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Salvors battle to free Fedra's bow
Brian Reyes, Gibraltar - Tuesday 30 December 2008
The tugs Warrior and Neftegaz 57 have secured tow lines to the hull and are making the best of high spring tides to try and pull the ship off the rocky seabed.
The operation has been under way on and off for three days but section is still holding fast despite retaining significant buoyancy.
Once it is freed, it will be towed into deeper water on the east side of Gibraltar where divers will carry out an underwater survey.
Having carried out the survey, the section will be towed into the port of Gibraltar and will most likely be scrapped at the Cammell Laird shipyard.
The yard will also dismantle the Fedra’s accommodation block, which was cut off from the stern section earlier this month and ferried into port by floating crane Taklift 6.
The remainder of the stern section lies pinned at the base of sheer cliffs and will require a separate removal operation that has yet to commence.
The ship’s liability insurer initially planned to scrap most of the ship in Spain but eventually opted to have it broken up in Gibraltar.
The wreck removal is being overseen by Titan Salvage.
Titan also handled the operation to cut up and remove the New Flame, a cargo ship that foundered almost in the same spot less than a year prior to the Fedra incident.
The 63,940 dwt, Liberia-flag Fedra, operated by Dilek Transport, dragged anchor for hours during a severe storm last October 10, unable to hold its position before running aground at Europa Point.
The ship’s 31-man crew was saved following a daring but risky night-time rescue by Gibraltarian and Spanish emergency services, in which Titan’s personnel also played a decisive role.
* Click here to watch a video of the Fedra grounding,
