Marine Salvage
At Midco Diving & Marine Service, Inc. we provide a wide range of commercial diving services to accommodate a diverse scope of needs. In addition to our underwater construction services and potable diving services, our commercial dive team also offers marine salvage and salvage diving services.
Salvage diving is often associated with the collection and recovery of vessels, cargo, equipment, and structures that have wrecked or fallen into a body of water. Not to be confused with recreational ‘wreck diving’, salvage diving is performed by professional commercial divers following a meticulous set of procedures to ensure the task is performed safely and in accordance with all applicable standards.
Commercial divers are typically the first line of defense when it comes to salvage and recovery operations. When vessels or equipment sink in a body of water, there is often a risk of contamination due to fuel, oil, or other potentially toxic chemicals leaching from the wreckage. Before the salvage operation begins, it may be necessary to utilize a team of specially trained HAZMAT divers to evaluate the severity of the wreckage and determine if harmful or toxic materials are present.
Once a wreck site has been deemed safe for recovery operations to begin, salvage divers work carefully to recover the cargo and property contained within the wreckage and return it to the surface. Often times the cargo contained within the vessel is more important or valuable than the vessel itself. Once this portion of the recovery process is complete, salvage divers can then begin preparing to recover the wreckage of the vessel or equipment.
Many factors such as the size of the wreckage, its condition, and location will play a role in the recovery process. Smaller recovery jobs can often be completed with the help of a salvage barge equipped with a crane and/or winch. Larger salvage jobs may require that the wreckage be removed through a process known as “raising” or “floating”, where large pods are attached to the wreckage and then filled with air to raise the damaged vessel to the surface where it can then be removed or towed away.
In addition to cargo recovery and contamination control, salvage diving is also performed for other reasons. Ships that run aground or sink in shallow waters may pose a threat for the safe navigation of other vessels. Clearance salvage focuses primarily on removing or reducing (through demolition) shallow wreckage to prevent navigational problems. If a wreck has little or no salvage value and does not appear to pose an environmental threat to the surrounding area, the wreckage may simply be moved to deeper water where it will not interfere with the travel of other vessels.
While some salvage diving projects may be completed in as little as a couple of days, others may take several months or work and planning to complete. At Midco Diving and Marine Service, Inc. we have experience with marine salvage and salvage diving projects both large and small, and our professional team of divers is at the ready and available 24/7 should an emergency arise. To learn more about our salvage diving services or any of our other commercial diving services, please call us at 1-800-479-1558.
