A marine salvage expert from the UK Government the has been drafted in to help move Dutch cargo ship the Priscilla after it ran aground in the Pentland Firth on Wednesday.
Maritime representative Hugh Shaw has been communicating with the owners of the 2280-tonne vessel as well as coastguard teams across the north to consider how to re-float the vessel off the Pentland Skerries.
A number of attempts were made by coastguard teams and lifeboat crews across the north on Wednesday to refloat the vessel, brining no success in moving it.
Hugh Shaw, the Secretary of State’s Representative for Maritime Salvage & Intervention #SOSRep is closely monitoring the grounded vessel 'Priscilla' and is in dialogue with the owner and insurer regarding the future plans for salvage. ©️@RNLI More here: https://t.co/gZjECw2RJQ pic.twitter.com/cik6GAwYFS
— Maritime&Coastguard (@MCA_media) July 19, 2018
Two tugs remained on standby at the scene yesterday, but no attempts were made to move the vessel.
Mr Shaw’s involvement comes the day after an investigation was launched by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch to identify how the 290ft vessel managed to get stuck on the Skerries.
Mr Shaw said: “Contracts are currently being finalised between the owner of the vessel, insurers and the salvors.
“Once that’s all been agreed, a small team of salvors will head up to the incident site to start gathering information which will assist them in preparing the salvage plan.
“Once we’re at that stage, I will then meet with the salvors to discuss their proposals.”
HM Coastguard first received the mayday call from the captain of the stranded vessel around 3.30am on Wednesday stating they had run aground approximately five nautical miles north east of Duncansby Head.
The vessel was carrying a batch of fertiliser when it ran into difficulty, with six crewmembers left stranded on board, remaining safe and well as rescue efforts continue.
Thurso lifeboat and a tug vessel were first to arrive on scene in the early hours of Wednesday morning and were later joined by the Green Isle, a Stromness based tug to help with on-going operations.
Their initial intentions indicated hopes of having the vessel on its way by early afternoon on Wednesday, however, a series of failed attempts to move the ship left it stranded for a second day yesterday.
A series of assessments have been conducted on the vessel, with HM coastguard reporting no major damage or sign of pollution to the 2280-tonne vessel.
