Lifting Operation Salvages Sunken Inland Cargo Ship Near Antwerp
A lifting operation on Sunday, May 3, removed the sunken inland cargo ship Sola Gratia, which had gone down in an important shipping lane for Antwerp and Belgium. The ship sank just over two weeks ago, fortunately in a period in which the Royers Lock near Antwerp was closed for maintenance.
The contract for the removal of the 86-meter (282-foot) inland cargo ship was awarded to Multraship Salvage and Herbosch-Kiere. They pointed out that it was a challenging operation because of strong currents and tides in the Scheldt and the important nature of the shipping lane.
The Sola Gratia was loaded with a cargo of sand and inbound for Antwerp on the night of April 17-18 when it struck mooring bollards on the side of the river. The master told responders that the vessel had lost maneuverability, according to local news outlet NT. The crew was rescued without injuries, but the ship came to rest at a depth of 15 meters (49 feet) at low tide.
The first portion of the operation began at the beginning of last week. They pumped the approximately 1,600 tonnes of sand the ship was carrying from the hull.
Teams positioned three sets of heavy steel cables that were making up the hoisting slings for the hull. They were put at three positions on the hull to distribute the weight and reduce the risk of the ship breaking apart during the lifting operation.
“Applying the lifting slings and steel cables is precise and risky work,” explains Leendert Muller, CEO of Multraship Salvage. “The hoisting itself also had to proceed in a highly controlled manner. The weight had to be evenly distributed to prevent the ship from breaking apart.”
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Two floating cranes, two crane pontoons, tugboats, auxiliary equipment, and specialized divers were deployed for the operation on Sunday. It was timed to start with slack tide at approximately 1300 and continued for several hours.
Multraship reports the vessel is now above water and continues to be held in the sling. They had hoped to dewater the hull to restore buoyancy, but they report there is extensive damage to the hull. The ship will remain in the sling while it is also determined where the ship will be repositioned to remove the obstacle from the waterway.