Patent ID: 8141509

Claim:
A method of salvaging a submerged production platform, comprising: deploying a salvage vessel to a wreckage site of the submerged production platform; dispatching a diver or remotely operated vehicle (ROV) from the salvage vessel to the submerged production platform; cutting the submerged production platform into manageable pieces by the diver or ROV; lowering a lifting electromagnet from the salvage vessel to the submerged production platform using a crane of the salvage vessel, wherein the lifting electromagnet comprises: a case having a cavity formed therein, a winding made from a conductive material and disposed in the cavity, a bottom made from a non-magnetic material and welded to the case, thereby making the cavity watertight, and a watertight terminal connector for receiving an electric cable; activating the lifting electromagnet, thereby capturing one or more of the manageable pieces; and raising the captured pieces to a surface of the sea using the crane.