Experienced salvors appointed in salvage operation of MV PRISCILLA
Picture credit THURSO RNLI |
A consortium of experienced salvage companies – Multraship/Ardent/Wagenborg - have now been
appointed by the owner of MV PRISCILLA as their salvors. Representatives
from Ardent are expect to arrive at the vessel later this evening in order to
carry out an initial assessment on Saturday 21 July. Salvors have already
commenced deploying equipment to the incident site. It is expected that an
outline salvage plan will be prepared for discussion between key stakeholders
and the Acting SOSRep, Hugh Shaw for approval. A Salvage Control Unit
(SCU) will then be established near the incident.
Acting
SOSRep Hugh Shaw has established a Temporary Exclusion Zone of 500m around the
incident site to ensure that there is no risk to the safety of persons engaged
on the salvage operations and for other shipping traffic transiting or working
in the area. As there is adequate tug and salvage support on scene, the
ETV ‘Ievoli Black’ has resumed its patrolling duties.
The
MV PRISCILLA remains stable but hard aground on the Pentland Skerries with the
6-person crew on board safe and well.
No
pollution has been reported.
Acting
SOSRep Hugh Shaw said: ‘This incident has now become a salvage operation
in order to refloat the vessel. The Pentland Firth is well known for the
strength of its tides, which are among the fastest in the world, so I’m pleased
that the owner’s representative and insurers have appointed experienced salvors
without delay. I am in dialogue with a number of key stakeholders
and once we have established and agreed the salvage plan, I will provide a
further update on the way forward.’