John Culatto
SALVAGE crews are continuing to strip down the bulk carrier beached in Gibraltar waters as the machinery needed to remove it gets ready to sail from around the globe.
Port authorities have worked hard to stop oil leaks from spreading after a ten metre gash in the hull of the OS 35 forced it to beach 700 metres from Catalan Bay in late August.
The Captain of Gibraltar’s Port tweeted that most of the work to remove loose items in the accommodation block of the stricken vessel had finished.
The two tugs Dutch wreck-removers Koole will use are set to arrive in the next few weeks.
One of them left from Suriname in South America this week hoping to arrive at the beginning of January.
A second tug and its barge is getting ready to leave for Amsterdam and will arrive before the end of the year, weather conditions permitting.
At the stricken ship, workers have already stripped decks A, B and C of furnishings and wall insulation down to the bare metal structure.
All that is left is the wheelhouse section of the Bridge which workers will take apart when the current weather improves.
At the same time, divers have removed 3,000 more litres of oil from inside the hull of the ship.
They will continue to remove any more oil pockets they find inside the boat as soon as the current storm settles.
Authorities believe these actions will help to reduce any further oil spills as the ship is broken into bits.
The Port Authority ordered ship owners to remove the wreck by May at the latest.
READ MORE:
- Gibraltar port gives owners May 30 ultimatum to remove oil-polluting ship from its coastal grave
- Cleaners tackle Gibraltar beaches hit by wind-driven new oil spill from beached ship
- BREAKING: Boats now pumping diesel and fuel oil from ‘crumpled’ ship stranded in Gibraltar waters
- BREAKING: Authorities declare Major Incident after beached ship breaks up off Gibraltar
