page_title: MV Drake
section_title: Planning
hierarchical_section_title: MV Drake / Salvage operation / Planning
caption_attribution_description: Aerial photograph taken on a flight from Newcastle to Melbourne. Taken by User:Tim Starling. Pentax Optio S30.Original version:Image:Newcastle, Australia aerial.jpg Photo cropped and annotated by Melburnian
context_page_description: MV Drake, previously known as Pasha Bulker, is a Panamax bulk carrier of 76,741 tonnes deadweight operated by the Lauritzen Bulkers shipping company and owned by Japanese Disponent Owners. While waiting in the open ocean outside the harbour to load coal, Pasha Bulker ran aground during a major storm on 8 June 2007 on Nobbys Beach in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It was refloated and moved to a safe location offshore on 2 July 2007 at 9:48 p.m. AEST before being towed to Japan for major repairs on 26 July 2007.
  Pasha Bulker was built in 2006 by Sasebo Heavy Industries Co., and sails under the flag of Panama as a flag of convenience. It is 225 m in length with a beam of 32.2 m and a cargo hold capacity of 90,911 cubic metres.
context_section_description: Svitzer, a Danish company, was awarded the contract to salvage the bulk carrier.
  On 9 June 2007 a salvage team, led by Drew Shannon, boarded the ship to assess the condition of the hull. Salvage investigators confirmed on 11 June 2007 that the outer shell of the ship's double hull had been breached and was taking on water on the starboard side.
  It was decided that the refloating attempt would proceed despite concerns that the ship was too badly damaged to be refloated. Any attempt at moving the ship was to occur at high tide, when the ship's own buoyancy would reduce the towing force required and the chance of it breaking into two. The salvage attempt was not to involve removing any of the fuel or oil off the vessel.
  The plan to salvage Pasha Bulker used anchors laid out at sea, which the ship was to use to then winch itself seawards, and three tug boats towing it with the aim of dragging the bow over a rock reef. The carrier would then be pulled seaward in a path between two rocky reefs. A hydrographic survey was conducted to survey and map the bottom of the ocean through the surf zone using a surf ski single beam echo sounder and GPS. This gave the salvage team more insight into the direction for refloating the ship.
  An emergency response team was to remain on standby should the vessel begin leaking fuel and an exclusion zone was set up around the location of the ship with marker buoys to stop all ships and surfers from entering the area. In addition on 25 June 2007 an air exclusion zone was created around the ship.
  Various attempts for refloating the ship were suggested. University of Sydney Honorary Associate Professor Rob Wheen suggested liquefying the sand under the ship by pumping seawater into it. This liquefaction should reduce the friction between grains of sand and in turn, friction between the ship and sand. Whether this would have been effective in this case is unknown as Pasha Bulker was lying on rock as well as sand and the ship would have had to be pulled up and over the rocks.
caption: Aerial view of Newcastle showing Nobby's Beach and coal terminals
exif: {}