Derelict Cruise Ship M/V Lyubov Orlova Abandoned East of Canada

If her towing line broke then she must have been under tow. If so then I would have thought the towing company would be liable.
As for oil at sea, every time I look out on deck in the South Pacific region I can see the very thin oily film where some iresponsible captian has cleaned tanks at sea.

As a matter of interest if a deep sea tug went out and put a couple of men aboard attached a tow and towed it to where ever could they claim it as theirs.I know if they get a line aboard a ship in trouble they can claim salvage rights.
Regards.
Jim.B.

Unfortunately Jim the Lloyds Open Salvage rules have changed since our time at sea. The rescue/towing vessel attaching to a hulk (unmanned vessel) could find itself with a large financial bill as it is deemed to have taken responsibility for it and its disposal. If the vessel had been manned then LLoyds Open Form can still come into play if the vessel does not impose an immediate threat to life or environment and is therefore still open for discussion between owners and salvage vessel.

However if the vessel poses a perceived threat to life or environment than the State of the threatened coastline can order the vessel to be recovered and claim all expenses from the owner plus salvage rights for the salvaging vessel. As this vessel was heading for demolition and unmanned then its salvage value would be virtually nil and the owner's (if any) would have been unlikely to carry adequate insurance (if any) to cover the costs of an environmental disaster.

The above is probably why some smart alec lawyer probably advised the Canadian authorities to tow the vessel out of territorial waters and let it be someone elses problem, a totally irresponsible act both by lawyers and State (purely supposition on my part). The correct procedure as well as the moral one should have been to secure the vessel in a safe haven and then persue through the courts the tug and/or owners who cast the tow adrift. However the derelict may not have been cast adrift intentionally and of course there is always the possibility that the towing vessel may have foundered for one reason or another as it remains untraced.

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Originally Posted by Rocky

I am sure that we at Merchant-Navy.net could raise a competent crew for her quote from end of first post

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Great idea.
I have a portable Genny here.
Gives a shout when you are ready.
Now where 's my tools.
Ron the batcave

Bags me on the wheel again. got me tiger striped jacket.

Vessel was apparently sighted on 24th January 2014 still afloat in position 49 22.07N 44 51.34 E approx 1300nm from wcoast of Ireland

hi ivan. i like your measurements? (mis print) could just step aboard from ireland

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Originally Posted by alf corbyn

hi ivan. i like your measurements? (mis print) could just step aboard from ireland

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No Alf with those co-ordinates as I previously printed you would be in the River Volga in mainland Russia, so you would need long legs to step into Ireland and then onto the ship

The reported position is 49 22.07 North 44 51.34 West which from my Atlantic chart puts her nearer to Newfoundland than Ireland, so who knows what the truth is but wouldn't navigate using your chart mate.

In recent days two cruise ships, one Royal Carribean and one Princess have cut short ther cruise by two days due to outbreak of Norovirus on board. Very nasty form of gastro which spreads like wild fire on a ship.

Reading these posts now a year old is still mind boggling that something has not been done to remove one way or another. She must by now have quite a lot of water in the E.R. as bilges wont have been pumped out for over a year. In time she will eventually sink, but this may take years. If various people who are responsible for this situation why haven't a couple of detonation charges been placed on her sea water inlets to hasten this progress and put her on the bottom. If this is what is going to happen the sooner the better. All these new so called maritime laws and not one to cover this situation, I find hard to believe. As regards salvage I also find hard to believe that no company has thought it worthwhile to claim salvage rights. There is certainly room here for petitions, for something as dangerous and pollution dangerous as this, and yet no squeeling from the minority do-gooders. John S.