THORCO CLOUD: Wreck Removal – 2015 to 2019

Project Summary

Following a collision in December 2015, the ‘THORCO CLOUD’, laden with steel products, split in two and sank in two locations, a mile apart, in the Singapore Straits Traffic Separation Scheme in Indonesian waters in almost 70m water depth. The Indonesian authorities instructed that the wreck be removed by approved Indonesian contractors. The location of the wreck in the world’s most congested waterway provided vast challenges; the need to minimise disruption to traffic in the channel to reduce the risk of further collisions in these busy shipping lanes.

LOC’s Scope of Work

• Assessing the wreck, identifying the most suitable and timely, methodology and capable contractors
• Tendering, evaluating, awarding contracts and overseeing the successful execution of the activities

Risks

• Immense shipping traffic
• Water depth beyond air diving

The Operations

• Extensive liaison with and reporting to authorities and organisations in Indonesia was required throughout
• The P&I club established a Casualty Management Team (CMT) consisting of a variety of disciplines and companies, with LOC providing technical input
• The CMT identified the most cost-effective methodology and contractor (through several tenders)
• The CMT thoroughly assessed and mitigated all risks
• Operation split into three stages: Management & Engineering, Site Survey & Oil Removal, and Wreck Removal

Results

• All pollutants, wreck and cargo successfully and safely removed
• Cost effective removal
• Incident free