MV Modern Express

The MV Modern Express was a Panama-registered car carrier that developed a list, in the Bay of Biscay, in January 2016, while carrying a load of earthmoving equipment, trucks & logs.[1][2]

Modern Express, after arrival in Aliağa, after its dramatic salvage.

The Ship

Modern Express was a Pure Car Truck Carrier (PCTC) that was built in 2001 in South Korea. The manager was Cido Shipping.

Operational career

January 2016 shipwreck

On 26 January 2016, Modern Express was en route to Le Havre, France carrying a load of earthmoving equipment, trucks & logs. Heavy winds caused the ship to develop a 40° list while sailing on the Bay of Biscay 150 nautical miles off the coast of Spain. Salvamento Maritimo responded to the Mayday. By the afternoon of January 26 all 22 crew members had been safely carried to safety by two Spanish helicopters. An immediate rescue operation was needed because the ship, now adrift, was heading towards the French coast, carried by the strong current and wind. This caused great concern because there was a chance that it could run aground and cause an environmental disaster.[3]

When weather improved on 1 February 2016 a second attempt by SMIT Salvage was successful to attach a tow line. It was towed to the port of Bilbao, Spain where it was brought upright using its ballast tanks over 3 weeks.[4]

Maritime Executive reported that its arrival in Aliağa, Turkey, site of shipbreakers, seemed to confirm it would be scrapped, not repaired.[5]

References
  1. "Modern Express ship 'successfully towed from French coast'". BBC News. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 2020-04-28. Officials feared the vessel, which was about 44km (27 miles) off Arcachon near Bordeaux in south-western France, could run aground.
  2. "Rescuers harness cargo ship drifting toward France". CBS News. Paris. The Associated Press. 2016-02-01. Retrieved 2020-04-28. A team of experts' final attempt to salvage a cargo ship that had been adrift off the coast of France for five days proved a tentative success on Monday, just hours before it could have run aground.
  3. Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V.: Salvage of the Modern Express by SMIT Salvage, on YouTube, last called 2020-10-10
  4. "Salvage of the Modern Express". boskalis.com. May 18, 2016. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
  5. Maritime Executive (2016-10-11). "Salvaged Ro/Ro Modern Express Reaches Turkey". maritime-executive.com. Retrieved 2020-04-28. Early reports indicated that the Express would be scrapped. Some suggest it could be repaired and returned to service, but its presence Tuesday at an anchorage just off Aliaga's shipbreaking yards does not reflect this possibility.
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