9 hours ago
Sunken vessel: Diving support vessel to commence underwater salvage
Kochi: The directorate general of shipping stated on Monday that a diving support vessel, SEAMEC III, would commence underwater salvage and diving operations in response to the sinking of the Liberian-flagged vessel, MSC ELSA 3.
The statement mentioned that the owners and salvors mobilised DSV SEAMEC III.
Twelve divers were arranged to carry out air diving operations. Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and diving equipment, including decompression systems, were loaded onboard the ship to ensure it was fully operational and ready to undertake diving near the sunken vessel. In the first stage, the divers would identify the openings of fuel oil tanks and carry out capping to prevent any oil seepage from the vessel.
According to the plan given by the salvors, the removal of oil from the fuel oil tanks by hot tapping would be done during the second stage, scheduled to complete by July 3, subject to weather conditions. The statement added that representatives of the P & I Club of the vessel and the ship owners met with the state govt and agreed to settle claims in accordance with the law. The statutory investigation under the Merchant Shipping Act, leading to the identification of the causal factor of the incident, was also being undertaken by the Mercantile Marine Department, Kochi, said the DGS statement.
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Offshore support vessels Nand Saarthi and Offshore Warrior remained deployed (engaged by TT Salvage, Singapore) and continuously engaged in the removal and dispersal of light oil sheen noticed at the surface. The Indian Coast Guard pollution response vessel, ICGS Samudra Prahari, continued to remain deployed near the sunken vessel for monitoring the situation and dealing with any eventuality.
The emergency towing vessel (ETV) Water Lily conducted a multibeam seabed survey since June 5 at the datum location.
The initial phase of the survey was completed, and data was currently under analysis, with the report expected shortly. Container salvage efforts by Marine Emergency Response Services (MERC, Gujarat) along the shoreline saw continued progress. The MSC and the Protection and Indemnity (P&I) Club insurer of the vessel appointed the firm MERC for the removal of containers and other shoreline clean-up activities.
To date, a total of 51 containers out of 61 washed ashore were successfully recovered and delivered to port, while the remaining 10 were currently under active salvage. These included several challenging and partially submerged containers being addressed by dedicated response teams in coordination with the local administration. It was emphasised that none of the 61 containers washed ashore contained any hazardous substances.
