The world’s leading salvage companies are bidding for a project to remove the burnt-out wreck of a X-Press Feeders' containership off Sri Lanka.
The tender for the work on the 2,743-teu X-Press Pearl (built 2021) closed in recent days and bids are now being assessed. The plan is for salvage equipment to be mobilised to the site within the next two months, when the monsoon weather eases.
The tender is expected to have attracted bids from all the leading salvage companies. So far Smit Salvage and Resolve Marine have been involved in the initial stages of the salvage.
The X-Press Pearl sank and grounded after it was destroyed by a fire in May this year.
The vessel's protection and indemnity insurer, the London P&I Club, declined to comment on the wreck removal project.
Salvage industry sources suggest the project could turn out to be costly and prolonged.
Local authorities are insisting that salvors verify the wreck is free of oil before the removal operation begins.
The next phase will be to remove containers from the wreck, and locate and dispose of boxes that were lost from the vessel and are now sitting on the seabed.
A major cost could be the disposal of any hazardous waste material from the vessel.
Fishing banned
Fishing has been banned around the wreck because of the lost containers. There are also concerns that the pollution from them is killing local marine wildlife.
The removal of the grounded hull could also prove difficult. The stern section has been sitting hard aground for nearly five months, and the site of the wreck is exposed to the tide and weather, which could delay the operation.
Such operations can be difficult. The stern of the 203,000-dwt bulk carrier Wakashio (built 2007) — which is aground at Mauritius — was only expected to take a matter of months to remove. However, the wreck still remains nine months after the salvage contract was awarded, largely because of weather delays.
Another wreck removal contract that is also up for grabs is the stern of the 49,549-dwt woodchip carrier Crimson Polaris (built 2006), which is aground off the port of Hachinohe off Japan.
The Doun Kisen-owned vessel broke in two in a storm in August. All the fuel has been taken from the forward section and is secure at a location in nearby Aomori prefecture.
Surveys are being carried out on the grounded stern section before the wreck removal is awarded.
