Salvage solutions
With ship strandings becoming less frequent but more complex, salvors are turning to new technology to try and help mitigate the huge financial and environmental consequences involved.
When the giant container ship Ever Forward was finally refloated in April, at the third attempt, after missing its turn while leaving the Port of Baltimore, Maryland, and becoming grounded in the muddy shallows of Chesapeake Bay, there was a palpable sense of relief amongst the salvage teams who had worked tirelessly to free the stricken vessel. “The crews worked for weeks to try and free the ship, using every facet of the sector, including dredging, marine construction, tugs, deck barges, crane barges and pull barges," said William P. Doyle, the delighted executive director at the Maryland Port Administration. A 43ft (13m)-deep trench had to be dug ahead of the 1,000ft (305m) vessel while five hundred of its 5,000 containers were removed to lighten its load. Powerful tugs were then engaged to do their best to drag the enormous vessel off the sandbank. Ever Forward’s predicament is symptomatic of the new challenges facing salvage experts.
The incident shares a number of disconcerting similarities to the grounding of Ever Forward’s sister ship — Ever Given — which blocked the Suez Canal for six days last March, causing major disruptions to international shipping and the entire global supply chain. In both cases the salvage crews dug and dragged as much as they could, but in each instance were eventually reduced to relying on a favourable phase of the moon to achieve success.
(Credit: Shutterstock)
Digital twins
Over recent years, improvements in navigational technology have led to fewer groundings. However, at the same time, ships have become larger and more unwieldy, creating incidents that are increasingly complex, costly and environmentally threatening. Salvors are therefore having to look to new methods and technologies to keep up with the latest challenges.
The sector now regularly deploys UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) equipped with cameras and sensors, including infrared for heat and night vision, before risking any higher value assets or skilled personnel. They also place sensors around a stricken hull in order to monitor how it moves and flexes during an operation. The data gathered can also be used to generate a detailed digital twin of the casualty.
“Developments in 3D high-resolution data are helping to increase certainty in salvage operations,” explains Mark Lawrence, lead digital consultant at the Waves Group, a leading marine engineering consultancy that offers expert casualty response management.
“We use the data to create high-resolution 3D digital models that provide an in-depth analysis of the casualty, and turn highly complex information into simple visual formats that can be viewed by everyone involved in the operation — anytime and anywhere.
“Essentially, the 3D models reduce the unexpected, enable decisive engineering solutions and allow salvors to get a full understanding of the condition of the casualty.”
Lifting leviathan
And with salvage operators now having to deal increasingly with larger and larger ships, even greater force and heftier machinery are now needed to assist in their operations.
When the 200m (660ft) MV Golden Ray car carrier capsized in shallow waters in Georgia, USA, in 2019, salvors brought in a massive arched lifting vessel — the VB 10,000.
Floating on widely spaced catamaran hulls, the 240ft (73m)-high multi-hoist machine straddled the wreck, then used a colossal cutting chain to slice the vessel into eight huge sections, each of which was raised onto a barge and taken away for appropriate disposal. The US Coast Guard considers it the largest wreck removal ever carried out in US history.
Ironically, the VB 10,000 itself hit a sandbank while returning to the Gulf of Mexico this year – see the stunning drone footage taken while it was grounded.
Corroding conundrums
However, despite significant recent advances in salvage technology, there are still several wrecks around the world that remain simply too dangerous and complex to tackle.
The IMO recently stepped in to help mediate the slow-moving efforts to deal with FSO Safer, a deteriorating floating oil storage unit, stranded off the Yemeni coast, that contains one million barrels of crude oil. A highly-anticipated fire or leak could result in disastrous environmental and humanitarian consequences for eight million people living in the region.
Meanwhile, UK authorities continue to puzzle over how best to deal with the rusting hulk of the SS Richard Montgomery at the entrance to the River Thames, which, packed with 7,000 tons of explosives, has the potential to send a tsunami tearing into central London.
Dennis O’Neill is a freelance journalist specialising in maritime.