Salvage Operations 2022

On 8^th July 2022, the P&I Club of  mv “QUARTERDECIES” (3,000DWT, built 1985) that was abandoned by her crew in international waters in the south Ionian Sea due to water ingress and flooding of the engine room, appointed Five Oceans Salvage to assist the casualty under LOF with Scopic. A salvage Master was mobilised onboard tug LYBOUSSAKIS CHIOS from Katakolon, Greece while a salvage team and equipment were mobilised from Piraeus onboard the tug VERNICOS SIFNOS. A helicopter with a Salvage Master was also dispatched from Athens to locate the casualty and report on her status. However, the casualty sunk prior to the arrival of the salvage tugs.

On 3rd February 2022, motor tanker “TRESTA STAR” (3,000DWT, built 2019) was immobilized off Port Louis, Mauritius in extremely bad weather. Within a matter of hours, she drifted with the weather and run aground north of the beach of Tremblet in Reunion Island. Initially Five Oceans Salvage were appointed by the casualty’s P&I Club to supervise salvage efforts by a local contractor that had been appointed by the shipowners. However these failed and the vessel became a wreck within a few days. On 1^st March Five Oceans Salvage was engaged once again by the P&I Club to investigate wreck removal options. Following a thorough inspection of the wreck, a survey of the surrounding area and an assessment of the environmental impact against benefit from a wreck removal operation, it was decided by the stakeholders that the most appropriate course of action was to neutralize the wreck and leave the hull to erode naturally. Over the course of the following weeks, a large salvage team was engaged consisting of Five Oceans Salvage personnel as well as numerous local subcontractors. All bunkers, lubricants and other liquid pollutants were removed from the wreck. Solid waste as well as potential debris and other pollutants were all removed from onboard (ranging from removables and furniture to insulation and internal paneling, to electrical equipment and electronics, all wiring etc). Due to the difficult access to the location, all ship to shore operations were performed by helicopters. The wreck was stripped to bare metal, sealed for safety public reasons and the services were terminated on 24^th March.