The Pasha Bulker:
or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z71maAwFa0s
The Final Chapter… or Everybody Pull on 3!
A bookend to my coverage…
The 1st salvage attempt was disappointing with a buoyant nose but snapped tow cables.
In the the 2nd attempt, the nose was dragged 90 degrees, almost parallel to Nobbys Beach.
The 3rd salvage attempt was a success, with the ship slipping quietly from its temporary home at Nobbys Beach She was pulled free in high tides & calm seas into deeper water at around 9.30pm on July the 2nd.
The flurtilla (spelling?) of journalists at Fort Scratchley nearly missed all the action as they were preparing for a press conference at the time.
The Pasha Bulker was then towed 11 nautical miles off shore to deep water, where the hull was inspected by divers.
She now sits snuggled by a tug safe & sound in Newcastle harbour while further hull assessments & repairs take place.
The Japanese owners stated today that they promise to pay all salvage costs, which could be around AU$5 million.
The tug fleet is back at ease, while a Sydney Ports Corporation team has a boom in place around the vessel, acting as a security.
The weather is a mild autumn afternoon, low wind, calm gorgeous sunny day, the opposite of the day all this drama unfolded.
Looking at the beach now, it is hard to imagine a 40 000 tonne coal ship residing there.
The town will now focus on the job of repairing & rebuilding what was affected by the cruel storms, & the Pasha Bulker is now free to move onto her next chapter…
We would like to extend our best wishes to all affected by the storms…
: )
Jamie is passionate about people, business and technology. He works at Next Digital one of Australia's big 5 full service digital agencies across a range of SMEs to large ASX listed companies. He is an Account Director with a wealth of experience and enjoys mountain biking, Muay Thai/BJJ, reading, business thinking and technology.