An international salvage crew is on the verge of successfully righting a 56m sailing ship which toppled over inside the Port of Cape Town while dry-docked for repairs in May.
By mid-afternoon on Tuesday the Dutch tall ship Europa was almost upright, and will now be shunted sideways to allow port officials to repair the damaged dry dock facility.
The stranded Europa has been blocking the dry dock for several weeks but after being righted will be repaired before returning to service as a charter training vessel.
SA salvage expert's team carefully lifts toppled 600-tonne sailing ship
Famous tall ship Europa almost ready to return home
Image: Supplied
An international salvage crew is on the verge of successfully righting a 56m sailing ship which toppled over inside the Port of Cape Town while dry-docked for repairs in May.
By mid-afternoon on Tuesday the Dutch tall ship Europa was almost upright, and will now be shunted sideways to allow port officials to repair the damaged dry dock facility.
The stranded Europa has been blocking the dry dock for several weeks but after being righted will be repaired before returning to service as a charter training vessel.
The recovery operation is being led by world-renowned South African salvor Nick Sloane, who shot to fame a decade ago with the salvage of the cruise ship Costa Concordia off the coast of the Italian island Giglio.
Tuesday’s lift involved hoisting the 600-tonne vessel off the damaged synchro lift via a custom-made system of rigging and keel brackets.
The job was complicated by the ship’s precarious position, lying partly suspended in midair.
Image: Michael Walker
This is a developing story.
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