Mammoet Salvage and partner CPT Remolcadores of Chile have recently responded to a state of emergency issued by the government of Ecuador.
A cargo ship, the 'Galapaface 1', loaded with 72,000 litres of fuel, petroleum products, chemicals, and tonnes of various cargo, ran aground while departing the island of San Cristobal.
Recognising the imminent disaster and threat of pollution to the UNESCO world heritage site, the Government of Ecuador contracted Mammoet Salvage and CPT to begin immediate operations to remove the ship.
Mammoet Salvage and CPT mobilised salvage experts to San Cristobal to assess the situation. Their survey of the casualty showed extensive damage to the hull, which flooded the cargo holds and engine room. A salvage plan was developed and submitted to the Ministry of the Environment, which quickly approved the plan.
Mammoet and CPT then mobilised equipment, tugboats, and personnel. Personnel and equipment came from the USA, Ecuador, Chile, the Netherlands, and Singapore. The Ecuadoran Air Force supported the operation by flying specialised salvage equipment to San Cristobal.
The plan approved by the authorities involved stripping the ship of all pollutants (oil, paints, fuel), cargo (barrels of oil, acid based batteries, and tons of cement), floatable materials (plastics, furnishings, crew items, mattresses), and refloat the ship.
A permit was then issued to tow the ship out into the open ocean and scuttle her in 2,500 meters of water. This was the preferred solution, as the authorities deemed towing the damaged freighter to the coast too great a risk to the environment. Due to very volatile weather conditions in the area, the probability of the vessel capsizing or sinking in an uncontrolled manner was thought to be very high.
For the project's challenging execution, salvage divers were faced with the arduous task of removing the pollutants and cargo manually. Naval architects designed two flotation tanks to make the ship buoyant. Holes in the hull were welded closed by the divers.
The tanks, custom fabricated on the mainland, were shipped to San Cristobal by barge. These were filled with water, sunk alongside, and attached to the ship's hull. Water was then pumped out of the tanks and holds of the ship to refloat her.
After two months of working day and night nonstop, the 'Galapaface 1' was refloated on July 15. She was then escorted by the Ecuadorian Coast Guard and Navy, and towed to her final resting place.
The operation was completed without incidents or accidents and without any damage to the environment.
The grounding occurred in the same harbour that naturalist Charles Darwin visited in 1835. In 2001, a grounded ship in the same harbour caused a great deal of damage to the marine life, especially the marine iguana population.
