Smit Salvage has carried the northernmost wreck removal project, The ship was the fishing vessel Northguider, which ran aground in Svalbard in the Arctic in late 2018.
Northguider had grounded between Spitsbergen and Nordauslandet in the archipelago of Svalbard. After grounding the crew put out a distress call, reporting that the ship had taken on water in the engine room. Luckily, all crew were safely evacuated.
However, the vessel could not immediately be refloated. In fact, salvors returned to remove all its diesel fuel, lube oil and hydraulic fluid in January.
The operation was essential to protect the sensitive Arctic waters, with officials wanting
Last summer, the salvage team attempted to repair and refloat the hull, but due to ice, the operation had to stop. Now, this summer the team returned to cut the trawler into pieces, and lift the scrap off with a crane barge, while a dive team removed additional material from the seabed.
The scrap will now be taken back to the Norwegian mainland.
