It was stated that all 25 crew members were rescued by a coastguard helicopter and multiple RNLI lifeboats amidst report that one of them may have sustained a broken leg. Marine Salvage, is the process of recovering a ship, its cargo, or other property after a shipwreck. Salvage encompasses towing, refloating a sunken or grounded vessel, or patching or repairing a ship. Those who render assistance at sea are called ‘Salvors’. The act of salvage generally occurs under a contract, codified clearly. Salvage specialist Svitzer reportedly were employed and now comes the news of their success. High winds and heavy rain hampered the rescue operation - even causing one of the tugs to smash into the Osaka as it was being towed. It was brought back to land last week so that its precious cargo could be unloaded.
MailOnline had more
than a couple of interesting reports on the ship, its listing, the salvage and
on the cars so retrieved. One of the reports stated that more than
£30million-worth of Range Rovers, Jaguars and Porsche emerged from the
ill-fated carrier ship – and among the dented doors and scratched paintwork
emerged a perfectly preserved armoured personnel carrier. A spokesman for the shipping company
described the damage to the cars as 'limited' but there are fears the entire fleet
could have to be scrapped after a similar accident in 2006 wrecked 4,700
Mazdas. The cars, then were sent to the
crusher after transporter MV Cougar Ace partially capsized in the North Pacific
while carrying the cars away from the factory.
Three weeks after
running aground, hundreds of Range Rovers, Jaguars and Porches began to be
unloaded whilst a armoured vehicle came out unscathed. Authorities are carrying out a full
examination of all the cars on board to see how extensively they have been damaged
after the accident. One Porsche Boxter
was left with large scratches and dents to its bodywork while many other had
damages written over their bodies. Engineers
were worried about what effect resting at such a severe angle for so long would
have on the inner workings of the cars, especially on the electrolyte in the
batteries. Rather than open themselves up to the possibility of lawsuits due to
mechanical faults, the company decided that it was safer to scrap the lot.
A spokesman for
Hoegh Autoliners said that each car was being inspected after being removed
from the ship, and that a decision about their fate would not be made until
that task was complete. The vessel was
also carrying up to 80 agricultural or building plant machines, including a
large stone-cutter machine weighing more than 30 tonnes. It is not yet known which vehicles were
damaged by the sea water inside the ship and the spokesman said the vehicles
were owned by 'a variety of parties' - including dealers and private owners.
On
Jan 17th, 3,000 tonnes of
water was pumped out and into empty fuel tanks on board and by 22, Salvage firm Svitzer was able to complete
ballast management and reduce the ship's list to five degrees. It was then
towed to Southampton Docks by four tugs. During its
journey, an exclusion zone around the vessel was in place, set at 1,000 metres
ahead and behind and 100 metres either side. Airspace was also restricted to
one mile around the route as a precaution. Hundreds of people gathered at
Southampton Water to watch the ship complete its three hour journey back to the
port.
Another report
states that the Rolls-Royce didn’t have a scratch!
£260,000 luxury car looked pristine as
it was driven off stricken cargo ship –
unlike the hundreds of battered Land Rovers that went before it. The Rolls Royce Wraith, was destined for private owners believed to be
in the Middle East - the final destination for the ship. Another plastic-covered Range Rover was driven
off the Singapore-registered vehicle into Southampton's Docks where it waits
for assessment
The
process of removing the cargo is on and presents new dimensions on how they
will be checked and the logistics of movement.
The ship's owners said there was 'limited damage' to most of the 1,400
luxury vehicles, however, plenty rolled off with doors missing !
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
2nd Feb 2015. photos and news credit : www.dailymail.co.uk
