Mont Louis

[Music] Saturday August 25th 1984 the French roll-on roll-off vessel mon Louie sails from Dunkirk to Riga the visibility is bad the Dutch German fairy Ola Britannia is enroute from Flushing to Sheerness with 900 passengers on board [Music] 1215 GMT 12 miles off the Belgian coast the allow Britannia has penetrated eight meters into the mall Louie the situation is critical message number on referring coalition all over Tanya distress signals alert shipping and particularly the to salvage companies who cooperate closely in this area Schmitt tug of Rotterdam and the URS the association of salvaged and towage Avante pit yak Amina and August local boyfriend out the PIA night club it's the UK pni Club here in London before salvage operations can begin negotiations must be concluded with the owners insurance companies and other interests the collision position is plotted at the request of the Salvos the Ola Britannia assisted by tugs pushes them all lui to a sandbank in the vicinity to keep her from sinking then the ferry disengages from the heavily damaged French vessel [Music] the ma Louie lies on her starboard side in 15 metres of water close to the Ostend Bank boy the crew has been safely transferred to ships in the vicinity [Music] the first salvos arrived at the wreck and start their investigations to determine the best possible way of salvaging the cargo in this case the hull is of secondary importance their main concern is the Congo soon wild rumors begin about the nature of that cargo at frontier at hip moon we dot history on now I'm firing at the fear board hola Britannia song out Colonel Allen bolt distant for the Soviet Oni that is from Iran's uranium hexafluoride Arriba de cuatro fussy cuenta to Nellie's hexafluoride O's trois la collision l gu k co a rebel to immersive washes of the port of Australian history water demon leading entry auto car cadet Watterson cincuenta Tandy EXA florida not only nominees holds includes 450 tons of radioactive hexafluoride sealed in metal canisters after the collision the cargo of the mall Louie consists partly of 30 grey containers of this type which is closely studied by the salvage team in the port of Ostia the containers are filled with radioactive uranium hexafluoride a substance that after being enriched is used as fuel for nuclear reactors the containers on board the mon we are secured with chains to Maffei trailers in Dunkirk the Salvos examine these trailers leave cookie o Pamuk I don't decide today okay on the bay do below the Titan 8 a pontoon with a carrying capacity of nine thousand four hundred tonnes with too heavy traveling cranes on deck has been towed from Flushing to the salvage location and is anchored on site the on roost is one of the four salvage vessels mobilized the belgique are of the Belgian Navy with a medical team aboard stands by on September 2nd a week after the collision the weather is sunny and beautiful and after exhaustive preparations salvage operations can begin by cutting a hole 6 meters by 3 meters in the port side of the malla we later on this hole will have to be enlarged to 9 meters by 3 meters when the cutaway part of the ship's skin is removed with the aid of a crane through the smoke created by the cutting torches a yellow container can be seen floating in the hole apart from the 30 grey containers which are full there are also 22 yellow empty containers in the whole part of the equipment that has been fitted on board the pontoon is a special safety container in which possibly damaged containers can be stored before the first diver enters the hold the radiation level of the water is measured there is no radiation danger this could indicate that none of the containers with hexafluoride have sprung a leak in order to make the work of the divers easier a Warcraft is lowered into the hold although none of the measurements in the hold and around the wreck have shown an increase of radiation level extra care is given to the equipment of the divers so that they will not run any risk of their skin coming into contact with the sea water as toxicity is a greater hazard than radioactivity in the case of uranium hexafluoride [Music] the diver is connected to the working pontoon by his umbilical cord a safety line which carries his air and telephone lines a second diver always stands by to render assistance in case of emergency it is almost completely dark in the hold the visibility is less than half an inch the diver has to grope his way around the hold appears to be in total chaos the cargo is a complete mess and has shifted right to the fore attend of the ship some of it has overturned it will not be easy to find all containers with hexafluoride in this mess and in the dark the first empty container is fished out of the hole the Silver's are wearing safety clothing and gloves and each has a gas mask Within Reach even if the color indicates that the container should be empty no risk is taken the radiation is measured with Geiger counters there appears to be no danger Greenpeace worried about the marine environment have come to observe the situation [Music] self-esteem feeling quest night on September 3rd the weather changes suddenly heavy storms normally not prevailing at this time of the year rage across the wreck all salvage operations have to be suspended the wind increases to between force nine and ten the storm rages for four days and when activities can be resumed on September 7th it appears that heavy seas have completely washed away a section of portside skin plating measuring 14 meters by 4 meters the success of salvaging the cargo depends mainly on the divers continuously the fear has to be taken into account that some containers may have sprung a leak due to the action of the waves and for that reason the divers are wearing dry Viking suits and Kirby Morgan helmets see the coil you push it knows being a multi-platinum but greater security the diver takes a spare bottle of compressed air with him the operation is attended by French and Belgian nuclear experts who regularly come aboard to take measurements whoa [Music] when the weather permits the divers go down into the wreck their workers now handicapped not only by the darkness but also by the continuous swell entering the hull they have to proceed with great caution so that they will not be crushed by the shifting cargo people on deck are ready to react immediately on the first distress signal is Provera when a steel wire has been attached to a container the diver will leave the water it is impossible to untie the chain securing the containers underwater they have to be pulled loose by a crane with five tons of extra power [Music] one empty container after another can now be salvaged it appears now that some of them have been damaged seawater flows from the overpack of an empty container the acidity reading gives no reason for worry on September 8th the weather deteriorates again the wind strengthens to force 9 to 11 there's a swell of 4 to 5 meters the pontoon has to be abandoned and after three days of storm the condition of the mooring wires has to be checked urgently it is impossible for a boat to come alongside the pontoon Titan 8 so help is called fall on there the Belgian air force makes a helicopter available to the Salvos [Applause] [Applause] at high tide the wreck disappears almost completely under the waves for six days it is impossible to continue the salvage operation on September 10th at low tide its discovered that the more Louie has broken in to the fore and aft parts are completely separated and a four metres apart when work can finally be resumed on September 14th the first mathy trailer is salvaged it is essential to reach the full containers [Music] it appears that the trailer has been quite badly damaged by the force of the sea tension increases as preparations are made to raise the first container filled with hexafluoride [Music] very carefully and with great trepidation the first lift proceeds from a safe distance the container is closely examined through a telescope to determine whether there are any leaks [Music] the sample bottles attached to the containers also filled with hexafluoride a measured for radioactive radiation level [Music] the pontoon Titan 9 the URS is brought in position to serve as a breakwater another loaded container is salvaged [Music] the salvers decide that the protecting shield of the valves on the containers should be replaced they have constructed a better one themselves that can be mounted easily and that can better withstand blows either from the front or the sides [Music] for two days work has progressed at full speed because work can only be done at low tide the salvaging of the cargo also proceeds at night [Music] it'll open when another mathy trailer is raised it suddenly becomes apparent that a loaded container is stuck in the chassis there is a danger that the container will unhitch when it is raised further and drop on the deck of the pontoon only when the container has been secured with the lifting wire of another crane can the lifting be continued [Music] this requires the simultaneous operation of the two giant cranes [Music] in order to be able to reach the cargo more easily the decision is made to cut a hole further forward with a thermic Lance also small explosive charges have to be used as the Mon Louie is built to ice-class which means the hull is specially strengthened what the floating shear legs tuck lift one has arrived from Rotterdam in order to enlarge the hole in the forepart using an anchor chain as a saw although so far 16 fall and 18 empty containers have been unloaded it is becoming ever more difficult to reach the cargo in the turbulent water the chain is brought into position on the wreck sawing can start on September 19th while water samples are taken continuously one container after another is salvaged no leaks have been found yet but it is clear that the containers have taken and survived a lot each container is checked and registered and finally all but one have been salvaged while the search for that one container continues underwater the salvaged containers are safely secured on the pontoon after careful checking so far no radiation danger has been found got a good are the buck dr. Lavery Panama's de leyva Dom they get that pair of year off the vulnerable recessional clay no Livia fear fear negative 3 no new faith amid the Lancers amethyst cerveza omelette number web supermodel digital age off of a privileged $80 the search for the last container is hampered by another part of the cargo of the maengui steel pipes destined for a natural gas pipeline the recovered Mathi trailers show how strong the force of the sea years then it has suddenly discovered that the valve of one container is leaking [Music] the leak is closed rapidly but carefully with a polyester mixture uranium hexafluoride is not only radioactive but also highly poisonous [Music] the container with the damaged valve is immediately put into the safety container since this can be hermetically sealed the danger is soon averted [Music] the whole salvage crew is mobilized for this critical operation [Music] now the job goes on meanwhile divers are searching in and around the wrecked with ultra sensitive Geiger counters for the last container which has probably been buried under the sand on the location where the last container is thought to be a send sample is taken and examined on the surface in the meantime fighter sails to Dunkirk with the leaking container a radiation level higher than background is established it is suspected that the missing container has been washed from the wreck an airlift is lowered to suck sand away in the hope that the container will be uncovered hope it out all in vain nothing is found again the Salvos had driven away by a storm of the 42 days the savage has lasted so far only 13 days old told could be wet again and again the salvage vessels had to seek shelter in the ports of zebra her and Ostend whilst a tug kept watch of the wreck [Music] at last on October 4th the missing container is found high up in the fore part of the moly and salvaged the job is completed without accidents a triumph for salvers and truth that the container can withstand a serious accident [Music] vessels and equipment lead the location with a relieved crew [Music] in Dunkirk the cargo will be transferred to the owners however the French Ministry of Health has had quite a shock and a small army of experts is sent to the port to establish whether further transport by land is justified [Music] with some surprise the Salvos watch how scrupulously and accurately the cargo they have salvaged is checked but it is unavoidable that more risks are taken at sea than ashore [Music] yet it is quite a relief when the containers are transit iton eight to the key the salvers are released from a heavy responsibility they have done their duty and have solved a tremendous problem the weather didn't cooperate and in all honesty working in the pitch dark hole has been very difficult at times and then that last container that couldn't be located never has a salvage job created so much commotion in the world well it's all over now all that remains is the wreck which has been pushed up right by the storm on the funnel the name of the former ship owner suddenly appears care it seems a cynical joke [Music] [Applause] [Music] Oh [Music]

Channel: PKFVchannel

Views: 142,445

Rating: 4.8304095 out of 5

Keywords: Berging, Salvage, smit tak, smit international, ship disaster, scheepsramp, mont louis, olau, brittania, collition, aanvaring

Id: ujJogb3x5_U

Length: 31min 35sec (1895 seconds)

Published: Sun Dec 02 2012