg

|Ship name = Nosac Sun

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|Ship builder = Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd, Japan

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|Ship yard number = 589

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|Ship launched = 3 March 1987

|Ship completed = 10 June 1987

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|Ship identification = IMO Number 8600181

|Ship fate = Sold in 1996

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{{Infobox ship career

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|Ship country = Norway

|Ship flag = File:Flag of Norway.svg

|Ship name = Tricolor

|Ship owner = Capital Bank, Scotland

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|Ship acquired = 1996

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|Ship out of service = 14 December 2002

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|Ship fate = Sank following collision

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|Ship class = Single screw PCTC (Pure Car Truck Carrier)

|Ship tonnage = {{GT|49,792}}

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|Ship length = {{convert|190|m|ft|abbr=on}}

|Ship beam = {{convert|32.2|m|ft|abbr=on}}

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|Ship draught = {{convert|9.12|m|ft|abbr=on}}

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MV Tricolor was a 50,000 tonne Norwegian-flagged vehicle carrier built in 1987, notable for having been involved in three collisions in the English Channel within two weeks.

History

MV Tricolor was originally launched in 1987 as Nosac Sun.{{cite web |url=http://www.skipslistene.no/prog/skip.asp?id=8600181 |title=SP Shipbase – Tricolor |date=28 December 2005 |accessdate=14 November 2009}} At the time of her collision with Kariba she was operated by Wilh. Wilhelmsen.{{cite press release|title=Tricolor wreck-removal contract signed today |url=http://www.wilhelmsen.com/about/press/newsandpress/Pages/Tricolorwreckremovalcontractsignedtoday.aspx |publisher=Wilh. Wilhelmsen Group |date=11 April 2003 |accessdate=12 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110913164335/http://www.wilhelmsen.com/about/press/newsandpress/Pages/Tricolorwreckremovalcontractsignedtoday.aspx |archivedate=13 September 2011 }}

Collision and sinking

During the early hours of 14 December 2002, while traveling from Zeebrugge, Belgium to Southampton, UK, with a load of nearly 3,000 automobiles, she collided with Kariba, a 1982 Bahamian-flagged container ship. Kariba was able to continue on, but Tricolor sank where she was struck, some {{convert|20|mi|nmi|disp=flip}} north of the French coast within the French exclusive economic zone in the English Channel. While there were no deaths, the ship remained lodged on her side in the mud of the {{convert|30|m|ft}} deep waterway. A third vessel, MV Clary, was alleged in subsequent litigation to have contributed to the collision by "embarrassment of navigation".{{cite web |url=http://archive.onlinedmc.co.uk/in_re_otal_investments_-_m_v_kariba.htm |title=In re Otal Investments Ltd. – the MV "Kariba" |date=8 July 2005 |accessdate=8 June 2015}}

The sinking occurred off Dunkirk harbor, which is France's most northerly seaport and France's third largest port after Marseille and Le Havre.{{cite web |url=http://www.ferryto.com/ports/Dunkirk.html |title=Dunkirk Ferry – More About Dunkirk |accessdate=22 January 2015}}

Danger to shipping

Because of the location of the sunken vessel, at a point where two lanes combine in the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) of the English Channel and the Southern part of the North Sea and the fact that she was just completely submerged, the wreck was considered as a hazard to navigation. The TSS at that location is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. In December 2002 French authorities ordered the wreck to be removed, as it was perceived to represent a danger to shipping and the environment. Two more collisions happened with MV Tricolor in the days after the sinking.

Following the sinking and due to its location in a busy point of a shipping lane (the location was on the edge of a turning-point within the TSS of the English Channel), the wreck was initially guarded by the French maritime police patrol boat P671 Glaive and HMS Anglesey (a 195 ft British Island-class patrol vessel), in addition to two salvage vessels and three wreck buoys.{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/2002/dec/19/english-channel-collisions|title=Hansard Volume 642 cc782-4 782|date=19 December 2002|work=Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)|access-date=13 September 2009}}

Despite standard radio warnings, three guard ships, and a lighted buoy, the Dutch vessel Nicola struck the wreck the next night and had to be towed free. After this two additional patrol ships and six more buoys were installed, including one with a Racon warning transponder. However, on 1 January 2003 the loaded Turkish-registered fuel carrier Vicky struck the same wreck; she was later freed by the rising tide.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

In response to the multiple collisions the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) defined a new type of buoy, the Emergency wreck buoy for marking recent wrecks before permanent buoyage and chart updates can occur.{{citation|author=IALA|title=IALA recommendation O-133 on emergency wreck marking buoy|edition=1|date=2005|page=3|url=https://www.heliant.it/images/CH/O-133-EmergWreckbuoy-2005.pdf|access-date=29 May 2023}}

Salvage

The salvage operation of the Tricolor was carried out by a consortium of companies under the name Combinatie Berging Tricolor (Combination for Salvaging Tricolor) that was led by the Dutch company Smit International, and took well over a year. The consortium consisted of Smit Salvage, Scaldis Salvage, URS Salvage & Marine Contracting and Multraship Salvage.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

The operation began in July 2003 and was declared complete on 27 October 2004. The salvage method included a carbide-encrusted cutting cable used to slice the wreck into nine sections of 3,000 tonnes each. This technique was similar to one Smit had used in salvaging most of the Russian nuclear submarine K-141 Kursk.{{cite web | title=Summary of project MV Tricolo | url=http://www.smit.com/sitefactor/page.asp?pageid=397 | publisher=Smit International | accessdate=12 February 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214213412/http://www.smit.com/sitefactor/page.asp?pageid=397 | archive-date=14 February 2012 | url-status=dead }}

The Dutch company CT Systems, together with Thales Navigation, handled the navigational aspects of the operation. The positioning equipment provided the required locational accuracy and, after using a side scan sonar, the debris was located and all the relevant positional information was converted to a chart, enabling a systematic search and recovery of the remaining debris.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

The cargo of 2,871 new cars – mostly from premium German and Swedish manufacturers including BMW, Volvo and Saab – was removed from the wreck and recycled for the metal component. Most oil was removed from the ship's tanks soon after it sank, but during the salvage there was a 540-tonne oil spill.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}}

See also

{{Portal|France|Norway|Transport}}

References

{{Reflist}}