Companies appointed to salvage grounded cargo vessel

A consortium of experienced salvage companies — Multraship/Ardent/Wagenborg —  have now been appointed by the owner of MV Priscilla as their salvors.

Representatives from Ardent are expected to arrive at the vessel, which has been grounded at the Pentland Skerries since Wednesday morning, later this evening, Friday. They are expected to carry out an initial assessment this Saturday July 21.

According to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), salvors have already begun deploying equipment to the incident site.  An outline salvage plan is due to be prepared for discussion between key stakeholders and the Acting Secretary of State’s Representative (SOSrep) Hugh Shaw for approval.  A Salvage Control Unit (SCU) will then be established near the incident.

“This incident has now become a salvage operation in order to refloat the vessel,” explained Mr Shaw in a statement this morning.

“The Pentland Firth is well-known for the strength of its tides, which are among the fastest in the world, so I’m pleased that the owner’s representative and insurers have appointed experienced salvors without delay.

“I am in dialogue with a number of  key stakeholders and once we have established and agreed the salvage plan, I will provide a further update on the way forward.”

Mr Shaw has also established a Temporary Exclusion Zone of 500m around the incident site to ensure that there is no risk to the safety of persons engaged on the salvage operations and for other shipping traffic transiting or working in the area. The MCA say that, as there is adequate tug and salvage support on scene, the Emergency Tow Vessel Ievoli Black has resumed its patrolling duties.

MV Priscilla remains stable but hard aground on the Pentland Skerries with the 6-person crew on board safe and well. No pollution has been reported.