05.07.2022

2,000t offshore crane sinks

22 people are thought to have perished after an offshore wind turbine installation vessel broke up and sank in waters 190 miles south of Hong Kong.

The vessel - the 204 metre by 42 metre wide Fu Jing 001 - operated by Shanghai Huajing Zhiyun, was equipped with a 2,000 tonne rotating crane and was working on the installation of two offshore wind farms for Qingzhou Offshore Wind when Typhoon Chaba hit the South China seas on Saturday.
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The final moments of the Fu Jing -001 photo courtesy Hong Kong Government Flying Service

The vessel moved to a more sheltered anchorage but was still close to the storm and slipped its anchor sometime over the weekend and was caught up in 145kph/90mph winds and 10 metre waves, causing it to break in two, with the front of the vessel, complete with the crane, sinking fairly quickly.
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The Fu Jung 001 earlier this year

The back end of the vessel remained afloat for around four or five hours after the emergency services were called, but most of the crew abandoned ship or went down with the front end and were swept away. Only four crew members have been rescued, while 12 bodies were recovered relatively quickly. Around eight to 14 others are still missing - reports on how many were on board vary from 24 to 30 or more.
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On recent wind turbine work

China's minister of emergency management, Huang Ming said: "We should learn lessons and prevent typhoon related incidents by getting vessels to return to port and people to move ashore. We must prevent similar incidents from happening again, thoroughly investigate, and strictly pursue responsibility in accordance with laws and regulations."

The following videos show the rescue work and the remnants of the vessel