Mud Fight in Lyme Bay (salvage of the MSC NAPOLI) 

The MSC Napoli incident played a significant part in the evolution of International Maritime Regulations. SOLAS (acronym standing for Safety Of Life At Sea) regulations were updated directly as a result of the MSC Napoli's failure. Prior to this SOLAS regulations had required the gross weights for each container manifested on a vessel to be declared but there was no effective mechanism in place to actually check the veracity of gross weight reported to each vessel master prior to its loading. This rather obvious breach in the regulation had been systematically abused for decades, with some areas of the maritime global network notorious for under-reporting gross weight measurements. The end result of these negligent practices (in some parts of the world) was vessels sailing in a dangerously overloaded and/or unstable manner - in other words, an accident waiting to happen, which it did in Lyme Bay during 2007. The updated SOLAS regulations meant that each and every container had to be physically weighed at an approved, ie licensed by an approved individual National agency, weighbridge facility before loading. The Gross weight was just one of the pieces of information provided on the Export Customs Entry, no certificate stating the weight, your container doesn't load on to the vessel! I worked from Spring 2011 onwards in International Freight Forwarding - before that I was on the other side of the fence as a user of such services - I recall everyone involved in international shipping, principally those on the export side, moaning about the hassle of now having to both arrange and pay for the certified weighing of containers prior to actual loading on to the vessel (this extra stage had to be factored into your time schedule so you met the various vessel sailing deadlines with comfort). This RU-vid video of the documentary explains why such additional regulations were required - before the extra stage of actual weighing being mandatory, container vessels were sailing the oceans with, in some cases, severely overdeclared and under-declared gross tonnage data - given stability issues, a container being significantly less than the real weight was just as big a problem as the other way round. Coastal communities around the globe were in danger of significant negative impacts resulting from vessels foundering. The changes in SOLAS regulations are summarised in this handy on-line document www.worldshipping.org/History_of_IMO_Effort_to_Improve_Container_Safety_May_2014.pdf

Those guys have nerves and balls of titanium - it's a bloody dangerous environment and a high-risk venture. Bloody well done guys!

Our Dutch friends are very innovative when it comes to maritime problem solving. Well done from UK.

There are very few men in the world brave enough and smart enough to do this job.Hat's off to The owners and the professionals they employ !

The Dutch are the masters of maritime salvage.

Definitely one of the most interesting salvage documentaries. I really like the innovative way of working. And even then finished in time. Absolutely impressive.

20:45- "It looked like a mobile floating scrapyard". Someone give that reporter a medal, he's a god damn genius !!!

Very interesting story, well told. My admiration for the work of these people is boundless. A hearty well done from South Dakota, USA, very far from the sea.

The Dutch boys are true masters of marine salvage ...superb job .

The Dutch Engineers are very clever people. Great job 👍

I've worked for 30 + years as a heavy duty mechanic and welder/fabricator. I can't imagine how difficult it would have been to cut that thing apart with a torch after so long underwater.

So happy to see all this useful metal being lifted and made ready for upcycling into something useful today. Bravo for patience and determination.

Really good that the people talk without interference from the narrator.

Great documentary. Thanks for not spoiling it with Dramatic music and irritating mach narration.

WOW! Great Work Guys...following the MV WAKASHIO dismantling in Mauritius.

That was a very interesting video, thanks for posting it!

@Norman Mcgill, the operation was financed by the insurance company that insured the vessel.

Well that was rather addictive to watch - makes me want to move into marine salvage!

Very, very interesting programme, well done everyone on the salvage team, the chain problem must have been a real headache and also a surprise to everyone as the dimensions and numbers were already done. Great job all round though!

Great documentary. Thank you

Now that was impressive work !

Wow, what an amazing job, those guys really earn their money, very interesting documentary. Thanks

@davetileguy by using this technique they could control the lifting and pressure per section; using submergable barges would not allow for this delicate lifting. breaking of the wreck during the lifting process would lead to an environmental disaster. The mud was so stiff and thick that putting air in under pressure would notfree it from 9 meters of mud it was stuck in. That's why only this approach was a feasible option.

A very successful clean up, well done

Well done guys, Good job.

The chain pullers r brilliant

I find this most interesting!

Fascinating. Thanks.

This scale of engineering amazes me. And I'm a precision engineer. I love it.

This method of drilling cables beneath wrecks seems quite established. nice shots of the cliffs of lyme bay. peace

A great save. Sorry about the loss of life. From Narragansett Bay.

good vid, very educational!

Thank you for this!

The best what happens was that they beach this ship before it broken, so that they can control the Incident and could handle all Environment dangers in short time and without blocking important ship routes over years.

100% Hollands Glorie / Dutch Glory

It is always a game of chance when buying a used chain, because that is what it is. I live three kilometers from where they bought it, they got what they ordered. They could buy a new chain in the same place if they wanted .

being a westcountry man living in the u s a i was surprised to see that this had happened in 2007 and i hadnt heard about it , what a engineering feat amazing

Truely amazing

I think I read elsewhere that the first set of chains were "used" before, elsewhere. The second set were, obviously, made from substandard materials and failed quite miserably. No testing and/or quality control on the second set, I would guess. Did anyone catch if the second set were brand new or also "used" junk? All that testing of the pullers and none for the chains.

Amazing!

Awesome editing! :)

Wonderful!

what a team of fearless men

Noticed an in memory note at the beginning of the video with three Dutch names. Did they die during the salavge?!

THE BEST HOLANDA VERY VERY NICE

It takes Hitachi excavators to finish the job! Real iron!

Dam good job. Just wonder how many tons of material, liquids etc were lost or left from the cleanup

Were the first chains made in China?

@derrell taylor: that was no option because it sank in a protected wildlife environment.

I'm curious as to why the Dutch particularly seem to be the worlds experts on vessel salvage?

Interesting footage and we'll presented made a nice change.

thats what happens when you buy your chains from china via ebay on buy it now (free postage)

প্রথম লাইক

wouldn't want to be near one of those chains when they snap!

A very good job well done.

I can't believe I watched this entire video.

how do you lift that out of the mud that big very carefully

Great job 😀👍

worked on a salvage ship called Celtic Lord. hard, dangerous work but I learned so much, my brother was 'cheif'. he did some pretty crazy wreck dives.

Funny old habits the human body developes, when ever I see someone welding, I squint to protect my eyes :o)

“Hey, we can get the same chain, cheaper from India!”

great video

What a mammoth undertaking. I take it the insurance company is paying for the salvage?

Incredible

How much did this cost the salvage value of the left over ship is minimal?

They replaced the chain with chain from Norway...they probably had chain from china...

I remember seeing her from Sidmouth. She was there long enough that it seemed strange once she was gone.

Very clever job 👍

Great job

sorin otel The vessel had run aground and was damaged too much to be floated again, and demolishing was the only option left to remove it. So, they cut the vessel just in front of the wheel house and first removed the bow section. However, when they started to demolish the stern part it got damaged even more and sunk deep in the mud. As the vessels situation and condition now had change dramatically, another salvage company that was more experienced and better equipped was commissioned to execute the salvage operation of the stern.

Like.

The strongest chain is only as good as the weakest link.

It's a tough job, each link weighs 90 kg. Come on, the diver attached a cable, and the cable was hauled up and laid in the puller. The toughest part was likely finding the chain in the muck.

I am more interested in knowing how the get the drill to angle back up to the surface!!

So Norway makes better chains. Who made the the other chains that broke even when custom ordered as new?

as much is spent to retrieve waste such as this if only 1/2 as much was used to prevent plastic from going into our oceans we'd be a lot better off

I understand the need and applaud the effort. But what about the hundreds (thousands) of ships lost during the wars?

4000 tons.. They have 12 pullers that can hold 250 tons each...? That's not enough to start with isit? Unless my maths is wrong that only adds up to 3000 tons of lift... There 1000 tons short.!? And thats without the weight of the mud and water and clay on top..! They should have had 20 pullers and stop pissing around

They should team up with that shredder channel

If I understood correctly the piece they were lifting weighed 4000 tonnes and they had 12 chains each rated at 250 tons. Add to that extremely sticky clay and water resistance. I'm no expert but I'm not surprised the chains snapped.

the intro narrator is the same guy who voices Seconds From Disaster

Was the engine recovered???

Why not leave the stern section as an artificial reef? Was it too shallow and represented a navigation hazard?

they’ve done a mans job - well done 👍🏻

So where is this engine that was said to weigh over a thousand tons ? was that taken apart and loaded on the barge in smaller sections .. just curious .

Amazing job, notice how the specialists and the workers seemed to be of a mature age, wise, learned and experienced, able to get the job done because of their working life and not because they have loads of educational qualifications and are fresh out of university like a lot of other professions.

That rudder could make someone a nice shelter.

So , what happened to the engines that weighed it down, no sign of them on camera.

Wow

That mud is like superglue 😳 Every south coast sailor knows its power, if we ground our keels, just for a moment , we're not going anywhere until the tide rises 🤬

Awsome

don't underestimate the dutch . They are innovative as F. Better than the japanese in terms of out of the box thinking.

"When will it be finished ?" What a stupid question given British weather.

Great video guys!

That's my local to new channel. Mind you I stopped watching tv 📺 2 years ago. Some insurance company has a big bill on this job.

mud fight??? and where are the girls ??? !!!

May be ask next time the dutch experts well done

all this trouble to retreive some scrapmetal which would rust away by itself within 100 years anyway and then can simply be recouped as iron ore again. but i guess it's good target practice in case it's ever needed to retreive something that is worth more than the cost of the operation... such as still fully functional but sunk nuclear submarines or something. not a large chunk of scrapmetal.

Bra jobba gutter.

Geez. That's a big ass engine!