Salvage of a North Sea Standard barge for Prysmian Industrial cables

Amt Explorer

03 july at 18:31  During transit from Arco Felice (Naples) to Bremerhaven (Germany), yesterday the North Sea barge Amt Explorer rented for the transport of energy cables by Prysmian for offshore wind farms and Deutsche Bucht in Butendiek Germany, capsized while under towage, causing the sinking of the rotating platform and its load.

The event occurred in international waters in a position approximately 50 nautical miles off the south west coast of Sardinia. All crew members are safe and sound. The barge and ‘property’ of the owner Augustea Anchor Marine Transportation, while NERI and Smit Salvage are taking action to recover the wreckage. Prysmian has shown in 28 million euro value of the cables transported, specifying that the insurance cover is adequate to cope with the event. Together with TenneT, the note concludes, the former Pirelli Cables is working “to the best of their ability ‘to avoid consequences that could have an impact on the level of implementation of the project.” com / ofb (end) AFX NEWS 0418: July 30, 2014.

 The day July 4 2014 the tug AHT NOS ARIES departed from Livorno to West Sardinia destination for salvage of the barge AMT Explorer (93 x 29 meters, GT 2500), the tug is owned by the company Fratelli NERI. The tug embarks at Leghorn rescue equipment and the team of Smit Salvage Rotterdam consisting also of divers and technicians. The NOS ARIES reaches off the coast of Sant Antioco (western Sardinia) where the barge floating upside down with the keel revolt vs the sky. The operation of connecting the cable towing the barge does not appear easy to solve because of the rough seas and causes of some of the equipment on the barge rized that remain hanging on the deck under water. The divers succeed in the difficult task after working hours.

For the operation of straightening it is necessary the use of a sheerlegs of great lifting capacity and a depth of about 30 m in order to perform the rotation securely. Therefore it is decided to head about Piombino route that presents these features and thanks to the work of the Harbour and Port Authority will get the necessary permissions.

In the roads of Piombino NERI sets up a buoy mooring system for the barge. Once the North Sea barge is moored in the harbor at Piombino, the activities begin construction / carpentry for the reconstruction of plant needed to control the entry and exit of water in all tanks. The preliminary preparation lasts for 2 weeks and it is necessary to enable part of the straightening using the buoyancy and displacement of the barge ballast.
Fundamental contribution to this composition of forces is finally given by the pull of the sheerlegs ITALIAowned by NERI, that with 1100 tons of lifting capacity has made possible the final straightening, rotating the barge of 360 °.

Once reflaoted, it was necessary to keep it connected to the sheerlegs ITALIA to allow complete emptying of the tanks and cleaning up and restoring floating trim necessary to the towage to the port of the work. The operation ends in early August involving 50 technicians and workers of NERI and SMIT and technical-nautical services of the Port of Piombino.

Once refloated the barge was towed to Naples by means of tug NOS ARIES owned by NERI for final repairs.

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