2/11/96
Storm halts tug salvage work, again
Journal-Bulletin Staff Report
SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- Efforts to remove the grounded tug Scandia were delayed again Sunday because of poor weather conditions. Coast Guard Petty Officer Thomas Carpentier said salvage plans were scrubbed early in the morning when a storm moved in. He said salvagers, who have a crane barge in place, will again attempt to remove the Scandia from Moonstone Beach Monday morning, in time for the 1:04 p.m. high tide. The plan is to lift the 450-ton tug enough to place a sling under its bow. It then would be lifted by the sling and placed in deep water. The first attempt to lift the tug failed last Wednesday when padeyes, or rings, welded to the tug's bow shattered and the Scandia slammed back into the sand. If salvage operations are successful today, the Scandia will be towed to the Newport Navy base, where inspectors hope to survey the engine room and determine the cause of the fire. The Scandia and the barge North Cape ran aground Jan. 19 after a fire aboard the tug forced its crew to abandon ship. The North Cape leaked 828,000 gallons of home heating fuel after grounding on Moonstone Beach.
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