Underwater survey set to take place on wreck

Inspectors from the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) will be embarking on the Northern Lighthouse Board vessel Pharos this weekend  to take advantage of a forecast lull in the weather on Sunday and Monday to conduct a Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROV) survey of the wreck of the sunken cement carrier Cemfjord. 

The survey will be conducted using an ROV operated by salvage experts from the MoD’s Salvage and Marine Operations Project Team.

Cemfjord capsized at around on Friday, January 2, while attempting to transit through the Pentland Firth.

The upturned hull was discovered the following day by the ferry Hrossey, and the hull was tracked until it sank some east of the Firth in 70 metres of water.

No survivors were recovered, and all eight crew, seven Poles and one Filipino, are presumed to have perished.

The MAIB say that it has a number of objectives for the ROV survey that, if achieved, would help to answer key questions about why the vessel foundered so rapidly; why none of the crew survived; and why it took so long for the alarm to be raised.

A statement from the MAIB added: “The wreck lies in an area of strong currents that are likely to hamper ROV operations and limit underwater visibility. The need to use an ROV capable of operating in such conditions means that it is too large to enter the wreck. No decision about any further investigation of the wreck will be made until the results of the ROV survey have been analysed.”