Disabled Indian bulk carrier took on tow-in English Channel, in stormy weather

Bulk carrier TBC PROGRESS suffered, understood, engine or mechanical failure 0300 UTC Nov 27 in the English Channel 26 nm north of Cherbourg, while en route from Rouen France to Las Palmas, Canary Islands. French MRCC, CROSS Joburg, was alerted and responded by scrambling helicopter and sending SAR tug ABEILLE LIBERTE (IMO 9308699). The ship meanwhile, was drifting towards the French coast in a stormy wind and rough seas. French salvors team was ready to board the ship from a helicopter, to assist in rigging tow line. TBC PROGRESS reported that the problem was fixed, but shortly after was disabled again, so finally, the bulk carrier was taken on tow, to be towed to Le Havre, ETA Nov 28.

Bulk Carrier TBC PROGRESS is currently located at UKC – English Channel at position 49° 57′ 45.9″ N, 000° 51′ 34.2″ Was reported by MarineTraffic Terrestrial Automatic Identification System on 2021-11-27 18:54 UTC (38 minutes ago)

The wind in this area at that time blows from the North direction at force 8 Beaufort.

 

The vessel departed from ROUEN, FR on 2021-11-26 09:13 LT (UTC +1) and is currently sailing at 1.0 knots in the Southeast direction

TBC PROGRESS (IMO: 9489821) is a Bulk Carrier that was built in 2012 (9 years ago) and is sailing under the flag of Panama.