An operation to lift the bow of OS 35 began on Tuesday morning, with the removal of the wreck now in its final stages, reports Gibraltar Chronicle.
Salvage operation to remove bow section
The Captain of the Port, John Ghio, confirmed that the operation to lift the bow of the OS 35 commenced on Tuesday morning, following the deployment of preventive booms.
Over the past month salvors have worked to lift the two sections of the wreck from the seabed with the latest operation focusing on the bow. The ship broke in two earlier this year during a storm, months after it collided with an LNG tanker in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters last August.
The plan, which has been delayed due to persistent bouts of rough weather in recent weeks and months, is to place the two sections onto a heavy lift vessel to be shipped to a recycling yard.
The process was put on hold over the weekend, with salvors waiting for calm waters with a low swell to lift the wreckage into a semisubmersible just metres away in the bay. With the weather conditions now suitable, the operation has been able to take place safely.
Once placed onto the semisubmersible, the wreck will be transported to Amsterdam for scrapping at a specialist yard.
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Source: Gibraltar Chronicle
