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Sonsub, an Italian firm specializing in deepwater operations, announced that it
will begin oil retrieval operations on the sunken vessel Solar 1 by March 14. Sonsub was contracted
by the Protection and Indemnity (P&I) Club, insurer of the Solar 1 to retrieve any remaining oil
on Solar 1 which sank in 640 meters of water.
This is only the second
time in history that such a deep sea oil retrieval operation will be undertaken. Sonsub successfully
retrieved 13,500 tons of crude oil without spillage from the tanker Prestige which sank in 10,000 feet
of water 240 kilometers from the coast of Spain. Solar 1, meanwhile, is at a depth of 2,100 feet and
was carrying about 2,000 tons of fuel oil when it sank.
Sonsub will be using
the latest technologies including the 80-meter long dynamic positioning vessel Allied Shield that will
use thrusters to keep it in position over Solar 1 at all times. Two Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs)
will be deployed to work on the sunken vessel.
“The extraction of oil
from Solar 1 will be relatively easier than the Prestige which sank in much harsher environmental
conditions. Additionally, everything that will be done in this oil recovery project has been done before,”
Sonsub Project Director Robin Galleti said.
During the operation, the ROVs
will assist in drilling two holes in each tank. Water will be allowed to flow into one hole to displace any
remaining oil which would flow from the second hole. Both holes will have fail-safe valves. A shuttle
container will be placed on top of the valve to capture the oil. The container will then be brought to
30 meters under the surface where submersible pumps will transfer the oil to ISO tanks on the Allied Shield.
“We will be operating 24 hours a
day, seven days a week to hasten the recovery of any trapped oil in Solar 1. We wish to assure all concerned
that we have several measures in place to ensure a fail-safe operation. In addition, we have contingency
plans in place to cover the unlikely event of any oil release,” Galleti said.
Contingency plans include oil
spill response tugboats that will be deployed for the duration of the retrieval operations. These boats are
equipped with oil dispersants, oil skimmers for the mechanical recovery of oil and spill booms for containment.
One aircraft, which has airborne dispersant capability, will continuously be monitoring the area.
The operation is expected
to last around 20 days and the cost is estimated to be USD 6 million.
Solar 1 Oil Recovery Project
(Please click)
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