Venezuelan ship VMF Alita Sank off near Panama

By Aiswarya Lakshmi January 25, 2016

A ship Venezuelan flag, name VFM Alita sank last week in Caribbean waters of the Panama Canal after colliding with another anchoring vessel, which caused hole above the waterline and water ingress.

According to the information revealed on Sunday by a Panamanian official source, the ship increased list to port board to 40-45 degrees and partially is under the water with big danged of capsizing.

The Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) confirmed on his Twitter account the accident and sinking of the merchant ship, adding that since Monday, when the incident occurred, investigates what happened to the ship.

AMP said in a public statement that the ship was not carrying cargo, "as it was being towed into international waters". The cargo vessel was anchored off Panama several weeks and waiting to be scrapped, with just a few seamen on board.

The Ship continue to get water ingress and partially sank, but authorities dispatched two tug to assist with salvage if still possible.

There is no injured people and water pollution during the accident.

The VMF Alita, built in 1989, has an overall length of 106.60 m, a beam of 16.10 m and maximum draft of 5.00 m. The deadweight of the vessel is 4,250 DWt and the gross tonnage is 3,790 GRT.

This is the second accident in Panamanian waters during the last month. In December, the Star Pride, belonginh to the luxury cruise line Windstar, ran aground on Coiba.