2011 : TK Bremen, France

On December 15, 2011, despite a strong wind warning for the upcoming hours, the Maltese cargo ship TK Bremen, in ballast, departed from the port of Lorient to anchor in a sheltered area off Île de Groix, awaiting its voyage to England. Coming from Ukraine, it had just unloaded 5,300 tonnes of sunflower seeds at Lorient.

During the night of December 15–16, caught in Storm Joachim (winds of 50–60 knots, waves of 5–7 meters), the vessel attempted to reach a more sheltered location due to difficulties maintaining its anchorage. At 00:40, it requested assistance from CROSS Etel. During this maneuver, the cargo ship ran aground on the coast, 2 km south of the Etel estuary entrance. (Source: Cedre)

Le Floch Dépollution was initially mobilized under the POLMAR-Terre Plan and subsequently commissioned by the ship’s insurers to carry out the cleanup operations.