Salvors Prep for Hoegh Osakas Hull Inspection

zoomHoegh Osaka Alpha Anchorage More favorable weather conditions in Solent will allow two new pumps to be installed and, should they persist, for the divers to inspect the hull of the ill-fated car carrier Hoegh Osaka. The salvors plan to use a dedicated helicopter to transport them to and from the ship. The helicopter was scheduled to arrive on scene on Tuesday afternoon, UKs Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said in an update. The tug that was damaged in the contact incident during the bad weather at the weekend is repaired and back on scene. However, because all salvage activity is highly dependent on the weather the activity on scene is likely to be curtailed today as the forecast is for strengthening winds reaching a peak between 1800 Wednesday and 0600 Thursday. The salvors are confident what with the anchor and three tugs connected the strong winds should not present a problem for holding the ship in place and have extensive contingency plans for any unexpected ship movements, MCA added. Up to 3000 tons of water is estimated to be on the vessel. Work to pump this water off started on Thursday. The agency estimates that it will take up to seven days for salvage work to be completed before car carrier Hoegh Osaka can be moved back to the Port of Southampton. The vessel  self floated at 1.55pm on Wednesday, January 7 at high tide and was towed to a preferred holding position 2 miles east of the original grounding position, close to the area called Spitbank. The vessel remains held in position at anchor on the Alpha Anchorage.