Adriatic Arrow

Khor al Zubair | Iraq

The cargo carrier, Adriatic Arrow, was suspected to have collided with a submerged object off Khor al Zubair, Iraq. At the time, the 9,407 DWT cargo carrier was fully loaded with a cement product. A breach in the hull led to water ingress causing flooding in the forward two cargo holds. The breach of water to the onboard cement caused it to harden. When the third cargo hold was infiltrated, the Adriatic Arrow partially sank.

Resolve Marine was contracted to provide an assessment of the vessel after a local dive group produced an inadequate survey. With zero water visibility, and previous failed dive assessments, an observational class ROV was used to determine breached areas of the vessel.  Sonar systems were used to assess the unidentified submerged object the vessel was  lying on.

Resolve Marine was contracted for the salvage operation, requiring lightering and refloating the grounded vessel, an operation that proved arduous as the  cement created difficulties. A portion of the cargo was offloaded to decrease the  weight and assist in vessel refloating. Temporary patches were installed in the breached areas of the vessel’s hull, found by the ROV. Once the vessel was successfully lightered, it was refloated and redelivered to the owner.