MSC NAPOLI being broken apart by explosives (Photo MCA)

MSC NAPOLI section to be scrapped in Belfast
The beginning of the finale as contract awarded for recycling of ship



She will soon be no more. The MSC NAPOLI, or rather one part of her, will be towed to Belfast by a coastguard tug and scrapped at the Ulster port.

Although her stern is still grounded, the forward section of the ship, which was split apart with explosives, is ready to be taken through the Irish Sea to its final destination.

Tenders are invited for the breaking up of the container ship's aft section, which has the ship's superstructure and machinery, and work will be carried out in situ, with all materials then heading for recycling.

The ship was split into two sections after being beached for the second time following inspections which showed larger than expected cracks in her hull. This meant the ship was unsafe to be towed to port. Initially it had been hoped repairs could have been effected.

She was run aground in Lyme Bay in January of this year when structural faults were found on her hull after she encountered stormy conditions and it was feared she might have foundered. Devon councillors have promised a full inquiry and say they are not happy that the bay is seen as a place for troubled ships in the channel to seek safety or be beached.

The MSC NAPOLI was formerly the NEDLLOYD NORMANDIE, then becoming the CMA CGM NORMANDIE. She was built in 1991 by Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. at their Koje Shipyard.

In 2001 she ran aground on a reef in the Singapore Strait where she stuck fast for several weeks. She was taken to a shipyard in Vietnam where more than 3000 tons of metal were welded onto her hull. Some have questioned whether or not those repairs were to blame for her difficulties in January.