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A cargo vessel with serious engine problems off Albany has headed to port for repairs after fears it could run aground.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority ordered the Albany Port Authority to allow the ICS Silver Spirit, which has been anchored south of Albany for four days to repair its engines, to enter the port for repairs.
The ship will dock at Albany port, in southern Western Australia.Credit:Google Earth
AMSA emergency response commander Mark Morrow said the direction was made to protect the local marine environment.
“AMSA has a responsibility to take action to protect the marine environment and the safety of mariners,” he said.
“We have significant concerns about the condition of the ICS Silver Spirit, and no one wants to see this vessel run aground.
“As such, AMSA has taken decisive action to direct the Port Authority to accept this vessel.”
The Hobart-bound Bahamas-registered ICS Silver Spirit is a 136 m-long general cargo vessel built in 2006.
The vessel sailed from the Netherlands on 27 December and by about midday Friday was in King George Sound, anchored off Goode Beach.
A spokeswoman for the Southern Ports Authority that operates Albany’s port said it welcomed the regulator’s directive and the ICS Silver Spirit