Just over a year since the MSC Napoli was beached off the Devon coast Hugh Shaw, the Secretary of State's Representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention has declared: “We have reached a milestone in the removal of the final piece of the wreck of the MSC Napoli.”
The first phase of the removal of the stern section of the MSC Napoli has ended. All the accommodation block has been cut away and the scrap has been removed for disposal. The bow section was towed to a yard in Northern Ireland last year.
All the salvage vessels and plant equipment that were on site have now returned to Rotterdam. All that remains is the cut down stern section with a 30 degree list to starboard.
The owners' representatives and insurers are currently in discussions to decide the timetable and method for removing the final section in phase 2 which is expected to begin some time in April, when the weather improves.
The duration of the final phase will not be known until the final method of removal has been determined, said a statement from the Marine and Coastguard Agency.
The original plan was for a two-phase operation to remove the stern section. Because the stern section is listing after a spell of bad weather, the plan for phase 2 may have to be revised, and this is the subject of further negotiations and discussions at the moment, said the statement.
“From now until the start of Phase 2 a legally enforceable total exclusion zone (TEZ) of 500 metres will be in place.”
After the removal of the final section of the accommodation block in November, the MCA said that the remaining section of the ship in Lyme Bay had moved and was listing at more than 30 degrees - "But there's no-one on board and there's nothing anyone can do at the moment. We're victims of the weather."
The 62,000 tonne container ship was deliberately grounded in Lyme Bay after it was damaged in a storm off the Lizard on January 18 last year.
Twenty-six crew members were rescued from the Napoli, which was en route from Antwerp to South Africa.
The vessel was being towed to Portland, Dorset, when it was decided to ground her off Branscombe amid fears she could sink.
About 100 containers went overboard and 58 were washed ashore, leading to a scavenging and looting spree.
The 62,000 tonne vessel was stripped of its 2,300 containers by salvors before being split in half in July. The bow section was floated to Northern Ireland.
The salvage operation has cost more than £50m.
