The 605-foot cargo freighter Sergo Zakariadze sits hard aground in the shadow of the 500-year-old El Morro Castle in Puerto Rico. It remained there for months while salvors worked to free the cement-laden ship. Photo by PA2 Angel Deimler, PIAT.
Storming the castle
Just before Thanksgiving [1999], the Russian cargo freighter Sergo Zakariadze ran aground off Puerto Rico's northwestern tip. The ship was loaded with powdered cement that turned into a massive hunk of solid concrete before the ship was eventually refloated.
By PA2 Angel Deimler, Piat, and Ensign Meridena Kauffman, MSO San Juan
When the 605-foot Russian cargo freighter Sergo Zakariadze ran aground in Puerto Rico Nov. 18, the workload of Marine Safety Office San Juan hit high gear.
The freighter was inbound after evacuating the Port of San Juan due to a hurricane when it suffered a steering failure and was pushed onto a boulder-covered breakwater protecting the 500-year-old national historic castle El Morro.
A unified command was established to coordinate the removal and refloat of the vessel. The Puerto Rico Air National Guard airlifted generators and equipment to the vessel while Coast Guard Strike Team members assisted and provided safety and technical expertise. Titan Maritime Industries Inc. provided workers who specialized in diving, welding, crane operations and other salvage work.
A plan to salvage the stranded ship was broken down into three stages: oil removal, cargo removal and ship removal. Oil removal started almost immediately. The engineering calculations and damage assessment also filled the quickly passing days and nights. While the workers were working and the planners were planning, family members were setting a trend that would carry on throughout the approaching holiday season.
"It's gonna be a full house tonight," said Julie Mclintock. "Everyone is welcome, and no one leaves hungry. This is Thanksgiving!" "We made enough to feed whoever drops in," agreed Beth Seaman, waving an arm toward the aromatic kitchen area, where every inch of counter space was covered with food. Julie McClintock and Beth Seaman are the wives of MSTC David McClintock and MST2 Brian Seaman of MSO San Juan. The two families coordinated and had an open-door policy for their "Adopt-A-Responder" Thanksgiving dinner. The two homemakers weren't alone. Several other families were working overtime to make about 25 hotel-bound strike team members and responders feel welcome for the holiday. The Greater Antilles Section galley crew provided turkey feasts for the responders, who worked through the night on the grounded vessel.
Following the holiday, work aboard the Sergo Zakariadze was in full swing. Mother Nature brought high seas and rain showers, common to the Caribbean during the winter months. With occasional 30-foot waves crashing on the port side of the vessel, equipment washed across the deck, wreaking havoc on unsuspecting workers. Tropical storms slowed down progress as safety remained paramount in the operation.
The schedules of MSO personnel, responders and salvage crews left little time for anything other than work and sleep.
Sporadic bad weather blowing through the tropical island region during January and February presented more obstacles. Seawater was entering the cargo holds and turning tons of cement dust into solid concrete. Contractors began blasting the hardened cement into rock-size chunks using explosives. An EPA plan concerning at-sea cement rubble disposal and mammal protection was obtained when it became necessary to dispose of the concrete. The stability of the vessel also remained a concern as it weathered each storm on the rocks.
The Sergo Zakariadze refloated off the breakwater after nearly five months of hard work. The end seemed anti-climatic: early the morning of March 30, with two tugs standing by, the combination of removing ballast water and the high tide freed the Sergo.
"It took 20 agencies, a hundred responders and all of us working together to get the Sergo off the rocks," said Cmdr. Joseph Servidio, commanding officer of MSO San Juan. "We had dispersant plans, booming plans, historic monument protection plans, air and water monitoring plans. This response required a lot of hard work and a lot of planning. And lots of patience."
Once it was refloated, the Sergo Zakariadze was taken to Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, for a hull assessment. It was to be taken to Tuxpan, Mexico, to be scrapped, according to Dick Fairbanks, a Titan representative.
On the way to Tuxpan, Fairbanks said financial problems prohibited them from taking the ship all the way to the port. Titan decided that the only course would be to scuttle the ship at sea. The Sergo Zakariadze was sunk after officials determined that there was no oil, fuel or other hazardous material remaining on the ship.
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