3 of the 4 crew members were extracted from the #GoldenRay. Response crews are attempting to get to the last member (separated by glass) out
4 Likes
Hopefully the last crew member is rescued by now. Good on all the rescuers involved for getting in and getting the job down fast. I’m surprised and impressed that such things are still possible in the great modern bureaucracy of the USA. Maybe there is still hope…
.
1 Like
Really great news. They kept mentioning the last guy being trapped behind glass. I am assuming this was the reinforced window to the control room.
I cannot imagine being trapped in a hot, pitch black engine room turned on its side for 36 some odd hours with no food or water. Unbelievable job by the coast guard and will to live by these Korean engineers.
Now onto salvage. I wonder what will be the method and strategy. It’s completely on its side at this point.
3 Likes
Anybody with informed thoughts about when port will re-open and ship movements resume? We’re scheduled to call Colonels Island Terminal this weekend.
The Dutch have figured out a method:
I wonder if the shallow water will allow more straightforward approach, like rolling her with chain jacks before pumping out. I have my doubts.
2 Likes
Ah, something that I have no experience with but nonetheless have strong opinions about.
I’d say with regards to the relative difficulty, with the Cougar Ace with a 60 degree list would the less difficult, a matter of carefully filling the ballast tanks to the correct amount. On the other hand raising a ship from deep water is going to be more difficult.
In this case the ship has been evidently flooded and laying on the bottom will be more difficult than the Cougar Ace but less difficult than raising a ship from the bottom.
That is to say the fact that salvors can access the ship without the use of divers greatly simplifies the process.
There certainly is a method, and it isn’t gonna be cheap. . . . .
3 Likes
Interesting video! Back around 1990 I saw wire cutting used to dismantle reinforced concrete shield plugs during the decommissioning of Shoreham Nuclear Power Station (Long Island, NY). The wire was much smaller, and the sleeves over the wire used diamond abrasive instead of the high tech alloy mentioned. Wonder if the Tricolor salvage team had any problems with failure of the cutting wire, like we did at SNPS?
Which brings to mind a possible difficulty with using cutting wire on Golden Ray. On the Tricolor the wire and the steel it was cutting were below water. The water both cools the cutting wire and carries away the metal chips/dust resulting from the cutting. Golden Ray is at least half above water. I have doubts as to whether hoses would provide adequate cooling, especially where the cutting wire is going through interior structures.
1 Like
Cutting wires were also used for the salvage of the Russian Sub Kursk off Northern Norway:
I don’t think anybody is thinking of cutting up the near new Golden Ray. Righting her and towing her to a shipyard for repairs are more likely scenario.
Such operation was done not so long ago with similar vessels:
https://boskalis.com/about-us/projects/detail/salvage-of-the-modern-express.html
https://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/the-forgotten-story-of-how-the-cougar-ace-was-saved/
Wrecks are often cut up using chain. . . but that is usually when they are completely submerged, from my experience.
1 Like