In a scene that reminded one of a ghost ship rising from the sea, a sunken barge was raised to the surface at the fishing jetty of United Fishing Enterprises in Walvis Bay last week.

The vessel was once a small fishing trawler, but as age caught up with her she was later re-fitted and used as a barge at United Fishing Enterprises’ oyster production facility before it sank alongside the quay some months ago.
The salvage work was conducted by internationally accredited diving and salvage service-provider, Subtech. The company owns a fully Namibian-operated branch in Walvis Bay and helped realise an historical milestone recently when the new West African Cable System (WACS) was pulled on land at Swakopmund some months ago.
Subtech divers braved zero-visibility conditions in the ocean and prepared the vessel within four days for its short journey back to the surface of the sea. It involved plugging holes, manufacturing and refitting new hatch covers, removing debris from the vessel’s deck and interior.
With all the leaks and holes in the vessel’s hull plugged, divers installed pipes to which two water pumps, the largest with a pump-capacity of 1 800 litres per minute, were connected. It took Subtech some four hours to pump the vessel empty, creating the necessary buoyancy which raised the ship from the ocean-floor to the surface.
The barge was towed to the Walvis Bay syncro lift, where it was lifted from the water for the last time before the salvage works shifted to dismantling the vessel for scrap-metal. Apart from diving and salvaging services, Subtech also performs under-water repairs and construction, surveys, non-destructive testing and is a leading service-provider to the oil and gas industries worldwide.