70’ yacht salvage in New Hampshire
In 2022 after a severe engine room fire, M/Y TOO ELUSIVE sank in 80fsw off the coast of New Hampshire.
C&H Marine Services, LLC along with a large crane company floated and towed the wreck into Portsmouth, NH for scrapping.
https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/local/2022/07/09/yacth-fire-too-elusive-salvage-removed-waters-maine-nh-new-castle-newington/10015898002/
Burned yacht 'Too Elusive' pulled from Maine waters, brought to NH
Portsmouth Herald
The sunken 70-foot Marlow yacht destroyed by fire in June near shore in New Castle, New Hampshire, before sinking in Maine waters, was successfully recovered Saturday.
The vessel's remains were raised to the surface three weeks after it burned and sank. The wreckage was carried up the Piscataqua River on a barge to the yard where it will be scrapped.
An intensive multi-agency operation to salvage the wreckage took much planning, according to Coast Guard Lt. Ryan Koroknay.
On June 18, smoke was seen for miles in the Portsmouth area as the yacht burned in the vicinity of the Wentworth Marina in New Castle. The three people aboard the yacht leaped into the water with their two dogs and were rescued by a local lobsterman. The burned yacht drifted into Maine, sinking under about 80 feet of water about a mile south of the K2R buoy, where it had remained until the salvage operation, according to authorities.
The vessel was floated and lifted out of the water Saturday to reduce the environmental impact of pollutants and fuel leakage.
Boaters were required to stay out of the area during the removal, with the Coast Guard enforcing a 200-yard perimeter around the operation.
'Like a fire-breathing dragon':Yacht fire survivors on terror before jumping into water
How was the boat removed? Divers started the job
The salvage operation was postponed twice prior to Saturday with the Coast Guard citing weather, wind and water conditions.
Last week, a crew of divers and salvage operation members rigged 10 airlift bags to the vessel, which were inflated Saturday to help what is left of the yacht rise to the surface.
Side tow barges floated the boat to a crane, which placed the wreckage onto a U-shapped barge. The barge carried the yacht up the Piscataqua River to Riverside and Pickering Marine Contractors in Newington.
Chris Hopper, of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, said the boat rose to the surface around 8 a.m. Saturday. It passed through the mouth of the river by 2:45 p.m.
Koroknay said Saturday it was a very challenging salvage effort, due to the depth of the water and how the boat was positioned when it sank. It sank with the bow sticking straight up, balanced on its transom (cross section of the stern) on the ocean floor. This made it more difficult for divers to recover, Koroknay explained.
“They reorientated it underwater,” Koroknay said, noting that it was carefully done with divers inflating different bags to orient the boat upright. “Once it broke the surface, they then used a variety of workloads to position it inside the horseshoe shaped, modular barge that they custom built for this particular salvage operation.”
The diesel fuel that was left in the vessel was pumped out and into a tank on the barge to be properly disposed, officials said.
What is the environmental impact?
William Gardner Warr, from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, said it’s difficult to quantify the environmental impact of the incident, but a lot was done to mitigate it.
Gardner Warr said there have been regular shoreline assessments in the coastal areas of Maine and New Hampshire to watch for potential fuel leaks. He said ocean and wind conditions have kept any impact from coming to shore. The oil slick that was visible after the fire was contained as much as possible with oil slick booms throughout the process.
“It is difficult and dangerous work, not for the faint of heart,” Gardner Warr said.
"I witnessed a very professional show this morning of the capabilities of these entities involved in this.”
Koroknay said because diesel fuel is lighter than other fuels, whatever leakage wasn’t captured by skimmers or booms likely naturally dissipated.
Where does the investigation stand?
Authorities have said the owners of the yacht have been engaged throughout the process. Owners Diane and Arthur "Kitt" Watson have said they are working with an insurance company.
Hopper said the success of the salvage efforts was due to “tremendous interagency coordination.”
“It was a collaborative effort from the very beginning to deal with this response,” Hopper said. “The primary focus of all entities involved was to minimize the impacts of the environment, minimize any potential of material coming ashore and to limit impact to recreational or commercial fishing. And that was at the forefront of everyone's mind throughout this response.”
Amber Lagace, spokesperson for New Hampshire State Police and Marine Patrol, said the yacht will remain there, for now, as evidence in the ongoing investigation by New Hampshire authorities, the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Hopper said the hard work doesn’t stop once the wreckage reaches the salvage yard.
The wreckage will be loaded onto a work platform in a controlled environment. An initial investigation will begin to determine, if possible, the cause of the fire, according to authorities. Then it will be broken into pieces and brought to a disposal facility.
Karen Dandurant and Ian Lenahan contributed to this report.