On July 31 at 8
On July 31 at 8.50 p.m. the Danish offshore tug 'Blue Antares' started towing the 'Makassar Highway' to Oskarshamn. Small amounts of oil spilled from the ship, but not in a form that allowed the accompanying ships to collect it. It was expected that the towage to Oskarshamn would take 30 hours, but with the reduced speed of the tow moving now, it was expected to take longer. The convoy was escorted by the 'KBV 003 Amfitrite', 'KBV 031'm, 'KBV 033' and 'KBV 034' of the Swedish Coastguard. The decision to take the ship to Oskarshamn was taken in the evening, following a review of the underwater recordings of the ship that were made in a run of the day and which showed that the ship was in a very bad condition, with many cracks and breaches all over the bottom. The underwater recordings showed that large pieces of distorted metal were lying on the rocks where the 'Makassar Highway' grounded a speed of 14 knots. The damage was so extensive that the experts could not rule out that the ship suddenly sank, and with the prospect of wind in the area the authorities dared not to leave the ship in its position. There was also a risk of towing the ship to Oskarshamn, but it was estimated to be less than leaving the ship in situ. To reduce the risk of sinking, the towage took place at a speed of three knots, which has later ben reduced to 1,5 and two knots. The Japanese owner of the ship was prepared to pay for the cleanup work if it could be documented that they were responsible. The Swedish authorities have collected large amounts of pollution control measures in both Västervik and Oskarshamn. In Oskarshamn, the plan was to take the 'Makassar Highway' to the dock as quickly as possible and unload the more than 1,300 cars on board to ease the weight of the hull. The two fuel tanks that were breached have been emptied of oil, but there were still well more 400,000 liters of fuel in other tanks of the ship. They have not been emptied as there was a risk of losing stability if they were emptied too. There were no exact estimates of how much oil has flowed out of the 'Makassar Highway', but it was estimated to be around 14,000 liters.
