The waters in the sound around the lighthouse (Fyrsundet) at Fedje, north of Bergen, were brownish-black this week after more heavy bunker oil seeped from the Server's wreckage. Only about 135 of the 585 tons of oil on board the Server had been recovered as of Monday night.
One of the vessel's fuel tanks remained intact, and emergency workers said they'd try to transfer its contents over to containers during the course of the day. It was possible to move the tank into calmer waters to conduct the transfer.
There was a threat of more pollution, however, from tanks at the stern of the vessel, which continued to be buffeted by stormy winds. They were believed to contain more than 100 tons of oil and diesel, and likely aren't intact.
"As long as the weather is this bad, it's impossible to do anything with them," said Ane Eide Kjærås of the Norwegian National Coastal Administration, which is in charge of the oil spill clean-up operation.
Seabirds were struggling in the oily water, and the fate of most of them was dire. Even small amounts of oil on their feathers can destroy their natural insulation, meaning they'll freeze to death.
Ornithologists feared more than 1,000 birds could be killed by the oil.
Cook had cut off a finger
The bulker, in the fleet of Greek shipping company Dalnave with Avena Shipping of Athens as its registered owner, had been inspected by Norwegian classification society Det Norske Veritas (DNV) as late as last Wedneday when it was in port at Årdalstangen.
The vessel then sailed empty from Årdalstangen to Murmansk but the voyage was interrupted by a galley accident on board. The vessel's cook accidently cut off a finger and the captain decided to take the vessel in towards land at Fedje to get medical help for the injured crew member.
One of the vessel's insurers suggested the Server didn't have enough ballast water in its tanks to keep it low enough in stormy seas.
"The captain couldn't keep the ship on a westerly course out from Fedje," said Nicolas Wilmot of Gard, the so-called P&I club that holds the vessel's protection and indemnity coverage. The Server's speed fell, at times its propeller was reportedly out of the water and the captain lost control, ending with the grounding.
