Airbags for salvaging the freighter "Sabine" are being filled
The salvage of the freighter "Sabine", which sank in the port of Emden, has begun. The airbags, which are supposed to slowly lift the sunken ship, are being filled, said salvage manager Stephan Müller on Friday morning. "We will shortly be attaching the stern and starting to inflate the lifting bags for the first time." A spokeswoman for the port operator Niedersachsen Ports said: "We're getting started." She emphasized that there is a "tense hustle and bustle" in the port. It is expected that the ship will reach the water surface in the late morning, after which a submersible heavy-duty pontoon will finally lift the wreck. According to the plan, this should be the case in the evening.
The 85-metre-long and 9.50-metre-wide inland waterway vessel "Sabine" broke apart and sank on 5 October at Emden's Südkai while being loaded with a good 1100 tons of grit. The crew managed to save themselves. Since the accident, the cargo spread over the wreck has been salvaged.
"The challenge is that we can't see anything at all," said the salvage manager. There have been various dives to investigate the damage. "We assume that the ship as a whole will hold," he explained. However, it is possible that the ship could break up during the salvage operation. He ruled out environmental hazards due to leaking oil. He assumes a lifting weight of 500 to 550 tons, but the lifting capacity is around 850 tons.
The filling of the airbags for lifting the freighter "Sabine" is crucial, as any shipping accidents during this process could be disastrous. Despite the potential risks, salvage manager Stephan Müller is confident that they will be able to safely inflate the bags and bring the ship back to the water surface.
Source: www.dpa.com
