In this photo taken on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016 and provided by the Prefecture Maritime Atlantique on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016, the cargo ship "Moderm Express" is pictured drifting off the coast of France. The cargo ship listing in the water is drifting empty off the coast of France, as maritime rescue workers wait for the seas to calm. The captain of the capsized Modern Express, sailing with a load of wood in the Bay of Biscay, 300 kilometers (180 miles) off the coast of France, sent out a distress call on Tuesday and its crew of 22 was evacuated by Spanish helicopters. (Loic Bernardin/ Prefecture Maritime Atlantique via AP) THIS IMAGE MAY ONLY BE USED FOR 10 DAYS FROM TIME TRANSMISSION - MANDATORY CREDIT
The Associated Press
PARIS (AP) - A team of experts are expected to make a final attempt on Monday to salvage a cargo ship that has been adrift off the coast of France for five days before it runs aground.
High winds and six-meter (20-feet) waves made weekend rescue attempts impossible.
Vice-Adm. Emmanuel De Oliveira of the Atlantic Maritime Prefecture said a final effort to attach a towing cable to the 164-meter vessel, which is listing nearly 90 degrees, is set for dawn Monday. If that fails, he said, the vessel will run aground in southwest France by Tuesday night.
Spanish helicopters evacuated the 22-member crew last Tuesday after the Modern Express, carrying 3,600 tons of wood and equipment, sent out a distress call.
The vessel was drifting south and by Sunday afternoon it was 100 kilometers (60 miles) off the coast of the vacation town of Arcachon, south of Bordeaux. If not put in tow, it was expected to run aground further south, in the Landes region, De Oliveira told a news conference.
He said he expected only "limited" environmental impact if the Panama-registered vessel hits the coast because the cargo was mainly wood and there were so far no signs of leaking of its 300 tons of fuel.
Experts from the Dutch company Smit Salavage were called in to try to capture the drifting vessel, helped by two Spanish tugs and a French ship.
It is "totally impossible put the cargo ship upright," De Oliveira said.
In this photo taken on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016 and provided by the Prefecture Maritime Atlantique on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016, the cargo ship "Moderm Express" is pictured drifting off the coast of France. The cargo ship listing in the water is drifting empty off the coast of France, as maritime rescue workers wait for the seas to calm. The captain of the capsized Modern Express, sailing with a load of wood in the Bay of Biscay, 300 kilometers (180 miles) off the coast of France, sent out a distress call on Tuesday and its crew of 22 was evacuated by Spanish helicopters. (Loic Bernardin/ Prefecture Maritime Atlantique via AP) THIS IMAGE MAY ONLY BE USED FOR 10 DAYS FROM TIME TRANSMISSION - MANDATORY CREDIT
The Associated Press
In this photo taken on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016 and provided by the Prefecture Maritime Atlantique on Friday, Jan. 29, 2016, the cargo ship "Moderm Express" is pictured drifting off the coast of France. The cargo ship listing in the water is drifting empty off the coast of France, as maritime rescue workers wait for the seas to calm. The captain of the capsized Modern Express, sailing with a load of wood in the Bay of Biscay, 300 kilometers (180 miles) off the coast of France, sent out a distress call on Tuesday and its crew of 22 was evacuated by Spanish helicopters. (Loic Bernardin/ Prefecture Maritime Atlantique via AP) THIS IMAGE MAY ONLY BE USED FOR 10 DAYS FROM TIME TRANSMISSION - MANDATORY CREDIT
The Associated Press