Since arriving off Sri Lanka on August 27, the former Panamanian Odeep One, now the Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged Deep One, has become a straying ship. She is wandering in the Indian Ocean, successively heading east, west, north, south and drifting. Her owner no longer seems to know what to do with her. The Deep One does not leave international waters. Currently, her theoretical destination is Singapore. She has been at sea for 55 days and has sailed almost 10,000 km.
[1]The progress of the ex-Odeep One in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, from August 10 to 27
July 23. The ex-Odeep One escaped from Sète (France). Her final destination is not clearly announced. After bunkering off Malta on July 29, she departed for the Eastern Mediterranean with the port of Colombo, Sri Lanka, as official destination. On August 4, she arrived in Port Said (Egypt) waiting area at the entrance to the Suez Canal. She crosses the canal without difficulty and takes bunkers in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) on August 10.
August 14. On her way out of the Red Sea, the Deep One sets a north-easterly course of 72° along the south coast of the Arabian Peninsula. The destination she announces is still Colombo (Sri Lanka) but this north-eastern course suggests a demolition destination to the yards of Alang (India) or Gadani (Pakistan). The ship’s speed fluctuated between 6 and 8 knots, with peaks of 10. Between August 15 and 16, her AIS (Automatic identification system) is switched off for 50 hours.
August 19. The Deep One finally alters her course (120°), this time towards the south-east and Sri Lanka, which she reaches on August 27. The speed is 6-7 knots. The journey is punctuated by stops, particularly on August 21, 24 and 25. On August 21, the drift lasts several hours. The Deep One is facing technical problems.
August 27. After arriving off the Sri Lanka coast, the Deep One does not get to Colombo on the west coast, the very destination she has been announcing since leaving Malta. On August 27, she heads for Galle in the south of the island and drops anchor 25 km off the coast. On August 28, she is refuelled by the Galle-based tanker Lanka Freedom.
Since September 8, the Deep One has been wandering. At 08:09 UT, she weighs anchor and announces the port of Galle as her imminent destination. At 09:54 UT, new change, the AIS indicates this time that the ship is heading for Chittagong (Bangladesh). Indeed, the route chosen to the east may lead her to the Bay of Bengal and the Bangladeshi scrapyards. At 22:24 UT, new twist, this time the destination announced is Singapore. In the meantime and against all logic, the Deep One turned around and headed west. Since then she has been zigzagging at low speed or drifting. The confinement of the crew is far from finished. Arrived discreetly in Sète to take possession of the ex-Odeep One by surprise, the mercenary sailors are juggling with failing engines, the owner’s procrastination and perhaps the ban on access to Sri Lanka’s territorial waters and ports.
To be continued.
[2]The wanderings of the Deep One off Sri Lanka, from September 8 to 15.
See also:
Un navire poubelle se fait la malle à Sète (only in French) [3], July 26, 2021
Sète (South France)-Colombo (Sri Lanka): the mad escape of the Odeep One [4], July 30, 2021 – 12h
Odeep One – Press release n°3 (only in French) [5], July 30, 2021 – 14h
Odeep One – Press release n°4 (only in French) [6], August 3, 2021
Positions of the Odeep One on August 7 [7] and August 21, 2021 [8]