6.9 Salvage of packages from sunken craft

6.9.1 General

As a result of a collision, heavy weather or an explosion on board a ship, damage to the ship may be so severe that she will sink with all or part of her cargo on board. Due to the initial incident or to the impact with the seabed, the ship may be more or less demolished. In such cases, part of the cargo may escape from the ship while part may remain on board. On some occasions, the ship will lie intact on the seabed with all her cargo remaining on board.

6.9.2 Salvage of whole craft

A sunken ship with a cargo of chemicals that lies intact on the seabed may be leaking substances into the bottom water. On such an occasion it is important to monitor the surrounding water in order to establish the limits of the polluted area.

Under certain circumstances, with the ship intact, it may be possible to salvage the whole ship by lifting it with large pontoon-carried cranes. It is also possible to lift the ship by attaching buoyant objects inside or outside the hull.

The sunken German vessel Viggo Hinrichsen loaded with chromium compounds was salvaged in 1973 by means of pontoon cranes (cf. Figure 6 - 58) from a depth of 17 m one nautical mile north of the Swedish island of Öland in the Baltic Sea (cf. Annex 3, accident “Viggo Hinrichsen”).

Picture source: Hazardous Cargo Bulletin