On Sep 4, 2018, the 'Humber' dropped anchor in pos
On Sep 4, 2018, the 'Humber' dropped anchor in pos. 08° 45.21' N 167° 40.97' E in the Kjawalein Atoll near the sunken former German cruiser 'Prinz Eugen' for an oil retrieval process as ajoint project of the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and the Republic of Micronesia. The U.S. salvage ship USNS 'Salvor' also moored directly above the Prinz Eugen, assisted by the U.S. Navy’s Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit One. The military estimated there were between 250 and 700 tons of oil still onboard the wreck. The cruiser was fueled up for nuclear tests in order to simulate the effects of an a-bomb on a fully loaded, combat-ready warship in 1946. The salvors planned to use hot tap technology developed by the Norwegian company Miko Marine. The Moskito hot tap system uses electromagnetic clamps to attach itself to a ship hull, cut a hole into the hull, and install a valve system for siphoning away the oil, which would then be pumped into Humber’s holds. A similar operation was undertaken in 2003 to remove oil from the sunken U.S. Navy oil tanker USS 'Mississinewa', sunk by a Japanese manned torpedo during World War II. The manner in which the 'Prinz Eugen' settled, upside down in very shallow water, makes it simpler to draw the oil than with other wrecks. The fact that the old cruiser stored most of her fuel in tanks adjacent to the hull walls also makes accessing the oil easier. There are 143 external tanks along the hull wall and another 30 deeper inside the ship. The U.S. military expected the operation to extract the oil to wrap up by the end of October 2018. Report with photos: https://www.dvidshub.net/...
