The Caimão dredger, from the Sofaeia company, overturned and sank this afternoon, at 17 pm, at the entrance to Barra Faro/Olhão, when I was coming from Tavira. The bar is closed to navigation, at least until this Thursday, June 6th.
Cortes Lopes, captain of the Port of Faro, in statements to the Sul Informação, added that the dredger, 14 meters long, “was being pulled by a tugboat”, when, “it adorned the entrance area of the bar”.
The vessel had a crew member on board, who was rescued by the Maritime Police, unharmed.
The Maritime Police was monitoring the entry of the dredger into the bar, since "all trailer starts and entries are accompanied" by this security force, as explained by Cortes Lopes.
According to the port captain, the bar was closed because “the depth of the dredger and where it is exactly are not known. Tomorrow diving operations will be carried out to be sure which type of ships can pass over. Also, with the currents, the dredger can move. At the moment, there are buoys signaling and we are issuing VHF warnings for other vessels to know that the bar is closed».
Cortes Lopes guarantees that, despite the sinking, “there is no risk of pollution. We are talking about a dredger that has no means of locomotion for great distances, it only moves to dredge. The fuel it had is not relevant in terms of contamination, what is relevant is that it is in a place that can impact the navigation of those entering and leaving the bar».
There are still no forecasts as to when the dredger can be removed, since the owner company will have this responsibility. “The company will have to present a plan to remove it. Security is the responsibility of the port captain, but this investment and the plan have to be made by the company».
In February of last year, the dredger “Brasinho”, also from the Sofaeia company, turned around in Barra da Armona. the vessel has been put back in the correct position, but it was never removed from the site.
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