Luxury sailing ship refloated following grounding in Italy

Photo: signoradelvento.com

An Italian luxury sailing ship has been successfully refloated following its grounding off the coastal city of Gaeta due to bad weather.

The grounding occurred on Saturday, November 16, after strong 40-knot winds and four-metre waves caused the 83-metre Signora del Vento (“Lady of the Wind”) to break free of its moorings at Gaeta’s Caboto Wharf and drift until it came to rest on a shallow area some 15 metres from shore.

The Italian Coast Guard then led a multi-agency effort to refloat the vessel. The effort included the use of mobile cranes to remove all loose and unsafe equipment from the grounded vessel prior to refloating.

The refloating was completed at approximately 22:00 local time on Monday, November 18, after which the vessel was towed by two tugs to the Italian Navy depot at Gaeta.

Signora del Vento, which normally sails on weekly cruises in the Mediterranean, will remain at the Gaeta navy depot pending the completion of additional inspections and repairs. It is slated to be transferred to an undisclosed shipyard for more extensive repairs to be conducted.


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