MV Fedra

MV Fedra at Europa Point, after breaking in half
Career
Name:	Fedra, formerly, Tenacity and Marine Ranger
Port of registry:	Liberia
Builder:	Burmeister & Wain (B&W), Copenhagen, Denmark
Yard number:	713
Completed:	1984
In service:	06/10-1984 - 10/10-2008
Identification:	IMO 8208713
Fate:	Wrecked
Notes:	Fedra was one of 19 sister ships built by B&W Shipyard.
General characteristics
Class and type:	Double hull, bulk carrier
Tonnage:	63,940 DWT 35,886 GT ITC
Length:	737.7 ft (224.85 m)
Beam:	105.8 ft (32.25 m)
Draft:	59.1 ft (18.01 m)
Notes:	USCG PSIX

M/V Fedra was a Liberian-registered bulk-carrier cargo ship. It ran aground and smashed against Europa Point, the southernmost tip of Gibraltar on 10 October 2008 following severe gale force winds measuring 12 on the Beaufort scale. Spanish and Gibraltarian emergency services mounted a joint rescue operation, Gibraltar declared a Major Incident and requested the standby of additional statutory and voluntary emergency services (including St John Ambulance Gibraltar), although due to the safe rescue of all crew from the Fedra they were ultimately not needed.

Five of its 31 crew members were airlifted to safety by a Spanish coast guard helicopter and the rest were hoisted up by an improvised crane system. The vessel broke in half shortly thereafter.

About half of its 300 tons of fuel spilled into the sea. Some of such oil washed ashore along Gibraltar's western coast, particularly in the area of Rosia Bay and Camp Bay. Spanish sources said that some fuel from the Fedra had washed up on some Campo beaches having drifted as far as Tarifa. There were also oil slicks in the Bay of Gibraltar.

As at 15 February 2009 the forward section had been re-floated and towed round into the Bay of Gibraltar and was moored alongside the South Mole in Gibraltar Harbour. The superstructure had been cut away from the hull of the aft section, and was on the dockside at HM Naval Base awaiting dismantling.

A report was released by the Gibraltar Maritime Association in January 2012 which reveals how the Company undermined the Master of the Fedra and his authority in his attempts to save both the crew and the ship. The report also explains the various aspects which led to the demise of the MV Fedra.

See also

• MV New Flame

References

• Searle, Dominique; Ben Harding, Tim Pearce (2008-10-10). "Cargo ship hits Gibraltar rocks in heavy seas". Reuters. http://uk.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUKTRE4998K720081010. Retrieved 2008-10-11. 
• "Bulk Carrier FEDRA runs aground in severe weather". Gibfocus. http://www.gibfocus.gi/details_headlines.php?id=2392. Retrieved 2008-10-11. 
• "El vertido de fuel se extiende por el Estrecho y llega hasta Ceuta" (in Spanish). El País. http://www.elpais.com/articulo/andalucia/vertido/fuel/extiende/Estrecho/llega/Ceuta/elpepiespand/20081015elpand_2/Tes. Retrieved 2008-10-15. 

Gallery

• 

  View of the damaged remains of the Fedra after the storm.

• 

  Spanish coastguard helicopter at the scene of the accident.

• 

  Spanish TV station Telecinco crew at the scene.