MV Farley Mowat raising in Shelburne Harbour should take 3 weeks
RMI Marine divers have been working to raise former anti-sealing vessel
The owner of the company contracted to raise the sunken MV Farley Mowat in Shelburne Harbour says the job should be finished in the next three weeks.
Mike Gregg, the co-owner of RMI Marine Ltd., said the process of raising the Farley Mowat began two weeks ago. Since the vessel is submerged and some sections have already been removed, he says the job is tricker than salvaging the former HMCS Cormorant, which was only partially submerged in Bridgewater.
"Every ship is different," Gregg told CBC News on Thursday.
"The Cormorant had a bit of a superstructure and the integrity was a little bit better, it was just that it was bigger."
Raising the Farley Mowat comes with external pressures, Gregg said. Not only do they feel the pinch of budget constraints, he doesn't want to waste time at Shelburne's docks as the project is completed.
But Gregg says the biggest pressure is the intricate process of ship raising, which requires extensive planning and careful strategy.
RMI Marine has also helped raise other sunken ships in Nova Scotia, including the Cape Rouge in 2014.
How to raise a ship
The process started with surveying the condition of the Farley Mowat, Gregg said. This includes analyzing the ship's design plans and comparing it to the vessel's current condition.
As the survey is conducted, the team determines how much work will be required to make the ship buoyant again.
"A lot of diving work has to be done," Gregg said. "The deck is underwater, so about 80 per cent of the top main deck is secure, but our job is to plug any vents, any holes, any patches, any cracks, any cuts in the existing deck need to be entirely sealed."
Gregg says a team of five divers have been working for two weeks on the top deck, which has been altered significantly since the vessel was seized by Canadian authorities in 2008.
Once the Farley Mowat is sealed, the task of keeping the ship stable becomes crucial. Tens of thousands of gallons of water must be pumped out evenly as the vessel rises to the surface.
"If there's water-type bulkheads or areas that the water wants to free fall, you have to make sure the vessel is not going to come up and all the water isn't going to run to one side and turn the vessel over at a bad angle," said Gregg.
Shelburne suing owner
Different types of submersible and above-water pumps, along with cables, are placed around the ship and on the docks. Water is pumped out at a rate of nearly 19,000 litres a minute while air is reintroduced.
That means the top deck is strained as pressure builds within the ship, said Gregg.
"When we're 100 per cent satisfied that the deck is secure, the pumps are in place and nothing bad is going to happen, then it's a matter of orchestrating the pumping procedure," he said.
Gregg says if the retrofits are secure, the ship will become buoyant and will rise from the bottom of Shelburne Harbour.
He wouldn't comment on the cost of the project, but agreed it would be more than what Farley Mowat's owner paid for the ship at auction.
The town of Shelburne is suing the owner and scrap dealer Tracy Dodds, in an attempt to collect $14,000 in unpaid dock and berthage fees. Dodds bought the vessel in 2013.