The emergency response contractor T&T Bisso has salvaged two bulk carriers[ds_preview] in Central and South America recently. Both ran aground fully laden with grain, the first one, a 28,500 dwt bulker at open sea, the other one, a 35,000 dwt bulker in a South American river system.
In order to avoid potential damage to the cargo of the first casualty (28,500 dwt bulker), the Salvage Master opted to use bollard pull, vessel maneuvering, and propeller washing to free the vessel and avoid opening the cargo holds and a ship to ship transfer of food grade cargo. After an onsite assessment, underwater hull inspection, and refloating calculations were performed, a detailed salvage plan, which included a contingency lightering sequence, was developed and submitted to the local port authority for approval. After reinforcing the stern deck with a 200 t capacity towing bracket, the casualty was pulled and swung continuously while propeller washing with two local tugs were carried out. Progress was made with every maneuver and after 48 hours the vessel was successfully refloated and redelivered to her owners without damage to the hull or cargo.
In the second case the coincidence helped the salvage team from T&T Bisso. Just one year earlier the refloated the same vessel in the same area. They could use the three towing brackets still welded on the vessel’s forecastle deck from the previous operation. Despite very strong currents and limited manoeuvering room, the vessel was safely refloated with the application of a 18,000 bhp anchor-holding tug, and delivered back to her owners with minimal disruption of the scheduled cargo operations.
