Fugro, a surveying company from the Netherlands, has successfully refloated its geophysical survey vessel, Fugro mercator, wich ran aground near Elba’s northern coast. The incident occurred on March 22 amid reports of severe weather in the area, although the exact cause remains unclear.
On Friday, Fugro announced that the vessel was safely towed back to port and is currently undergoing inspection at a shipyard. Thankfully, there were no injuries or environmental damage reported. A thorough investigation is underway to uncover what led to this grounding.
“we appreciate the swift actions of the Italian coastguard and our partners in evacuating our crew and recovering the Fugro mercator,” stated Erik-Jan Bijvank, Group Director for Europe and Africa.
The vessel was engaged in survey operations for Italy’s Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) as part of a broader initiative known as the Marine Ecosystem Restoration (MER) Project. This effort falls under Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan aimed at revitalizing marine habitats while enhancing monitoring systems for coastal ecosystems across Italian waters.
This two-year project kicked off in january with Fugro collaborating with local partners like Poliservizi Srl and Prisma. besides conducting surveys, they are also setting up two seabed tsunami early-warning stations located in both the Sardinian Channel and South Ionian Sea.
In light of this incident, Fugro is working closely with Italian authorities to ensure that their survey activities continue without interruption. To facilitate this process, they plan to send another vessel named Fugro Helmert, which will take over where the Mercator‘s work left off—helping minimize any disruptions caused by this event.
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