INFORMATION BULLETIN
For Immediate Release 2008ENV0088-001338 Sept. 4, 2008	Ministry of Environment
CONTRACT ISSUED TO RECOVER WRECKAGE FROM ROBSON BIGHT

VICTORIA – World-renowned experts Mammoet Salvage B.V. and its North American partner agency, Global Diving and Salvage of Seattle, have been awarded the contract to recover key pieces of wreckage from Robson Bight (Michael Bigg) Ecological Reserve, following the August 2007 incident in which a barge lost 11 pieces of heavy equipment into the waters of the protected area.

 

In May 2008, the government of British Columbia issued a request for proposals for the recovery of crucial pieces of the wreckage. Mammoet’s proposal was one of three received by the RFP’s closing date and extensively reviewed by experts at the Ministry of Environment, the Canadian Coast Guard, and independent consultant firm London Offshore Consultants Ltd.

 

Salvaging operations are expected to take place in late fall 2008 or late spring 2009, during the first window of moderate weather that will allow equipment recovery with minimal impacts on resident wildlife. In the meantime, the wreckage continues to be monitored, and has shown no evidence of leakage since the initial release observed in August/September 2007. No affected wildlife has been found since the incident.

 

A corrosion analysis conducted by Dr. Akram Alfantazi, an expert from the University of British Columbia’s Department of Materials Engineering, concluded that it would take at least two and half to three years from the date of sinking for the fuel tank to corrode through.

 

Headquartered in the Netherlands, Mammoet Salvage B.V. is a leading global marine salvage company responsible for the successful retrieval of a number of wreckages around the world. For more information, please visit www.mammoetsalvage.com, or www.gdiving.com to learn more about their North American partner, Global Diving and Salvage of Seattle.

 

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Media contact:	Kate Thompson Media Relations 250 953-4577
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