Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It ...
Europa Point
Europa Point (Spanish and Llanito: Punta de Europa or Punta Europa), is the southernmost point of Gibraltar (the southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula being Punta de Tarifa 25 km southwest of Gibraltar). At the end of the Rock of Gibra ...
, the southernmost tip of Gibraltar on 10 October 2008 following severe
gale
A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).Beaufort scale. Spanish and Gibraltarian emergency services mounted a joint rescue operation, Gibraltar declared a Major Incident and requested the standby of additional statutory and voluntary emergency services (including
St John Ambulance
St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by volunteers. The associations are overseen by the interna ...
Gibraltar), although due to the safe rescue of all crew from ''Fedra'' they were ultimately not needed.
Five of its 31 crew members were airlifted to safety by a
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...
coast guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...
helicopter and the rest were hoisted up by an improvised crane system. The vessel broke in half shortly thereafter.
About half of its 300 tons of fuel spilled into the sea. Some of such oil washed ashore along Gibraltar's western coast, particularly in the area of
Rosia Bay
Rosia Bay is the only natural harbour in Gibraltar, the British Overseas Territory at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. Formerly referred to as Rosia Harbour, it is located on the southwest side of Gibraltar. Rosia Bay was the site of ...
and
Camp Bay
The Bay of Isles is a bay wide and receding , lying between Cape Buller and Cape Wilson along the north coast of South Georgia. It was discovered in 1775 by a British expedition under James Cook and so named by him because numerous islands (at ...
. Spanish sources said that some fuel from ''Fedra'' had washed up on some Campo beaches having drifted as far as
Tarifa
Tarifa (, Arabic: طريفة) is a Spanish municipality in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located at the southernmost end of the Iberian Peninsula, it is primarily known as one of the world's most popular destinations for windsports. Tarifa ...
. There were also oil slicks in the
Bay of Gibraltar
The Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeciras), is a bay at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It is around long by wide, covering an area of some , with a depth of up to in the centre of the bay. It opens to the south into the Strait ...
.
''Fedra'' avoided becoming a permanent shipwreck when the forward section was re-floated and towed round into the
Bay of Gibraltar
The Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeciras), is a bay at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It is around long by wide, covering an area of some , with a depth of up to in the centre of the bay. It opens to the south into the Strait ...
in February 2009. It was moored alongside the South Mole in Gibraltar Harbour. The superstructure was cut away from the
hull
Hull may refer to:
Structures
* Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle
* Fuselage, of an aircraft
* Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds
* Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship
* Submarine hull
Mathematics
* Affine hull, in affi ...
of the aft section, and was placed the dockside at HM Naval Base.
A report was released by the Gibraltar Maritime Association in January 2012 which reveals how the Company undermined the Master of ''Fedra'' and his authority in his attempts to save both the crew and the ship. The report also explains the various aspects which led to the demise of MV ''Fedra''.