‘Ghost ship’ runs aground off Sam Lord’s Castle  

An abandoned ship that had been adrift in the South Atlantic since its crew was rescued months ago has run aground on a reef off the Sam Lord’s Castle coast, triggering a multi-agency operation to secure and remove it before it poses any further risk.  

Efforts to remove the vessel from the reef began on Thursday morning and are expected to continue as the authorities work to relocate the ship to a safe location and prevent any environmental damage. 

Deputy director of the Department of Emergency Management (DEM), Major Robert Harewood, said initial checks revealed the vessel, the MV Christina Debora, had been drifting since mid-last year. 

“So the situation as we know it… a Google search indicated to us that this vessel behind us, the Christina Debora,” he explained. “It had encountered engine challenges and the crew was rescued, and it was left to drift.” 

The vessel is now resting on a reef roughly one nautical mile offshore, after being spotted by a fisherman who alerted the authorities.  

“Within the South Atlantic, this vessel has been drifting what we call a ghost vessel, and it’s ended up here just off the Sam Lord’s Castle coast and is actually resting on the reef,” he said.  

Once the report was received, the emergency response system was activated, bringing multiple agencies together to assess the situation and secure the vessel.  

“Once the event was reported, Barbados Coast Guard, Barbados Defence Force mounted or activated the system, and we were able to pull the agencies together first to collaborate on what we needed to do to secure the vessel,” Major Harewood said.  

Early concerns that the ship might be leaking oil were later ruled out.  

“First it was thought that the vessel was leaking oil, for us that’s not the case,” he said, adding that the priority is now removal. “So the intent now is to try and get it off the reef.”  

One of the major uncertainties was the condition of the vessel, as no one had boarded it since it was abandoned at sea.  

“The concern too was that as the vessel was out to sea, nobody had boarded the vessel, so we weren’t sure what was on the vessel,” he said. “We’ve now been cleared by the Ministry of Health that if we need to board the vessel, we can board the vessel.”  

Divers from the Barbados Coast Guard, working alongside the Coastal Zone Management Unit, have since been deployed to assess the hull and determine how the vessel can be safely moved.  

Major Harewood explained: “We need to then be able to move the vessel off the reef.”  

The divers have already completed an initial assessment.  

“So what they’ve done is give an assessment of the hull of the vessel. So the intent now is to try to get the vessel pulled from the reef back out to sea and then to a safe location,” he said.  

Where the vessel will ultimately be taken has not yet been decided.  

“It has to be decided where it goes,” he said, noting that the decision would be made shortly between the Coast Guard and Coastal Zone Management Unit (CZMU).  

When asked if the vessel would be left to drift again, Major Harewood was clear.  

“No, no, no, no,” he said. “As far as I’m aware now, you’re not going to leave it, because if you leave it there, it might end up another part of Barbados or one of our neighbours or something.”

As a precaution, environmental protection measures are also being put in place ahead of the vessel’s removal. In addition to the DEM, the security services and the CZMU, the response also involves the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), the Environmental Health division in the Ministry of Health, and the Barbados National Energy Company Limited (BNECL). 

“What we’re going to do again this afternoon, once we start to move the vessel, is BNECL and EPD are going to put absorbent booms out along the shore as well, absorbent pads and dispersing in the water just in case you get any leakage from the vessel,” he said. “It wouldn’t impact the nearshore or the sand.”  

Major Harewood also confirmed that international maritime laws are being reviewed, given the unusual circumstances under which the vessel arrived in Barbados’ waters.  

He praised the role of aerial surveillance in the response, crediting the Barbados Defence Force drone unit for providing critical intelligence.  

“I must say, too, that we want to thank the BDF drone unit for their support since yesterday,” he said. “The drones were able to give us very good images and videos of the situation. They were able to track the movement of the vessel over the reef, which was not a lot of movement, which was good, and determine… if we had any oil leak or any other leaks.”