Partner Article

High and Dry

A tanker has been stranded in Blyth port for more than three months – because of the global downturn.

The 23,000-tonne vessel, the Cala Ponente, normally plies its trade in South America and the Mediterranean ports.

But the 184-metre-long ship has been laid up in Blyth since late December after the global economic recession took its toll on maritime trade and orders dried up.

The Singapore-owned Cala Ponente had 23 crew members on board when it first docked in Blyth’s Wimbourne Quay, but most have since gone home, leaving just the four Filipino sailors behind as a skeleton crew charged with keeping it secure and ready to sail. They have finally been told they will be heading back to their families this week.

Since December 29 they have lived on board the vessel, making regular trips into Blyth to go to mass at a local Roman Catholic church and taking photographs of the town to show their families back home.The Cala Ponente’s two sister ships, the Cala Positano and the CalaPortofino, are also laid up indefinitely at Teesport.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .