Thanks Mr. Ganz for your "heads up" concerning the APL
Panama's on goingdilemma in Ensenada.

I found it interesting because I have and still do spend a lot
of time on the M/V Polynesia which is also a container ship.
So I am somewhat familiar with the trials and tribulations when
entering ports of call.

Though I don't know the exact location that this incident took
place upon entry I suspect that a Mexican pilot had all ready
been brought aboard to bring this vessel in and was totally in
charge of giving the on duty helmsman the minute by minute
heading commands. Needless to say... the Master (aka Captain)
would be in attendance on the bridge... but usually they never
question the pilot to the best of my knowledge.

Now that they are aground... they have elimanated their ballast
(water) and off loaded their bunkered fuel... the latter of which
is kind of a hassle. The fuel (diesel) in it's stored state on a
freighter is almost like a thick syrup...and has to be preheated
and accordingly "thinned" before it arrives at the injectors of the
engine much less get off loaded in this kind of an emergency.

The following is a current status report as reported by APL:

The vessel remains aground off the coast of Ensenada, Mexico.

Efforts to remove fuel and ballast water to lighten the load have
been completed successfully. Approximately five barrels of fuel
spilled during salvage operations. The on-scene response crew
immediately cleaned up the fuel to prevent environmental
damage.

The response team remains on alert around the clock.

The ship's bow has been successfully repositioned for the re-
floating of the vessel, and there are ongoing efforts to move the
ship to deeper water. The salvage company is currently mobilizing
additional equipment, and is working to reduce sand build-up around
the vessel.

The salvage company intends to remove an unspecified number
of containers from the port side of the ship to help lighten the
vessel.

Thanks again for creating this thread...

Bill