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The Mérou, a tug from the fleet of Abeilles International, a Groupe Bourbon subsidiary, successfully comes to the rescue of Mirabella V, one of the world's largest single-mast yachts One of the world's most luxurious yachts, the Mirabella V, 246 feet long with a towering 290 foot mast, ran aground on the evening of Thursday, September 16th, in the bay of Fourmis, near Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat off the French Riviera. Following her grounding and a failure of the hydraulic system governing the retractable keel which allows the yacht to vary her draught between 3.5 and 10 metres, the Mirabella V remained stuck on the rocks, resting on a keel of over 150 metric tons. The refloating of this giant yacht proved a particularly tricky operation. On patrol in the zone, the Mérou, one of the 4 tugs in the Abeilles International's specialist fleet in charge of French shoreline protection, came to the yacht's assistance that very evening at the request of the préfet maritime (port admiral overseeing the department). Christian Quillivic, General Manager of Abeilles International, and Charles Claden, Salvage Master and captain of the Abeille Flandre, took charge of the salvage operation. Under the orders of captain Patrick Cartron, the Mérou crew began by establishing their connection with the yacht and immediately took steps to secure and hold her, thereby preventing further damage from the impetus of the swell. During these operations, Abeilles International's team of experts assessed the situation and calculated the best engineering solutions to guarantee protection of the yacht's vulnerable hull, keel and well. With the installation of an emergency hydraulic generator, they were finally able to raise the Mirabella's keel by around 3 feet. Towage by the Mérou was now possible and the yacht was pulled afloat without damage by Saturday morning. After a thorough video underwater inspection of her hull, the yacht under British ensign was pronounced fit to sail and escorted, in convoy, by the Mérou to the shipyards of La Ciotat, near Marseilles, where she arrived safe and sound in the morning of Sunday, September 19th. With this highly technical salvage operation, which showcased the skills and efficiency of all the experts from Abeilles International, the threat of an environmental catastrophe was avoided and all risk of pollution carefully prevented. Paris, september 19th 2004 About Groupe Bourbon: Offering
services on offshore oilfields, in harbour towage, assistance missions
and in bulk transport, Groupe Bourbon ranks as a major international
figure in the maritime service field. Image
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