Norwegian freighter refloated off Port Everglades

Norwegian freighter refloated off Port Everglades A Norwegian bulk freighter that ran aground while waiting for a berth outside Port Everglades was refloated Thursday under its own power after being grounded for almost a day-and-a-half.
   The port traffic was not affected, the vessel was not damaged, and there was no pollution as a result of the incident, there were local concerns that the 623-foot Spar Orion could have harmed coral reefs a mile off the public beach at Fort Lauderdale.
   The U.S. Coast Guard said a dive survey of the sea floor by state and federal agencies was scheduled for Friday to determine the extent of any damage caused by the grounding.
   The vessel was carrying 44,000 metric tons of cement from Slite, Sweden to Port Everglades.
   Although a pilot guides vessels into the port, the Spar Orion arrived at the port nearly a week ahead of its scheduled arrival and was waiting offshore at an anchorage 1.2 miles north of the port. A Coast Guard spokesman said the vessel started to drift Wednesday morning and ran around before corrective measures could be completed.
   An initial effort to refloat the vessel at high tide'just before noon Wednesday'was unsuccessful. But a second effort just after high tide Thursday was successful.
   The Coast Guard said it was continuing to investigate the cause of the accident.