Salvage can begin - Lake Constance wreck "Säntis": Lifting bags for the race against the quagga mussels
The planned lifting of a 130-year-old ship from the bottom of Lake Con stance is entering the hot phase. The twelve lifting bags with which the wreck is to be brought to the surface from a depth of 210 meters arrived in Romanshorn on the Swiss shore of Lake Constance shortly before Christmas, as the president of the ship salvage association, Silvan Paganini, told the news agency DPA. The bags had been ordered in China and were first shipped to Hamburg and then brought to Switzerland.
"Säntis" association is confident
The deadline for authorities and organizations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland to object to the project expired on 31 December. The association, which was founded to raise the "Säntis", will find out in the coming weeks whether anyone will object. "We are confident that everything will go according to plan," said Paganini.
The "Säntis" was no longer fit to sail and was scuttled in May 1933. It lies in the middle of the lake between Romanshorn and Langenargen on the German side. Scrapping it was rejected at the time as too expensive. The 48-metre-long ship had been sailing on Lake Constance since 1892. It could carry 400 passengers.
Lifting planned for April
The salvage operation is due to start at the beginning of March. The ship is to be lifted with the lifting bags and a recovery platform and stored at a depth of around twelve meters closer to the shore. It should then be fully salvaged at the beginning of April.
Time is of the essence, said Paganini. Firstly, because the association is allowed to use the shipyard in Romanshorn free of charge for 14 weeks from March. "But also because of the quagga mussels," explained Paganini. The introduced species has been spreading in Lake Constance for a few years. The mussels could soon cover the wreck in a thick layer. This has already happened to some wrecks at shallower depths, he said. "The wreck of the steamship "Jura" off Bottighofen is now just a large pile of quagga shells." There were also shells on the chimney of the "Säntis", which was salvaged in July.
280,000 euros in donations collected
In addition to donations in kind, the association with around 30 members has raised an estimated 280,000 euros via crowdfunding for the salvage material and the conservation of the wreck. There is already a berth for two years after the salvage, said Paganini. The "Säntis" is to be put on display. Whether in Switzerland was still unclear. "We don't have a commitment yet and are open."
Paganini, technical operations manager at Schweizerische Bodenseeschifffahrt, worked in the offshore oil and gas industry for a long time. What attracted him to the project was how the lift could be achieved with little money and without large crane structures. "The depth of the water is exciting and you have to use a few tricks," he said.
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Source: www.stern.de
