MSC Flaminia boarded by specialists. No reason to be hysterical, said the authorities.

August 27: MSC Flaminia and tugs keep moving in the the pattern of making S-N legs, see the map. The Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME) of Germany held a press conference on August 26 in Bremerhaven to inform the media and public on MSC Flaminia latest developments. It was told, that there are 151 containers with hazardous materials, mainly chemicals of different types. 55 of them survived the fire intact, 72 destroyed and 24 are damaged. The main concern is the Hold 3, where some spots still are found to be too hot. There is a plan to flood Hold 3, calculations show it won’t endanger vessel’s stability or structural strength. All the chemicals on board, said the CCME quoting NSB and MSC, are of permitted for such vessels and voyages safety Class and don’t possess an extreme danger. It is understood that the vessel will be kept outside UK and EU waters until the specialists and authorities will thoroughly evaluate the risks and work out plan of a final phase of salvage operation.
The head of the CCME said that not everything is clear yet, but definitely there is no reason to be hysterical, hinting at media and public unrest and occasional alarming news. Nobody is hysterical though, except authorities and the owner of the vessel, who didn’t bother to explain what’s on and what’s behind such a unique salvage operation, until public unrest was clearly demonstrated. The questions many ask still remain unanswered, hysterics or not, and as the Head of CCME said, “not everything is clear yet”. Just one question – ok, you said there is nothing extremely dangerous on board, but why UK and then, all other States, refused a refuge in such a stern way? MSC Flaminia was under tow to UK until July 28, then suddenly she was turned away and began sailing around in a stormy Atlantic. Then there was a moment when definitely, salvage was at a loss as to where to sail next, keep near EU or move to some other place in other parts of the Atlantic. If Germany finally, found the vessel safe enough to be permitted to its’ waters, why UK refused to permit the vessel into a shelter even for a short time required for inspection – not into a port, just to some calm place, so that the team won’t have to wait for “weather to improve”, to board the vessel. Accidentally, half of the salvage time was spent on waiting for weather to improve.
Authorities don’t like public to go “hysterical”, but public has a right to know and don’t like the role of ignorant flock shepherded by flawless, never mistaken and never wrong, authorities and multinational corporations.