Wreck Removal

Isla Tamar Off the Strait of Magellan | Chile

In 2024, Resolve Marine was called upon to remove a wellboat which grounded outside the Strait of Magellan. The complex wreck removal process utilized a variety of salvage techniques in a remote location with unfavorable weather conditions. Previously, another salvage company had been retained to recover the wreck but was unsuccessful.  

The Resolve Marine team developed a drag-up removal plan to raise the vessel off the seabed and onto a barge for transportation. This method involved converting a Resolve Marine-owned deck barge, the RMG 302, into a temporary submersible barge. Our welders and engineers installed a pumping and ventilation system on the barge to allow the bow to be submerged while divers installed chains around the wreck to use for the drag-up. The bow of the RMG 302 was submerged, and the wellboat was partially refloated using blow-down and submersible pump dewatering techniques. Chain pullers were then used to pull the refloated wreck onto the RMG 302 and the barge was refloated.  

It took 24 hours from the time the deck of the RMG 302 was underwater to the time she was refloated with the wellboat positioned on top. The wreck was secured to the RMG 302 and sailed approximately ten days north to a disposal site in Valdivia, Chile. The Resolve Marine crew then completed an intricate removal process that utilized large cylindrical air bags to roll the wreck off the barge onto land.