Dredger salvaged following capsize

25 March 2018

Danish salvage and offshore support company J.A. Rederiet has completed the salvage of a Danish dredger which capsized outside the port of Bogense, Denmark.

The 1970-built, 119dwt Sirius Hoj was carrying out dredging work around 200m offshore from Bogense harbour and marina when it capsized, reportedly after its cargo shifted. The vessel came to rest on its port side in shallow water and fortunately the two-man crew were able to reach relative safety on the exposed side of the vessel from where they were rescued by local police, safely landed ashore and treated for hypothermia.

Measures were taken to monitor and contain any potential pollution including a helicopter overflight and the deployment of a containment boom. The anti-pollution vessel Mette Miljø was available but only a small amount of oil was reported with the wind direction taking it away from the shoreline.

J.A. Rederiet was engaged to remove the dredger and deployed two of its vessels, the self-propelled floating crane Sanne A and 54m LOA multipurpose salvage vessel Susanne A. With the help of two 125t A-frames and the 60t revolving crane on the Sanne A, the stranded dredger was returned to an even keel after which it was refloated and towed to Assens Shipyard.

Often with the marine salvage industry it is the major players who appear in the news as they respond to the headline-grabbing casualties, often involving large vessels with significant financial and environmental implications. At the other end of the scale however, smaller casualties which while perhaps insignificant on the global stage but of equal importance to local and regional environments and communities may be better handled by smaller, more local concerns, many of which include marine salvage as part of their overall package of maritime support activities.

J.A. Rederiet, based in Stenderup, Denmark is such an entity providing a range of services around the diving, salvage, heavylift and offshore support markets. Companies of this scale cannot of course survive solely on opportunistic salvage work and its services include offshore lightering of ships due to draught restrictions and short sea transportation of items unsuitable for road transport.

Looking at its fleet list it is clear to see its make-up, intended to satisfy the day-to-day routine work requirements make it well positioned to respond to operations such as above. This includes: the 20m 7tbp tug Sontinja, multipurpose vessels Susanne A and Mira A, floating crane Sanne A, flat-top barge Barge A and fast rescue boat KA01. J.A. Rederiet also has a comprehensive range of diving equipment available. SOURCE: MaritimeJournal

By Peter Barker