Salvaging operations of grounded ship start

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines  —– Finally, salvaging operations for the grounded cargo ship, the M/V Ever Transport III, off the coast of this city has begun after about nine months of waiting since it was shoved ashore by tropical storm Sendong last December 17.

Senior Chief Petty Officer Nelson Simbahon, newly designated commander of the Dumaguete Coast Guard Station, had confirmed that salvage operations began Saturday with the M/V Hamako II of the Steel Ray Salvaging Corporation starting to extract whatever items it could retrieve from the half-sunken ship.

Steel Ray had won the bidding to salvage the cargo ship but operations were stalled in the past months due to certain requirements that had to be complied with. It finally completed the requirements this past weekend, said Simbahon.

Simbahon said the operations will consist of phases, including the cutting of the ship’s bridge and the retrieval of items inside the vessel. Salvage teams will be cutting through portions of the ship to allow access to areas where certain things have to be extracted to ease the weight of the cargo there, he said.

If possible, and as originally agreed earlier, Steel Ray will try to refloat the Ever Transport III and tow it to a shipyard in Cebu.

The Dumaguete CG station has given the salvage company until October 5 to finish its operations otherwise it will have to obtain another request for extension of the operations from the main headquarters of the PCG in Manila.

Simbahon said CG personnel are on hand to supervise the salvaging works to ensure that these will not pose a threat to the environment even if he believed there will be no oil spillage. The CG has required the salvage teams to lay down spill containment booms as a precautionary measure in the event of an oil leak.

Salvage teams are working even at night since Saturday to maximize their time to salvage and refloat the Ever Transport III because of the limited number of days given them, Simbahon added.  (FREEMAN)