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Salvage resources for giant ships

Salvors are going to need a new generation of both tugs and people to cope with There is a degree of optimism inherent in any shipping investment and nobody, as they make up their mind to invest in a newbuilding, thinks of the worst calamity that might overtake the ship being ordered. The White Star Line would never have ordered the Titanic if they had foreseen her fate, and it would very unfair to fault them retrospectively for their lack of anticipation.Nevertheless, it might be prudent to at least spare a few thoughts as to how some of the giant ships now coming into service might be salved, should they be so unfortunate as to require the services of salvors. Has anyone actually asked the salvage experts whether they have adequate resources to deal with a disabled 400,000 DWT dry bulker full of iron ore, or a grounded 15,000 TEU container ship, or even deal with the aftermath of a serious accident involving a ship with upwards of 6,000 souls aboard?Salvors, for their part, would seem to suggest that all these excellent designs for ships that will drive serious scale economies have been undertaken without looking at their current capabilities ...

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Weather continues to affect salvage operations on Rena

MV RENA Updates Weather continues to affect salvage operations, with no activity yesterday (Sunday) due to swell and wind conditions.Weather today is marginal for safe operations, so container removal activity today is unlikely.While container removal operations are suspended, salvors will focus on installing patches in the corridors of the wreck, to improve buoyancy.15 containers were removed from Rena by the crane barge Smit Borneo on Friday, with 13 removed on Saturday. A total of 195 containers have now been removed from the wreck.A beach cleaning team is working today at Shark Alley/Leisure Island where some small amounts of oil have been seen, and the team will be working on the beach after every high tide.Beach clean-up teams are working at Mōtītī on the north and western sides of the island. Clean-up teams are also working at Kulim and Fergusson Parks and Matakana Island.Warm water rock washing is continuing at Mauāo.No beach grooming will be done today because of the weather.The weather forecast is for continuing showers and patchy rain, with heavier rain forecast for Wednesday.Today's overflight of Rena shows a visible metallic of sheen of oil about 4.5 km long from the vessel, but there is no sign of weathered ...

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ISU in environmental salvage talks

International Salvage Union to start a campaign alerting the IMO, governments and Greenpeace The International Salvage Union's (ISU) is to start a campaign aimed at alerting the IMO, governments and Greenpeace, among others about future salvage issues.New ISU president Andreas Tsavliris also called for higher awards to compensate salvage companies investing in new equipment, crew etc. "We want to raise our profile with stakeholders," he said.In addition, the ISU is to hold meetings next year with IUMI and P&I Clubs on the question of environmental salvage. Tsavliris said that the ISU wanted changes made to the Salvage Convention.One of the major concerns among salvors is the possible criminalisation when dealing with a particular incident in an area where salvors can become criminalised through no fault of their own in cases where environmental pollution occurs.Source: Tanker Operator

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Container removal to resume this afternoon, 1,115 containers still on board

MV RENA Updates Salvors on board the crane barge Smit Borneo hope to this afternoon begin removing containers from the Rena, weather and other conditions permitting.The 110 metre crane barge departed Port of Tauranga early yesterday morning, and salvors spent the day securing the vessel on the port side of the Rena. This involved the placement of mooring lines and four massive anchors, at the end of about 800m of anchor chain, to secure the barge next to the Rena.Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) Salvage Unit Manager Arthur Jobard said the barge was currently moored about 300m off Rena. It would use winches to extend and retract its four anchor chains to move the vessel to access containers from different parts of the ship as needed.Mr Jobard said salvors planned to begin testing the barge's cranes and other systems today, starting with the removal of lighter, empty containers, before beginning work on the heavier containers."The focus today will be on testing and refining the process for removing containers, starting with those that are empty before moving onto more difficult containers. As always, these operations are highly complex and are heavily dependent on the weather and technical factors. However, all going well, ...

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MV RENA is still intact after the weekend’s stormy weather

MV RENA Updates Rena is still intact after the weekend's stormy weather. Electronic sensors monitoring the movement of the wreck indicated some extra movement during last night's swells, but Svitzer advises there was nothing untoward in the readings.Salvage teams are going out to the wreck this morning to resume work on installing patches in the passages on Rena, to improve buoyancy.No container removal operations were undertaken over the weekend due to high swells. Container removal operations are not expected to resume for the next day or so.A total of 167 containers have been removed from Rena. There were 1368 containers on board when Rena ran aground, and an estimated 87 were washed overboard on 12 October, leaving 1114 on board today.The crane barge Smit Borneo is expected to arrive from Singapore around 11am today. The barge will remain in port for several days while the barge is prepared for container removal.The Sea Tow 60 is also in port.The anchor handling tug Go Canopus remains attached to Rena.Winds are blowing north easterly at about 15 knots, shifting to northwest today with low cloud and swells of a maximum 4m. Another weather spike is expected tomorrow night and wet weather is set ...

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Two months on, crippled ship clings to New Zealand reef

A total of 87 containers fell overboard in bad weather - salvage operation continues A loaded cargo ship, described by salvage workers as a 'lame, dying, beast', is still clinging to a reef off the New Zealand coast, two months after running aground in the middle of the night on the captain's birthday.Cracked down the middle, listing 21 degrees and piled high with goods containers, the 47,230-tonne Rena creaks and groans as steel plates in its fractured hull grind against each other with the sea's constant swell, continuing to defy weeks of predictions that the vessel is about to break up.A salvage team is painstakingly removing the containers, which have hung over the edge, teetering in a gravity-defying manner since the ship hit the reef on October 5. Their progress is reported in a daily bulletin, which most recently confirmed that the Rena remains fragile, but intact.The job is highly dangerous. The 40-man salvage team from Dutch company Svitzer dice with death as they clamber at dizzying heights over the containers, attaching them to a crane to be hoisted onto an adjacent boat and taken ashore.The Liberian-registered Rena, manned by a 25-man Filipino crew, ran onto the Astrolabe Reef, 22 ...

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Removal operation depends on the weather

MV RENA Updates Container removal from the stricken ship Rena off the coast of Tauranga is proceeding well - but the removal operation continues to be weather dependent, Maritime New Zealand's National On Scene Commander Rob Service said.A total of 165 containers have been removed so far, with 20 removed today (as at 4.00pm).Mr Service warned that removing containers would become progressively more difficult, and the operation would need to stop during periods of high winds and swells, which were being constantly monitored.He said it was always a concern about how long the operation would take, but it had to be done safely, and each stack of containers had to be individually managed.Low-level beach cleaning activities were continuing at Mt Maunganui, Maketu, Matakana and Motiti islands today, and at Papamoa beach where oil had resurfaced. Oil that had been deposited on the beach is likely to be covered and uncovered by normal coastal processes for some time, he said.However the amount of oil was not significant and, overall, the amount of oil being discovered was decreasing.Meanwhile a wildlife response team captured and examined 80 penguins last night on Rabbit Island but found no oiled birds. Thirteen of those captured were ...

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Salvage operations remain on hold for MV Rena

Due to strong winds Salvage operations remain on hold due to strong winds around the Rena, says Maritime New Zealand (MNZ).Salvors are continuing to monitor the condition of the vessel through electronic sensors on board but information gathered so far indicates there is no significant change or deterioration of the hull."The vessel remains in a fragile condition, but is still stable," said Maritime New Zealand Salvage Unit Manager Arthur Jobard."Salvors will remain on board the vessel Go Canopus overnight and will continue to monitor the Rena's status."Container recovery company Braemar Howells remains ready to respond to any potential container loss from the Rena, with vessels and personnel on standby, Mr Jobard said.National On Scene Commander Alex van Wijngaarden said beach cleaning work had continued today with larger numbers of responders ready on standby in case more oil comes ashore.Beach cleaning operations will continue tomorrow in a number of areas.The National Oiled Wildlife Response Team continues to work on plans for the staged release of more wildlife that satisfy release criteria and as their habitats are cleaned. A team is now scheduled to go out on Friday night to monitor penguins released to Rabbit Island on Tuesday.Source: Maritime NZ

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Inland Salvage Battles River Current to Salvage Lost Coal Barge

The barge has been raised and towed to dry dock for repairs Salvage Team members recently fought with high current Mississippi River conditions to refloat a sunken coal barge near Lake Providence, LA. The barge was fully loaded and headed south when it went down in March of this year.Having been on the river bottom this long, the barge was partially buried in river sediment. The salvage crew began the task of digging the wreck clear. Methods involving clam buckets proved unsuccessful as the river current would cause the equipment to become fouled and uncontrollable. An 80 ft. compressed air-lift suction system was quickly assembled and proved to be capable of moving the mud, sand, and remaining cargo in the high current.Once the barge was exposed, the dive team began to survey the condition of the barge. Divers were challenged by the river conditions, but, without incident, they were able to empty the mud filled tanks and rig the wreck to the Inland Salvage heavy lift barges Big Al and Large Marge.The wreck was raised and, while still held in the cranes, moved toward the bank and into shallow water. Hull surveys found limited damage and the Salvage Master determined ...

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Exclusion zone around Rena is reduced

Salvors may continue to remove containers from the vessel The exclusion zone around the stranded container ship Rena has been reduced, allowing charter operators and others access to the popular coastal area as salvors continue to remove containers from the vessel.Salvors removed 31 containers of 1280 left on the ship on Friday. The Rena grounded on Astrolabe Reef off the coast of Tauranga on October 5. It was carrying 1368 containers when it grounded and 88 containers have fallen off the ship.The weather is fine in the region on Saturday and salvors are continuing their work, Maritime New Zealand (MNZ) says.Clean-up operations will also continue on Leisure Island, Matakana Island, Mount Maunganui, Papamoa and the Kaituna River Mouth, MNZ says.The Bay of Plenty Regional Council's harbourmaster has reduced the exclusion zone to three nautical miles around the ship.The new zone was put in place from midnight on Friday.About 350 tonnes of oil leaked from the ship.Source: Maritime NZ

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