Salvage Works To ‘End In February’
Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji continues to monitor the work carried out.
Salvage works on the sunken Southern Phoenix in the Suva Harbour could be completed by the end of February this year, says the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji.
The authority’s chief executive officer, Captain Philip Hill, said the salvage works were progressing well despite the short stoppage for Christmas.
The MV Southern Phoenix, which was a container/general cargo vessel, is owned by Cruz Holdings Limited and sank at the Suva Harbour on May 6, 2017. The 89-metre vessel was expected to leave for Tarawa, Kiribati; it was ready for sailing with all its cargo operations completed when the incident happened.
It was operating charter services for Pacific Direct Line between Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Kiribati, according to the Cruz Holdings website. Pacific Towing Papua New Guinea Limited began salvage works on the ship in November last year.
“All cargoes in the ship have been removed and the salvage operation is moving into the cutting up of ships compo- nents as part of the plans to refloat the ship hull,” Captain Hill said.
“The hull will be scuttled in depths of 1000 metres as approved by the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji after consultation with the Ministry of Environment.
“All pollutants and hazardous chemicals have been removed and will be checked prior to any movement of the hull.”
Weather is a crucial factor in the process and Captain Hill expects the salvage works to be completed by February, as long as the weather remains in their favour. Edited by Naisa Koroi