Good progress has been made to remove cargo and oil from the 'Priscilla' in the Pentland Firth
Good progress has been made to remove cargo and oil from the 'Priscilla' in the Pentland Firth. The vessel had been carrying 3,000 tonnes of fertiliser. The operations to prepare the vessel for a refloat were progressing well. The agreed quantity of bunkers has now been safely removed from the 'Priscilla'. During the last day, the salvors have removed 28 tonnes of marine gas oil from the vessel. 15 tonnes will be left for essential services, as the six crew members remained on board. Since July 23 more than 270 tonnes of cargo has been removed to a reception barge, which was taking the fertiliser to another vessel at Windwick Bay, South Ronaldsay. A second barge is now loading cargo, and the operations will continue until 1,350 tonnes have been removed in order to lighten the vessel. Pressurised air will also be pumped into the ship's tanks, ballast will be removed, and an attempt will be made to refloat the vessel on high water. If successful, a brief inspection will take place before the ship is towed to a safe location for more in-depth investigations. The Temporary Exclusion Zone remained at 1,000 metres while the operation and activity were ongoing. Actually on scene were the tugs 'Forth Guardsman', 'Forth Trojan', 'Green Isle' and 'Multratug 20'. Report with photos: https://www.bbc.com/news/...
