YORK COVE

scrapped

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salvage

Salvage from bottom of the Mersey River by AAL Melbourne https://www.shipspotting.com/photos/big/2/0/1/3455102.jpg

18 tons oil and fuel removed from sunken tugs

The salvors at the Port of Devonport have recovered more than 18 tons of oil and fuel from the 'Campbell Cove' and 'York Cove'. This included more than 17 tons of diesel fuel oil. The complex operation has been led by a team of skilled divers, who operated in very low visibility, navigating through the access doors and stairways of the submerged and significantly damaged vessels. Following the identification of reservoirs, tanks and voids holding hydrocarbons, the dive team has then had to construct safe and effective methods to pump contaminants to the wharf deck for collection in intermediate bulk containers. Tasport tug engineers provided advice and support to the dive team through CCTV, and their operational teams have been on hand every step of the way ensuring the highest standard of safety. Through this effort, the salvors have been able to identify that there still remained about 10 tons of hydrocarbons onboard the 'Campbell Cove'. As a result, the incident site at Berth 3 West at the Port of Devonport remained under active TasPorts control. Whilst the remaining fuel has been contained, there was still a high risk of leaking if the structural integrity of the tugs changed, such as a shift in positioning. TasPorts continued to proactively manage this environmental risk. A tender for the removal of the wrecks from the site closed on Feb 13. The tenders were now under review. As part of the review, a salvage plan and methodology will be agreed, with a final salvor anticipated to be appointed over the coming weeks.

Environmental protection top priority after tug sinking

After the sinking of the 'York Cove' and 'Campbell Cove' at berth 3 West in Devonport, for TasPorts the environmental protection remained the top priority as salvage operations continued. A risk assessment undertaken by TasPorts and the Tasmania Environment Protection Authority determined that propulsion wash from large vessels assisted by tugs operating close to the incident site posed a significant risk of destabilising the wrecks and oil spill boom and comprising the safety of people. Thus TasPorts harbour master has issued an instruction restricting large commercial vessel access to Devonport 4 West berth, where towage assistance is required. Further, Devonport 5 West berth will be limited by a number of conditions, to minimise the impact of propulsion impact on the wreck site and containment area. The restrictions will remain in place until the tugs have been recovered prior to May 5. The ongoing risk of further pollution from the submerged tugs was being carefully managed as planning for the next phase of salvage operations progresses and the port authority continues to re-instate commercial shipping operations where it is safe to do so. TasPorts along with the EPA has worked to contain and remove a significant volume of spillage since the incident took place. Small pockets of oil remained inside the tugs and as such, the site remained under active management to minimise the further release of oil, with the containment boom and its ongoing integrity remaining vital to the response.