A Dutch salvage specialist has won a contract to remove the damaged OS35 bulk-carrier wreck off Gibraltar and to clear out 17 wrecks in Guyana
Koole Contractors gained the contract from salvage management group TMC Marine to break up and remove the grounded bulk carrier during Q1 2023.
The Port Authority of Gibraltar has set a deadline for the wreck removal, which has been beached since 29 August 2022, of 30 May 2023 and approved the salvage plan as meeting its environmental, risk and safety standards.
“The plan is for the ship to be cut in two, at a point which avoids the oil tanks,” said Koole Contractors. “The bow will be hoisted using chains, while the stern will be refloated. Both sections will be placed on a semi-submersible vessel and shipped to an EU-approved recycling facility.”
At the port authority’s behest, there are several options and contingency measures in case all does not go according to plan, as there are many variables at play.
Koole Contractors said it will mobilise anchor handling tug Koole 31, formerly Viking, which it recently acquired and accommodation crane barge K10030 to start on the OS35 wreck removal.
TMC Marine selected Koole Contractors 21 October and presented the plan to the Gibraltar authorities 9 November.
OS35 grounded outside Catalan Bay after colliding with another ship, which caused a 10-m gash in its hull and an oil spill that soiled local beaches.
In Guyana, Koole won a contract from the nation’s government to remove 17 wrecks located in the Demerara, Berbice, Pomeroon, Waini and Essequibo rivers and offshore.
This followed the successful removal of four wrecks in the Demerara River in 2022. The wreck removal project is expected to be completed in eight months.
The Government of Guyana’s minister of public works Juan Edghill said this contract is part of its strategy to improve safety and security on its waterways. “The country is moving forward and it is imperative we make our waterways safer for vessels by removing these 17 wrecks quickly and efficiently,” he said.
Koole Contractors purchased anchor handling tugs Koole 31 and Norne to increase its fleet to four vessels in Q4 2022. Koole 31 was built in 2008 as a 332-gt anchor handler with a bollard pull of 72 tonnes, an overall length of 31 m, beam of 11 m, depth of 4 m and draught of almost 4 m. It is classed by Bureau Veritas with Ice Class 1C notation and is equipped with towing- and anchor-handling winches, deck cranes and Karmoy towing pins.
Koole 31 is capable of towing, pushing, anchor handling, anchor recovery, salvage assistance, wreck removal, escorting and cargo transport.
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