View source for MV Tricolor

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
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|Ship country        =
|Ship flag           =
|Ship name           = ''Nosac Sun''
|Ship owner          =
|Ship operator       =
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|Ship route          =
|Ship ordered        =
|Ship builder        = Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd, Japan
|Ship original cost  =
|Ship yard number    = 589
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|Ship launched       = 3 March 1987
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|Ship identification = [[IMO Number]] 8600181
|Ship fate           = Sold
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country        = [[Norway]]
|Ship flag           = [[File:Flag of Norway.svg|100x35px|Norwegian Merchant Navy Ensign]]
|Ship name           = ''Tricolor''
|Ship owner          = Capital Bank, Scotland
|Ship operator       =
|Ship registry       =
|Ship route          =
|Ship acquired       = 1996
|Ship maiden voyage  =
|Ship in service     =
|Ship out of service = 14 December 2002
|Ship identification =
|Ship fate           = Sank following collision
|Ship notes          =
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|Ship class        = Single screw PCTC (Pure Car Truck Carrier)
|Ship tonnage      = {{GT|49,792}}
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|Ship length       = {{convert|190|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam         = {{convert|32.2|m|ft|abbr=on}}
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|Ship draught      = {{convert|9.12|m|ft|abbr=on}}
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'''MV ''Tricolor''''' was a 50,000 tonne [[Norway|Norwegian]]-flagged vehicle carrier built in 1987, notable for having been involved in three [[English Channel]] collisions within a [[fortnight]].

==History==
MV ''Tricolor'' was originally launched in 1987 as ''Nosac Sun''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skipslistene.no/prog/skip.asp?id=8600181 |title=SP Shipbase – Tricolor |date=28 December 2005 |accessdate=14 November 2009}}</ref> At the time of her collision with ''Kariba'' she was operated by [[Wilh. Wilhelmsen]].<ref name="wilh">{{cite press release|title=Tricolor wreck-removal contract signed today |url=http://www.wilhelmsen.com/about/press/newsandpress/Pages/Tricolorwreckremovalcontractsignedtoday.aspx |publisher=Wilh. Wilhelmsen Group |date=11 April 2003 |accessdate=12 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110913164335/http://www.wilhelmsen.com/about/press/newsandpress/Pages/Tricolorwreckremovalcontractsignedtoday.aspx |archivedate=13 September 2011 }}</ref>

==Collision and sinking, 14 December 2002==
During the early hours of 14 December 2002, while traveling from [[Zeebrugge, Belgium]] to [[Southampton, U.K.]], with a load of nearly 3,000 [[automobile]]s, she collided with ''Kariba'', a 1982 [[The Bahamas|Bahamian]]-flagged [[container ship]]. ''Kariba'' was able to continue on, but ''Tricolor'' sank where she was struck, some {{convert|20|mi|nmi|disp=flip}} north of the French coast within the French [[exclusive economic zone]] in the [[English Channel]].<ref name="wilh"/> While there were no deaths, the ship remained lodged on her side in the mud of the {{convert|30|m|ft}} deep waterway. A third vessel, MV ''Clary'', was alleged in subsequent litigation to have contributed to the collision by "embarrassment of navigation".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archive.onlinedmc.co.uk/in_re_otal_investments_-_m_v_kariba.htm |title=In re Otal Investments Ltd. – the MV "Kariba" |date=8 July 2005 |accessdate=8 June 2015}}</ref>

The sinking occurred off [[Dunkirk]] harbor, which is France's most northerly seaport and France's third largest port after [[Marseille]] and [[Le Havre]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ferryto.com/ports/Dunkirk.html |title=Dunkirk Ferry – More About Dunkirk |accessdate=22 January 2015}}</ref>

==Danger to shipping==
Because of the location of the sunken vessel, at a point where two lanes combine in the [[Traffic Separation Scheme]] (TSS) of the [[English Channel]] and the Southern part of the [[North Sea]] and the fact that she was just completely submerged, the wreck was considered as a hazard to navigation. The TSS at that location is one of the busiest [[shipping lanes]] in the world. In December 2002 French authorities ordered the wreck to be removed, as it was perceived to represent a danger to shipping and the environment. Two more collisions happened with MV ''Tricolor'' in the days after the sinking.<ref name="wilh"/>

Following the sinking and due to its location in a busy point of a shipping lane (the location was on the edge of a turning-point within the [[Traffic Separation Scheme|TSS]] of the [[English Channel]]), the wreck was initially guarded by the [[Maritime Gendarmerie|French maritime police]] [[patrol boat]] [[Maritime Gendarmerie|P671 ''Glaive'']] and [[BNS Gomati|HMS ''Anglesey'']] (a 195&nbsp;ft British [[Island-class patrol vessel]]), in addition to two salvage vessels and three wreck buoys.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/2002/dec/19/english-channel-collisions|title=Hansard Volume 642 cc782-4 782|date=19 December 2002|work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]]|access-date=13 September 2009}}</ref>

Despite standard radio warnings, three guard ships, and a lighted buoy, the Dutch vessel ''Nicola'' struck the wreck the next night and had to be towed free.  After this two additional patrol ships and six more buoys were installed, including one with a [[Racon]] warning [[transponder]]. However, on 1 January 2003 the loaded [[Turkey|Turkish]]-registered fuel carrier ''Vicky'' struck the same wreck; she was later freed by the rising tide.

In response to the multiple collisions the [[International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities]] (IALA) defined a new type of buoy, the [[Emergency wreck buoy]] for marking recent wrecks before permanent buoyage and chart updates can occur.<ref>{{citation|author=IALA|title=IALA recommendation O-133 on emergency wreck marking buoy|edition=1|date=2005|page=3|url=https://www.heliant.it/images/CH/O-133-EmergWreckbuoy-2005.pdf|access-date=29 May 2023}}</ref>

==Salvage==

The [[Marine salvage|salvage]] operation of the ''Tricolor'' was carried out by a [[consortium]] of companies under the name [[Combinatie Berging Tricolor]] (Combination for Salvaging Tricolor) that was led by the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] company [[Smit International]], and took well over a year. The consortium consisted of [[Smit International|Smit Salvage]], Scaldis Salvage, URS Salvage & Marine Contracting and Multraship Salvage.

The operation began in July 2003 and was declared complete on 27 October 2004. The salvage method included a [[Cemented carbide|carbide]]-encrusted cutting cable used to slice the wreck into nine sections of 3,000 [[metric ton|tonnes]] each. This technique was similar to one Smit had used in salvaging most of the Russian nuclear [[submarine]] [[Russian submarine K-141 Kursk|K-141 ''Kursk'']].<ref>{{cite web | title=Summary of project MV Tricolo | url=http://www.smit.com/sitefactor/page.asp?pageid=397 | publisher=Smit International | accessdate=12 February 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214213412/http://www.smit.com/sitefactor/page.asp?pageid=397 | archive-date=14 February 2012 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

The Dutch company CT Systems, together with [[Thales Navigation]], handled the navigational aspects of the operation. The positioning equipment provided the required locational accuracy and, after using a [[side scan sonar]], the debris was located and all the relevant positional information converted to a chart, enabling a systematic search and recovery of the remaining debris.

The cargo of 2,871 new cars – mostly from premium German and Swedish manufacturers including [[BMW]], [[Volvo Cars|Volvo]] and [[Saab AB|Saab]] – was removed from the wreck and recycled for the metal component. Most oil was removed from the ship's tanks soon after it sank, but during the salvage there was a 540-tonne oil spill.

==See also==
{{Portal|France|Norway|Transport}}
* ''[[Baltic Ace]]'', another car carrier that sank in the North Sea in 2012.
* ''[[Cougar Ace]]'', a car carrier with 4,812 vehicles which capsized but did not sink, in 2006.
* [[MV Golden Ray|MV ''Golden Ray'']], a car carrier which capsized in 2019 and was salvaged (scrapped) in a similar manner in 2021.
* [[List of roll-on/roll-off vessel accidents]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.beamer-france.org/BanqueDocument/pdf_129.pdf Supplementary report to the inquiry into the collision between the car carrier ''Tricolor'' and the container vessel ''Kariba'' on 14 December 2002 near Westhinder] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20120308180443/http://www.beamer-france.org/BanqueDocument/pdf_129.pdf Archive]) – [[Bureau d'Enquêtes sur les Événements de Mer]]
* [http://www.beamer-france.org/BanqueDocument/pdf_128.pdf Rapport d’enquête complémentaire Abordage entre le navire transporteur de voitures TRICOLOR et le porte-conteneurs KARIBA] {{in lang|fr}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20120323131420/http://www.beamer-france.org/BanqueDocument/pdf_128.pdf Archive]) – [[Bureau d'Enquêtes sur les Événements de Mer]]
* "[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3091948.stm New Tricolor spill spotted]." [[BBC]]. Monday 8 September 2003.
* [http://www.cedre.fr/en/spill/tricolor/tricolor.php Photos of the wreck]
* {{YouTube|0ENOJBLVgjw|Salvage of sunken car carrier Tricolor}}

{{2002 shipwrecks}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tricolor}}
[[Category:Merchant ships of Norway]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the English Channel]]
[[Category:1987 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 2002]]
[[Category:Ships built in Japan]]
[[Category:Ro-ro ships]]