Coimbra

Long Island, NY | United States

Resolve Marine  was contracted by the USCG to assess oil leaking out of the sunken Coimbra, a British tanker torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat while en route to Europe in 1942. The wreck, broken into three pieces, sat approximately 30 miles southeast of Shinnecock, NY in 180 feet of water. After Resolve Marine provided the subsea survey and assessment, the USCG contracted us for subsea oil removal and recovery.

Resolve Marine’s research and development team used its patenteded 'hot tap' system to heat and remove the oil in the ship’s tanks. The operation was carried out using commercial divers, remotely operated vehicles and dynamically positioned vessels. After discovering fuel discharge seeping from loose rivets, operations commenced patching the active leak sites and eliminating environmental contamination. In under three months, the hot tap system extracted over 476,000 gallons, all during harsh weather conditions.