Last Tuesday, I was walking near the Iolaire Monument, at Holm, when I noted a ship with a pronounced list to starboard. The coastguard tug was alongside, and escorted her into port, with the services of a pilot. It turned out that the MV Celtic Spirit was on its way from Bekkeri, Estonia to Warren Point in Northern Ireland with a cargo of timber. During the passage to the north of the Scottish mainland this cargo had shifted, which caused a 10° list. This was reported to the Coastguard, who ordered the boat to put into Stornoway to retrim its cargo. This took them 3 days; yesterday morning (Friday 2nd December) the Celtic Spirit had left.
The boat was detained before, in France, in November 2003. Reasons quoted were deficiencies in machinery and general safety.
Celtic Spirit measures 2978 tonnes, is 29 years old and is employed with the Willie Group, but registered in the Bahamas with the Germanische Lloyd. According to the work schedule, she should have been at Warren Point on December 1st to discharge, but she is quoted as delayed due to bad weather according to the Willie Group website.
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