Drill Barge Off MOW

[SamFamAustin]

Now I want all us to be cool on this one, OK? No politics and red-hot opinions? But my question is why nobody has salvaged the drill ship off Man-O-War Cay hard on the reef. If it was off the Florida Keys it would be eaten down like fire ants because of the price of steel and iron!

I'm asking for special treatment because I got "blowed up" twice on the OTHER bulletin board, See, a ship like that could have valuable steel at several hundred bucks a ton ... yet there she sits. I've been in the business at the periphery and the hull is gone but the rigging and certain parts are worth some very pretty coins. Why aren't the Bahamian salvagers all over that puppy?

And please be nice? It's an honest question, really. ;)

[Abacoparrott]

my guess is that there is no market for it in the bahamas and if you took it back to the states you have to pay duty.......heck.....what do I know......drag it further out and sink her.....another dive site for Dive Guana!

[CR]

They placed a man aboard soon after - he has been there a long long time now.
The boat is American owned - Duty?
I think that dragging it off on a spring tide, and allowing it to sink in deeper water is the only answer.

R.

[dyn0d]

I took this picture from the light house in July.

[SamFamAustin]

Thanks folks and Dyn0d great picture! I will resist the urge to conjecture about salvage laws, 'tho temping it is. Suffice it to say with without its "crew" in danger and no insured load, there's little low-hanging fruit, maybe. The superstructure could become a cool bird rookery, too! I will visit in the winter but if you see any cool birds or other nifty critters out there, don't hesitate to add another picture... :)

[yellowpages]

Last I remember reading is that the owners are, or have been, trying to tow it away but for various reasons had thus far failed. Have not the impression that they are abandoning the vessel.

[mlmp]

We snorkel out there frequently. There was someone on the boat for a while but no one has been there for months. If they truly intend to remove it, they will have to repair the gaping holes so they can pump it out. This has not been done and there is no evidence that they have even tried.

[Moderator6]

Check this out Sam. Page 8

http://www.bahamas.gov.bs/BahamasWeb/VisitingTheBahamas.nsf/Subjects/Port+PDFs/$file/PortLegalIssues.pdf#search=%22new%20bahamian%20fis hing%20regulations%22

Thanks folks and Dyn0d great picture! I will resist the urge to conjecture about salvage laws, 'tho temping it is. Suffice it to say with without its "crew" in danger and no insured load, there's little low-hanging fruit, maybe. The superstructure could become a cool bird rookery, too! I will visit in the winter but if you see any cool birds or other nifty critters out there, don't hesitate to add another picture... :)

[SamFamAustin]

Very informative, Moderator6, thanks! :o

[Watercolours]

Kermit Waters (Liberty Oil) says they are putting together another effort to remove the barge. They did two failed attempts this summer. There are pumps aboard and were pumping it out while trying to tow it off this summer. The gaping holes in the bow are supposedly separated by watertight bulkheads from the rest of the barge. This is our only hope for having it removed from our reef. In Florida the intercoastal waterway in Brevard and Indian River counties are littered with sunken boats from past storms and they are not being delt with too fast either. Lets hope this derlick gets moved for what ever reason the owners are still saying they are interested in having it moved.

www.watercolourscottages.com (http://www.watercolourscottages.com)
www.cruiseabaco.com (http://www.cruiseabaco.com)

[SamFamAustin]

I wish them luck too. Something makes me think, though - remember the old 'Detective Columbo' TV series starring Peter Faulk?

How about all the prop wash from the tug?

Lets say we have a neap tide (very high) and the bow is partly flooded, which is good if the bow is not grounded as it could raise the stern. It still might take a fairly large tugboat to pull it off the reef. In my line of business I do know that tugs come in all sizes, the the common ones being two diesels at about 350 HP each, with 4-foot wheels (propellers).

It might take a salvage tug of two 2,000 HP engines to do the job, however. I don't know if you've seen a tug with this much power but they can shoot enough water to dredge the bottom up. Not to alarm the reader, but with 25,000 to 250,000 pounds of bollard pull (tension on the pull cable) but not moving, the damage to the reef from the prop wash could be ... OK, I am speculating here, and will stop.

How about a giant crane barge or get somebody professional like:
http://www.smit.com/

/Sam