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| The Kariba, being escorted to Antwerp, Belgium, by tugs, rescued the Tricolor's captain and two of its officers. The remaining 21 crewmembers were assisted out of their liferafts by tug boats. |
According to W&W spokesman Per Ronnevig, the Tricolor's first stop was to be in Southampton, England, before crossing the Atlantic to Baltimore and Brunswick, Georgia. Then it was to travel through the Panama Canal to the West Coast cities of Port Hueneme, California and Tacoma, Washington, after which it would cross the Pacific to Yokohama, Japan. Eventually it was to return to Europe, loading and unloading vehicles along the way.
Now that the Tricolor has completely submerged it will be up to W&W to decide what to do with its cargo. To manage the pollution spillover, that includes about 2,000 tons of oil, a barrier has been erected around the wreck. The incident and investigation is being conducted by French authorities.
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| The Nicola, on its way to Hamburg, Germany, hit the sunken Tricolor and sustained damage. Fortunately it was able to continue its voyage under its own steam. The French authorities are left with the daunting task of removing the mammoth car carrier from this busy waterway. |
During the aftermath another ship, the Nicola, registered in the Dutch Antilles, hit the sunken Tricolor. Fortunately her damage was not life threatening and she was able to continue on to her original Hamburg, Germany destination. Soon after a fourth vessel nearly became involved in a collision with the sunken freighter, missing it by only 100 m (328 ft) after being warned off by the French coast guard.
After all is said and done there will be 2,862 American Volvo, Saab and BMW customers who won't be getting their new cars for Christmas.
