Baltic III Continues to Deteriorate One Year After Running Aground

Photo: Canadian Coast Guard

Last Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of the grounding of the cargo vessel, the BALTIC III,on the rocks of Cedar Cove near Lark Harbour and it’s still not clear when the wreck will be removed.Fuel and cargo have been removed from the ship, but the ship itself remains, battered by wind and wave.

The toll Mother Nature is taking on the carrier is becoming more and more apparent says the Canadian Coast Guard’s Bruce English.He says the biggest change came after a particularly vicious storm in early November during which waves reached 8 metres.He says the stern of the vessel was “bobbing up and down and bending.” Now, it’s sitting and following the contour of the ocean floor. “The stern is about 8 metres at the port stern, and the vessel has sunk down to about that depth. You can see clearly on the deck where, by the M(SC) on the port side where the vessel has some buckling, and right now there’s some steel missing.”He says the buckling has gone through the vessel and the missing steel can be seen on the inside. English says fuel and cargo have been removed and the insurance company has now put out an Invitation to Tender for salvage companies to remove the vessel from Cedar Cove.“And within the coming weeks I guess, they’ll be letting the contract to one of the salvage companies that put in their proposal.”

Source : VOCM